TV Quote of the Day (‘Arrested Development,’ on the Unlikely Start of a Video Franchise)

Lindsay Bluth Funke [played by Portia de Rossi]: “You two have always fought. I think I have a video tape of that.”

Michael [played by Jason Bateman]: “You and half of Orange County.”

Narrator [voice of Ron Howard]: “As children, George Sr. would often provoke the boys to fight one another. He believed it created a competitive spirit. He also thought tapes of the footage would be a big hit in the burgeoning home video market. He soon franchised the concept with such titles as ‘Boyfights 2,’ ‘A Boyfights Cookout,’ and ‘Backseat Boyfights: The Trip To Uncle Jack's 70.’"—Arrested Development, Season 3, Episode 8, "Making a Stand," original air date Dec. 19, 2005, teleplay by Mitchell Hurwitz, Chuck Tatham and Karey Dornetto, directed by Peter Lauer

TV Quote of the Day (‘Arrested Development,’ As a Real Estate Developer Explains How He Got Into Legal Trouble)

George Bluth Sr. [played by Jeffrey Tambor]: “I was set up. By the Brits. A group of British builders operating outside the OC…for a partnership to build homes overseas. I did not know they meant Iraq.”—Arrested Development, Season 3, Episode 2, “For British Eyes Only,” original air date Sept. 26, 2005, teleplay by Richard Day, Mitchell Hurwitz, and Karey Dornetto, directed by John Fortenberry

Funny how a script from nearly two decades ago predicts a real-life occurrence: a real-estate developer claiming to be “set up.” And this developer announcing plans to plead not guilty as a spectacular protest—or, a “protestacular,” in the words of (fictional) son Gob.

Well, that might be one area where satire diverges from reality: Nobody cares a whit what happens to George Bluth Sr., but America in 2024 hangs on every word and whine from a counterpart every bit as ridiculous but far more dangerous.

The U.S., you might say, is in a state of arrested development because of one arrested developer.

TV Quote of the Day (‘Arrested Development,’ on Why People Really Hate Hospitals)

Lucille Bluth [played by Jessica Walter]: “I'll be in the hospital bar.”

Michael Bluth [played by Jason Bateman]: “Uh, you know there isn't a hospital bar, Mother.”

Lucille: “Well, this is why people hate hospitals.” —Arrested Development, Season 1, Episode 4, "Key Decisions," original air date Nov. 23, 2003, teleplay by Brad Copeland, directed by Anthony Russo