Arrested Develoment - Rocky Balboa

                                      ACT THREE

             FADE IN:

             EXT. THE MODEL HOME - NIGHT

             Several lights illuminate the windows.

                                 NARRATOR
                       That night, Tobias got ready for the
                       dance festival.

             INT. THE MODEL HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

             Tobias and Lindsday come down the stairs.

                                 TOBIAS
                       But we already entered the contest!

                                 LINDSAY
                       You never even told me about it!

                                 TOBIAS
                       Yes I did!

             INT. THE MODEL HOME - LINDSAY'S BEDROOM - DAY (THE DAY BEFORE)

             Tobias stands by the door talking to Lindsay, who lies on the
             bed with her headphones on, reading a fashion magazine,
             oblivious.

                                 TOBIAS
                       Yes, Lindsay, I *am* an entertainer. 
                       I am dancer.

             No response from Lindsay.

                                 TOBIAS
                       And to that end, I've entered us in
                       the Balboa Dance Contest.

             Lindsay gets up.

                                 TOBIAS
                       Silence will imply you're okay with
                       that.

             Lindsay leaves the room, and Tobias follows.

             INT. THE MODEL HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

             As Lindsay exits, Buster enters through the front door.

                                 NARRATOR
                       Meanwhile, Buster wanted to plead one
                       last time for a chance to see his
                       idol.

                                 TOBIAS
                       (TO LINDSAY) I thought it would be a
                       nice artistic outing for the whole
                       family!

                                 NARRATOR
                       Buster assumed that Tobias was
                       talking about the fundraiser.

                                 BUSTER
                       Hey, can I go?

                                 NARRATOR
                       Tobias assumed that Buster was
                       talking about the dance contest.

                                 TOBIAS
                       Well, without Lindsay, what's the
                       point?

                                 BUSTER
                       Oh, I'll go with you.

                                 TOBIAS
                       Great!

             Tobias exits.

             Buster pumps both fists in the air.

                                 BUSTER
                       Steve Guttenberg!

             INT. THE MODEL HOME - LINDSAY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

             Tobias stalks through the bedroom, catlike, and carrying a
             bunch of Lindsay's clothes and a makeup kit.  LINDSAY'S CELL
             PHONE RINGS.

             Tobias freezes and gently picks up the cell phone.

                                 TOBIAS
                       (WHISPERED) Hello?

             EXT. BALBOA CIVIC CENTER - NIGHT

             Michael stands near the front entrance, where a DOORMAN stands
             with arms folded.  He has his cell phone to his ear.

                                 MICHAEL
                       Tobias?  I can't find my ticket --
                       could you bring it by the Civic
                       Center?  I can't find my, uh...

             EXT. BALBOA CIVIC CENTER PARKING LOT - NIGHT

             The stair-car keys are still in the stair-car ignition.

                                 NARRATOR
                       The phrase Michael was looking for
                       was "car keys".  

             INT. THE MODEL HOME - LINDSAY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

             Same as before.  Tobias BEEPS the cell phone off.

                                 NARRATOR
                       Fortunately, Tobias got the message.

                                 TOBIAS
                       Michael wants to see the dance
                       contest, too!

             EXT. BALBOA CIVIC CENTER PARKING LOT - NIGHT

             Ted parks his car and gets out.  He gets out his ticket and
             eyes it suspiciously.

                                 NARRATOR
                       Ted arrived with his fundraiser
                       ticket.

             ANGLE ON the ticket, which says Michael Bluth.

                                 NARRATOR
                       Which had Michael Bluth's name on it.

             INT./EXT. THE STATION WAGON/BALBOA CIVIC CENTER PARKING LOT -
             NIGHT

             Tobias pulls into the parking lot.  He's in drag -- an outfit
             similar to what Lindsay was wearing at the film shoot.

             Buster sits in the passenger seat, looking confused.

                                 BUSTER
                       You still haven't said why you're
                       dressed like a lady.

                                 TOBIAS
                       Because *you're* my dance partner! 
                       Look, let's just pick up Michael and
                       we'll go to the dance contest.

             EXT. BALBOA CIVIC CENTER - NIGHT

             Michael notices the station wagon entering the parking lot.

                                 MICHAEL
                       Thank god.

             INT./EXT. THE STATION WAGON/BALBOA CIVIC CENTER PARKING LOT -
             NIGHT

             Same as before.

                                 BUSTER
                       We're not going to the fundraiser?

                                 TOBIAS
                       No.

                                 BUSTER
                       No Steve Guttenberg?

                                 TOBIAS
                       What?

                                 BUSTER
                       (CRAZED) No Steve Guttenberg?!

                                 TOBIAS
                       I... I don't know --

             Buster screams. 

             Neither of them watches the road.

             EXT. BALBOA CIVIC CENTER PARKING LOT - NIGHT

             Ted walks quickly through the parking lot.  He emerges from a
             line of parked cars and turns to see the station wagon bearing
             down on him.

                                 TED
                       No!

             INT./EXT. THE STATION WAGON/BALBOA CIVIC CENTER PARKING LOT -
             NIGHT

             Tobias looks forward and sees Ted walking out in front of the
             car (as before).

             Tobias screams.

                                 BUSTER
                       Brakes!  Brakes!

             ANGLE ON Tobias's foot.  He's wearing Lindsay's shoes, which
             we saw from the film shoot before.  A shoe strap is looped
             around the gas pedal, as before.  After a few tries he
             successfully hits the brake.

                                 NARRATOR
                       Unfortunately, Tobias was wearing the
                       sort of shoes that can make hitting
                       the brakes difficult, and that cost
                       him a crucial split-second.

             EXT. BALBOA CIVIC CENTER PARKING LOT - NIGHT

             The station wagon stops, but not before it knocks Ted to the
             ground.

             Buster and Tobias get out of the car.  Both of them stand
             still, with no idea what to do or what to say.

             Michael jogs up.

                                 MICHAEL
                       My god!  Are you okay?

                                 TED
                       Michael... Bluth?

                                 MICHAEL
                       Yeah?

             Ted looks at his ticket.

                                 TED
                       Michael... Bluth.

                                 NARRATOR
                       To Ted, this sort of coincidence
                       could only mean one thing.

                                 TED
                       It's a conspiracy!

                                 BUSTER
                       What?

             Ted puts the ticket into Michael's hands.

                                 TED
                       (TO MICHAEL) Take it!  (TO EVERYBODY)
                       And stay away from me!

             Ted limps away.

             INT. KLUMPY'S - NIGHT

             GOB performs magic tricks in a small cleared-out area in the
             franchise-restaurant's main dining area.  A little sign says
             "Magic Night with GOB".  A stuffy MAITRE D' looks on.

                                 NARRATOR
                       Ted headed across town to GOB's
                       latest gig.

             As before, GOB pulls a large knife out of a hat; a plush-toy
             bunny is impaled on it.

                                 GOB
                       But the other six knives didn't touch
                       it.

             A SMALL CHILD looks on in horror.

             Ted storms in.

                                 TED
                       You lied to me! 

                                 GOB
                       (SOTTO VOCE) Not during the act.

                                 TED
                       You're out of the Alliance! 

             Ted exits.

             The Maitre D' approaches GOB.

                                 MAITRE D'
                       Sir, this act is Alliance-only.

             GOB cries.

                                 NARRATOR
                       It was GOB's worst nightmare.

             EXT. BANANA STAND - NIGHT

             The dance festival is in full swing.  DANCERS fill the
             pavilion.  Maeby watches Steve Holt dance, while George
             Michael serves a long line of CUSTOMERS.

             Buster and Tobias enter.  Buster looks very disappointed. 
             Tobias looks confused.

                                 TOBIAS
                       I can't compete with this.  I don't
                       even know what they're doing!

             Steve Holt approaches.

                                 STEVE HOLT
                       Ma'am, I can teach you the basic
                       steps.

                                 TOBIAS
                       Oh -- okay.

             They dance awkwardly.

             Maeby looks on in horror.

                                 NARRATOR
                       This hadn't been Maeby's worst
                       nightmare before...

                                 MAEBY
                       It burns my eyes, but I can't look
                       away!

                                 NARRATOR
                       ... but it was now.

             EXT. BALBOA CIVIC CENTER - NIGHT

             No activity in the parking lot.  The doorman sits and waits.

                                 ANNOUNCER
                       We now take a short break, but up
                       next:  Steve Guttenberg!

             INT. BALBOA CIVIC CENTER - NIGHT

             Michael sleeps soundly in a big comfy chair at a table for
             seven.  MUSIC plays on the PA system.  Festive lights fill the
             room.

             Next to Michael, Mrs. Gravely finishes off her drink (a bottle
             of Cloudmir Vodka).  Yes, she is a bit drunk.  

             Staid-looking ZONING BOARD MEMBERS sit in the other five big
             comfy chairs.

             A smattering of applause.

             Mrs. Gravely waves her empty bottle at a passing WAITER.

                                 MRS. GRAVELY
                       More vodka!

             The waiter gives her a new bottle.  She opens it and pours it
             into a glass.

             CUT TO a trade-magazine advertisement for one of the big comfy
             chairs, labeled "The LX-7000".

                                 NARRATOR
                       The BIAS fundraiser was providing LX
                       7000s, some of the most comfortable
                       chairs in the world...

             CUT TO A PHOTO labeled "PREVIOUS YEAR'S FUNDRAISER", showing
             the same venue, only with unhappy zoning board members seated
             on very cheap metal folding chairs.

                                 NARRATOR
                       ... to make up for a seating fiasco
                       the previous year that had reduced
                       contributions by 15%.

             BACK TO SCENE

                                 MRS. GRAVELY
                       Michael, you should say a few words.

             Michael grunts, repositions himself slightly.  He wedges his
             leg in between the seat cushion and the chair's arm.  He
             wedges his forearm between the chair's arm and the chair's
             back.

             Mrs. Gravely reaches over and shakes Michael.

                                 MRS. GRAVELY
                       Michael...

             Michael wakes up.  He's woozy.

             ANGLE ON the chair, where Michael's arm and leg are wedged
             into the chair seams.

                                 NARRATOR
                       Unfortunately, it's easy for clothing
                       to get caught in the LX-7000.

             BACK TO SCENE.

             Michael gets up quickly.  His pants and half of his jacket
             tear apart as he does so.  Mrs. Gravely is looking the other
             way at that moment.

                                 NARRATOR
                       As Michael soon discovered.

                                 MRS. GRAVELY
                       ... about your moral character.

             Michael takes it all in, woozy and nonplussed.

                                 NARRATOR
                       And so Michael, without pants, woozy
                       from the Breezifan, and asked to give
                       a speech to pillars of his community
                       including his seventh-grade English
                       teacher, came to the only logical
                       conclusion.

                                 MICHAEL
                       It's a nightmare!

                                 NARRATOR
                       And then he remembered Tobias's
                       advice about ending a nightmare by
                       splashing himself with cold water.

             ANGLE ON the glass of Cloudmir vodka, which Michael grabs.

                                 NARRATOR
                       It wasn't water.

             Michael splashes the vodka in his face, blinks, and then
             prepares to scream.

             EXT. THE MODEL HOME - NIGHT

             A single light illuminates the kitchen window.

             THE MICROWAVE BEEPS.

             INT. THE MODEL HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

             The TV fills the empty room with flickering light and soft
             background noise.

             Michael enters, carrying a mug of warm milk.

             A DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES.

             Maeby enters from the front foyer, visibly haunted, still
             wearing her banana-stand apron.

             She notices Michael and the TV.

                                 MICHAEL
                       I made the news again.

             CUT TO a TV still image of Michael in mid-scream, which
             TRANSITIONS TO the NEWS DESK.  The still image appears as a
             GRAPHIC.  The CHIRON reads "Faux Pas at Gutten Night".

                                 ANCHORMAN
                       Another "Bluth Blooper" after this!

             BACK TO SCENE

             Michael puts the mug on the table and stretches out on the
             couch.

             Maeby sees the TV image.

                                 MAEBY
                       What happened?

                                 MICHAEL
                       It was my worst nightmare.  But
                       y'know, after you experience what
                       you're most afraid of... you're still
                       okay.

             Michael falls asleep.

             The TV shows footage of the Balboa Dance Festival.

             Spooked, Maeby grabs the remote and turns it off.

             She steals Michael's mug and takes a sip.

                                 NARRATOR
                       On the next Arrested Development...

             INT. KLUMPY'S - NIGHT

             Ted occupies the cleared-out area.  A little sign reads "Ted's
             Magic Night".  The Maitre D' looks on. 

             A SMALL CHILD holds a playing card.  His MOTHER looks on.

                                 NARRATOR
                       GOB tries a different bribe...

                                 TED
                       Was this your card?

             Ted pulls out a playing card from his jacket.  In the process,
             he rips the jacket off.  

             Ted looks nonplussed.  The small child runs to his mother, who
             eyes Ted sternly.

             INT. THE MODEL HOME - KITCHEN - DAY

             George-Michael sits at the counter.  He watches his hand
             intently as he waggles his fingers.

             Michael dumps the Breezifan down the sink.

                                 NARRATOR
                       George-Michael tries coffee for the
                       first time...

             INT. THE MODEL HOME - DINING ROOM - DAY

             Lindsay, still wearing the headphones, sits at the table and
             looks at a newspaper.

             ANGLE ON:  the newspaper, which shows a large photo of a
             Mexican street festival.  Tobias, in the foreground, wearing a
             poncho and sombrero, waves at the camera.  The photo's caption
             reads "Mexican Piņata Festival".

                                 NARRATOR
                       ... and Tobias flees from police
                       inquiries. 

             INT. THE MODEL HOME - DINING ROOM - DAY

             Same as before.

                                 LINDSAY
                       Is that Dave Attell?

                                                                  FADE OUT.



                                     END OF SHOW