10 Small Details You Only Notice Rewatching Arrested Development
5. The Layers Of Meaning Behind The Banners
The Bluths have a lot of quarks, to be sure (have you seen their chicken dance?). There's plenty to touch on in that area, but there is one thing you may not have fully grasped the first time you watched the show, and it's the consistent use of banners for everything.
Not only do they use banners too often, but they also have massive inconsistencies, are reused for different occasions, or they don't exactly work for the situation they're used in. There are a lot of banners used on the show, but there may have been a few you missed:
"Happy Trails Pard'ner!" This banner was seen at George's retirement party in the pilot episode. It was seen again during George's wake in season two.
"Mission Accomplished" was seen on the second model home. This parodied the same poster above George Bush as he gave a speech aboard an aircraft carrier following the purported end of combat operations in Iraq. It was seen again in the office after the company was upgraded on the show Mad Money, and again when they scored a cheaper floor.
"You're killing me, Buster," hung at Buster's Army acceptance party. It was modified to "Welcome Home, Buster" when he was returning home. It was seen again to read, "You're kidding me, Buster," when he received an award from the Army.
Some other great banners include, "Free Chicken," "Family Love Michael," "Michael Love Marry," and "Vote Lindsay Bluth for Class President. Rich. Pretty. Thin. (Sally Sitwell's not even that hot.)"