Every "That was a freebie" in Arrested Development

All clips are owned by 20th Century Fox Television.

[@firethrower18]

this is edited in a way where it feels like one long scene its awesome

[@cranberryjuice960]

it’s cause this entire show is edited like a never ending fever dream lol

[@stoneharper7038]

The best one is George looking for something to disguise himself only to find his twin brother passed out in the cage

[@josephwesward]

Apparently, the scene where Maeby tried to get buster to sign her petition is the only scene where the two of them interact

[@Rarecandyman]

I believe you’re right, she rarely had scenes with George Sr. or Lucille as well

[@elijahgemmill2000]

@@Rarecandyman She only spoke to Tobias once, and it was the one where he explained to her the concept of denial

[@elijahgemmill2000]

I find this hilarious, myself

[@FrenkTheJoy]

@@elijahgemmill2000 I'm pretty sure Maeby does interact with Tobias more than once.

[@elijahgemmill2000]

@@FrenkTheJoy oh yeah my bad I was talking about Lucille for some reason

[@iblame_nargles]

Had no idea this was a reoccurring thing. This show gives so much, it's incredible.

[@RandomShowerThoughts]

I catch things every time I rewatch

[@Lucifronz]

Yeah there are a ton of recurring gags like this.

[@seanlaffey3633]

I caught that after George Sr. said it in the third example lol

[@ndenitto13]

It's like freebie after freebie.

[@CreativeCamile]

one of my favorite running gags is how self absorbing michael is that he never notices things around him

[@NTWoo95]

Michael is one of the funniest characters purely because he’s so normal that things just happen around him and he just accepts it

[@CoCotheTurtle]

If you added up all of the times Michael was self absorbing and added them together with the times Michael was self absorbed you would have an even number.

[@filmfreak7682]

Honestly I think this is one show that had more reoccurring jokes than any other sitcom in history

[@Jack-xj4jj]

The thing that makes this show truly great is that despite the plethora of recurring jokes, they never seem lazy or wasted.

[@isaiahcooper203]

Martin begs to differ

[@jp.loughran919]

They literally Jumped the 🦈

[@prnstarinterlude6510]

@@jp.loughran919 LOOSE SEAL!!!

[@CoCotheTurtle]

If you added up all of the reoccurring jokes and added them together with the recurring jokes you would have an even number.

[@Violentpitsa5501]

"It's a jetpack micheal what could possibly go wrong?" Had to rewind after that.

[@trancedoutkid]

There's one more. When Maeby opens the door to find Lindsay standing there after she's trying to pimp her out.

[@mrodgt]

SO many gags and recurring jokes, it was great. One of my fav was the tongue-in-cheek scene when Henry Wrinkler's character jumped over a shark laying on the dock. It was poking fun at his character Fonzie doing the same thing in Happy Days (which many consider to be the ep that proved the writers had run out of material).

[@marie.antoinette]

and that's where the term "jumping the shark" came from

[@NTWoo95]

@@marie.antoinette I never knew that! I never knew where that phrase came from, and I never once thought it came from someone LITERALLY jumping a shark haha!

[@seanlaffey3633]

Wow, I didn’t catch that reference when I first saw that scene, hilarious!

[@andrewmrcz]

"It's a jetpack, Michael, what could possibly go wrong?"

[@krzlcve]

1:52 someone once pointed out that was their only direct interaction in the show thus far and i couldnt believe it but its true

[@RandyWillcox]

This show was so brilliant.

[@namanjoshi1477]

Damn right it was😂

[@gabrieleriva651]

They did right to stop at season 3 and never make any more episodes after that.

[@slapdat700]

@@gabrieleriva651 Season 4 + 5 arent that bad, I don’t get the hate.

[@BLACULA-Skeewoah]

This has been in my regular vocabulary for over a decade because of this joke

[@amansanju2124]

Love how Lucille doesn't mind beating her son up

[@abigailsalmanac]

I quote this all the time. It’s so applicable 👌

[@jakeroxsox]

We’re all here at once I guess.

[@danielemondmusic]

If there's a funny, catchy line in this show, odds are it's a recurring theme.

[@bbz232]

I always call out freebies now

[@duprod5482]

I'm going to have to rewatch this show now.. 😁

[@robertdog]

"It *was* awkward."

[@mesousagaby740]

Interesting that this running gag didn't start until season 3.

[@Guadeloop]

great editing :)

[@ErlingGrey]

is that maeby in the last clip?

[@Fungamerplays]

good video

[@Mibbitmaker]

"Look, I just found a movie on DVD I didn't know we had. It's an old one from the '70s. Now we can do our Movie Night!" "Well, that was a 'Freebie & the Bean'!"

[@luisalanyav]

Prison gala hahahaha

[@sithlordmikeyp]

I didn't realize they didn't start this gag til S3. Too bad S5 sucked.

[@dr_tandros4586]

Can anybody explain exactly what a freebie is?

[@roguishpaladin]

It's a free chance. Basically, despite being caught in a compromising situation or in the middle of a plan with little to no hope, they luck out into an excuse or development that turns things around with little to no effort on their part.

[@bribraybrai]

nice

[@carisfore3606]

WHAT DOES IT EVEN MEAN SKJFLSH

[@findon2467]

I think it just means when a character is in a pickle, something shows up that just solves all the problems! Eg. Lucille being sick of her son snoring, going in and hitting him with a stick until she realised he was actually already gone, problem solved!

[@tranquilitybasehotelcasino2932]

@@findon2467 thank you omg i was trying to figure out the link between all the scenes

[@findon2467]

@@tranquilitybasehotelcasino2932 no problem at all!! :)

[@NTWoo95]

Yeah it’s like the universe giving them an easy win by solving their problems

[@gkceu8157]

Not season 4, please. It doesn't exist.

[@Daxiel-vk7wj]

Ew. Imagine including seasons 4 and 5

[@andrewdate4955]

I love all my seasons equally.

[@Daxiel-vk7wj]

@@andrewdate4955 😧

[@weasel4674]

@@andrewdate4955 I don’t care for the remix

[@FrenkTheJoy]

Ew. Imagine being a jerk about someone compiling the running gags in a series and including all the seasons of that series.

[@Daxiel-vk7wj]

@@FrenkTheJoy 👈🤣

[@petelarosa282]

CHRIST is the ONLY WAY to heaven 🙏💔❤️😇🙏.

[@andrewberdahl9922]

Only way to delusion

[@milkismurder]

Christ already got me into heaven? Well that was a freebie

[@yiuii8777ujjij]

based

[@bobross378]

loll i didnt even realize it was a running gag, honestly this show was so thoughtfully written its kinda insane