"Charity Drive" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American television satirical sitcom Arrested Development. It was written by producer Barbie Feldman Adler and directed by Greg Mottola. It originally aired on Fox on November 30, 2003. The series, narrated by Ron Howard, follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy, dysfunctional family, who made their money from property development. The Bluth family consists of Michael, his twin sister Lindsay, his older brother Gob, his younger brother Buster, their mother Lucille and father George Sr., as well as Michael's son George Michael, and Lindsay and her husband Tobias' daughter Maeby. In the episode, Michael finds out his siblings have been using his father's car.

Plot

After losing the family stair car because Tobias (David Cross) left it at an airport, Michael (Jason Bateman) begins to go to work on his bike. After a heatwave, Michael is told by his assistant Kitty (Judy Greer) that his family has been using his father's car. Upset, Michael tracks the car down to Buster, who hands over the keys. Meanwhile, Lindsay volunteers to clean up the wetlands, having been told by Michael that she isn't charitable. Feeling out of her comfort zone, Lindsay calls and asks Michael to pick her up. On his way, Michael confuses a woman, Helen, for his mother's new housekeeper, Lupe. Lindsay leaves on a cab, forgetting to tell Michael, and Michael drops Helen off at the wetlands. After Kitty tells Michael that George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) never filed several building permits, he sends Gob (Will Arnett) off to misfile them. Having chipped his tooth, Gob sends George Michael (Michael Cera) and Maeby (Alia Shawkat) to go do it. At the Permit Office, George Michael and Maeby are caught by security, but George Michael allows Maeby to run away, promising to take the blame. Lucille (Jessica Walter) prepares for the Save the Wetlands Bachelorette Auction and instructs Buster to bid $10,000 on her. Buster, arriving late to the auction, accidentally bids $10,000 on Lucille Austero (Liza Minnelli), having heard the name Lucille being called. Lindsay also arrives at the auction, and Michael, realizing she actually spent a day at the wetlands, bids $1,000 on her to save her from humiliation. After leaving the auction, Michael is arrested for the kidnapping of Helen and is put in a police car with his son, George Michael.

On the next Arrested Development...

During a police lineup, Helen confuses Michael with another guy. Having given up animation rights for a show about bananas, Gob begins to regret the decision.

Production

"Charity Drive" was directed by Greg Mottola and written by producer Barbie Feldman Adler. It was Mottola's second directing credit and Feldman Adler's first writing credit. It was the fifth episode of the ordered season to be filmed after the pilot.

Reception

Viewers

In the United States, the episode was watched by 6.77 million viewers on its original broadcast. It received a 3.1 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, meaning that it was seen by 3.1% of all households in that demographic.

Critical reception

The A.V. Club writer Noel Murray praised the episode's writing, stating that "As with “Visiting Ours,” the various plotlines in “Charity Drive” are fairly scattered, though they do come together more definitively by the end." In 2019, Brian Tallerico from Vulture ranked the episode as the eleventh best of the whole series.