Analyzing The Arrested Development Family Network

Which Bluth Characters Have The Strongest Family Connections?

If Michael Bluth could teach his son just one lesson, it’d probably be that family always comes first (although “breakfast” is also occasionally an acceptable answer). The Bluths get their fair share of quality time together, but not all family ties are created equal: George Michael is especially fond of his cousin, Lucille’s relationship with G.O.B. could use some improving, and Buster has always been hooked on to his mother.

I wanted to know which Bluths hang out the most, so using transcripts from the first four seasons as my guide, I calculated how many scenes each pair of characters have shared together. Thicker lines in the graph below represent the connected characters were often together and suggest a closer relationship (potentially); thinner lines indicate the two characters didn't spend much time together.

Michael is clearly the glue of the family - he’s the most central Bluth in the family network, meaning he shares a large amount of scenes with each character. Looking at each character’s total number of family interactions might help visualize just how important Michael is to the Bluth family. Keep in mind that the Bluths often gather as a family, giving everyone present multiple family members simultaneously.

By definition, appearing in more scenes gives characters more family interactions. This in part explains why Michael has the most family interactions - he’s simply in more scenes than any other character. Although it’s not always a one-to-one match: George Sr. appears in more scenes than either Buster or Maeby, yet he has fewer family interactions than either of them. This is largely because he was in jail (or hiding in the attic) for much of the series and was visited mostly by only Michael and occasionally Lucille. In other words, he missed out on a lot of family time yet stayed connected through his son and wife.

Overall, these results highlight many ongoing jokes, such as the absent parenting of Lindsay and Tobias, the closeness of Buster and Lucille, and Tobias’ shaky standing as a member of the family. They also point to more subtle dynamics, like the fact that George and Lucille don't spend much time with their grandchildren. Granted, two characters can spend a ton of time together and still not have the healthiest relationship. Sure, Michael and G.O.B. are on screen together quite often, but half of those scenes begin with G.O.B. disrupting Michael in his office or bothering him for favors. More isn't always better, in other words. And if anyone knows that better than anyone, it's Michael. Still, time spent together has to count for something and I have a feeling he would be proud of his stats.