This column follows the ABC show “Modern Family,” which airs at 9 PDT on Wednesdays. Check here regularly for a synopsis and commentary on each episode.
After the Dec. 8 episode, “Modern Family” went on its winter hiatus. Commentaries on episodes that aired after the break are available in ‘Modern Family’ commentary, Part II.
‘Dance Dance Revelation’ (Ep. 10)
Originally aired on Dec. 8, 2010
Manny and Luke prepare for their first school dance by shopping at the mall. Manny wants a teal pocket square, while Luke is in desperate need of a new suit. Both Phil and Jay take the boys for their shopping extravaganza. As Phil is about to park the car, another driver takes the spot. Jay says that Phil should get angry and fight for the spot, but Phil explains that it is not important.
Mitchell and Cam take Lily to the park and are informed by another mother that their daughter bit her son. Both Cam and Mitchell are defensive, claiming that Lily has never bitten anyone before and that the mother is blaming them because they are gay parents.
To prepare for the school dance, the mothers volunteer and decorate the auditorium for their respective kids. Claire has been actively involved in this process ever since Haley was 12, so she feels Gloria is stealing the spot light. The other mothers like Gloria’s ideas, causing Claire to become jealous.
While at the mall, Manny finds the pocket square he needs and Luke finds a suit on sale. Unfortunately for Manny, Luke had bought the same color tie as him. As the boys wait in line to pay, a man cuts in front of them, frustrating Jay.
Immediately afterward, Phil leaves to find Luke some socks. Jay then sees the guy who “stole their parking spot.” Jay goes over to confront the guy, but finds out that his dog had died, causing the guy to cry in Jay’s arms. While Phil is looking for socks, a salesman sprays Oasis for Men in Phil’s face. This flusters Phil, causing him to go crazy and attack the man with the cologne.
Phil is arrested for spraying the salesman with Oasis for Men. Jay comes to get Phil and explains that it is his fault for putting too much pressure on him for getting upset about the parking spot. After Jay delivers his apology, he asks what Phil had done, but then is embarrassed by his son-in-law’s actions.
Mitchell and Cam learn that Lily is actually biting. They blame each other because she learns from their actions. To stop her habits, Mitchell reads what other parents have done on an online forum.
The boys go to the dance wearing matching ties. While the dance is going on, Claire realizes that the dance is really about the kids, not what is happening between Gloria and herself.
Since Lily had seen her dads fighting over the online suggestions, she is now hitting people. While Mitchell is brushing Lily?s teeth, Cam receives a phone call from a friend who was attacked by a man spraying cologne on him.
This episode was entertaining to watch, as it showcased everyone’s quirky personalities. Phil and Claire were the highlight of the episode, displaying their personalities perfectly.
My favorite part of the episode is when Phil attacks the salesman with cologne. As always, this show makes me laugh with its quick, humorous wit that is easily relatable.
‘Mother Tucker’ (Ep. 9)
Originally aired on Nov. 24, 2010
Haley is being tutored by David, whom she likes due to their make-out sessions. Claire tells Haley that if she likes David, then she needs to break up with Dylan. Phil thinks the only reason Claire wants Haley to break up with Dylan is because he is not good enough for their daughter.
Cameron’s mom, Barb, comes to visit. Mitchell likes Barb, except for the fact that she touches him very inappropriately. Since Cam thinks his mom is the best mother in the world, Mitchell hesitates to complain to Cameron about her uncomfortable manners.
Jay complains about not feeling well, but Gloria says that Americans are babies. She explains how, in Colombia, people would do the toughest things to survive. In a cutscene, she demonstrates this by ramming her shoulder into the wall to set it back into place after dislocating it during ping-pong.
Dylan comes to the Dunphy house to get back his stuff. While Dylan is in Haley’s room, Phil walks in and bonds with him. Later, Dylan and Phil go shopping for a guitar. After the shopping, both Phil and Dylan get something to eat; while Phil is away from the table, Haley sees Dylan and concludes that he is dating someone.
To get Cam to notice his mother’s inappropriate actions, Mitchell attempts to have her touch him in Cam’s presence. By doing this, Cam thinks Mitchell is throwing himself at Barb, when in reality Cam happens to have his back turned during the improper moments. After Cam notices Mitchell’s behavior, they retreat to Lily’s room to discuss it. Soon after, Barb walks in and hears the accusations.
Jay and Manny surf the Web to figure out what is wrong with him. Gloria walks in and tells Jay to deal with the pain, because he will be fine. After Gloria leaves, Jay tells Manny to give him a 15-minute head start to the hospital before he tells his mother. When Jay arrives to the hospital, the doctor informs him that he has acute appendicitis and will need emergency surgery. Gloria feels guilty that she did not believe Jay and consequently had made him suffer for two days.
Barb makes amends with Mitchell while he is in the bathroom. When all is well, she walks into the bathroom to find him sitting in the tub. While talking to him, she drops her bracelet into the tub and, without hesitation, reaches after it. Soon after, Cam walks in and explains to his mother that this is one of those moments that make Mitchell uncomfortable.
Haley is missing Dylan, because he was her first boyfriend. She is also jealous, since she thinks he is already dating someone else. Dylan comes over, and the truth is out that he had been with Phil and not with a girl. Haley wants to get back with Dylan, but he says he needs time to be with himself before he dates again. Phil comforts his daughter by saying, “I know it hurts because it was a relationship worth having.”
Since last week’s episode was really good, this episode was somewhat disappointing in comparison. Even though it was entertaining, the episode was pretty average.
I was sad that this episode did not revolve around Thanksgiving, because it would be entertaining to watch the large, complex family during the holiday. However, I look forward to the Christmas season and anticipate what the Pritchett clan will do.
‘Manny Get Your Gun’ (Ep. 8)
Originally aired on Nov. 17, 2010
The Pritchett family is celebrating Manny?s birthday, but everyone except Jay, Claire and Mitchell is running late. Claire attempts to get her family moving, but fails due to both Luke and Phil not wearing shoes. As Mitchell and Cam leave the mall for the restaurant, vendors distract Cam, causing Mitchell to get frustrated.
As the Dunphys are trying to leave their house, Phil brings up family camp from the previous summer. Besides Phil, nobody liked camp. Since Phil was on the white team last year, Claire points out that he has learned nothing by wearing a shirt saying, “If you ain’t white, you ain’t right,? while encountering an African American cab driver. Phil could not understand why the man was upset at him.
After the dispute about family camp, Phil and Claire fight over which route to the restaurant would be faster. To settle this, both decide to separate and take separate cars.
For his birthday Jay gives Manny a pistol BB gun. Even though the package said 16 and up, Jay tells Manny that he was born 16. This hits Manny hard, since he feels like he has missed out on his childhood. While this is occurring, Gloria is roaming around the house like a mad woman, looking for her car keys.
While Claire is driving with Luke, she explains that the system works if people drive the designated speed limit. Luke, unfortunately, thinks his parents are actually separating, but Claire clarifies and is wondering why Luke chooses Phil over her. Unlike Claire, Phil is driving crazy to prove a point to his wife and does not pay attention to the road, almost getting into an accident.
As Cam and Mitchell leave the outdoor mall, they encounter an old man trying to win back what appears to be his wife after an argument. Cam helps them and eventually learns that the woman is actually the man’s mistress; both Cam and Mitchell immediately leave.
To relive his childhood, Manny makes a prank call and mixes together different sodas. Manny reveals to Jay that he needs to do all of the childish things while he still has time. While Manny is goofing around, Gloria is still looking for her keys. Jay finds Gloria?s keys and puts them into her purse, to make it seem like she had found them.
Jay tells his wife to look in her purse. When she finds her keys, she is upset that he put them in there. While the dispute is taking place, Manny is in the pool explaining that he no longer wants to go out for his party. Gloria is furious and says no while shooting his inflatable lounger. Manny and Jay both freak out, not realizing that Gloria has a deadly shot. To get her family moving, Gloria says that Jay is a boy who does not want to admit that he is wrong and Manny is an old man.
After Cam and Mitchell depart from the old couple, they get into an argument about being spontaneous. While they discuss this, a flash mob occurs in the middle of the mall and Mitchell jumps in. Mitchell had known about the flash mob from a coworker and had learned the dance, but Cam is upset that Mitchell jumped in without him.
Claire asks Luke why he would want to live with Phil instead of her. Luke’s response is that his dad is a lot more fun than his mom. Claire tells Luke that today he will have two fun parents and speeds off. Everyone in the Prichett clan is speeding off toward the restaurant and almost gets into one giant accident.
While at dinner, Manny says that he has plenty of time to act like a kid, since everyone else is still a kid. After Manny gives his speech, the family forgives their partner for whatever they had been fighting about before. Later, Jay once again finds Gloria’s keys and attempts to put them into an icebox, but Gloria shoots off the lid with the BB gun, causing Jay to retreat with his hands up.
This episode was by far one of my favorites this season, surpassing the Halloween episode. I personally enjoyed the flash mob, because it brought back entertaining memories of a flash mob which occurred at our school last year.
In addition, I thought Gloria was hilarious with her deadly shot. She is someone who I would not suspect to have an accurate shot, so this side of her makes her very intimidating. I really enjoyed this episode and look forward to next week.
‘Chirp’ (Ep. 7)
Originally aired on Nov. 3, 2010
At the Dunphy house, a chirping smoke alarm is causing Phil to go on a rampage to find which alarm needs a new battery. As Phil is running around the house, Claire informs him that she is sick but does not have time to recover. Phil tells her to stay home and that he will take care of everything.
Haley?s boyfriend, Dylan, comes to pick her up for school. Claire thinks that Haley should date other guys and explore her options instead of settling for Dylan. Over at the young Pritchetts’ house, Cam tries to get Lily an audition for a local commercial, but Mitchell wants her to have a normal childhood.
Gloria celebrates all “major” milestones in her relationship with Jay, but Jay does not remember every event. For lunch, Gloria and Manny come to pick up Jay; however, while there, Manny drives a forklift through a wall. Since Manny had gotten hurt, Jay fires the guy responsible for letting a child ride dangerous machinery. Manny wants to give the guy another chance, but Jay immediately says that it is his business and he will run it how he wants to.
In addition to Claire, Haley develops a cold, causing her to stay home with her mother and watch soap operas. While sick, Dylan calls Haley, firing up Claire’s emotions about her daughter’s choice in men. While fixing the fire detectors, Phil calls a client to inform them that a house price has dropped. After Phil ends his phone call, Luke walks in wearing an astronaut’s helmet to prevent himself from getting sick.
Claire makes references from the soap opera to Haley to imply how she should date other guys. Haley thinks that her mom is referring to her relationship with Phil, causing Haley to worry that her parents are not in a strong relationship.
Mitchell finds out that Cam got Lily the part in the commercial and is upset that he went behind his back. While there, Mitchell realizes that, not only is Cam living through his daughter, but the commercial stereotypes Asians. Soon after, Cam comes to understand what Mitchell means and pulls his daughter out of the commercial.
Jay has no idea where he is meeting Gloria for dinner, so he attempts to get the information from both Gloria and Manny. Manny initially refuses to tell Jay where dinner is. But before Jay leaves, he calls Manny his own kid, causing Manny to break down and reveal where Jay should meet Gloria.
Back at the Dunphy house, Claire and Haley talk about guys, and Haley tells her mom that she needs to stick to her commitment. This causes a red flag with Claire; but, before she could say anything, Phil goes crazy and breaks the fire alarms off the wall. Claire goes to Phil and tells him that she knows that this month has been stressful for him, wanting him to lean on her more for help. Haley sees her parents “make up” and thinks that she fixed her parents. Phil eventually realizes that it is the fire alarm in the attic that is chirping.
This episode was not extremely funny like that of the previous week, but it was still entertaining. I found the situation of the chirping fire alarm to be humorous, as I can relate to the difficulty of finding an alarm in need of new batteries.
Another element I thought was good was the miscommunication between Claire and Haley, because when people try to be discreet about things it is very easy for them to be misinterpreted. The other aspects of the episode were entertaining but were not highlights for me. As always, I look forward to next week’s episode.
‘Halloween’ (Ep. 6)
Originally aired on Oct. 27, 2010
As Halloween is around the corner, members of the Dunphy family play practical jokes on each other. Since Mitchell had recently changed his job, he does his best to not be the new guy. He overhears some co-workers who are dressing up, and decides that he will take part in their fun.
To prepare for Halloween, the Dunphys decorate their house as the “House of Horrors.” Alex has no idea what she will be for Halloween, but Haley dresses as a black cat. This risque costume causes Claire to lash out at her daughter, forcing her to find new attire.
While the chaos is occurring at the Dunphys’, Claire is on the phone with Jay asking if they have their costumes. To answer his daughter, Jay asks Gloria about the costumes, but he cannot understand what she is saying through her accent.
Mitchell goes to work dressed up as Spiderman, but immediately realizes that only two guys are dressed up. He freaks out because he is the new guy, and he does not want to be associated with the “dorks.”
To save himself from embarrassment, Mitchell wears a suit over his Spiderman costume; he is grateful that he had left the dry-cleaning in the car. With every step, Mitchell makes noticeable noise, which annoys his boss at the firm. His co-workers notice that Mitchell has been working out, since they can see his “muscles.”
Mitchell goes into the bathroom to change out of his Spiderman costume. However, he drops some clothes in the toilet, and the janitor walks out with his shirt. Mitchell calls Cam for help, but then realizes that, being Spiderman, he can scale the building to get to his car. Much to his chagrin, he sets off the car alarms, eliciting attention from the entire office.
Haley presents her new costume by dressing as Mother Teresa (“when she was hot”). Claire is not OK with her daughter’s outfit, and covers her up.
The entire clan is gathered at the Dunphy house to scare children. Claire and Phil are a dead bride and groom, Jay is a gargoyle, Mitchell is a scarecrow and Gloria is a “bruja” (witch). To the surprise of everyone else, Gloria speaks with an American accent, as a result of Jay’s criticism.
As kids walk through the house, all of Claire’s plans go awry. Claire gets upset because Halloween is her only holiday, since everyone else in the family takes charge of the other holidays. As Phil calms Claire down, the family runs the ?House of Horrors? correctly, pleasing Claire.
Shortly after, the family once again pokes fun at Gloria for pronouncing words wrong. At first Gloria finds it funny; but it goes too far, so she kicks everyone out of her house.
This episode is by far the best this season. I love the practical Halloween jokes that the family plays on each other. The embarrassment Mitchell faces is hilarious, since Halloween can present some awkward moments.
Even though Haley had attempted to dress inappropriately, I was glad to see Claire object to her daughter’s costume choice. Although this episode involves Halloween, the theme is presented very well. As I was entertained throughout this entire episode, I am eagerly anticipating the next.
‘Unplugged’ (Ep. 5)
Originally aired on Oct. 20, 2010
During the night, a neighborhood dog sporadically barks, preventing Manny from sleeping. Jay makes a joke about the situation, explaining that Gloria can sleep through it because she is Colombian. This bothers Gloria, but she moves on and knows it is just Jay.
Mitchell discovers that Lily?s friends are no longer available for play dates due to their enrollment in preschool. Both Cam and Mitchell freak out, feeling that they have missed the opportunity, and that she will forever be behind the other kids.
At the Dunphy house, nobody is talking to each other because they are all on electronics. This frustrates Claire, so she tells everyone to put down their devices. While Claire is dealing with her family, Mitchell calls; he is upset that Lily is not in preschool, and asks Claire to set up a meeting with the preschool her kids went to. Mitchell explains that Lily should attend the expensive private school, Billingsley Academy, but Claire says it is unnecessary.
Gloria and Jay talk to the neighbor about his dog and ask why he barks a lot, causing a fight. Tthe neighbor lashes back, explaining how he never complains about their parrot. The Pritchetts do not own a parrot, however; the neighbor was referring to Gloria.
Both Claire and Phil make a house rule that everyone in the family will give up electronics. Alex is upset because she has a paper to write and cannot use the Internet, but has to write the old-fashioned way. To make it interesting, Phil says that whoever can last the longest without using electronics will get whatever they want: Alex, a new computer; Luke, chicken pot pie; and Haley, a new car. Phil makes the promise to all of the kids, and Claire is upset because she has no faith that her husband will outlast their kids.
Mitchell and Cameron have an interview at Wagon Wheel preschool for Lily. The secretary says to them that they are a shoe-in at any preschool because they are a gay couple with a minority child. Schools like to brag about diversity, so she feels that any school would love to have them.
The neighbor accuses Gloria for taking his dog, because the dog is no longer in the backyard. Jay is worried that Gloria had killed the dog, remembering how she once brutally killed a rat with a shovel.
Alex is upset because she received a B on her paper. Her father is happy for her, but she explains how awful it is and how her information was outdated, due to the lack of Internet use. Alex quits the no-electronics policy along with Luke, who wants to watch videos on YouTube. Haley asks for a bar of soap and a black marker for an “art project.”
Since Mitchell and Cameron are in “high demand,” they schedule an interview at Billingsley. Even though Wagon Wheel wants them, Mitchell takes a chance for this school.
Jay and Manny go into the garage and check on Gloria’s shovel. Gloria catches them and is upset that they do not trust her. Gloria explains to Jay that the dog is in a better place. Immediately after, Gloria shows Jay photos of the dog at its new home on a farm. Jay explains that it is not OK to steal and plays the Colombian card, causing Gloria to get upset. Later, Jay buys tickets to Colombia, so he can learn and experience her culture.
Mitchell and Cam interview at Billingsley, saying that it is the “Hogwarts of preschools.” When Cam asks Mitchell if he thinks they will get accepted, his response is “We’re queer, we’re here.” Immediately afterward, the guys see a disabled interracial lesbian couple with an African child. This causes Cam to tell the admissions officer that he has Cherokee in him, so they blow the interview.
Both Claire and Phil hear Haley talking on the cell phone, and catch her “texting.” Therefore Phil thinks he won, and uses the Internet. However, Haley had fooled them with her black soap “cell phone.” Haley is upset when her parents inform her that she will no longer receive a car.
The highlight of the episode is the Dunphys’ competition with electronics. It amazes me that Haley wins, since teenagers are so dependent on electronic devices.
Like always, the jokes Jay makes toward Gloria are funny, even though some viewers may take offense to them. This episode provided a lot of lighthearted comedy, which constantly elicited laughs from me. I look forward to next week’s episode.
‘Strangers on a Treadmill’ (Ep. 4)
Originally aired on Oct. 13, 2010
Phil is attending a banquet for his real estate business, and prepares his speech by writing jokes on index cards. Luke thinks his father is hilarious, but Claire says Phil is just not funny.
When Jay is invited to a co-worker’s daughter’s quincea
