S06.E04: Marco Polo

[maraleia]

 

The Dunphys stay in a cramped hotel room while the house is treated for mold; Gloria feels protective when Manny starts dating an older girl; Cameron wants to maintain his team's winning streak but fears Mitchell is a jinx.

 

[Blakeston]

I found the whole thing with the clueless Nigerian family very awkward.

[Balboa]

I loved Phil in the early seasons but they've really gone overboard with him. This episode fell flat for me. I know a freshman dating a senior would have never been allowed to happen in my house.

[Latverian Diplomat]

The Cam/Mitchell parts of this show are just painful. I believe the "jinx" theme was explored with more sophistication and nuance in the first cousin Oliver episode of The Brady Bunch. I did enjoy Lily dissing the gift basket though.

 

Manny is just not attractive enough to be interesting to an older girl. It would have been more plausible for Jay to worry that he was being pranked.

 

The Dunphys could have afforded a decent hotel with a suite or adjoining rooms, so the cramped quarters etc. stuff to set up the conflict just rang false. I did like the sex grenade scene and the conversation with the divorced dads in the lobby though. 

[truthaboutluv]

Yeah this was just...weird. The football story was okay and so was Jay being there for Manny for his first heartbreak but honestly the Dunphy's story was just weird and frankly pretty boring. And I'm with Blakeston in being kind of uncomfortable with the whole thing with the Nigerian family. I don't know man, the show just seems really off so far this season - like both the writing and actors are just going through the motions which, considering this is their sixth season I guess is not really that strange. 

[CleoCaesar]

This is the fourth episode in a row where all the Dunphy storylines fall completely flat for me. The Cam and Mitch thing was rushed and superficial too.

 

The Manny storyline was the only one that kind of interested me. No way did I think a hot senior was interested in freshman Manny and it would have seemed fake it that had been the case. Jay had a lot of good lines at least.

 

My prediction is that people are going to say that the Nigerian storyline was racist. I thought it was just unfunny. Haha foreigners, amirite??

 

Man, what happened to this show? Some of the reruns even upon an umpteenth viewing are still sweet and funny and actually seem like cohesive episodes ("The Kiss" might be my favorite) as opposed to some awkward jokes cobbled together.

[jjj]

Huh?  Jay and Gloria are in a huge house with a pool and with enough room for many Colombian relatives, but the Dunphys are in a single motel room?  At a minimum, one or two of the kids could have stayed with Cam/Mitchell and the rest with Jay/Gloria.  None of the family pods were in the same scenes with one another, which is very odd for this show.  Even when Mitchell came to the game, he was in a different section.  It was like they filmed this on different days without the other cast members.  And smart Mitchell climbed a fence to get into the game?  (Because if he came in through a regular entry, why not leave that way?) 

 

And what kind of house mold problem that requires moving out is solved in one day?  (I know, it was a week+, but they said a day at first.)

 

Oh, and the funny was missing.  When Lily has the best lines, it's a rough episode. 

[Irritable]

The only part I liked was the end, when Phil was in bed and his head popped up when he heard, "MARCO!", because that's how our Chihuahua pops up from under the covers if she hears a noise in the middle of the night.  Everything else can go.

[Everleigh]

Manny is just not attractive enough to be interesting to an older girl. It would have been more plausible for Jay to worry that he was being pranked.

 

Wasn't there a story a few seasons back where Jay worries Manny is being pranked when he's invited out by some popular kids or something? Maybe that's why they didn't go that route, because it would have been repetitive, but I thought it was pretty obvious from the beginning that this older pretty girl wasn't actually into Manny and had some hidden agenda. Nothing against Manny, but she was way out of his league.  

 

Nothing about the storyline was funny but I did like seeing Jay comfort Manny in a sincere way. 

 

The only part of the episode I found funny was the sex grenade scene. 

[Perfect Xero]

Huh?  Jay and Gloria are in a huge house with a pool and with enough room for many Colombian relatives, but the Dunphys are in a single motel room?  At a minimum, one or two of the kids could have stayed with Cam/Mitchell and the rest with Jay/Gloria. 

 

And what kind of house mold problem that requires moving out is solved in one day?  (I know, it was a week+, but they said a day at first.)

 

The resolution to the story was the kids realizing that Phil booked them in the hotel because he apparently thought being stuck in a small, crappy hotel room would be fun family bonding time, not because they couldn't have got better rooms or stayed with Jay and Gloria. I wouldn't put it past him to have also lied to everyone about how long the mold removal was going to take.

 

Biggest laugh I've got from this show in a while was when Manny came home from his date and tossed his keys on the table, only for them to slide off.

[Shermie]

Ugh, another miss.

So the Dunphys are now so financially squeezed that they have to cram into a B-grade motel and have teenage brother and sister share a bed? Yeah, right. Even with the fake out reveal that Phil wanted more togetherness (?) it was stupid. Why not at least go to a nice hotel? I hate story lines where it seems they thought of a funny situation (or even a punch line) first, and then contrive a ridiculous plot to get to it.

And really, they want more togetherness when they just had this supposedly fantastic summer of family perfection (sans Alex)? And they go on vacay regularly and spend lots of time together. Made no sense.

[Gulftastic]

Manny's attempt to make 'Sex Grenade' sound sophisticated made me laugh, and I liked his interactions with Jay and Gloria but the rest was a bit meh.

[MelsW]

The Dunphys could have afforded a decent hotel with a suite or adjoining rooms, so the cramped quarters etc. stuff to set up the conflict just rang false. I did like the sex grenade scene and the conversation with the divorced dads in the lobby though. 

 

I agree, What about spending a night at the nice hotel where Clive Bixby and Julianna meet up? Instead we are supposed to believe that the Dunphy's would book a stay at a lower budget motel. On the positive side, the Sex Grenade scene did make me laugh.

 

Mitchell going on and on and on about his lack of support for Cam when Lily was talking to him...my god. I wanted to hit him. The Tucker Prichetts have become insufferable. I used to think Cam was the worst but Mitchell has caught up.

 

This was yet another thoroughly "meh" episode for me. I am starting to only watch it these days because it leads into Black-ish!

[Latverian Diplomat]

The resolution to the story was the kids realizing that Phil booked them in the hotel because he apparently thought being stuck in a small, crappy hotel room would be fun family bonding time, not because they couldn't have got better rooms or stayed with Jay and Gloria. I wouldn't put it past him to have also lied to everyone about how long the mold removal was going to take.

 

 

I got that implication. And for Phil to be jazzed about "hotel camping"? Sure. But, I thought it was a little out of character for Phil to think that the low rent aspect of it would be an important part of the experience. Phil is a man who enjoys luxury. And for Claire to go along with it for longer than 5 minutes? No. Way.

[truthaboutluv]

I got that implication. And for Phil to be jazzed about "hotel camping"? Sure. But, I thought it was a little out of character for Phil to think that the low rent aspect of it would be an important part of the experience. Phil is a man who enjoys luxury. And for Claire to go along with it for longer than 5 minutes? No. Way.

 

 

Agreed. I almost felt like the writers came up with the family all cramped in the cheap hotel storyline thinking it would be funny and after it was almost done, someone pointed out all the obvious holes that we noticed, like the fact that Jay has a massive house and even Cam and Mitchell have a guest bedroom. And so they threw in the contrived Phil faked the whole thing just to spend with the family. 

Edited October 16, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[peeayebee]

I got that implication. And for Phil to be jazzed about "hotel camping"? Sure. But, I thought it was a little out of character for Phil to think that the low rent aspect of it would be an important part of the experience. Phil is a man who enjoys luxury. 

 

I can see Phil getting the sudden idea to cram the family into a dinky hotel room for the fun, family-bonding side of it. He can be impulsive like that. I can fanwank that Phil talked Claire into it. She does give in to him sometimes.

 

All that being said, I didn't particularly enjoy this subplot except for the end when Claire and the kids were in the pool calling 'Marco Polo.' That was sweet.

 

I really enjoyed all the scenes with Gloria, Jay, and Manny. They had some good dialogue. Loved when Manny tried to be cool and toss his keys into the key dish. As far as Sam, I thought she was dating Manny in order to sabotage the game. Maybe she'd distract him, or maybe she planned on jinxing him. I wasn't sure. 

 

I LOVED Cam's speech to Mitchell about how Mitchell treats him. It was fantastic. I also like seeing Cam being competent and respected.

 

I still don't like Lily or the actress. Her lines were good; her delivery was bad.

 

So, there were some funny parts, but generally the ep was kind of tired.

[Traveller519]

Apparently when your show starts getting a little long in the tooth you can never go to the White Lady has Borderline White Wine Alcoholism well too much.

 

I did enjoy seeing Sam Lloyd and Rory Scovel in the "bar" though. Oh Ted, you are the hotel's resident Sad Sack.

[possibilities]

Lily's story about being bullied was past funny and into chilling. They put her in the ball bag and said if she told they'd kill both her dads. And she told anyway, in the same tone of voice she uses to make snarky world weary remarks about gift baskets. And Mitchell completely ignored her. I get the joke was that he was too distracted to pay attention (they do the same joke on black-ish) but that went past funny and into harrowing levels of negligence.

[Blakeston]

I can fanwank that Phil talked Claire into it. She does give in to him sometimes.

Did he tell Claire the truth from the get-go?

[peeayebee]

No. I meant that he not only told her the cheap motel had only one room left, but also, maybe, that no other rooms anywhere close were available, or that it's best to be close to home, or whatever.

[Miss Scarlet]

Mitch and Cam's storyline is the same every week. They fight, they argue about how one of them isn't supporting the other, etc. It's so predictable. Also, I'm pretty sure they covered Cam's football superstitions in an early episode last season, soon after he becomes the football coach. 

 

Poor Phil. He's always trying to do nice things for the family and they're never appreciative until the end. \

 

I honestly don't understand how this show wins so many Emmys. I like the show, but even during its best seasons I didn't think it was one of the best sitcoms of all time.

[weightyghost]

The thing that was weird to me about the Nigerian family story was that I work with people from Nigeria every day and they speak English. A few had a bit rough English (particularly their writing), and they have a thick accent, but English is one of their official languages.  To not understand it at all? I find that hard to believe. 

[SimoneS]

I loved the Gloria/Jay/Manny story. I agree that it was obvious that the girl was using Manny because she was way too much woman for him. Gloria was right to be worried. However, he is on the football team which gives him huge status in any high school so it is believable that more girls (age appropriate) will be paying attention to him. I cracked up when they were at the game and Gloria said that the girl was looking at Manny the way that she does and Jay responded, except that it was appropriate. Bwah. Gloria really does dote on Manny too much. And when Manny admitted to Jay that the girl had broken his heart and then rush into Jay's arms when he said what do want a hug, I was "awwww." Their relationship really has come a long way from the pilot. They are totally father and son now. Then Gloria's reaction to Manny wanting a sip of brandy made me laugh again.

 

I love Lily so anything with her is good. Cam and Mitch were okay. I got Cam's superstitiousness.

 

I agree with the people above who said that he Dunphys' story made no sense. I don't buy that Phil would go to such a cheap motel when he could have found something nicer for his family. The "Marco Polo" at the end was sweet though. 

Edited October 16, 2014 by SimoneS

[AriAu]

It felt the most like one of the original episodes, but just not quite as funny. Overall, I thought it was good, but not great.

 

I agree with the people above who said that he Dunphys' story made no sense.

 

It is a sitcom, not real life...it is ok if things make no sense as long as they are funny. Putting characters in funny situations in part of every sitcom from when Jackie Gleason and Milton Berle came out of the cave. They put Lucy in a chocolate factory for who knows what reason and it was comedy gold. I thought the cheap motel set up with the swipes of wine from a box was funny, but YMMV.

 

The worst story line was, as usual, Cam and Mitch, who really don't have anything in common or even really care about each other. I'm ok with it as long as it is funny, but it really wasn't last night, especially having Mitch be bad luck only a few weeks after Alex was bad luck-lazy writing.

 

Then Gloria's reaction to Manny wanting a sip of brandy made me laugh again.

 

It was scotch, but not important. Her reaction was funny.

[truthaboutluv]

It is a sitcom, not real life...it is ok if things make no sense as long as they are funny. Putting characters in funny situations in part of every sitcom from when Jackie Gleason and Milton Berle came out of the cave.

 

 

YMMV but that's just it, it wasn't funny and then to top it off, it made no sense. I am hardly one who nitpicks shows and I do give leeway to certain things when it comes to comedies but at the same time, when I am spending the first 10 minutes or so of the show barely paying attention to the "humor" because all I'm thinking is "but why are they in this cheap looking hotel and why didn't they stay with Jay and Gloria or Cam and Mitchell" then the writing is one big fail.

 

But more than that, it comes across as a cheap and desperate ploy for a laugh and Modern Family used to better than this and way more clever with their humor. Finally, I'm sure the writers could have come up with many ways to make the family staying with Jay and Gloria or Cam and Mitchell, funny. The whole thing just seemed not very well thought out and on top of that it wasn't very funny and it made the family seem like they were off in their own sitcom while everyone else was on another.

Edited October 16, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[jjj]

As I said earlier, it was like each family pod was in its own sitcom, because they never interacted.

 

When did so many sitcoms adopt the formula of "three-plots" sitcoms?  "Friends" did it all the time, but if you go back to the 70s and 80s, there was one plot per episode and the characters revolved around it.  I'd sure love to see Modern Family give it a try.  But every single episode has the "three-plots" structure. 

[kaygeeret]

HAs there been a change in the writers or people running the show this season?  I do agree with all that this episode was not up to the usual standard and I basically read a book thru the epi rather than watching it and I seldom do that.

[peeayebee]

When did so many sitcoms adopt the formula of "three-plots" sitcoms?  "Friends" did it all the time, but if you go back to the 70s and 80s, there was one plot per episode and the characters revolved around it.  I'd sure love to see Modern Family give it a try.  But every single episode has the "three-plots" structure. 

That's an interesting observation, one exception being Everybody Loves Raymond. Anyway, I wonder which sitcom started the trend of multiple stories. 

[jjj]

I'll follow this to another thread if anyone takes it up and leaves a clue here -- my point was that an episode like this in Modern Family suffers form complete lack of integration because all the families had completely separate stories and did not appear in each others' scenarios. 

 

Also, when have the Dunphys ever spent an entire week not seeing the other two families?  Again, the situation stretches not just credibility, but the premise of the show. 

[WickedTuna]

The only part I liked was the end, when Phil was in bed and his head popped up when he heard, "MARCO!", because that's how our Chihuahua pops up from under the covers if she hears a noise in the middle of the night.  Everything else can go.

It's pretty sad when I laughed harder at your chihuahua story than I did at the actual episode.

[Tony]

I still don't like Lily or the actress. Her lines were good; her delivery was bad.

 

I'm ambivalent about her as an actress.

 

From the producer's point of view, they hired an infant who grew up with the show and who may or may not have any acting abilities. It's all a crapshoot.

 

Unfortunately for them, replacing any of the actors at this point would be a huge ordeal and potentially lead to negative backlash, so unless they write the characters out of the show with a plausible story line, these actors pretty much have guaranteed job security until the show ends.

[ari333]

I'm ambivalent about her as an actress.

 

From the producer's point of view, they hired an infant who grew up with the show and who may or may not have any acting abilities. It's all a crapshoot.

 

Unfortunately for them, replacing any of the actors at this point would be a huge ordeal and potentially lead to negative backlash, so unless they write the characters out of the show with a plausible story line, these actors pretty much have guaranteed job security until the show ends.

 

But they did replace original, silent, infant Lily (twins) with the Lily they have now. Just throwing that out there.

 

The first Lily was adorable imo even though she didn't speak (too young?) and she/they didn't react to much. I do love the current (although it['s been several seasons now) dry, snarky Lily.  When Lily hated the gift basket it got a chuckle out of me. Scary that the mean girls put her in a ball bag though. Yikes. Was the gift basket part of Cam's superstitious routine though? I felt kind of bad for Mitchell as the presumed jinx and couldn't figure out why he was trying to exit over a fence.

 

Interesting observation as mentioned above about the A, B, and C plots. It would be more cohesive (imo too) if the stories had intersected at least a little to tie them together. I know Seinfeld did it in the 90s. That's all I can recall about the multi-plot format.

 

Gloria is clearly a little much with Manny, imo too; but in her defense, she was right. That Sam chick did not have good, sincere intentions. Jay was sweet with Manny. Warm fuzzies to see that.

Edited October 17, 2014 by ari333

[Perfect Xero]

I think that Mitchell said he was going over the fence because it was closer to where he parked.

[spaceytraci1208]

Jay and Manny's relationship is my favorite on the show...I teared a bit when Jay was consoling him

[mansonlamps]

Gloria is clearly a little much with Manny, imo too; but in her defense, she was right. That Sam chick did not have good, sincere intentions. Jay was sweet with Manny. Warm fuzzies to see that.

Compared to many mothers I know of teenage boys, Gloria is practically a "hands off" kind of mom. I don't intend to judge since I don't have children, but though Gloria is over the top theoretically, it is an accurate portrayal of the times IMO. Jay adds a nice balance to Manny's life and their relationship is very sweet.

[Shermie]

The A, B, and C plots work,when they cross each other, or have a unifying scene at the end. And sitcoms used to always have two plots - one major and one side story. Even then, they often intersected in some way.

This episode was dull, the worst insult for a sitcom.

[DrSpaceman]

I agree it is tiresome we are seeing the same Cam/Mitch issues over and over again.

There is the joke Chandler did on Friends about Three's Company, something like "This is the one where there is some type of misunderstanding", which pretty much covers all the episodes. (and yes, sitcoms in general) You could do the same type of joke for Cam and Mitch. "Its the one where Cam doesn't feel Mitch is supportive enough" Pretty much covers it all since start of the series.

[Arkay]

Whether or not the ignorant Nigerians plot was meant to be racist or just xenophobic, I certainly felt that Jay's comment during the football game was 100% racist....when Cam's team was winning, Jay said " they play like they are from a much poorer neighborhood." At the very least, if not racist it was classist, and I thought it was offensive.

There is nothing funny or original or even " modern" anymore with this show. I'm sure we all thought that the Dunphys could have stayed with family members, but no, they have to be crowded together so that they are on each other's nerves, and "hilarity" will ensue. Then Mitchell will be non-supportive, then supportive, but it won't work out as planned. Overweight, peculiar Manny will think the hot girl truly likes him, but PLOT TWIST, she actually doesn't! And it really feels that Mitchell tried to climb a fence just because the writers thought that making a figurative remark which turned out to be literal would be amusing. This show...so dumb now.

[scrambled eggs]

Apparently when your show starts getting a little long in the tooth you can never go to the White Lady has Borderline White Wine Alcoholism well too much.

 

I did enjoy seeing Sam Lloyd and Rory Scovel in the "bar" though. Oh Ted, you are the hotel's resident Sad Sack.

It was odd seeing those guys outside of Bill Lawrence shows, though that was the highlight of the episode.

[ari333]

This eppy had almost glimmers of its old self for me for a few seconds here and there. It may have worked a little better imo if it hadn't been totally absurd. I know it's a sitcom and I'm on board with goofy or illogical, but wow. Were the brother and sister, at their ages, going to sleep in the same bed? Because that has awkward written all over it. And when someone has to sleep in the bathtub, the accommodations are inadequate. Yikes.

Edited October 19, 2014 by ari333

[jjj]

And we know there is a very nice hotel nearby because of Valentine's Day episodes.  Get a suite, Dunfys!  And room service! 

[mojito]

 

When did so many sitcoms adopt the formula of "three-plots" sitcoms?  "Friends" did it all the time, but if you go back to the 70s and 80s, there was one plot per episode and the characters revolved around it.  I'd sure love to see Modern Family give it a try.  But every single episode has the "three-plots" structure.

I think this is one of the things that made Seinfeld (1989-1998) a ground-breaking show. Only they tied together the threads with twists in the end. I probably wouldn't find comedies watchable if the scenes didn't jump back and forth and the humor shift, depending on the character. No one, not even Lucy, was funny enough to watch for an entire show. Our TV shows today go for the ensemble cast, which means multiple storylines. Besides making shows more interesting, it keeps more people in jobs, and that's a pretty good thing.

[biakbiak]

Were the brother and sister, at their ages, going to sleep in the same bed? Because that has awkward written all over it.

 

Is this really so unusual? I know plenty of people who would have had no issue with that.

[Shermie]

Teenage siblings sharing a bed? Yeah, that's weird.

[sara516]

Is this really so unusual? I know plenty of people who would have had no issue with that.

Agree.....if it was a regular thing, I'd find it extremely unusual, but since this was presumably one night or a few nights and temporary, and one gets sick of sleeping in teh bathtub....I can see them not caring and no one batting an eye at that.

[biakbiak]

Agree.....if it was a regular thing, I'd find it extremely unusual,

 

Yeah, I guess I took too many camping, skiing, surfing trips where everyone sort of slept where they could in the order when people went to bed and this often included siblings (teenage and hell even occasionally adults) and nothing weird, awkward or inappropriate ever occurred. 

 

It was wrong but I did laugh at Lilly talking about her real problems (and I only laughed because its a sitcom) while Mitchell was completely ignoring her. 

 

I also liked Jay describing the scotch in away that made Manny think of the girl who dumped him so that he didn't have to take back his offer of a sip or a defy Gloria. Though I thought it was a little weird for Gloria to freak out about the offer of a sip, but apparently my childhood might have been different. My grandmother used to give me a sip of her delicious mint juleps when I was his age. 

[Perfect Xero]

I felt like the Dunphy storyline was missing an explanation from Phil that his family had been forced to spend a week in a crappy motel room when he was a teen and they'd had a great time, so he was trying to recreate that here.

 

Whether or not the ignorant Nigerians plot was meant to be racist or just xenophobic, I certainly felt that Jay's comment during the football game was 100% racist....when Cam's team was winning, Jay said " they play like they are from a much poorer neighborhood." At the very least, if not racist it was classist, and I thought it was offensive.

Didn't Jay grow up much poorer than his kids and grandkids?

 

Is this really so unusual? I know plenty of people who would have had no issue with that.

I agree. Sleep with your backs to each other and don't hog the covers, it's got to be a lot better than sleeping in a bathtub a 4th night. Speaking of, they should have forced Phil to sleep a week in the bathtub.

[MaryHedwig]

Is this really so unusual? I know plenty of people who would have had no issue with that.

I am bi-cultural and this is more common in one of my cultures than the other.  John Denver's song sums up my childhood, "Didn't get much sleep but had a lot of fun on grandma's feather bed."  Because of cultural differences, I think one line would have been warranted as a poster mentioned above about not hogging the covers.  Whatever the family convention, the children were sleeping three feet away from their parents so nothing but sleeping and tossing was going to happen anyway.

[MaryMitch]

About the Nigerian family - coincidentally the day after watching this episode the lady I worked with was telling me about a Nigerian guy she used to supervise (we were discussing Ebola and burial customs). She said that that even though the husband was a student at the local university (she ran the cafeteria), his English was pretty bad and his wife spoke no English. So apparently that part of the plot was realistic.

[needschocolate]

When the Dumphy kids found out that Claire had her own room, they all decide to go stay with Claire.  I thought the ending was going to be Phil being sad and lonely in a clean room with freshly made beds (since he would have the room to himself, everyone else's stuff would be out) and then we'd see Claire and the kids fighting and arguing in Claries now very messy room.