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S08.E01: A Tale of Three Cities

Artsda

By Artsda
in Modern Family [V]

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Artsda

Artsda

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After recent trips take the Dunphys to New York; Mitch, Cam and Lily to the Midwest; and Jay, Gloria, Manny and Joe to Juarez, Mexico; the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan reunites in its eighth season premiere with all of the families converging at home for Father's Day.

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Slade347

Slade347

Was that Joe's first talking head segment?

I'm not a father, but I agree with Jay about how Father's Day is viewed compared to other holidays. His bit with the sausages at the end was great. 

I too liked seeing the kids hanging out and Claire and Phil enjoying themselves away from the kids. The callback to Claire's inappropriate laughter about death was the highlight of the episode for me, though. 

  • Love 4
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DrSpaceman73

DrSpaceman73

Was a pretty good episode, I enjoyed it

PLEASE, PLEASE let it be the case that Haley and Andy stay broken up, which was just slipped in there this episode, as far as I know.  I don't recall it being mentioned before.  Adam Devine for whatever reason (not a big fan of the actor myself, he's kind of "meehhhh") seems to be popping up in commercials and other gigs, so maybe they will move on from this.  Hopefully. 

Kinda of like Joe becoming a casual klepto. 

  • Love 10
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Cementhead

Cementhead

11 minutes ago, MaryMitch said:

I didn't get the bit with the painting at the end - was that supposed to look like Jay?

I didn't get that either.  Because he did not look at all like Jay, IMO.  But I assume I was supposed to think he did? 

I enjoyed this episode with my very favourite line coming from Joe's talking head when he says that he likes to steal because it 'makes my heart beat fast!'  

  • Love 3
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kat165

kat165

This episode had some surprisingly good moments. The show has really gone downhill in recent years. I loved pretty much everything involving Mitchell, that bag of lipsticks was pretty funny as was the "just let go."

And what a joy to hear that Haley and Andy have broken up. I loathed Andy.

The smallest boy is turning into one of those cute sit-com kids and now less of him is more.

  • Love 3
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Tiggertoo

Tiggertoo

I thought the painting looked a bit like Jay.

I too was happy that Andy is no more. I hope that sticks.

It was a cute episode.  And I love the bond between Luke and Phil, each so sad the other was missing the jello display.

  • Love 6
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Artsda

Artsda

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I loved the NY trip and seeing the family all near miss each other. 

Loved hearing that Andy & Hayley broke up, hope it stays that way. 

Joe the clepto was kind of funny.

Manny's inappropriate feelings for relatives is just creepy gross now, he's not a kid anymore. 

  • Love 5
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Quark

Quark

I quite liked that. For me the funniest parts were Mitchell and Cameron's grandma.

Was also rather amused by Gloria's casual reaction to Manny being kidnapped. Can't say I would be bothered if Manny ever left. Always found him rather irritating.

  • Love 1
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Lizzing

Lizzing

Overall, this was a pretty decent episode.  I liked the call back to Claire's reaction to death and consider that a true call back, in that it's an established characteristic of Claire that we don't see often. The Cam/Mitch stuff was good, the Dunphys in NYC was fine, and I always like Gloria's sister. The painting did look like Jay, but to me that was more of a combo retread of the Uncle Grumpy joke (Yard Sale) and Phil's Hispanic doppelganger (A Hard Jay's Night) than a real call back.  And I do hope Andy's gone forever. 

  • Love 1
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Traveller519

Traveller519

Oh Dunphys, you guys do so much of the heavy lifting on this show, both from the comedy and the acting like a real family.. Luke is significantly taller than either of his sisters. Hayley finger wagging WAY up at him was good physical comedy. I also enjoyed, Claire's "That is the first time you have ever answered that question correctly!" when Phil suggested they stay in New York. And the little kiss between Claire and Phil when he called her his little closet nerd was sweet. 

Gloria was pretty enjoyable too with her reactions with her sister, and the kidnapping.

  • Love 3
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vibeology

vibeology

The Dunphy plot made this episode work for me. I love that Luke and Phil are equally awful at telling lies. I loved Claire and Phil making the decision to stay and every scene in New York after that. I also loved seeing the siblings having fun together in New York. It's great that we see that they do enjoy hanging out together because it makes the little shots and burns along the way seem so much more good-humoured and well-intentioned.

Nothing about Mitch and Cam's plot really worked for me. Part of the problem was that it was all in the commercials so none of the laugh lines were new to me but also, Cam was wrong. So wrong! Mitchell did nothing wrong. He didn't want to spend time with a hateful woman he barely knew, was clearly still being held onto by the woman when the family walked into the room, and the gift was so insulting and disgusting (as was Lily's) that Cam should have immediately owned up to that and dropped the whole thing.

Jay's plot about no one really caring about father's day was okay but the Manny/Gloria/Gloria's Sister stuff was boring. Obviously Manny wasn't in any actual danger so I get why Gloria didn't worry. The actual kidnapping was surreal enough that I did laugh pretty hard. Joe is not my thing. He is too cutesy.

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anna0852

anna0852

To me, Cam and Mitch get more painful with every season. It's very very hard to believe that they love each other or that Lily is having healthy relationships modeled for her. I think it would probably add a lot to the narrative if they were to get divorced. They don't seem to like each other at all most of the time and it is a very modern thing to have a divorced couple co parenting. Jay doesn't count. His kids were grown when he divorced and remarried. Having lily as a young child is definitely a different dynamic.

  • Love 3
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tennisgurl

tennisgurl

I actually laughed a few time, and I only rolled my eyes once or twice! Not bad, show. 

I enjoyed seeing the kids hanging out, and YES to the end of Haley and Andy. I liked them more than a lot of people do, but I am so fine with them being done. More of Haley with her family, less of the boring couple stuff. 

I agree with Jay, fathers day is sadly ignored by most people (my families fathers day usually involve BBQ and my dad and I drinking beer while watching old horror movies. It works for us), but his plot really went nowhere. Glorias sister is apparently right to hate her. It sounds like she has been awful to her. Granted, she did kind of kidnap somebody, but it was just Manny...

  • Love 4
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Texasmom1970

Texasmom1970

One of the little things I found hilarious in this episode was while they were holding vigil at the table for Mitchell's Grandmother many of the family members were wearing black shirts and black coveralls.

The holiday thing is the total opposite a lot of thought goes into Fathers Day. Mothers Day sad for me to say I am usually given something late at night or not even told happy Mother's Day until the day is almost over. On the glass half full side I guess I should be happy its not totally forgotten.

  • Love 1
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Michel

Michel

16 hours ago, Slade347 said:

Was that Joe's first talking head segment?

It was.  That was indeed his first confessional.

I think Mitchell needs to refuse any future demand of Cam's to go see his family.  They are very clearly terrible, save for his sister, Pam.

Agreed with the Dunphys having the best scenes of the episode.  I liked Jay, Gloria, Manny, and Joe's story with Sonia, as well.

Unless Andy or Adam DeVine killed any of your puppies or kittens, I don't know what is with all the bile being thrown at him.  I had no problem with Andy.  It was nice that he and Haley amicably broke up.

  • Love 3
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Traveller519

Traveller519

I'm very cool with Adam Devine. I've liked a lot of his stuff including Workaholics and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates this summer, but this role was just not good. Maybe it was the fact that you could see it coming from a mile out the minute Haley met him, maybe it was that they tried to make him so obviously a mini-Phil, but Adam couldn't play that, I don't know. Just something about Andy always seemed a little to caricature-y.

  • Love 5
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VCRTracking

VCRTracking

(edited)

The painting was a great punchline to the episode.

Luckily the Brooklyn Nine Nine season premiere only featured two castmembers, Andy Samburg and Andre Brauer, so it allowed Stephanie Beatriz to come back as Gloria's sister for Modern Family's premiere, which was awesome.

Wow, Luke got tall.

Liked the callback to Claire smiling when she talks about death.

Also loved Gloria splashing water in Joe's face to make him seem sweaty and her being blase about Manny kidnapped. I don't know what it is but that and Jessica on Fresh Off the Boat I find mothers casually mistreating to their kids hilarious.

Edited by VCRTracking
  • Love 6
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voiceover

voiceover

6 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

 

I agree with Jay, fathers day is sadly ignored by most people (my families fathers day usually involve BBQ and my dad and I drinking beer while watching old horror movies. It works for us)

That's a wonderful tradition!!  You made me think back on one of ours: For years, my dad would be on a cycling trip (like "Ride the Rockies"), so he'd be away on Father's Day.  I always packed a box with chocolate chip cookies & a new pair of shorts that he could open on that day.

As far as the ep goes: the jello bit was the only thing that resonated.  Hoping it gets better from here -- last season was a disappointment.

  • Love 1
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Shermie

Shermie

Barbecue, beer and TV? Please, every Sunday is Father's Day.

HATE that Cam's farm relatives wear overalls, ugh. No farmer I've ever met wears overalls, none. And I live in farm country. I agree that Cam and Mitch should get divorced, there is no real relationship there. They're more like mismatched roommates who don't like each other.

The Dunphys in New York was clever and fun.

  • Love 6
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kat165

kat165

While I usually enjoy Mitch, I never enjoy Cam. Hate his character, not as much as Andy, but close. Which is a bummer cause Mitch (and Phil) are my favorites but Mitch usully comes with Cam. Blech. Their relationship is painful. I never sense any love there. And I often wonder if the Jesse Tyler Ferguson doesn't even like the actor who plays Cam.

I also don't like Gloria's sister or Gloria. Although I never liked Sophia (only saw her in a ton of commercials) watching MF made me appreciate her & now I like her, but not so much the Gloria character.

Michel, it's not the Andy character I dislike, it's the actor who plays him. Smug, smarmy, annoying. Andy (as played by DeVine) as Phil would never work because the actor who plays Phil and the character Phil are likeable and even endearing. DeVine lacks that subtlety.

  • Love 4
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jjj

jjj

I was surprised at how much I liked this episode, as I can't stand most of the past few seasons, and still love the first four seasons.  But this had good interplay among the characters, many callbacks -- Claire's weird reaction to death, Gloria's jealous sister, the magic tricks, Cam's FarmStrong family, etc.  Jay and the special sausages, which he missed out on a year or two ago. 

Did anyone catch Haley saying that the couple having loud sex in the next room kept her from sleeping?  And we know who was in the next room, although fortunately the kids and parents never found out they were next to each other -- and are unlikely ever to make the connection! 

I thought the picture totally looked like Jay.  Hulu cut off the final 20 seconds, in the middle of a sentence by Jay, so I'll have to find the very end elsewhere. 

  • Love 1
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Quickbeam

Quickbeam

Everything about the grandmother arc cracked me up. The over the top family vigil, Mitchell's complete lack of interest, the hair pulling, the lipsticks, the fan....I could not stop laughing. Maybe its being a nurse, I don't know but it really worked for me. 

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jjj

jjj

(edited)
11 minutes ago, kakiphony said:

Can anyone explain why Gloria and family were at a family wedding in Mexico when Gloria is Colombian? I am so confused.

People move around -- and it was a third wedding for the bride, so she may have lived other places.  Gloria was married in the U.S.  Plus, it gave the production a chance to dress up the men of the family, and a quick return home.  Much more plausible for the sister to stop by California on the way back to Columbia. 

Edited by jjj
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CleoCaesar

CleoCaesar

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Oh Dunphys, you guys do so much of the heavy lifting on this show

Ain't that the truth. There's always one family subplot that can easily be lifted out of an episode without sacrificing quality, but it's rarely the Dunphys. (It's almost always Mitch and Cam the past few seasons, though.)

  • Love 2
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Lemons

Lemons

On September 22, 2016 at 11:14 AM, kat165 said:

 

The smallest boy is turning into one of those cute sit-com kids and now less of him is more.

I agree.  I would have loved to seen a kid who looks just like Gloria and who also spoke just like his mother.  The whole klepto thing is funny but the kid seems miscast.  All the other kids are so perfect in their roles.

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kat165

kat165

The problem with the Cam/Mitch family is that Cam is ridiculous & over the top, Mitch can be VERY mean, there is no chemistry between Cam & Mitch and Lily can be extremely sarcastic and droll. Now, in small doses each of these things may work but taken all together & all the time as the dynamic usually plays out this family is more often than not very unpleasant and therefore not fun to watch. With scenes with the Dunphy family, no matter how silly/stupid there is always some sort of affection shown at some point. All the actors have great chemistry together, even the weaker actors like Luke. And Phil is a gem.

  • Love 1
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jhlipton

jhlipton

On 9/23/2016 at 2:42 AM, jjj said:

Hulu cut off the final 20 seconds, in the middle of a sentence by Jay, so I'll have to find the very end elsewhere. 

Jay tells them to pay attention to bouquet, texture, and finish.  Luke asks if he can have ketchup and Jay says "We're done here!"

  • Love 4
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Phishbulb

Phishbulb

On 9/23/2016 at 0:19 PM, jjj said:

People move around -- and it was a third wedding for the bride, so she may have lived other places.  Gloria was married in the U.S.  Plus, it gave the production a chance to dress up the men of the family, and a quick return home.  Much more plausible for the sister to stop by California on the way back to Columbia. 

Was I mishearing things, or did Gloria say the bride was 19 and this was her third wedding? I seriously hope I misheard that or else that was a joke in pretty horrible taste :)

  • Love 3
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Indy

Indy

1 hour ago, Phishbulb said:

Was I mishearing things, or did Gloria say the bride was 19 and this was her third wedding? I seriously hope I misheard that or else that was a joke in pretty horrible taste :)

No mishearing, that's what she said.

  • Love 2
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