S08.E13: Do It Yourself

[Artsda]

Quote

Feeling empowered after his successful do-it-yourself project, Phil convinces Jay to co-invest in a property he has always wanted to develop. Meanwhile, Claire's new obsession with a TV chef and her new love of cooking Sunday dinners hasn't been as tasty as she thinks.  

Peyton Manning Guest Stars.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Artsda

[voiceover]

When the only thing I remember about this ep is Peyton Manning saying, "All I did was play the ukulele...", I probably should not be posting this week.

[Michel]

This exchange:

Lily: I know he's serious when he calls me "young lady."
Mitchell: My dad did the same thing.
Me: Shut up, Jay.

For once, Luke actually contributed to a funny moment when he slowly got the fire extinguisher ready.  Well, two.  "You're ruining sex for me."

Cameron, Mitchell, and Lily's storyline was pretty funny.  Good reminder that neither one can be self-reliant.  Only thing I didn't get was the wasp/WASP slip-up by Mitchell.  What does the latter mean?

Seriously, Haley.  This is one time you should've bruised your mom's ego, not stroked it and puffed it up.

I hope this Dunphy Tower thing works.  Phil's description of it sounds pretty cool.  And I was really hoping he'd get a win with the dryer.

All of the main cast was present this week except for Alex.  I really missed her.:(

[vibeology]

2 hours ago, Michel said:

Cameron, Mitchell, and Lily's storyline was pretty funny.  Good reminder that neither one can be self-reliant.  Only thing I didn't get was the wasp/WASP slip-up by Mitchell.  What does the latter mean?

WASP= White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. It really isn't a big deal so Mitchell acting like it was was strange to me.

[mansonlamps]

8 minutes ago, vibeology said:

WASP= White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. It really isn't a big deal so Mitchell acting like it was was strange to me.

I think it's pretty insulting to be called a WASP these days.  Plus he was saying something along the lines of "damn these wasps" when the man walked by.  That's why he said "oh not you Mr. Whoever."  I thought it was a clever line in a very unfunny episode.

[DrSpaceman73]

Even if the episode wasn't that great, it had Peyton Manning AND Victor Garber, so its OK in my book. 

I thought his commercial was funny. 

I really don't see how that project by phil would work.  The land is small and its in a bad area and a bad location.  I know he claimed it was some type of up and coming area, but that's a reach. 

[MaryMitch]

I thought Peyton Manning did a pretty good job. Boy, he's tall.

I also hope Phil's development works. It seems like he would have to get a lot more people investing, though; that's a huge project!

[CleoCaesar]

I liked the episode a lot. Every subplot worked well, except maybe with the exception of Claire suddenly being an awful cook. We've known these characters for over 7 years - has her terrible cooking ever been a defining character trait, or even mentioned before?

I hate football so I didn't recognize Manning until the end of the episode. I thought to myself, "This guy's delivery is so robotic. I bet he's not an actor. He looks athletic, maybe he's a professional athlete. Who are famous football players?" Then it clicked. Fascinating story, I know.

[tennisgurl]

Peyton Manning AND Victor Garber in one episode?! This whole rest of the episode could have just been Phil doing his taxes, and their presence would have made this a good episode to me. I love seeing Peyton (as far as professional athletes doing comedy, I think he did pretty well here) and Victor Garber is always a win, even if its kind of weird seeing him on my TV without being a fire throwing superhero!

I enjoyed the minor running theme of "service people and repairmen try not to roll their eyes at Dumphy antics". I also always like when Cam starts going on about his farm boy roots, despite being very "city" these days. I'm all for people doing things on their own and not just relying on their Apps, but getting rid of wasps nests? I think that's a good excuse to call in professionals.

[Traveller519]

How do you have Peyton Manning in your episode, have him do a commercial, and not do a little aside to the effect of "Oh I don't know if I could do that, I don't really think I'm cut out for commercials" or something far more clever?

Based on location, Dunphy Tower would likely be about 10-14 stories at the most, so he's probably lookin at around an $8-12 million construction, a bank's going to require around 15-20% equity on that. I'm assuming Jay could go in for $2 million, but probably won't, Phil himself is probably capbable of going in for $500,000 to $1 million if he's cashing out retirement. Might be a good opportunity to bring in 1-2 other partners as much to dilute Jay as anything else.

[MaryMitch]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

... I also always like when Cam starts going on about his farm boy roots, despite being very "city" these days. I'm all for people doing things on their own and not just relying on their Apps, but getting rid of wasps nests? I think that's a good excuse to call in professionals.

Yeah, that was crazy.  Especially for a nest that large; that many wasps could actually kill someone.

I was a little bemused at all the services available to order via app in a large city. We don't even have Uber here, so the idea of ordering someone to BUILD A FIRE is just something I can't even conceive of doing.

[readster]

2 hours ago, MaryMitch said:

Yeah, that was crazy.  Especially for a nest that large; that many wasps could actually kill someone.

I was a little bemused at all the services available to order via app in a large city. We don't even have Uber here, so the idea of ordering someone to BUILD A FIRE is just something I can't even conceive of doing.

I agree. My brother-in-law last year found a wasp nest four times that size in his basement. He immediately called in the professionals. He said himself: "There is a small softball size and then there is the size of a couch." Another thing that bothered me was Cam's allergic reaction. He must have developed a new allergy to stings if he swelled up that much after just 15 minutes. Of course mud isn't the cure, baking soda paste is and considering Cam's cooking skills. That would have been the better choice. Claire's bad cook? Since when? In fact, there has been raves about her cooking over the years. So, once again, plot drives character. 

[indeed]

I guess Claire's the new Daphne of MF (writers going to the Frasier well again - only she was consistently known for bad cooking unless the plot needed otherwise).  Seriously, she's cooked plenty (Thanksgiving dinners, sauce, kids' lunches, etc.) and never a comment from any of the picky/snarky family members.  But at least we got Victor Garber out of it.  

Edited February 17, 2017 by indeed
Clarification on Frasier reference

[jhlipton]

1 hour ago, readster said:

Another thing that bothered me was Cam's allergic reaction. He must have developed a new allergy to stings if he swelled up that much after just 15 minutes.

My thought was that he was allergic (or just had a bad reaction) to the mud.  The sting was a bit puffy, but not too bad.

[LizDC]

2 hours ago, indeed said:

I guess Claire's the new Daphne of MF.  Seriously, she's cooked plenty (Thanksgiving dinners, sauce, kids' lunches, etc.) and never a comment from any of the picky/snarky family members.  But at least we got Victor Garber out of it.  

Who's Daphne?

[AnnaRose]

I liked seeing Victor Garber (SpyDaddy!!), and was happy to see both Claire and Jay being so supportive of Phil.

The wasps nest thing was crazy.  Especially with Lily standing right there unprotected.  Also, it looked like they let a whole mess of them in the house.

I didn't know who 'coach' was either... and was wondering why they cast someone who couldn't act.   Now I know.

[mojito]

I was under the impression that Claire's recent foray into gourmet cooking was a failure, not her cooking in general. 

Phil: You can't take it with you.

Gloria: We'll all still be here. 

[voiceover]

2 hours ago, LizDC said:

Who's Daphne?

She was Martin Crane's physical therapist, and the object of Niles Crane's affection, on the series Frasier.

Please tell me you just missed that from the context.  Because I've been feeling crone-like tonight, and if it turns out you've never heard of her before, I might cry into my Nora Ephron book.

[needschocolate]

I think they tried to explain Claire's newfound lack of cooking skills on her having a crush on the celebrity chef to the point that she didn't pay attention to his instructions - and the wine wasn't helping. I also don't think this explanation works. Plus, there was no reason to have the storyline.  The resolution was that Haley lies and they are stuck with Claire's bad cooking - what is the point of that?

On 2/16/2017 at 6:40 AM, DrSpaceman73 said:

I really don't see how that project by phil would work.  The land is small and its in a bad area and a bad location.  I know he claimed it was some type of up and coming area, but that's a reach. 

His rival realtor, Thorpe, said it was a bad are and a bad location, but that wasn't true, since he also put in an offer.  And it has to be small because, if it weren't, it couldn't be owned by just Phil and Jay. 

I was happy Thorpe wasn't successful in tricking Phil.  Has there every been another time that Phil has won one of their battles?

[Lizzing]

1 hour ago, needschocolate said:

I was happy Thorpe wasn't successful in tricking Phil.  Has there every been another time that Phil has won one of their battles?

I'd call it a Phil win in the episode when he ultimately sold the house Claire & Cam flipped to Gil's clients at a higher price after Gil mistakenly took Mitch & Cam as potential buyers.  But then Gil outed Phil playing golf to Claire (rather than being at the office) at the end of that episode, so maybe it was a wash?

 

1 hour ago, needschocolate said:

Plus, there was no reason to have the storyline.  The resolution was that Haley lies and they are stuck with Claire's bad cooking - what is the point of that?

This bothered me too.  It was a largely pointless plot.  I thought they were going somewhere with it when Hayley's dish turned out well, but it didn't (yet, at least).

[indeed]

1 hour ago, needschocolate said:

Has there every been another time that Phil has won one of the

I think it was the medallion episode (?) so Phil lost on that, but he did use Lily to give Gil lice so I consider that a win.  LOL

Yes, the chef was REALLY impressed with Haley's cooking, so as her next career maybe she'll be a celebrity-catering caterer. In five seasons from now when she's pushing 30 and still living at home...

[PJ123]

After an awesome episode last week, I should have expected a mediocre one this week.  I hate the forced Phil slapstick and Claire cant take criticism again.  Yawn.  Even Victor Garber and Payton couldn't save it.  :-(

[DrSpaceman73]

2 hours ago, needschocolate said:

I think they tried to explain Claire's newfound lack of cooking skills on her having a crush on the celebrity chef to the point that she didn't pay attention to his instructions - and the wine wasn't helping. I also don't think this explanation works. Plus, there was no reason to have the storyline.  The resolution was that Haley lies and they are stuck with Claire's bad cooking - what is the point of that?

His rival realtor, Thorpe, said it was a bad are and a bad location, but that wasn't true, since he also put in an offer.  And it has to be small because, if it weren't, it couldn't be owned by just Phil and Jay. 

I was happy Thorpe wasn't successful in tricking Phil.  Has there every been another time that Phil has won one of their battles?

It wasn't just gil saying it though. It was clearly not in a great area from the looks of it.  It appeared to be right under a major road or interstate, so not sure how they could build anything very high.  And I believe they said it was only a quarter of an acre, so no idea how they could build much on that small a plot of land. 

Plus brick and mortar retail stores are struggling as it is competing with online companies. 

[LizDC]

14 hours ago, voiceover said:

She was Martin Crane's physical therapist, and the object of Niles Crane's affection, on the series Frasier.

Please tell me you just missed that from the context.  Because I've been feeling crone-like tonight, and if it turns out you've never heard of her before, I might cry into my Nora Ephron book.

I know who that Daphne is but I don't know how she relates to Claire.

The only fictional Daphnes I could think of were from Frasier, Nashville and Scooby-Doo.

[needschocolate]

5 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

It wasn't just gil saying it though. It was clearly not in a great area from the looks of it.  It appeared to be right under a major road or interstate, so not sure how they could build anything very high.  And I believe they said it was only a quarter of an acre, so no idea how they could build much on that small a plot of land. 

Plus brick and mortar retail stores are struggling as it is competing with online companies. 

They have a basement, even though they live in a relatively new house in Southern California where no one has basements, so the writers are not that knowledgeable about real estate, despite having a character that is a realtor.  

And Phil made it through the real estate crisis of 2008 with barely a scratch, so they economy is different in the Modern Family universe.  

In other words, Phil's plan doesn't seem to logical in the real world, but apparently those in charge of the show don't think it is in the real world - or, perhaps, the size of the lot and the state of the neighborhood will be sources for storylines in the future.  

[voiceover]

1 hour ago, needschocolate said:

They have a basement, even though they live in a relatively new house in Southern California where no one has basements

Wow.  Testament to growing up in the Midwest, where weather changes in the spring bring lilacs and tornados, that I just accept "basements" as That Thing All Houses Have.

2 hours ago, LizDC said:

I know who that Daphne is but I don't know how she relates to Claire.

The only fictional Daphnes I could think of were from Frasier, Nashville and Scooby-Doo.

Ah.  So less "Who's" and more "Why"s. ?

[Lizzing]

2 hours ago, needschocolate said:

They have a basement, even though they live in a relatively new house in Southern California where no one has basements, so the writers are not that knowledgeable about real estate, despite having a character that is a realtor.  

Speaking of the basement, it's struck me as odd that they have both a basement and a crawl space under the house (per the early season episode where Phil and Luke go looking for "treasure" under the house).  Does that happen?  I live in the part of the south where there's hardly any basements because the water table is too high and all my northern relations had straight up basements, and no crawl space/basement combos.

But then, MF has always been about 3 feet off the ground of reality; otherwise by now we'd have had a Very Special Episode that sent Claire to rehab, and, as a child of the 80s, I abhor VSEs, so I' cool with it being a sitcom reality.  I just would prefer consistency within that reality.

[LizDC]

46 minutes ago, voiceover said:

Ah.  So less "Who's" and more "Why"s. ?

No.  Still "who" - maybe I wasn't aware of all the Daphnes out there. 

But, now that I know who, I still don't know why or how Claire is the new Daphne.

[voiceover]

/

Edited February 18, 2017 by voiceover
"Humorless" = not a reason to post

[needschocolate]

2 hours ago, Lizzing said:

Speaking of the basement, it's struck me as odd that they have both a basement and a crawl space under the house (per the early season episode where Phil and Luke go looking for "treasure" under the house).  

Good catch - I forgot all about the crawl space.

 

2 hours ago, LizDC said:

But, now that I know who, I still don't know why or how Claire is the new Daphne.

I hope the poster who originally made the comparison will correct me if I am wrong ... Claire has never been known for being a bad cook, and now she is suddenly a bad cook, just because the plot called for it.  This was compared to Frasier's Daphne, but in the opposite sense - Daphne was known to be a bad cook, except for when the plot would call for her to be a good one, then she was good.  Hope that makes sense

[LizDC]

13 hours ago, needschocolate said:

I hope the poster who originally made the comparison will correct me if I am wrong ... Claire has never been known for being a bad cook, and now she is suddenly a bad cook, just because the plot called for it.  This was compared to Frasier's Daphne, but in the opposite sense - Daphne was known to be a bad cook, except for when the plot would call for her to be a good one, then she was good.  Hope that makes sense

Thanks! That does make sense. I did watch Frasier but I guess I'd forgotten all about Daphne's changing culinary skills. 

[Michel]

On ‎2‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 2:47 PM, LizDC said:

The only fictional Daphnes I could think of were from Frasier, Nashville and Scooby-Doo.

Off-topic, I know, but there was a Daphne on The Snorks, too.

[Nordly Beaumont]

On 2/17/2017 at 8:46 AM, needschocolate said:

 

I think they tried to explain Claire's newfound lack of cooking skills on her having a crush on the celebrity chef to the point that she didn't pay attention to his instructions - and the wine wasn't helping. I also don't think this explanation works.

I think it does work. When the chef told Claire she couldn't cook, she said "I've been making this food for my family for months now. I make a big meal once a week to make up for the time I haven't spent with them. Are you telling me I've been giving my family garbage?" So it works that her regular cooking (which she doesn't have time for now) was and is fine. Her attempts to make gourmet meals while distracted by the chef (and drinking wine) are the meals that are bad.

When Cam wanted to go to the hospital and shrieked "It's my face!" - it cracked me up!

Lily is like my grandniece (who is about the same age) - she just gets prettier every time I see her!

[Utpe]

On 2/16/2017 at 5:29 PM, MaryMitch said:

Especially for a nest that large; that many wasps could actually kill someone.

Like at the end of the 1991 movie My Girl.  Though, they may have been bees...I don't quite remember at this point.

Overall, good episode.  I'm curious to see what happens with Phil's plan to own a business.

[Ottis]

On 2/16/2017 at 3:29 PM, MaryMitch said:

I was a little bemused at all the services available to order via app in a large city. We don't even have Uber here, so the idea of ordering someone to BUILD A FIRE is just something I can't even conceive of doing.

That's not real, right? Just hyperbole for humor? Because how would you know in advance when you wanted a fire? In S. California? Otherwise you would use the app and then ... wait?

Peyton has that earnest, deadpan thing down.

[bkathi]

Quote

Speaking of the basement, it's struck me as odd that they have both a basement and a crawl space under the house (per the early season episode where Phil and Luke go looking for "treasure" under the house).  Does that happen?

Yes.  I sell new construction and in some areas building code, or even the lot, dictates the height of the basement walls.  But Haley's bedroom doesn't look like a legal bedroom (haven't seen an egress window) so they may have fudged some of the construction.   Or its a fictional house and they can do whatever suits the plot.

[VCRTracking]

It's been a week and I'm still laughing at the Asian lady at the door saying "I've here for Lily." and Cam assuming it's Lily's birth mom and saying emotionally "I knew this day would come." and it turned out to be a cleaning service.

Edited February 25, 2017 by VCRTracking

[Michel]

On ‎2‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 9:33 PM, Utpe said:

Like at the end of the 1991 movie My Girl.  Though, they may have been bees...I don't quite remember at this point.

They were definitely bees, and poor Thomas Jay (Macaulay Culkin back when he actually had good looks) was actually allergic to them, which was how and why he died.  For some reason, that scene gave me nightmares for at least two months.

[meep.meep]

On 2/22/2017 at 2:24 PM, bkathi said:

Yes.  I sell new construction and in some areas building code, or even the lot, dictates the height of the basement walls.  But Haley's bedroom doesn't look like a legal bedroom (haven't seen an egress window) so they may have fudged some of the construction.   Or its a fictional house and they can do whatever suits the plot.

Basements are very rare in California and usually are in older houses (pre WWI), or very expensive ones (think wine cellar).  The Dunphy's magical house has an exterior that doesn't match the interior, a crawl space, and a basement.  It's fictional!

I think the state code says that to be a bedroom it has to have a window and a closet, but I'm not a builder or a realtor.

[kat165]

Speaking of the Dunphy's house I am still catching up with this show in reruns and have noticed that the earlier seasons' outside pic of the Dunphy home looks slightly different from the pic used in later seasons. The earlier seasons use a more head-on/face front pic and the later seasons seem to show a side-ish view with more foliage outside. I've wondered if it's the same house. Has anyone else noticed this?