Starry Night (Modern Family)
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"Starry Night" is the eighteenth episode of the first season of ''
Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American television sitcom, created by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, that aired on ABC for 11 seasons from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. The series follows the lives of three diverse but interrelated fa ...
'' and the eighteenth episode of the series overall. It originally aired on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
on March 24, 2010. The episode was written by Danny Zuker and directed by
Jason Winer Jason Winer is an American director, producer, writer, actor, and comedian. He is best known for directing the pilot and 22 additional episodes of the American sitcom ''Modern Family'', and for the 2011 film ''Arthur''. Early life Winer was bor ...
. In the episode, Claire and Phil take rival approaches to keeping Haley and Luke focused on projects that are due the next day. Manny's ribbing of Mitchell during a trip with Jay causes tension between the three. Cameron tries to make amends with Gloria for past awkward encounters with a night out in her old neighborhood. The episode received positive reviews and was viewed by 9.18 million viewers with an 18-49
Nielsen Rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the #Nielsen TV ...
of 3.6.


Plot

In the Dunphy household, Luke (
Nolan Gould Nolan Gould (born October 28, 1998) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Luke Dunphy on the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family'' (2009–2020). Early life and education Gould was born in New York City, to Angela and Edwin Gould. Shortly ...
) and Haley (
Sarah Hyland Sarah Jane Hyland (born November 24, 1990) is an American actress. Born in Manhattan, she attended the Professional Performing Arts School before having minor roles in the films '' Private Parts'' (1997), '' Annie'' (1999) and '' Blind Date'' ...
) both have projects due and Claire (
Julie Bowen Julie Bowen (born Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer; March 3, 1970) is an American actress. She starred as Claire Dunphy in the ABC sitcom '' Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which she received widespread critical acclaim. She won the Primetime Emmy A ...
) and Phil (
Ty Burrell Tyler Gerald Burrell (born August 22, 1967) is an American actor. Burrell is best known for playing Phil Dunphy on the ABC sitcom '' Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which he won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in ...
) are responsible for ensuring their children get their work done on time. Claire gives Phil the task of making sure Luke completes a project covering
Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...
while she keeps track of Haley as she has to cook cupcakes for a fund-raiser. While Phil demonstrates signs of
ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple ...
(narrated in voice-over as Alex (
Ariel Winter Ariel Winter Workman (born January 28, 1998) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Alex Dunphy in the ABC sitcom '' Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which she and her several costars won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Ou ...
) tries to convince her mother Luke has the condition), Luke surpasses his mother's low expectations and completes the project. Meanwhile, Haley manipulates her mother into making the cupcakes for her - only to have Claire throw away all the cupcakes after she is shocked with Luke's success. Luke recites his planned presentation speech to Alex, who is impressed until Luke begins talking about how Van Gogh was warning us of aliens about to attack and Alex calls for her mom. Mitchell (
Jesse Tyler Ferguson Jesse Tyler Ferguson (born October 22, 1975) is an American actor. From 2009 to 2020, he portrayed List of Modern Family characters#Mitchell Pritchett, Mitchell Pritchett on the sitcom ''Modern Family'', for which he earned five consecutive nomin ...
) hangs out with Jay (
Ed O'Neill Edward Leonard O'Neill (born April 12, 1946) is an American actor, comedian, and former football player. Over his career, he has earned four Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe ...
) and Manny ( Rico Rodriguez) while Cameron (
Eric Stonestreet Eric Allen Stonestreet (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Cameron Tucker in the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which he received two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Com ...
) hangs out with Gloria (
Sofía Vergara Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara (; born July 10, 1972) is a Colombian and American actress and television personality who received five nominations each at the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards. She is one of the highest-paid a ...
). Mitchell and Jay have a tradition of watching meteor showers together and Jay brings along Manny to get him out of the house. Cameron attempts to make up for slight offenses over the past couple of weeks with Gloria by inviting her to a fancy restaurant. Jay and Manny tease Mitchell during the stargazing; Jay is trying to get Manny to overcome a severe disappointment earlier in the week and encourages him to treat Mitchell as a brother would - teasing, joking, camaraderie. Jay asks Mitchell to encourage Manny to not focus on other children calling him "weird" and the two bond. At the same time, Cameron takes Gloria to one of her favorite little eateries, where he tries to bond by eating very spicy food, to which he has a bad reaction. The two end up finding their similarities lie in fashion, shopping and things of that nature. At the close, the family tries cupcakes that Haley has managed to cook while they celebrated Luke's success. Once Haley is sent to school, they immediately start scrambling to get the horrible taste out of their mouths, as Claire wonders what the phone number for Poison Control is.


Production

"Starry Night" was directed by
Jason Winer Jason Winer is an American director, producer, writer, actor, and comedian. He is best known for directing the pilot and 22 additional episodes of the American sitcom ''Modern Family'', and for the 2011 film ''Arthur''. Early life Winer was bor ...
, marking his twelfth-directed episode of the series. The show was written by Danny Zuker.


Reception


Ratings

In its original American broadcast, "Starry Night" earned a 3.7 rating among adults 18-49 and was viewed by 9.18 million viewers. The episode dipped slightly from the previous week's numbers. The episode ranked 22nd in the weekly viewership ratings and 13th in the 18-49 rating. Danny Zuker is currently nominated for writing for an Episodic Comedy at the 2011
Writers Guild of America Awards The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility The ...
facing six other programs including the ''Modern Family'' episode, "
Earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...
".


Reviews

The episode got mostly positive reviews. Robert Canning of ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' gave the episode a 9.5 saying it was "Incredible" and that ""Starry Night" was a near perfect episode of Modern Family. The storylines were great and tied together in very entertaining ways. The characters delivered what we would expect, while still being able to develop deeper connections between each other. And it was also fall-off-the-couch hilarious. Add the patented Modern Family touching ending and you've got one of their best episodes of this debut season". Jason Hughes of ''
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'' gave "Starry Night" a positive review, saying the changed dynamics "worked better than anyone could have expected." He admired Ty Burrell (Phil)'s "stellar physical comedy" as Phil demonstrated his obvious ADHD. In the end, Hughes stated "these characters still ring more true and real than most families you see on television." Lesley Savage of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' gave it a positive review saying that the episode was "so fantastic". She really enjoyed Cameron's performance in the episode, citing his zingers and stating "...if I had to pick one to take home to watch TV with me every night, it would be Cameron." Donna Bowman of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' gave it an A− with readers giving it a B+. She noted that the episode "impressed with the way it all fit together." The episode wasn't a "laugh riot" but was a "well-integrated episode".


References


External links


"Starry Night"
at ABC.com * {{Modern Family, 1 2010 American television episodes Modern Family season 1 episodes