# Modern Family - "Unplugged" - 10/20/2010



## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

_Cameron, to interviewer:_ "The tribe elders foretold that though I lay with fire-haired man, the giving-hawk would bring us baby with her skin the color of sweet corn, which my people call maize."
_Mitchell, whsipering:_ "Please stop."
_Interviewer:_ "Well, uh..."
_Cameron:_ "Knowledge is her sustenence, like so much maize, which, you'll remember, means corn."
_Mitchell, to interviewer:_ "What if I was a single dad?"

That just made me LOL and cover my eyes at the same time. 

Great episode overall. Loved the cellphone fake-out too. "Holy crap, we've been shawshanked."


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## Ment (Mar 27, 2008)

The preschool interview was classic MF. The other two sub-plots; Gloria/dog and unplugged were below par so as a whole the EP was average. Part of the problem is we didn't see more integration between the sub-plots. It's like the writers took pages of script left over from other EPs and put them together for this one.


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## Family (Jul 23, 2001)

I thought this episode was great all around. The preschool subplot was as good as TV comedy gets.


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

Ment said:


> The preschool interview was classic MF. The other two sub-plots; Gloria/dog and unplugged were below par so as a whole the EP was average. Part of the problem is we didn't see more integration between the sub-plots. It's like the writers took pages of script left over from other EPs and put them together for this one.


I thought the exact opposite. The preschool "Indian" subplot was so ridiculously out of left field I hated it. Some of it was funny, but just not believable. Best part was the lesbian couple with the handicapped partner and black kid and the poker references.

I thought the Gloria "shovel killer" sub plot was great, as was the unplugged. paraphrasing "She Shawshanked us!"

Frank


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## RGM1138 (Oct 6, 1999)

"She left the head out there to send a message to the other rats."


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## Alfer (Aug 7, 2003)

*Much* better episode than the past few...however I agree the Indian things was a bit out there, even for them.


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## nickels (Jan 11, 2010)

I had a better solution for Phil and his wife: buy the cheapest piece of junk car available. That would have been funnier, knowing full well Haley wouldn't be caught dead driving a jalopy around. Then they would have kept their word and one-upped her. 

The best part was the neighbor saying he doesn't complain about their squawking parrot... cut to Gloria shouting "JAY! JAY! JAY!" 
Brilliant


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

I loved the whole show, and all the plots, right up until we got to the indian bit. Okay, I thought the dog was going to show up in Manny's bedroom, either taken there by Manny or by Jay. I laughed at all the kids folding one by one. 

Jay:"What did you do with the dog?"
Gloria:"He went to a better place"
Jay:"That's what we say when the dog dies"
Gloria:"He went off to a farm and is happy now"
Jay:"That's another things they say"

(maybe not exact, I am doing it from memory)

Mitchell: I ran into Laurie.
Cam: Boobs Laurie or adult braces Laurie?
Mitchell: Great shoes Laurie.


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## DUDE_NJX (Feb 12, 2003)

I love the way Gloria says "peekols"


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## Bryanmc (Sep 5, 2000)

DUDE_NJX said:


> I love the way Gloria says "peekols"


I love the way Gloria <fill in the blank>.


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## vman41 (Jun 18, 2002)

DUDE_NJX said:


> I love the way Gloria says "peekols"


Nah, she says it like a Peruvian.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

"I have almost no faith in you."

So many great lines, I laughed out loud a lot this episode.


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

I LOVED the line "disabled lesbians with an african kicker"!


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## uncdrew (Aug 6, 2002)

"...with an African kicker".



Funny show. :up:


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## firerose818 (Jul 21, 2003)

I thought Luke and the blocks was hysterically funny!

"They cut corners and there's no fire escape!"
"I'll cut YOUR corners...!"

That got a huge laugh from us.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

nickels said:


> The best part was the neighbor saying he doesn't complain about their squawking parrot... cut to Gloria shouting "JAY! JAY! JAY!"
> Brilliant


This was also my favorite part, because it was so unexpected. I had no idea what the neighbor was talking about with the parrot, and then suddenly the cuts to show that it was Gloria were pure gold.


pmyers said:


> I LOVED the line "disabled lesbians with an african kicker"!


Disabled INTERRACIAL lesbians with an African kicker.  Even better.

Also great was Claire telling Phil, "I have almost no faith in you."

I can't believe Hayley was smart enough to plan ahead and fake her parents out like that. She's never really been shown to be that smart before. It was borderline out of character, but it was still very funny.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

firerose818 said:


> I thought Luke and the blocks was hysterically funny!
> 
> "They cut corners and there's no fire escape!"
> "I'll cut YOUR corners...!"
> ...


Oh yes, I loved that too. I like Luke stuff more than Manny.



DevdogAZ said:


> I can't believe Hayley was smart enough to plan ahead and fake her parents out like that. She's never really been shown to be that smart before. It was borderline out of character, but it was still very funny.


We are talking about her winning a car though.


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## pudding7 (May 13, 2002)

the Amish thing killed me. "Barnraising, murder witnessing, electric fireplace hearth making"

My wife didn't get any of the three. I thought it was genius.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

pudding7 said:


> the Amish thing killed me. "Barnraising, murder witnessing, electric fireplace hearth making"
> 
> My wife didn't get any of the three. I thought it was genius.


I get the first two, but not the third. I heard something about electric fireplace and just thought, WTF? but didn't go back and listen again to see what I missed.


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## Ment (Mar 27, 2008)

pudding7 said:


> the Amish thing killed me. "Barnraising, murder witnessing, electric fireplace hearth making"
> 
> My wife didn't get any of the three. I thought it was genius.


Yeah those ads for the electric fireplace hearths kill me. It's the Amish!!!


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## Jstkiddn (Oct 15, 2003)

DevdogAZ said:


> I get the first two, but not the third. I heard something about electric fireplace and just thought, WTF? but didn't go back and listen again to see what I missed.


http://www.heatsurge.com/

Thanks to TiVo you've probably not seen the commercials. They are electric heaters or "fireplaces" that are made by the Amish.

Seems like an oxymoron to me. But they exist.


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## omnibus (Sep 25, 2001)

Did everyone forget Gloria's voice setting off the car alarm?


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

omnibus said:


> Did everyone forget Gloria's voice setting off the car alarm?


I thought it was a parrot.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

Ment said:


> The preschool interview was classic MF. The other two sub-plots; Gloria/dog and unplugged were below par so as a whole the EP was average. Part of the problem is we didn't see more integration between the sub-plots. It's like the writers took pages of script left over from other EPs and put them together for this one.


Different strokes. I *loved* the other two plots--classic MF (can you say 'classic' for a show that's barely into its 2nd year?). And the preschool was gold too (gold, Jerry), until the Indian dialog. That was too far-fetched for me.



RGM1138 said:


> "She left the head out there to send a message to the other rats."


+1



nickels said:


> The best part was the neighbor saying he doesn't complain about their squawking parrot... cut to Gloria shouting "JAY! JAY! JAY!"
> Brilliant


Couldn't stop laughing.



pmyers said:


> I LOVED the line "disabled lesbians with an african kicker"!


It just kept getting better & better!:up:

Great episode!


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

While the Indian accent was surprising, Cameron did it to show he was a "double minority" like the one half of the lesbian couple was. I don't know why several here think it was "out of left field" or "out there".


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## MickeS (Dec 26, 2002)

nickels said:


> I had a better solution for Phil and his wife: buy the cheapest piece of junk car available. That would have been funnier, knowing full well Haley wouldn't be caught dead driving a jalopy around. Then they would have kept their word and one-upped her.


IMO that wouldn't have been funnier at all... I thought it was hilarious when they just acknowledged that Haley was correct, it was bad parenting, but well, that's just how it was gonna be.  Typical thing that most parents have done one time or another, to various degrees.


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## jilter (Oct 4, 2002)

Every episode is pure gold.
How can it be just average? ...as evidenced by the jokes just repeated here, it is much funnier than almost anything else on TV in years.

It is a ritual in our house now.

The Modern Family are he best threads on TCF now, they make me laugh all over again!


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

Cam could have done the Indian bit using his real voice and it would have been just as funny and not as left field-ish.

JAY!


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## frankmint (Feb 1, 2004)

The whole scene with Manny in the bedroom was great. Him, oblivious to what "other kids" do. Jay's accusation,

"Your hands are shaking."
"I've had four of these. I think I have a problem."

Great episode, and the kids laughed too.


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## DUDE_NJX (Feb 12, 2003)

Yeah,
"I like that Hemingway gets right to the point"
"it was a HINT, Jay"


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## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

"I always got picked first. I could throw a dodgeball through a piece of plywood."


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## Bryanmc (Sep 5, 2000)

aindik said:


> "I always got picked first. I could throw a dodgeball through a piece of plywood."


Mitchell's squeal after that was hilarious.


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## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

Neighbor: Lucky guy!
Jay: Listen first, then tell me.


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## Bryanmc (Sep 5, 2000)

The neighbor had some great lines as well.

"Not unless it starts crapping money."

"According to my credit card, my wife is currently on a quest to find the most expensive hotel in Europe."


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## d-dub (Mar 8, 2005)

cheesesteak said:


> Cam could have done the Indian bit using his real voice and it would have been just as funny and not as left field-ish.
> 
> JAY!


But the whole point is that Cam always over-dramatizes everything, And when he's backed into a corner or under pressure, he freaks out and something like the Indian bit is what comes out.


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## Jstkiddn (Oct 15, 2003)

"Leave it to the gays to produce the only underachieving Asian in America." - Cam


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## sushikitten (Jan 28, 2005)

Thank you for this thread. We had guests who were chatting so I missed a bunch of punchlines...which were all repeated here!

I did catch (and LOL at) the African kicker.


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## justapixel (Sep 27, 2001)

pudding7 said:


> the Amish thing killed me. "Barnraising, murder witnessing, electric fireplace hearth making"
> 
> My wife didn't get any of the three. I thought it was genius.


Me too. Best line of the night for me.


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## omnibus (Sep 25, 2001)

The whole cast including 3 of the 4 kids was on Larry King last night. I caught it accidentally, I don't normally watch his show. Surely someone can find the repeat/rerun it's worth hunting for.

Little snippet, Ed O'Neill was the only cast member that did'nt have to audition for the role.


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## uncdrew (Aug 6, 2002)

aindik said:


> "I always got picked first. I could throw a dodgeball through a piece of plywood."


I didn't quite believe it though. Cameron doesn't look athletic or strong to me at all. Perhaps he remembers himself that way.

Regardless, not that a funny line to me.


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## uncdrew (Aug 6, 2002)

aindik said:


> Neighbor: Lucky guy!
> Jay: Listen first, then tell me.


That was funny.


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## uncdrew (Aug 6, 2002)

Bryanmc said:


> "According to my credit card, my wife is currently on a quest to find the most expensive hotel in Europe."


That made me LOL


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

"I don't want Jay to se my village, I had 2 car accidents there in one of them I think I hit a goat"


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## zordude (Sep 23, 2003)

Gunnyman said:


> "I don't want Jay to se my village, I had 2 car accidents there in one of them I think I hit a goat"


"Luckily I had a shovel in the trunk"


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## jilter (Oct 4, 2002)

Larry King called it the funniest television show ever.
Good. Fine.
Then he cited Family Guy as the second funniest show on TV right now.


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## jilter (Oct 4, 2002)

More Larry King:
Sofia, when asked the color of her eyes replies, "hahzal".
The entire panel cracked up.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

Jstkiddn said:


> "Leave it to the gays to produce the only underachieving Asian in America." - Cam


That baby creeps me out. It never makes a sound. I think it's a baby brain eating zombie.


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## Bob Coxner (Dec 1, 2004)

uncdrew said:


> I didn't quite believe it though. Cameron doesn't look athletic or strong to me at all. Perhaps he remembers himself that way.
> 
> Regardless, not that a funny line to me.


In the show's universe Cam played football at the Univ of Illinois.


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

I caught some of the Larry King show and he is so unwatchable it was hard to stick with so I turned the channel. I doubt he's ever seen an episode.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

uncdrew said:


> I didn't quite believe it though. Cameron doesn't look athletic or strong to me at all. Perhaps he remembers himself that way.





Bob Coxner said:


> In the show's universe Cam played football at the Univ of Illinois.


I remembered this. It was a 'bond' that he found with Jay and it pissed Mitchell off.


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## Mr. Soze (Nov 2, 2002)

Oddly, after the show I was a little disappointed. But after reading this thread, it was "Yeah, I loved that line", "That was hilarious", "I loved that one too", etc. etc. etc. And there were loads of them. The show has raised its bar so high, that even when not at it's peak, it's light years better than any comedy out there right now. If they can keep it up (I don't know how, but still), this show is destined for the Sitcom Pantheon.

Neighbor: Lucky guy!
Jay: Listen first, then tell me.

Pure gold. Manny and his espresso.


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## omnibus (Sep 25, 2001)

jilter said:


> Larry King called it the funniest television show ever.
> Good. Fine.


Oh brother, that's a stretch. I love modern family but I can think of many shows at least as funny beginning with, in no particular order:
I love lucy
Mork and mindy
All in the family
Dick van ****
Coach
Newhart

Also from the current season,

Raising hope
The middle


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## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

omnibus said:


> Oh brother, that's a stretch. I love modern family but I can think of many shows at least as funny beginning with, in no particular order:
> I love lucy
> Mork and mindy
> All in the family
> ...


ok old man


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## Jstkiddn (Oct 15, 2003)

cheesesteak said:


> That baby creeps me out. It never makes a sound. I think it's a baby brain eating zombie.


I think they have her drugged.  j/k


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## kilcher (Mar 6, 2002)

Jstkiddn said:


> http://www.heatsurge.com/
> 
> Thanks to TiVo you've probably not seen the commercials. They are electric heaters or "fireplaces" that are made by the Amish.
> 
> Seems like an oxymoron to me. But they exist.


They just make the mantle, the wood part. They don't make the inner workings.

They boast "amish made" in the commercials, while the innards are probably made in a Chinese sweatshop.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

kilcher said:


> They just make the mantle, the wood part. They don't make the inner workings.
> 
> They boast "amish made" in the commercials, while the innards are probably made in a Chinese sweatshop.


Maybe there are some Chinese Amish.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

omnibus said:


> Oh brother, that's a stretch. I love modern family but I can think of many shows at least as funny beginning with, in no particular order:
> I love lucy
> Mork and mindy
> All in the family
> ...


I have to agree with this (well, was never a big fan of Coach or Newheart), but I guess if you're under 30, this could qualify. I do think Raising Hope and The Middle (and on it's best days Community) are on par with MF.

I thought this was the best episode of the season so far. While it was so wrong the Indian bit cracked me up. And I love the subplots about high tech stuff. The episode where Claire couldn't work the remote was classic. I loved the subtle point about how addicted we are to our gadgets  The parrot bit made me pause to laugh


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## Johnny Dancing (Sep 3, 2000)

Amazing episode, amazing show. Wow.


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