Bixby's Back
Encyclopedia
"Bixby's Back" is the fourteenth episode of the American comedy television series, Modern Family
' s second season
and the 38th episode overall. It originally aired February 9, 2011 on the American Broadcasting Company
(ABC). The episode was written by Danny Zucker, and directed by Chris Koch
.
In the episode, Claire (Julie Bowen
) and Phil (Ty Burrell
) decide to reprise their role-playing
adventure from the previous Valentine's Day episode, "My Funky Valentine
", Jay's (Ed O'Neill
) elaborate Valentine's surprise for Gloria (Sofía Vergara
) keeps getting held up, an admirer comes between Cameron (Eric Stonestreet
) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson
).
"Bixby's Back" received generally mixed reviews from critics with many saying it was an inadequate sequel to "My Funky Valentine". Despite the mixed reviews, the episode was viewed by 13.16 million households, according to the Nielsen Media Research
, and received a 5.1 rating among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, tying the spot for highest rated episode of the series with "The Old Wagon
" and "Halloween
". It later became the most viewed scripted program of the week among 18-49 year old adults.
) and Claire (Julie Bowen
) decide to have a small dinner for Valentine's Day
in order to avoid the disastrous results of last year
's events. Since they only could get a very early dinner reservation Claire realizes that all the couples are elderly so she decides to bring back their characters from last year, Clive Bixby and Julianna. Julianna has Clive ditch his wife and meet her at their hotel. At the bar, Claire gives Phil the key to her room. While watching Claire walk way, Phil takes the wrong room key belonging to an older woman who was arranging her purse. He enters the wrong room, undresses, scatters flowers all over the room, and opens a bottle of champagne. The older woman then walks in after coming back from the bar. Back at the house, Phil and Claire decide to just act like themselves.
Haley's boyfriend David blows her off to study for a big exam. Manny expects to profit from Haley being free from both David and Dylan and manages to convince Haley to send David a break-up email, she immediately regrets it but her ex boyfriend Dylan shows up with his band on a flatbed of a truck and he sings a love song to her, which causes them to reunite bombing Manny's hopes.
Meanwhile, Cameron (Eric Stonestreet
) suspects Mitchell's new assistant, Broderick (Jeremy Rowley
) has a crush on Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson
), which he denies but secretly affirms. His suspicion is soon proven wrong when Broderick hugs Cameron in an elevator revealing that he is the real object of his desire. While eating dinner together, Cameron reveals this to Mitchell, who still believes Broderick has a crush on him. To see which one is right, the two go to Broderick's house, but after getting a text from Broderick which says he is quitting, the two decide it would be best if neither knew who Broderick liked.
Jay (Ed O'Neill
) plans out a perfect surprising Valentine's party for Gloria (Sofía Vergara
). He hires a home chef to prepare her a meal at their house, but while the chef is setting up, he takes her to a great restaurant that she loves, with the intent to leave after pretending to find that his secretary had not made a reservation. Unfortunately his plan goes wrong; when they make it to the restaurant, it turns out there really is a reservation under the name Pritchett, so they have to stay. Later, the reservation turns out to have been for Cameron and Mitchell, so that Jay and Gloria have to leave again. Back at their house, the two have a fight and Jay has to carry Gloria into the house for her surprise. When the two finally go into the house, however, Jay is exasperated to find the house empty. Gloria goes to the garage to take her car out for a drive. At the garage, Gloria reveals that she had figured out Jay's plan, moved it to the garage, and bought him a new motorcycle.
episode, "My Funky Valentine
". Many plots of the episode were revealed before the episode's airdate by TV Guide
writers Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams. It originally aired on February 9, 2011 on the American Broadcasting Company. "Bixby's Back" was filmed between January 5, and January 17, 2011. The episode also featured the return of Reid Ewing
's character, Dylan, after he broke up with Haley. Julie Bowen
said in an interview with TV Guide
at the 17th Screen Actors Guild Awards
that, "This year's Valentine's Day episode is pretty insane, It's different than last year's. Clive and Julianna are back, but Clive is in the more compromising position this time instead of Julianna."
, and received a 5.1 rating/13% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. This means that it was seen by 5.1% of all 18–49 years olds, and 13% of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This episode of Modern Family saw an increase of 9 percent from the previous episode, "Caught in the Act
". The episode became the highest rated episode of the series, tying with "The Old Wagon
" and "Halloween
". The episode also ranked first in its timeslot and became the second highest rated program on Wednesday after American Idol
. "Bixby's Back" was the most-watched scripted show for the week of broadcast among adults aged 18–49, and the ninth most-watched show among all viewers.
writer John Teti gave the episode a mixed review calling it "fine". Teti wrote that he felt like the producers "was doing Valentine’s Day [episode] out of obligation" and that the writers did not have a "great idea" for this episode like "My Funky Valentine". He ultimately gave the episode a B-. Entertainment Weekly
writer Lesley Savage gave the episode a more positive review saying the cast "proved why they truly deserved the award in tonight's Valentine's Day themed episode." Rachael Maddux of New York
magazine said the episode was a great sequel to "My Funky Valentine" calling it "a solid episode, start to finish". Meredith Blake of The Los Angeles Times said the episode was below the show's usual quality writing that it "it didn't quite have the usual zing". CNN
writer Henry Hanks gave the episode a more positive review and praised Ty Burrell
's performance calling him the "MVP of the week". He later went ont to critizise Mitchell and Cameron's sub-plot calling it a "another sub-par storyline".
Despite the mixed reviews, many praised Ty Burrell's performance. Teti praised both the writing and the acting in the bar scene writing that "There is a fantastic run of writing during Clive and Juliana’s rendezvous at the bar, as every smooth Clive Bixby utterance stumbles out of Phil’s mouth with just the right amount of awkwardness". Maddux called his performance "comedic mastery".
Modern Family
Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
Modern Family (season 2)
The second season of the comedy television series, Modern Family premiered September 22, 2010 and ended on May 25, 2011 on the American Broadcasting Company in the United States. The series is produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Lloyd-Levitan Productions with creators...
and the 38th episode overall. It originally aired February 9, 2011 on the American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
(ABC). The episode was written by Danny Zucker, and directed by Chris Koch
Chris Koch
Christopher "Chris" Koch is an American director of film and television.He is best known for directing the films Snow Day , his feature film directorial debut and A Guy Thing ....
.
In the episode, Claire (Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen is an American film and television actress. She played Carol Vessey on Ed and Denise Bauer on Boston Legal. She is best known for playing Claire Dunphy on the sitcom Modern Family, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011...
) and Phil (Ty Burrell
Ty Burrell
- External links :*...
) decide to reprise their role-playing
Role-playing
Role-playing refers to the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role...
adventure from the previous Valentine's Day episode, "My Funky Valentine
My Funky Valentine
"My Funky Valentine" is the fifteenth episode of first season of Modern Family. It premiered on ABC on February 10, 2010.-Plot:Phil and Claire are arranging their Valentine's date at their usual restaurant, but after being shocked by Dylan's present for Haley, they decide to instead spending the...
", Jay's (Ed O'Neill
Ed O'Neill
Edward Phillip "Ed" O'Neill, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the Fox Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes...
) elaborate Valentine's surprise for Gloria (Sofía Vergara
Sofía Vergara
Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara is a Colombian actress, comedian, television hostess and model.Vergara had been widely known for co-hosting two TV shows for Univisión in the late 1990s. Her TV career opened up for her a window of exposure to North American audiences prior to her first notable...
) keeps getting held up, an admirer comes between Cameron (Eric Stonestreet
Eric Stonestreet
Eric Stonestreet is an American actor, known for his starring role as Cameron Tucker on the ABC comedy Modern Family. Stonestreet has received critical acclaim for his performance in Modern Family and won the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his...
) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Jesse Tyler Ferguson is an American actor who portrays Mitchell Pritchett on the ABC sitcom Modern Family. Previously he played the role of Richie Velch in the CBS sitcom The Class. He is openly gay.-Life and career:...
).
"Bixby's Back" received generally mixed reviews from critics with many saying it was an inadequate sequel to "My Funky Valentine". Despite the mixed reviews, the episode was viewed by 13.16 million households, according to the Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, and received a 5.1 rating among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, tying the spot for highest rated episode of the series with "The Old Wagon
The Old Wagon
"The Old Wagon" is the second season premiere of the American sitcom Modern Family and the 25th episode overall. "The Old Wagon" premiered on September 22, 2010.. The episode was written by Bill Wrubel and was directed by Michael Spiller...
" and "Halloween
Halloween (Modern Family)
"Halloween" is the sixth episode of Modern Familys second season. It originally aired on October 27, 2010 on the ABC network in the United States. The episode was written by Jeffrey Richman and directed by Michael Spiller and was based on an idea by cast member Eric Stonestreet...
". It later became the most viewed scripted program of the week among 18-49 year old adults.
Plot
At the Dunphy house, Phil (Ty BurrellTy Burrell
- External links :*...
) and Claire (Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen is an American film and television actress. She played Carol Vessey on Ed and Denise Bauer on Boston Legal. She is best known for playing Claire Dunphy on the sitcom Modern Family, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011...
) decide to have a small dinner for Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
in order to avoid the disastrous results of last year
My Funky Valentine
"My Funky Valentine" is the fifteenth episode of first season of Modern Family. It premiered on ABC on February 10, 2010.-Plot:Phil and Claire are arranging their Valentine's date at their usual restaurant, but after being shocked by Dylan's present for Haley, they decide to instead spending the...
's events. Since they only could get a very early dinner reservation Claire realizes that all the couples are elderly so she decides to bring back their characters from last year, Clive Bixby and Julianna. Julianna has Clive ditch his wife and meet her at their hotel. At the bar, Claire gives Phil the key to her room. While watching Claire walk way, Phil takes the wrong room key belonging to an older woman who was arranging her purse. He enters the wrong room, undresses, scatters flowers all over the room, and opens a bottle of champagne. The older woman then walks in after coming back from the bar. Back at the house, Phil and Claire decide to just act like themselves.
Haley's boyfriend David blows her off to study for a big exam. Manny expects to profit from Haley being free from both David and Dylan and manages to convince Haley to send David a break-up email, she immediately regrets it but her ex boyfriend Dylan shows up with his band on a flatbed of a truck and he sings a love song to her, which causes them to reunite bombing Manny's hopes.
Meanwhile, Cameron (Eric Stonestreet
Eric Stonestreet
Eric Stonestreet is an American actor, known for his starring role as Cameron Tucker on the ABC comedy Modern Family. Stonestreet has received critical acclaim for his performance in Modern Family and won the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his...
) suspects Mitchell's new assistant, Broderick (Jeremy Rowley
Jeremy Rowley
Jeremy Rowley is an American character actor and comedian. He has appeared in a number of television shows and movies, often portraying somewhat "ballistic" characters, especially on television shows. For example, on the Nickelodeon television series iCarly, he plays Lewbert who is the mean and...
) has a crush on Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Jesse Tyler Ferguson is an American actor who portrays Mitchell Pritchett on the ABC sitcom Modern Family. Previously he played the role of Richie Velch in the CBS sitcom The Class. He is openly gay.-Life and career:...
), which he denies but secretly affirms. His suspicion is soon proven wrong when Broderick hugs Cameron in an elevator revealing that he is the real object of his desire. While eating dinner together, Cameron reveals this to Mitchell, who still believes Broderick has a crush on him. To see which one is right, the two go to Broderick's house, but after getting a text from Broderick which says he is quitting, the two decide it would be best if neither knew who Broderick liked.
Jay (Ed O'Neill
Ed O'Neill
Edward Phillip "Ed" O'Neill, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the Fox Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes...
) plans out a perfect surprising Valentine's party for Gloria (Sofía Vergara
Sofía Vergara
Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara is a Colombian actress, comedian, television hostess and model.Vergara had been widely known for co-hosting two TV shows for Univisión in the late 1990s. Her TV career opened up for her a window of exposure to North American audiences prior to her first notable...
). He hires a home chef to prepare her a meal at their house, but while the chef is setting up, he takes her to a great restaurant that she loves, with the intent to leave after pretending to find that his secretary had not made a reservation. Unfortunately his plan goes wrong; when they make it to the restaurant, it turns out there really is a reservation under the name Pritchett, so they have to stay. Later, the reservation turns out to have been for Cameron and Mitchell, so that Jay and Gloria have to leave again. Back at their house, the two have a fight and Jay has to carry Gloria into the house for her surprise. When the two finally go into the house, however, Jay is exasperated to find the house empty. Gloria goes to the garage to take her car out for a drive. At the garage, Gloria reveals that she had figured out Jay's plan, moved it to the garage, and bought him a new motorcycle.
Production
"Bixby's Back" was written by Danny Zuker, his sixth writing credit for the series. The episode was also directed by Chris Koch, his third credit for the series. The episode is considered a sequel to the first seasonModern Family (season 1)
The first season of the television comedy series Modern Family aired between September 23, 2009 and May 19, 2010, on ABC in the United States. The season was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Lloyd-Levitan Productions with series creators Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan as executive...
episode, "My Funky Valentine
My Funky Valentine
"My Funky Valentine" is the fifteenth episode of first season of Modern Family. It premiered on ABC on February 10, 2010.-Plot:Phil and Claire are arranging their Valentine's date at their usual restaurant, but after being shocked by Dylan's present for Haley, they decide to instead spending the...
". Many plots of the episode were revealed before the episode's airdate by TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
writers Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams. It originally aired on February 9, 2011 on the American Broadcasting Company. "Bixby's Back" was filmed between January 5, and January 17, 2011. The episode also featured the return of Reid Ewing
Reid Ewing
Reid Ewing is an American actor best known for his recurring guest role as Dylan on the ABC comedy Modern Family.-Life and career:...
's character, Dylan, after he broke up with Haley. Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen is an American film and television actress. She played Carol Vessey on Ed and Denise Bauer on Boston Legal. She is best known for playing Claire Dunphy on the sitcom Modern Family, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011...
said in an interview with TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
at the 17th Screen Actors Guild Awards
17th Screen Actors Guild Awards
----Best Cast - Motion Picture: The King's Speech----Best Cast - Drama Series: Boardwalk Empire----Best Cast - Comedy Series: Modern Family...
that, "This year's Valentine's Day episode is pretty insane, It's different than last year's. Clive and Julianna are back, but Clive is in the more compromising position this time instead of Julianna."
Ratings
In its original American broadcast, "Bixby's Back" was viewed by an estimated 13.16 million viewers according to the Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, and received a 5.1 rating/13% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. This means that it was seen by 5.1% of all 18–49 years olds, and 13% of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This episode of Modern Family saw an increase of 9 percent from the previous episode, "Caught in the Act
Caught in the Act (Modern Family)
"Caught in the Act" is the thirteenth episode of the second season of the American television comedy series, Modern Family and the 36th overall episode of the series. Co-creator Steven Levitan and Jeffrey Richman wrote the episode, and Michael Spiller directed it. The episode originally aired on...
". The episode became the highest rated episode of the series, tying with "The Old Wagon
The Old Wagon
"The Old Wagon" is the second season premiere of the American sitcom Modern Family and the 25th episode overall. "The Old Wagon" premiered on September 22, 2010.. The episode was written by Bill Wrubel and was directed by Michael Spiller...
" and "Halloween
Halloween (Modern Family)
"Halloween" is the sixth episode of Modern Familys second season. It originally aired on October 27, 2010 on the ABC network in the United States. The episode was written by Jeffrey Richman and directed by Michael Spiller and was based on an idea by cast member Eric Stonestreet...
". The episode also ranked first in its timeslot and became the second highest rated program on Wednesday after American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
. "Bixby's Back" was the most-watched scripted show for the week of broadcast among adults aged 18–49, and the ninth most-watched show among all viewers.
Reviews
"Bixby's Back" received mixed reviews from critics with many critics saying it didn't live up to its predecessor, "My Funky Valentine". The A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
writer John Teti gave the episode a mixed review calling it "fine". Teti wrote that he felt like the producers "was doing Valentine’s Day [episode] out of obligation" and that the writers did not have a "great idea" for this episode like "My Funky Valentine". He ultimately gave the episode a B-. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
writer Lesley Savage gave the episode a more positive review saying the cast "proved why they truly deserved the award in tonight's Valentine's Day themed episode." Rachael Maddux of New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
magazine said the episode was a great sequel to "My Funky Valentine" calling it "a solid episode, start to finish". Meredith Blake of The Los Angeles Times said the episode was below the show's usual quality writing that it "it didn't quite have the usual zing". CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
writer Henry Hanks gave the episode a more positive review and praised Ty Burrell
Ty Burrell
- External links :*...
's performance calling him the "MVP of the week". He later went ont to critizise Mitchell and Cameron's sub-plot calling it a "another sub-par storyline".
Despite the mixed reviews, many praised Ty Burrell's performance. Teti praised both the writing and the acting in the bar scene writing that "There is a fantastic run of writing during Clive and Juliana’s rendezvous at the bar, as every smooth Clive Bixby utterance stumbles out of Phil’s mouth with just the right amount of awkwardness". Maddux called his performance "comedic mastery".
External links
- "Bixby's Back" at ABC.com