Truth Be Told (Modern Family)
Encyclopedia
"Truth Be Told" is the seventeenth episode of the first season
of Modern Family
. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company
on March 10, 2010. During the course of the episode, Phil meets an old girlfriend he's been talking to on Facebook
, while Jay accidentally kills Manny's turtle and Mitchell tells his boss the truth.
In the Dunphy family plotline, the family has a notion to go see a movie, but Phil opts out due to conflicting plans on meeting an ex-girlfriend. Claire discovers that he's been talking to her via Facebook for a year, and suspects Denise's plans even if Phil doesn't. Phil believes it to be merely friendship, but shortly after Denise pays a visit, he discovers that Claire has been correct.
In the Pritchett family plotline, Jay tries to urge Manny that failure doesn't necessarily make a person weak. He gives Manny a Successories poster but Manny doesn't really accept it. Jay decides to place the poster on Manny's wall to help reinforce his idea. Unfortunately, the poster falls into Manny's terrarium, killing the pet turtle Shel Turtlestein. Jay creates an elaborate alibi by faking a break-in by a raccoon. Gloria sees through the falsehood and urges Jay to confess. Jay spends the day justifying the deception by relating a similar incident where he owned up to the truth when he accidentally killed Mitchell's pet bird Fly-Za Minnelli and it wounded their relationship. Ultimately, Jay's conscience wins and he confesses - Manny tells him he had it figured out the entire time.
In the Pritchett-Tucker family plotline, Mitchell has been missing significant moments in Lily's development and is increasingly agitated about it. Cameron urges Mitchell to review his priorities and Mitchell subsequently decides that on his days off, his priorities are his family and that he hates his job. He tells his boss he's not going to work on the weekend; his boss tells him if he goes home to consider himself fired. Mitchell leaves for home and initially is ecstatic that he stood up for himself but starts having anxiety attacks once he's home regarding the future of the family. Later, Jay tells Mitchell that he will help out while Mitchell looks for a new job. This help turns out to be merely the poster.
" and the eleventh episode Winer directed.
The episode got mostly positive reviews. Robert Canning of IGN
gave the episode an 8.6/10. He noted the "combo of Jay and Manny continued to establish itself as a great comedy duo". He praised the Dunphy plotline, stating "I could have watched an entire half-hour of Phil dealing with the situation created by a visiting ex-girlfriend." Jason Hughes of TV Squad gave it a positive review saying that "episode was absolutely brilliant". Additionally, "...the trueness and heart of these characters is what makes the buffoonery we often see so much more palatable. It takes it from broad comedy to character studies we can appreciate and care about." Lesley Savage of Entertainment Weekly
gave it a positive review saying that the episode was "pure genius".
Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club
gave it an A with readers giving it a B+. She rated Ty Burrell's performance of Phil dealing with his situation with his ex-girlfriend and his wife "a thing of beauty, and a virtuoso high point of of the season." The other two subplots were "just as sitcom-standard, and frequently as funny". M.L. House of TV Fanatic named Judy Greer
the best guest star of the season saying "because she made Phil look sane and reasonable during her stint on the show."
Modern 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...
of Modern Family
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...
. It premiered on 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...
on March 10, 2010. During the course of the episode, Phil meets an old girlfriend he's been talking to on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, while Jay accidentally kills Manny's turtle and Mitchell tells his boss the truth.
Plot
The theme of this episode was facing or owning up to the truth.In the Dunphy family plotline, the family has a notion to go see a movie, but Phil opts out due to conflicting plans on meeting an ex-girlfriend. Claire discovers that he's been talking to her via Facebook for a year, and suspects Denise's plans even if Phil doesn't. Phil believes it to be merely friendship, but shortly after Denise pays a visit, he discovers that Claire has been correct.
In the Pritchett family plotline, Jay tries to urge Manny that failure doesn't necessarily make a person weak. He gives Manny a Successories poster but Manny doesn't really accept it. Jay decides to place the poster on Manny's wall to help reinforce his idea. Unfortunately, the poster falls into Manny's terrarium, killing the pet turtle Shel Turtlestein. Jay creates an elaborate alibi by faking a break-in by a raccoon. Gloria sees through the falsehood and urges Jay to confess. Jay spends the day justifying the deception by relating a similar incident where he owned up to the truth when he accidentally killed Mitchell's pet bird Fly-Za Minnelli and it wounded their relationship. Ultimately, Jay's conscience wins and he confesses - Manny tells him he had it figured out the entire time.
In the Pritchett-Tucker family plotline, Mitchell has been missing significant moments in Lily's development and is increasingly agitated about it. Cameron urges Mitchell to review his priorities and Mitchell subsequently decides that on his days off, his priorities are his family and that he hates his job. He tells his boss he's not going to work on the weekend; his boss tells him if he goes home to consider himself fired. Mitchell leaves for home and initially is ecstatic that he stood up for himself but starts having anxiety attacks once he's home regarding the future of the family. Later, Jay tells Mitchell that he will help out while Mitchell looks for a new job. This help turns out to be merely the poster.
Production
The episode was written by Joe Lawson and directed by Jason Winer. This was the second episode for Lawson after "Great ExpectationsGreat Expectations (Modern Family)
"Great Expectations" is the eighth episode of the ABC series Modern Family. It premiered on ABC in the United States on November 18, 2009. The episode was written by Joe Lawson and directed by Jason Winer.-Plot:...
" and the eleventh episode Winer directed.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Truth Be Told" earned a 3.7 rating among adults 18-49. The episode rebounded 9% over the previous week's drop.The episode got mostly positive reviews. Robert Canning of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the episode an 8.6/10. He noted the "combo of Jay and Manny continued to establish itself as a great comedy duo". He praised the Dunphy plotline, stating "I could have watched an entire half-hour of Phil dealing with the situation created by a visiting ex-girlfriend." Jason Hughes of TV Squad gave it a positive review saying that "episode was absolutely brilliant". Additionally, "...the trueness and heart of these characters is what makes the buffoonery we often see so much more palatable. It takes it from broad comedy to character studies we can appreciate and care about." Lesley Savage of 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...
gave it a positive review saying that the episode was "pure genius".
Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club
The 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...
gave it an A with readers giving it a B+. She rated Ty Burrell's performance of Phil dealing with his situation with his ex-girlfriend and his wife "a thing of beauty, and a virtuoso high point of of the season." The other two subplots were "just as sitcom-standard, and frequently as funny". M.L. House of TV Fanatic named Judy Greer
Judy Greer
Judy Greer is an American actress, known for portraying a string of supporting female characters, including Kitty Sanchez on the Fox series Arrested Development and Cheryl on the animated comedy series Archer...
the best guest star of the season saying "because she made Phil look sane and reasonable during her stint on the show."
External links
- "Truth Be Told" at ABC.com