Airport 2010
Encyclopedia
"Airport 2010" is the twenty-second episode of the American
television sitcom series Modern Family
. The episode premiered on May 5, 2010, on American Broadcasting Company
(ABC). In the episode, Gloria (Sofía Vergara
) invites the whole family on a getaway to Hawaii for Jay's birthday much to Jay's chagrin.
The episode was written by Bill Wrubel & Dan O'Shannon and directed by Jason Winer
. The episode also references to Lost
which guest starred Julie Bowen
. "Airport 2010" has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics with a lot praising Ed O'Neill
's performance as Jay with TV Fanatic loving Jay's exasperated reaction. Despite the positive reviews the episode dropped three-tenths from last weeks episode, "Travels with Scout
" and was viewed by an estimated 9.32 million households according to the Nielsen Media Research
.
for the two of them—and then surprises him by revealing that she has paid for the entire family to come along. In addition to secretly desiring a quiet getaway, Jay wonders whether Gloria is deliberately avoiding spending time alone with him. Meanwhile, Mitchell discovers he has forgotten his wallet, containing his ID, at home. Mitchell blames his partner, Cameron, for not packing it, although Cameron points out that Mitchell never specifically asked him to do so. Phil
convinces Mitchell that he can drive him home and back in time to make the flight. This annoys Claire
, Phil's wife, who believes her husband should have known how nervous flying makes her and stayed with her. She visits the airport
bar
to calm her nerves, where she sees Jay and reassures him that Gloria loves him. Their conversation brings up the fact that the family assumes Gloria has her own money and not just using Jay's to pay for the trip.
Meanwhile, Gloria's son, Manny, matches a name on a no-fly list and is held for questioning. Haley notices a cute boy and flirts with him. In the process, she neglects a text from her boyfriend, Dylan, who has become locked inside the Dunphys' house by accident. Sad that Haley would be leaving, Dylan had accidentally fallen asleep beside her bed the night before and become trapped by the Dunphy's security system when the family left the following morning. Eventually, Haley discovers the boy is just fourteen, much to Alex's amusement, and Dylan triggers the alarm while escaping.
While waiting in the airport
, Claire complains to Cameron about Phil's inability to foresee her needs. Cameron tells her that she needs to be more vocal instead of expecting Phil to read her mind. After retrieving Mitchell's wallet, Mitchell and Phil have a parallel conversation about Cameron in the car. When they reach the airport, Mitchell and Claire apologize to their respective partners. Jay finds Gloria and Manny in the holding area, where Manny is being questioned. The guard is suspicious when he sees that Manny has a different return date than Gloria. Gloria reveals to Jay that she wanted to spend time alone with him so Manny and the rest of the family will be returning home several days before she and Jay do. At the end, Manny and Gloria are cleared for flight and the entire family boards the plane to Hawaii.
" and "Moon Landing
" while Dan previously wrote "Come Fly with Me
" and "Undeck the Halls
". The episode was directed by series main director, Jason Winer. The episode also guest stars Reid Ewing
as recurring character
, Dylan. This episode follows a two episode story arc which was started in this episode of the all three families going on a trip to Hawaii
to celebrate Jay's Birthday. The episode was initially filmed two months from the air date on the week of March 1–7, 2010. The trip was revealed by co-creator and executive producer Steven Levitan
to Michael Ausiello.
show, Lost
which was ending the same year and guest starred Julie Bowen
as Sarah Shephard.
When Luke sits on Jay's "Ludlum's" (his e-reader) Jay opens the cover and the glass tinkles into his lap, he says "it isn't fair, it just isn't fair." This references the original Twilight Zone episode "Time Enough at Last." In the episode there is an antisocial man with bad vision and very thick glasses who wants nothing more than to be completely alone so he can read his books. One day there is a disaster that kills everyone but him, and one of the only buildings left standing is the library. He sits down to read to his heart's content, but his glasses fall off and hit the ground, he picks them up to put them on and the glass from the lens falls tinkling on to his lap. He sits down and says "it isn't fair, it just isn't fair."
. It scored a 18-49 rating of 3.8 and a share of 11%, which is down three tenths from last weeks episode, "Travels with Scout
" and coming second in its time slot. "Airport 2010" also became the top rated scripted on Wednesday for the 10th consecutive week. The episode also ranked 9th in the weekly 18-49 ratings the 3rd highest rated ABC
show on the list.
Robert Canning of IGN
gave the episode a 9.4 saying "There was a lot to enjoy in "Airport 2010." It was nonstop fun from beginning to end" and praised Ed O'Neill
's performance saying "it was O'Neil's [sic] performance as our favorite lovable curmudgeon that kept this zany episode grounded." Jason Hughes gave the episode a positive review as well writing "Only 'Modern Family' could pull off having a set-up episode for their big Hawaiian vacation and have it succeed in its own right." and also "am really looking forward to watching this ensemble and this cast cut loose on Hawaii". Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club
gave the episode a A- saying "But I think this was Modern Family back in cracking good form. Not everything worked perfectly, but this is a great start to what amounts to a three-part season finale." She also noted "Ed O'Neill's mumbly, wounded bitterness really makes it work." Margaret Lyons of Entertainment Weekly
gave the episode a positive as well, writing "Like most ensemble comedies, Family is its best when the various storylines converge or illuminate one another, and this episode at least boasted a central theme"
TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4 out of 5 writing "We loved watching Jay's exasperated reaction as the surprises piled up" and loved the Lost
. James Poniewozik of Time
gave the episode a positive review as well, writing "It was an insightful way of showing the kinds of misunderstandings that can crop up between people who care about each other, but show it in different ways." Sean Gandert of Paste
gave the episode a 87 out of 100 writing "This is the most well-put together episode of Modern Family we’ve had in months, with no lazy plots or parts thrown in just because." BuddyTV
gave the episode a positive review saying "Though not a complete laugh riot, the episode played out nicely, balancing the silly with the sweet."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television sitcom series 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...
. The episode premiered on May 5, 2010, 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...
(ABC). In the episode, 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...
) invites the whole family on a getaway to Hawaii for Jay's birthday much to Jay's chagrin.
The episode was written by Bill Wrubel & Dan O'Shannon and directed by Jason Winer
Jason Winer
Jason Winer is an American director, producer, writer, actor and comedian. He is best known for being one of the directors on the award-winning series Modern Family on ABC.Winer was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland...
. The episode also references to Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
which guest starred 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...
. "Airport 2010" has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics with a lot praising 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...
's performance as Jay with TV Fanatic loving Jay's exasperated reaction. Despite the positive reviews the episode dropped three-tenths from last weeks episode, "Travels with Scout
Travels with Scout
"Travels with Scout" is the twenty-first episode of Modern Family. The episode originally aired April 28, 2010 on American Broadcasting Company . The episode was written by Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh and directed by Seth Gordon. In the episode "Travels with Scout", Claire is suspicious when...
" and was viewed by an estimated 9.32 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...
.
Plot
For Jay's birthday, his wife, Gloria, plans a vacation to HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
for the two of them—and then surprises him by revealing that she has paid for the entire family to come along. In addition to secretly desiring a quiet getaway, Jay wonders whether Gloria is deliberately avoiding spending time alone with him. Meanwhile, Mitchell discovers he has forgotten his wallet, containing his ID, at home. Mitchell blames his partner, Cameron, for not packing it, although Cameron points out that Mitchell never specifically asked him to do so. Phil
Phil Dunphy
Phil Dunphy is a fictional character on the American television series Modern Family. He is portrayed by Ty Burrell.Phil is a real estate agent who lives in California with his family. An Irish American, he has been married to Claire Dunphy for sixteen years and has three children, Haley, Alex, and...
convinces Mitchell that he can drive him home and back in time to make the flight. This annoys Claire
Claire Dunphy
Claire Dunphy is a fictional character on the American television series Modern Family. She is portrayed by Julie Bowen.Claire is the daughter of Jay, Mitchell's older sister, and the overprotective mother of the Dunphy family and its three very different kids...
, Phil's wife, who believes her husband should have known how nervous flying makes her and stayed with her. She visits the airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
to calm her nerves, where she sees Jay and reassures him that Gloria loves him. Their conversation brings up the fact that the family assumes Gloria has her own money and not just using Jay's to pay for the trip.
Meanwhile, Gloria's son, Manny, matches a name on a no-fly list and is held for questioning. Haley notices a cute boy and flirts with him. In the process, she neglects a text from her boyfriend, Dylan, who has become locked inside the Dunphys' house by accident. Sad that Haley would be leaving, Dylan had accidentally fallen asleep beside her bed the night before and become trapped by the Dunphy's security system when the family left the following morning. Eventually, Haley discovers the boy is just fourteen, much to Alex's amusement, and Dylan triggers the alarm while escaping.
While waiting in the airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
, Claire complains to Cameron about Phil's inability to foresee her needs. Cameron tells her that she needs to be more vocal instead of expecting Phil to read her mind. After retrieving Mitchell's wallet, Mitchell and Phil have a parallel conversation about Cameron in the car. When they reach the airport, Mitchell and Claire apologize to their respective partners. Jay finds Gloria and Manny in the holding area, where Manny is being questioned. The guard is suspicious when he sees that Manny has a different return date than Gloria. Gloria reveals to Jay that she wanted to spend time alone with him so Manny and the rest of the family will be returning home several days before she and Jay do. At the end, Manny and Gloria are cleared for flight and the entire family boards the plane to Hawaii.
Production
The episode was written by Dan O'Shannon and Bill Wrubel making it both their third writing credit. Bill previously wrote "The Bicycle ThiefThe Bicycle Thief (Modern Family)
"The Bicycle Thief" is the second episode of the ABC series Modern Family. It originally premiered on American Broadcasting Company in the United States on September 30, 2009...
" and "Moon Landing
Moon Landing (Modern Family)
"Moon Landing" is the fourteenth episode of the first season of Modern Family. The episode was originally scheduled to premiere on ABC on January 27, 2010, but it was preempted by the State of the Union address and pushed back a week to February 3, 2010....
" while Dan previously wrote "Come Fly with Me
Come Fly with Me (Modern Family)
"Come Fly With Me" is the third episode of the ABC series Modern Family. It premiered on ABC in the United States on October 7, 2009. In the episode, Jay tries to spend some time alone with his model airplane, but Phil ruins it; Alex and Gloria go to a mall and Gloria tries to convince Alex to...
" and "Undeck the Halls
Undeck the Halls
"Undeck the Halls" is the tenth episode of the ABC series Modern Family. It premiered on ABC in the United States on December 9, 2009. In the episode, Claire and Phil threaten to take away Christmas when the kids get in trouble; Cameron and Mitchell take Lily to get her first picture with...
". The episode was directed by series main director, Jason Winer. The episode also guest stars 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:...
as recurring character
Recurring character
A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in an episode, sometimes being the main focus...
, Dylan. This episode follows a two episode story arc which was started in this episode of the all three families going on a trip to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
to celebrate Jay's Birthday. The episode was initially filmed two months from the air date on the week of March 1–7, 2010. The trip was revealed by co-creator and executive producer Steven Levitan
Steven Levitan
Steven E. Levitan is an American director, screenwriter and producer of television comedies. He has created such TV series as Just Shoot Me!, Stark Raving Mad, Stacked, Back to You, and Modern Family....
to Michael Ausiello.
Cultural references
Luke makes a reference to fellow ABCAmerican 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...
show, Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
which was ending the same year and guest starred 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...
as Sarah Shephard.
When Luke sits on Jay's "Ludlum's" (his e-reader) Jay opens the cover and the glass tinkles into his lap, he says "it isn't fair, it just isn't fair." This references the original Twilight Zone episode "Time Enough at Last." In the episode there is an antisocial man with bad vision and very thick glasses who wants nothing more than to be completely alone so he can read his books. One day there is a disaster that kills everyone but him, and one of the only buildings left standing is the library. He sits down to read to his heart's content, but his glasses fall off and hit the ground, he picks them up to put them on and the glass from the lens falls tinkling on to his lap. He sits down and says "it isn't fair, it just isn't fair."
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Airport 2010" was viewed by an estimated 9.32 million households, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
. It scored a 18-49 rating of 3.8 and a share of 11%, which is down three tenths from last weeks episode, "Travels with Scout
Travels with Scout
"Travels with Scout" is the twenty-first episode of Modern Family. The episode originally aired April 28, 2010 on American Broadcasting Company . The episode was written by Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh and directed by Seth Gordon. In the episode "Travels with Scout", Claire is suspicious when...
" and coming second in its time slot. "Airport 2010" also became the top rated scripted on Wednesday for the 10th consecutive week. The episode also ranked 9th in the weekly 18-49 ratings the 3rd highest rated ABC
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...
show on the list.
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 a 9.4 saying "There was a lot to enjoy in "Airport 2010." It was nonstop fun from beginning to end" and praised 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...
's performance saying "it was O'Neil's [sic] performance as our favorite lovable curmudgeon that kept this zany episode grounded." Jason Hughes gave the episode a positive review as well writing "Only 'Modern Family' could pull off having a set-up episode for their big Hawaiian vacation and have it succeed in its own right." and also "am really looking forward to watching this ensemble and this cast cut loose on Hawaii". 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 the episode a A- saying "But I think this was Modern Family back in cracking good form. Not everything worked perfectly, but this is a great start to what amounts to a three-part season finale." She also noted "Ed O'Neill's mumbly, wounded bitterness really makes it work." Margaret Lyons 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 the episode a positive as well, writing "Like most ensemble comedies, Family is its best when the various storylines converge or illuminate one another, and this episode at least boasted a central theme"
TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4 out of 5 writing "We loved watching Jay's exasperated reaction as the surprises piled up" and loved the Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
. James Poniewozik of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
gave the episode a positive review as well, writing "It was an insightful way of showing the kinds of misunderstandings that can crop up between people who care about each other, but show it in different ways." Sean Gandert of Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
gave the episode a 87 out of 100 writing "This is the most well-put together episode of Modern Family we’ve had in months, with no lazy plots or parts thrown in just because." BuddyTV
BuddyTV
BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website based in Seattle, Washington, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profiles, actor biographies and...
gave the episode a positive review saying "Though not a complete laugh riot, the episode played out nicely, balancing the silly with the sweet."
External links
- "Airport 2010" at ABC.com