Our Children, Ourselves
Encyclopedia
"Our Children, Ourselves" is the twelfth episode of the second season
of the American television comedy series, Modern Family
and the 36th overall episode of the series. Executive producers Dan O'Shannon and Bill Wrubel wrote the episode, and Adam Shankman
directed it. The episode originally aired on the American Broadcasting Company
(ABC) in the United States on January 12, 2011. It featured guest star Mary Lynn Rajskub
as Mitchell's ex-girlfriend.
In this episode, Alex's dedication to learning makes Phil
(Ty Burrell
) and Claire Dunphy
(Julie Bowen
) question themselves. Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (Sofía Vergara
) tries to meet new friends. Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson
) runs into an ex-girlfriend while out with his current boyfriend, Cameron Tucker
(Eric Stonestreet
).
"Our Children, Ourselves" received generally positive reviews from television critics with many praising the "twist ending" to Mitchell and Cameron's storyline. According to the Nielsen Media Research
, the episode was viewed by 11.12 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 4.2 rating/10 percent share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic and became the second highest rated ABC program of the original week it aired after Grey's Anatomy
.
(Ty Burrell
) and Claire
(Julie Bowen
) become worried that Alex (Ariel Winter
) is studying too much. The two attempt to get her to take a break and eventually have to force her to do so. Alex eventually gets the second-highest grade in the class, behind a classmate named Sanjay Patel. Alex believes this is due to the fact that he has a doctor and a professor for parents, while she has to use the best she was given. This statement offends Phil and Claire, with Claire starting to think they are holding their children back. Later when they go to the movies, they run into Sanjay's parents who are there to see a French movie. The Dunphy parents decide to follow them to encourage their kids. Midway through the movie Phil leaves to watch Croctopus 3D, the film they originally intended to see, since they both are fans of cheesy horror films involving monsters. Phil has fun at his movie while Claire falls asleep at the French one. After waking her up, Phil tells her that Alex still had one of the highest grades in the class, and dumb parents do not have kids that smart. Claire is convinced, and the two leave for home after seeing that the "bright Dr. Patel" cannot validate his parking ticket. "Crocktopus 3D" was a reference to the Roger Corman/Syfy Channel original movie, "Sharktopus," which had significant buzz when its trailer went viral on the Internet at the approximate time this episode was written and shot.
Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson
) and Cameron
(Eric Stonestreet
) bump into Mitchell's ex-girlfriend, Tracy (Mary Lynn Rajskub
) at a mall. Mitchell suggest hanging out, but she decides against it. Later, they see Tracy with what appears to be an eight-year-old red-headed child (seen only from behind), whose approximate age would match the last time Tracy and Mitchell saw each other (and the only time Mitchell had sex with a woman). Mitchell tells this to Cameron at dinner, making him anxious. He eventually agrees with Mitchell that they should meet the child who is quite surely his son. At Tracy's they realize that it is not a child, but a dwarf man and Tracy's husband. The situation becomes more awkward when he opens his present from Mitchell and Cameron, a "Little Slugger" baseball glove
.
Meanwhile the Hoffmans, a couple that Gloria (Sofía Vergara
) and Jay (Ed O'Neill
) Pritchett met on a vacation, come to visit the Pritchetts much to Jay's openly (and Gloria's more discreet) chagrin. He eventually tells them his true feelings not knowing that they were spending the night at their house. The couple decides to leave in a cab, as Gloria comes down to apologize they give her a copy of Gabriel García Márquez
's "One hundred years of solitude
" that they had signed by the author specially for her, so she convinces them to stay by telling them that Jay's "mind is going away". In the morning, Jay decides to apologize to the Hoffmans; however, during his apology he drinks from a prank glass that Manny gave him, ending in him being covered in orange juice. The Hoffmans leave believing that Jay is mad and admiring Gloria for enduring such a situation.
. This episode was the second script collaboration by O'Shannon and Wrubel, who co-wrote the episode "Airport 2010
". "Our Children, Ourselves" was filmed on October 13, and October 15, 2010.
In October 2010, TV Guide
reported that Mary Lynn Rajskub
had been cast as Mitchell's ex-girlfriend. She filmed her appearance on October 13, 2010. Rajskub later said in an interview on Lopez Tonight
that she had gone through the same experience: "I had this guy, I think I was in 7th or 8th grade... we had this make out session [...] he pulled away abruptly and I never saw him again. Then 20 years later he facebook
ed me. Totally gay". The episode aired on ABC in the United States on January 12, 2010. When the episode aired, the airtime was pushed 20 minutes later than its usual time slot due to Barack Obama
's speech
about the 2011 Tucson shooting
.
. The episode received a drop from the previous episode, "Slow Down Your Neighbors
", possibly because of the 20-minute delay in its starting time. Despite this, the episode became the second highest rated ABC show after Grey's Anatomy
and the finished seventh in the ratings the week it premiered.
called it "not a very good episode" and mainly criticized the Delgado–Pritchett storyline, comparing it to "every episode of Three’s Company ever." Teti ultimately gave the episode a C+. Rachael Maddux of New York
praised the episode for letting the characters "out of their primly landscaped domiciles to interact with the other batty folks of the world". TV Guide
s Matt Roush wrote that the episode's story lines were "all winners". Joyce Eng and Kate Stanhope of TV Guide
later named the conclusion to Mitchell and Cameron's storyline the best moment of the week, January 6 to January 13, 2011. Entertainment Weekly
writer Lesley Savage commented that while the episode wasn't a good follow up to "Slow Down Your Neighbors
", the ending to the Pritchett-Tucker storyline was "pretty darn funny, and possibly a little un-PC". James Poniewozik of Time
wrote that while the plot came "straight out of the Wacky Misunderstanding School of Sitcomedy" it was still a satisfying episode calling Phil and Claire's storyline "the most amusing storyline".
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...
of the American television comedy 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...
and the 36th overall episode of the series. Executive producers Dan O'Shannon and Bill Wrubel wrote the episode, and Adam Shankman
Adam Shankman
Adam Michael Shankman is an American film director, producer, dancer, actor, and choreographer. He has been a judge on the television program So You Think You Can Dance since Season 3. He began his professional career in musical theater, and was a dancer in music videos for Paula Abdul and Janet...
directed it. The episode originally aired 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) in the United States on January 12, 2011. It featured guest star Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...
as Mitchell's ex-girlfriend.
In this episode, Alex's dedication to learning makes 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...
(Ty Burrell
Ty Burrell
- External links :*...
) and Claire Dunphy
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...
(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...
) question themselves. Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (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...
) tries to meet new friends. Mitchell Pritchett (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:...
) runs into an ex-girlfriend while out with his current boyfriend, Cameron Tucker
Cameron Tucker
Cameron Scott Tucker is a fictional character on the American television series Modern Family. He is portrayed by Eric Stonestreet.Cameron, also referred to as Cam, is Mitchell's partner of five years, and one of Lily's fathers, who has a very big dramatic personality. His bubbly outgoing...
(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...
).
"Our Children, Ourselves" received generally positive reviews from television critics with many praising the "twist ending" to Mitchell and Cameron's storyline. 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...
, the episode was viewed by 11.12 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 4.2 rating/10 percent share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic and became the second highest rated ABC program of the original week it aired after Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
.
Plot
At the Dunphy house, PhilPhil 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...
(Ty Burrell
Ty Burrell
- External links :*...
) and 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...
(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...
) become worried that Alex (Ariel Winter
Ariel Winter
Ariel Winter Workman , known in television shows and films as Ariel Winter, is an American teen actress and singer. Winter is best known for her current role as Alex Dunphy in the TV series Modern Family, for which she has won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series, along...
) is studying too much. The two attempt to get her to take a break and eventually have to force her to do so. Alex eventually gets the second-highest grade in the class, behind a classmate named Sanjay Patel. Alex believes this is due to the fact that he has a doctor and a professor for parents, while she has to use the best she was given. This statement offends Phil and Claire, with Claire starting to think they are holding their children back. Later when they go to the movies, they run into Sanjay's parents who are there to see a French movie. The Dunphy parents decide to follow them to encourage their kids. Midway through the movie Phil leaves to watch Croctopus 3D, the film they originally intended to see, since they both are fans of cheesy horror films involving monsters. Phil has fun at his movie while Claire falls asleep at the French one. After waking her up, Phil tells her that Alex still had one of the highest grades in the class, and dumb parents do not have kids that smart. Claire is convinced, and the two leave for home after seeing that the "bright Dr. Patel" cannot validate his parking ticket. "Crocktopus 3D" was a reference to the Roger Corman/Syfy Channel original movie, "Sharktopus," which had significant buzz when its trailer went viral on the Internet at the approximate time this episode was written and shot.
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:...
) and Cameron
Cameron Tucker
Cameron Scott Tucker is a fictional character on the American television series Modern Family. He is portrayed by Eric Stonestreet.Cameron, also referred to as Cam, is Mitchell's partner of five years, and one of Lily's fathers, who has a very big dramatic personality. His bubbly outgoing...
(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...
) bump into Mitchell's ex-girlfriend, Tracy (Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...
) at a mall. Mitchell suggest hanging out, but she decides against it. Later, they see Tracy with what appears to be an eight-year-old red-headed child (seen only from behind), whose approximate age would match the last time Tracy and Mitchell saw each other (and the only time Mitchell had sex with a woman). Mitchell tells this to Cameron at dinner, making him anxious. He eventually agrees with Mitchell that they should meet the child who is quite surely his son. At Tracy's they realize that it is not a child, but a dwarf man and Tracy's husband. The situation becomes more awkward when he opens his present from Mitchell and Cameron, a "Little Slugger" baseball glove
Baseball glove
A baseball glove or mitt is a large leather glove that baseball players on the defending team are allowed to wear to assist them in catching and fielding balls hit by a batter, or thrown by a teammate.-History:...
.
Meanwhile the Hoffmans, a couple that 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...
) and 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...
) Pritchett met on a vacation, come to visit the Pritchetts much to Jay's openly (and Gloria's more discreet) chagrin. He eventually tells them his true feelings not knowing that they were spending the night at their house. The couple decides to leave in a cab, as Gloria comes down to apologize they give her a copy of Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...
's "One hundred years of solitude
One Hundred Years of Solitude
One Hundred Years of Solitude , by Gabriel García Márquez, is a novel which tells the multi-generational story of the Buendía family, whose patriarch, José Arcadio Buendía, founds the town of Macondo, the metaphoric Colombia...
" that they had signed by the author specially for her, so she convinces them to stay by telling them that Jay's "mind is going away". In the morning, Jay decides to apologize to the Hoffmans; however, during his apology he drinks from a prank glass that Manny gave him, ending in him being covered in orange juice. The Hoffmans leave believing that Jay is mad and admiring Gloria for enduring such a situation.
Production
"Our Children, Ourselves" was written by executive producers, Dan O'Shannon and Bill Wrubel. The episode was also directed by Adam ShankmanAdam Shankman
Adam Michael Shankman is an American film director, producer, dancer, actor, and choreographer. He has been a judge on the television program So You Think You Can Dance since Season 3. He began his professional career in musical theater, and was a dancer in music videos for Paula Abdul and Janet...
. This episode was the second script collaboration by O'Shannon and Wrubel, who co-wrote the episode "Airport 2010
Airport 2010
"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...
". "Our Children, Ourselves" was filmed on October 13, and October 15, 2010.
In October 2010, 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...
reported that Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...
had been cast as Mitchell's ex-girlfriend. She filmed her appearance on October 13, 2010. Rajskub later said in an interview on Lopez Tonight
Lopez Tonight
Lopez Tonight was an American late-night television talk show hosted by comedian George Lopez. The hour-long program premiered on November 9, 2009, on cable network TBS. Lopez was the first Mexican American to host a late-night talk show on an English-language network in the United States. The...
that she had gone through the same experience: "I had this guy, I think I was in 7th or 8th grade... we had this make out session [...] he pulled away abruptly and I never saw him again. Then 20 years later he 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...
ed me. Totally gay". The episode aired on ABC in the United States on January 12, 2010. When the episode aired, the airtime was pushed 20 minutes later than its usual time slot due to Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's speech
Barack Obama Tucson memorial speech
President of the United States Barack Obama delivered a speech at the Together We Thrive: Tucson and America memorial on January 12, 2011, held in the McKale Center on the University of Arizona campus....
about the 2011 Tucson shooting
2011 Tucson shooting
On January 8, 2011, a mass shooting occurred near Tucson, Arizona. Nineteen people were shot, six of them fatally, with one other person injured at the scene during an open meeting that U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords was holding with members of her constituency in a Casas Adobes Safeway...
.
Ratings
In its original American broadcast, "Our Children, Ourselves" was seen by an estimated 11.12 million households and received a 4.2 rating/10% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. This means that it was seen by 4.2% of all 18–49 years olds, and 10% of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This made it the highest rated program on Wednesday, 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...
. The episode received a drop from the previous episode, "Slow Down Your Neighbors
Slow Down Your Neighbors
"Slow Down Your Neighbors" is the eleventh episode of the second season of Modern Family and the 35th episode overall. It originally aired on January 5, 2011 on the American Broadcasting Company . The episode was written by Ilana Wernick and was directed by Gail Mancuso, who were also both credited...
", possibly because of the 20-minute delay in its starting time. Despite this, the episode became the second highest rated ABC show after Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
and the finished seventh in the ratings the week it premiered.
Reviews
The episode received mostly positive reviews, with many praising the ending to Mitchell and Cameron's storyline. TV Squad writer Joel Keller gave the episode a positive review, writing that it had "funny moments", but pointed out that "all of them left me wanting some more information to round things out." John Teti of 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...
called it "not a very good episode" and mainly criticized the Delgado–Pritchett storyline, comparing it to "every episode of Three’s Company ever." Teti ultimately gave the episode a C+. 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...
praised the episode for letting the characters "out of their primly landscaped domiciles to interact with the other batty folks of the world". 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...
s Matt Roush wrote that the episode's story lines were "all winners". Joyce Eng and Kate Stanhope of 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...
later named the conclusion to Mitchell and Cameron's storyline the best moment of the week, January 6 to January 13, 2011. 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 commented that while the episode wasn't a good follow up to "Slow Down Your Neighbors
Slow Down Your Neighbors
"Slow Down Your Neighbors" is the eleventh episode of the second season of Modern Family and the 35th episode overall. It originally aired on January 5, 2011 on the American Broadcasting Company . The episode was written by Ilana Wernick and was directed by Gail Mancuso, who were also both credited...
", the ending to the Pritchett-Tucker storyline was "pretty darn funny, and possibly a little un-PC". 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...
wrote that while the plot came "straight out of the Wacky Misunderstanding School of Sitcomedy" it was still a satisfying episode calling Phil and Claire's storyline "the most amusing storyline".
External links
- "Our Children, Ourselves" at ABC.com