The Bicycle Thief (Modern Family)
Encyclopedia
"The Bicycle Thief" is the second episode of the ABC
series Modern Family
. It originally premiered on American Broadcasting Company
(ABC) in the United States
on September 30, 2009. The episode was written by Bill Wrubel and directed by Jason Winer
.
In the episode, Jay (Ed O'Neill
) tries to show his stepson he can be a good father; Phil (Ty Burrell
) tries to teach his son a lesson by stealing his bike, but gets in trouble when he discovers he got the wrong bike; and Cameron (Eric Stonestreet
) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson
) put Lily in Day Care Center and try to act straight.
"The Bicycle Thief" received positive reviews from critics mostly towards Ty Burrell
's performance as Phil Dunphy. The episode was viewed by more than 9 million viewers and dropped 4 tenths from last week's episode, "Pilot
" in the 18-49 demographic tying with the Criminal Minds
in the timeslot according Nielsen Media Research
.
Phil and Claire have gone on a walk with Luke, who is riding his sister's bike because he isn't responsible enough to own a bike. While the Dunphys are riding, they come across Desiree (Brandy Ledford
), a newly single mother who has a child at Luke's school. Phil flirts with her, to Claire's disgust. Phil decides to buy Luke a brand new green bike after Jay ridicules Luke riding a girl's bike. Phil comes across a bike that is similar to Luke's new bike and immediately assumes Luke left the bike unlocked - Phil jumps on the bike to take it home, feeling that Claire will be upset with Phil not listening to her. Phil comes across Desiree again while riding the bike and sets it down in order to help her get into her home - she had locked herself out. When returning to the bike, Phil finds it gone. Phil visits the bike store to buy a replacement. He also actually buys bike insurance this time; earlier he had declined saying insurance was 'for suckers'. While confronting Luke he learns that Luke never left the bike. When trying to take the replacement bike to the store, he is confronted by Claire who says he shouldn't be sneaky and she forgives him - only to have Desiree show up with the second bike, saying her neighbor had placed it in her garage while Phil was in her bedroom. Phil eventually places one of the replacement bikes back in the spot from where he had stolen the second bike. He is confronted by a pair of kids who claim the bike and runs away.
The second plot line begins at the Delgado-Pritchett residence where Jay is helping Manny set up a fan they bought. Jay is planning to go to a villa
in the wine country with Gloria for the weekend while Manny visits Disneyland with his birth-father
. Jay refuses to read the instructions or listen to Manny while he reads them and gets shocked twice. Gloria revels in the fact that Jay and Manny are spending time together, likening them to a Colombian comedy duo. Manny and Jay have an argument after one of the blades falls off the fan causing Manny to shout that he wished Jay had never married Gloria. Later, as Jay is getting ready for his trip to the wine country, he gets a call from Manny's father. He is winning at craps and does not want to leave the table, disgusting Jay. Going outside to tell Manny, he makes up an excuse saying that Manny's father is not going to be able to make it due to flight delays. He then tells Manny that the limousine originally planned for Jay and Gloria's trip was actually sent by Manny's father to take all three of them to Disneyland.
The third plot line involves Cameron and Mitchell who are going to playschool with Lily. When they find out that all the other kids are much more advanced than Lily they decide to steal some blocks that another child has stacked. When the employee informs them of the CCTV cameras and that they can have a copy of Lily stacking the blocks, they quickly leave.
Jay presents the final moments of the episode, answering the opening question by saying that the biggest part of being a good dad, is simply being there.
going down 4 tenths from the pilot episode
according to the Nielsen Media Research
.
Robert Canning of IGN
gave the episode a 7.2 saying it was "Decent" and "Though the tone was still fun, Wednesday night's outing felt a bit too comfortable, as if we were watching an episode from season three.". James Poniewozik of Time
said "whether the characters are one-joke specials or if they have more dimensions to them. So far, with its second episode, Modern Family is meeting that test just fine.". Jason Hughes of TV Squad gave the episode a positive review saying "Its brilliance in its simplicity, brilliantly executed. Not only did we get so many funny moments throughout, but if we paid close attention, we learned several lessons about life and parenthood between the laughs.".
Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club
gave the episode an A- saying "This episode is even better than the pilot. It deepens the neuroses that drive the characters, it solidifies the style, and it differentiates itself nicely -- in the kinds of stories it tells and the tone and method of the telling -- from Arrested Development, the touchstone for most of the descriptions of the pilot. " TV Fanatic gave the episode a good review and remarked "On last night's Modern Family, each of the fathers of the family were asked what it means to be a great dad and it led to three great stories." Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly
said "The good news about Modern Family‘s hilarious second episode is that it proved the show isn’t going to just be a one-hit wonder."
Many of the critics have praised Ty Burrell
's performance of Phil Dunphy. Michael Slezak said "MVP for this episode, which might as well have been titled “The Sins of the Father,” was definitely Ty Burrell’s Phil, who got himself into all kinds of bizarre trouble by going against his wife’s wishes and buying a bike for his irresponsible son." Robert Canning said "Ty Burrell as Phil has some great nervous comedic timing and the scene where his wife introduces the new neighbor was the highlight of this plotline.".
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...
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...
. It originally 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...
(ABC) in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on September 30, 2009. The episode was written by Bill Wrubel 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...
.
In the episode, 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...
) tries to show his stepson he can be a good father; Phil (Ty Burrell
Ty Burrell
- External links :*...
) tries to teach his son a lesson by stealing his bike, but gets in trouble when he discovers he got the wrong bike; and 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:...
) put Lily in Day Care Center and try to act straight.
"The Bicycle Thief" received positive reviews from critics mostly towards Ty Burrell
Ty Burrell
- External links :*...
's performance as Phil Dunphy. The episode was viewed by more than 9 million viewers and dropped 4 tenths from last week's episode, "Pilot
Pilot (Modern Family)
The pilot episode of the television series Modern Family, written by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd and directed by Jason Winer, premiered on ABC in the United States on September 23, 2009. The pilot introduces viewers to three sets of people who make up a single family...
" in the 18-49 demographic tying with the Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
in the timeslot according 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
The question of the episode in the teaser concerns being a good dad.Phil and Claire have gone on a walk with Luke, who is riding his sister's bike because he isn't responsible enough to own a bike. While the Dunphys are riding, they come across Desiree (Brandy Ledford
Brandy Ledford
Brandy Lee Ledford also known as Jisel is an American actress, model and Penthouse Magazine's 1992 Pet of the Year. She played the role of Doyle in the science fiction TV series Andromeda...
), a newly single mother who has a child at Luke's school. Phil flirts with her, to Claire's disgust. Phil decides to buy Luke a brand new green bike after Jay ridicules Luke riding a girl's bike. Phil comes across a bike that is similar to Luke's new bike and immediately assumes Luke left the bike unlocked - Phil jumps on the bike to take it home, feeling that Claire will be upset with Phil not listening to her. Phil comes across Desiree again while riding the bike and sets it down in order to help her get into her home - she had locked herself out. When returning to the bike, Phil finds it gone. Phil visits the bike store to buy a replacement. He also actually buys bike insurance this time; earlier he had declined saying insurance was 'for suckers'. While confronting Luke he learns that Luke never left the bike. When trying to take the replacement bike to the store, he is confronted by Claire who says he shouldn't be sneaky and she forgives him - only to have Desiree show up with the second bike, saying her neighbor had placed it in her garage while Phil was in her bedroom. Phil eventually places one of the replacement bikes back in the spot from where he had stolen the second bike. He is confronted by a pair of kids who claim the bike and runs away.
The second plot line begins at the Delgado-Pritchett residence where Jay is helping Manny set up a fan they bought. Jay is planning to go to a villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
in the wine country with Gloria for the weekend while Manny visits Disneyland with his birth-father
Parent
A parent is a caretaker of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is of a child . Children can have one or more parents, but they must have two biological parents. Biological parents consist of the male who sired the child and the female who gave birth to the child...
. Jay refuses to read the instructions or listen to Manny while he reads them and gets shocked twice. Gloria revels in the fact that Jay and Manny are spending time together, likening them to a Colombian comedy duo. Manny and Jay have an argument after one of the blades falls off the fan causing Manny to shout that he wished Jay had never married Gloria. Later, as Jay is getting ready for his trip to the wine country, he gets a call from Manny's father. He is winning at craps and does not want to leave the table, disgusting Jay. Going outside to tell Manny, he makes up an excuse saying that Manny's father is not going to be able to make it due to flight delays. He then tells Manny that the limousine originally planned for Jay and Gloria's trip was actually sent by Manny's father to take all three of them to Disneyland.
The third plot line involves Cameron and Mitchell who are going to playschool with Lily. When they find out that all the other kids are much more advanced than Lily they decide to steal some blocks that another child has stacked. When the employee informs them of the CCTV cameras and that they can have a copy of Lily stacking the blocks, they quickly leave.
Jay presents the final moments of the episode, answering the opening question by saying that the biggest part of being a good dad, is simply being there.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "The Bicycle Thief" was viewed by an estimated by 9.993 million households and got a of 3.8 rating/10% share in the 18-49 demographic tying for first in its timeslot with Criminal MindsCriminal Minds
Criminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
going down 4 tenths from the pilot episode
Pilot (Modern Family)
The pilot episode of the television series Modern Family, written by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd and directed by Jason Winer, premiered on ABC in the United States on September 23, 2009. The pilot introduces viewers to three sets of people who make up a single family...
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...
.
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 7.2 saying it was "Decent" and "Though the tone was still fun, Wednesday night's outing felt a bit too comfortable, as if we were watching an episode from season three.". 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...
said "whether the characters are one-joke specials or if they have more dimensions to them. So far, with its second episode, Modern Family is meeting that test just fine.". Jason Hughes of TV Squad gave the episode a positive review saying "Its brilliance in its simplicity, brilliantly executed. Not only did we get so many funny moments throughout, but if we paid close attention, we learned several lessons about life and parenthood between the laughs.".
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 an A- saying "This episode is even better than the pilot. It deepens the neuroses that drive the characters, it solidifies the style, and it differentiates itself nicely -- in the kinds of stories it tells and the tone and method of the telling -- from Arrested Development, the touchstone for most of the descriptions of the pilot. " TV Fanatic gave the episode a good review and remarked "On last night's Modern Family, each of the fathers of the family were asked what it means to be a great dad and it led to three great stories." Michael Slezak 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...
said "The good news about Modern Family‘s hilarious second episode is that it proved the show isn’t going to just be a one-hit wonder."
Many of the critics have praised Ty Burrell
Ty Burrell
- External links :*...
's performance of Phil Dunphy. Michael Slezak said "MVP for this episode, which might as well have been titled “The Sins of the Father,” was definitely Ty Burrell’s Phil, who got himself into all kinds of bizarre trouble by going against his wife’s wishes and buying a bike for his irresponsible son." Robert Canning said "Ty Burrell as Phil has some great nervous comedic timing and the scene where his wife introduces the new neighbor was the highlight of this plotline.".
External links
- "The Bicycle Thief" at ABC.com