The Old Wagon
Encyclopedia
"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
. The episode is also Wrubel's first credit as co-executive producer.
The episode revolves around Phil (Ty Burrell
), who finally agrees to sell the old station wagon, only after a family trip down memory lane; Cameron (Eric Stonestreet
) asks Jay (Ed O'Neill
) for help when Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson
) decides to build a life-size princess castle for Lily even though he's not very handy with the tools. Meanwhile, Gloria deals with the possibility of losing Manny to his girlfriend.
"The Old Wagon" received positive reviews from critics with Samantha Zalaznick of The Huffington Post
naming the Dunphy's & Phil the best part of the episode. "The Old Wagon" also became the highest rated sitcom of the week and for the series among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.
) gets Phil (Ty Burrell
) to agree to sell their old station wagon. While looking through the stuff in the car and going through several mementos, Claire starts crying and decides she doesn't want to sell it, but can't as the car already has a buyer. Due to this, Phil decides take the family on one last ride in the car "down memory lane". They take the car to a hill where the family used to drive to in the past. While on a hill, a sequence of mishaps leads to the car being destroyed by rolling off a cliff. Despite this, the family had a good time.
Meanwhile, when Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson
) decides to build a life-size princess castle for Lily, but Cameron (Eric Stonestreet
) is scared due to Mitchell's horrible past with equipment. Cameron decides to calls Jay (Ed O'Neill
) in for reinforcement and the two try to get Mitchell to do meaningless jobs, but Mitchell catches on and leaves the project. While Jay and Cameron get drinks, Mitchell puts the roof on the castle and gets stuck inside the castle. He is forced to ask Cameron and Jay to let him out and he eventually gives up on trying to be a manly man.
Manny (Rico Rodriguez) invites a cute girl, Kelly, over for a study date who eventually starts to change Manny making Gloria (Sofía Vergara
) a little uncomfortable and jealous. Eventually, Gloria decides to let him go with his girlfriend to the movies, but he soon comes back after breaking up with her making Gloria even happier before Manny makes another date with another girl.
said on Twitter
that it was difficult for him and ABC to decide which episode should air as the season premiere, although they eventually decided upon "The Old Wagon".
The episode premiered on September 22, 2010 in the 9:00pm timeslot before Cougar Town
and after the short-lived Better with You and later aired a rerun on September 24 at the 8:00pm timeslot. The episodes's main theme deals with "accepting change". In his review, James Poniewozik wrote that the episode's main message was to show that "it can be sad when things change and we get older". Samantha Zalaznick of The Huffington Post
wrote that the episode aligned with the second season's main theme that "the kids are growing up". During the episode, Cameron says he is tired of reading "The Very Hungry Caterpillar
".
". The episode also beat the closest competition by 28 percent. The show also become the highest rated comedy of the week between the broadcast network
s. The show was also the fifth highest rated show in the 18–49 demographic and eighteenth in total viewers. The episode was also the fourth most DVR'd show of the week with 2.7 million viewers in the demographic making a total of 15.46 million viewers and received a 6.4 rating marking a 25 percent rise from the original viewership.
reviewer Donna Bowman praised the sequence of mishaps in the Dunphy's car stating "That’s all I need to be confident that season two could be as good as the show’s critical reputation would have us believe," despite being worried it would go through a sophomore slump. She ultimately gave the episode an A- while readers gave the episode a B. Samantha Zalaznick of The Huffington Post
named Phil the best character of the episode and also stated "The Dunphys were definitely the highlight of this episode". Lesley Savage of Entertainment Weekly
praised the episode for its character development. She also praised the subtle humor of the episode, particularly the scene featuring Cameron reading a tabloid magazine to Lily. James Poniewozik of Time
called it a "relief" to watch the episode after multiple negative reviews of other fall shows. Despite this, he criticized the last minute of the episode saying "It's not necessary under any circumstances, but least of all when the episode's theme was already as subtle as a dangerously wielded power tool." Matt Roush called it a "wonderful season opener".
Not all reviews were positive. HitFix
reviewer Alan Sepinwall was mixed towards the episode and criticized it for being a " refresher course on who these people are and what the show is". Despite this, he said the episode was still funny and called it a great episode for Sofia Vergara
. Several comments on a Los Angeles Times
forum, gave the episode a mixed review comments ranging from "Great" to "disappointing".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sitcom 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 25th episode overall. "The Old Wagon" premiered on September 22, 2010.. The episode was written by Bill Wrubel and was directed by Michael Spiller
Michael Spiller
Michael Alan Spiller is an American cinematographer and television director.Spiller has directed on numerous series and has also served as a cinematographer prior to directing and worked frequently with Hal Hartley. He was a regular director on the HBO series, Sex and the City where he also served...
. The episode is also Wrubel's first credit as co-executive producer.
The episode revolves around Phil (Ty Burrell
Ty Burrell
- External links :*...
), who finally agrees to sell the old station wagon, only after a family trip down memory lane; 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...
) asks 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...
) for help when 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:...
) decides to build a life-size princess castle for Lily even though he's not very handy with the tools. Meanwhile, Gloria deals with the possibility of losing Manny to his girlfriend.
"The Old Wagon" received positive reviews from critics with Samantha Zalaznick of The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
naming the Dunphy's & Phil the best part of the episode. "The Old Wagon" also became the highest rated sitcom of the week and for the series among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.
Plot
In the Dunphy's house Claire (Julie BowenJulie 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...
) gets Phil (Ty Burrell
Ty Burrell
- External links :*...
) to agree to sell their old station wagon. While looking through the stuff in the car and going through several mementos, Claire starts crying and decides she doesn't want to sell it, but can't as the car already has a buyer. Due to this, Phil decides take the family on one last ride in the car "down memory lane". They take the car to a hill where the family used to drive to in the past. While on a hill, a sequence of mishaps leads to the car being destroyed by rolling off a cliff. Despite this, the family had a good time.
Meanwhile, when 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:...
) decides to build a life-size princess castle for Lily, but 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...
) is scared due to Mitchell's horrible past with equipment. Cameron decides to calls 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...
) in for reinforcement and the two try to get Mitchell to do meaningless jobs, but Mitchell catches on and leaves the project. While Jay and Cameron get drinks, Mitchell puts the roof on the castle and gets stuck inside the castle. He is forced to ask Cameron and Jay to let him out and he eventually gives up on trying to be a manly man.
Manny (Rico Rodriguez) invites a cute girl, Kelly, over for a study date who eventually starts to change Manny making 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...
) a little uncomfortable and jealous. Eventually, Gloria decides to let him go with his girlfriend to the movies, but he soon comes back after breaking up with her making Gloria even happier before Manny makes another date with another girl.
Production and themes
"The Old Wagon" was written by Bill Wrubel his fifth writing credit for the series. The episode was also his first episode as co-executive producer. The episode was also directed by Michael Spiller his third credit for the series. The episode is the first of Modern Familys second season after ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson announced that Modern Family had been renewed for a second season. Despite this, it was not the first episode of the season filmed. Steven LevitanSteven 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....
said on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
that it was difficult for him and ABC to decide which episode should air as the season premiere, although they eventually decided upon "The Old Wagon".
The episode premiered on September 22, 2010 in the 9:00pm timeslot before Cougar Town
Cougar Town
Cougar Town is an American television sitcom that premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009. The series focuses on a recently divorced woman in her forties facing the often humorous challenges, pitfalls and rewards of life's next chapter, along with her son, ex-husband, and friends who together make...
and after the short-lived Better with You and later aired a rerun on September 24 at the 8:00pm timeslot. The episodes's main theme deals with "accepting change". In his review, James Poniewozik wrote that the episode's main message was to show that "it can be sad when things change and we get older". Samantha Zalaznick of The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
wrote that the episode aligned with the second season's main theme that "the kids are growing up". During the episode, Cameron says he is tired of reading "The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a children's picture book designed, illustrated and written by Eric Carle, first published by the World Publishing Company in 1969, later published by Penguin Putnam. The book follows a caterpillar as it eats its way through a wide variety of foodstuffs before...
".
Ratings
In its original American broadcast, "The Old Wagon" was viewed by an estimated 12.61 million households. The episode also received a 5.1 rating/14% share in the 18–49 demographic. This means that it was seen by 5.1% of all 18–49 years olds, and 14% of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. The episode marked 19 percent increase from the series premiere, "PilotPilot (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...
". The episode also beat the closest competition by 28 percent. The show also become the highest rated comedy of the week between the broadcast network
Broadcast network
A broadcast network is an organization, such as a corporation or other voluntary association, that provides live television or recorded content, such as movies, newscasts, sports, Public affairs programming, and other television programs for broadcast over a group of radio stations or television...
s. The show was also the fifth highest rated show in the 18–49 demographic and eighteenth in total viewers. The episode was also the fourth most DVR'd show of the week with 2.7 million viewers in the demographic making a total of 15.46 million viewers and received a 6.4 rating marking a 25 percent rise from the original viewership.
Reviews
The episode received mostly positive reviews. Joel Keller of TV Squad gave the episode a positive review and also stated "the sequence of mishaps in the car as they overlook the city reminds viewers how this show excels at physical comedy". He also complemented the series for not featuring a big guest star for the season premiere writing that it is "always the sign of a quality show". 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...
reviewer Donna Bowman praised the sequence of mishaps in the Dunphy's car stating "That’s all I need to be confident that season two could be as good as the show’s critical reputation would have us believe," despite being worried it would go through a sophomore slump. She ultimately gave the episode an A- while readers gave the episode a B. Samantha Zalaznick of The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
named Phil the best character of the episode and also stated "The Dunphys were definitely the highlight of this episode". 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...
praised the episode for its character development. She also praised the subtle humor of the episode, particularly the scene featuring Cameron reading a tabloid magazine to Lily. 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...
called it a "relief" to watch the episode after multiple negative reviews of other fall shows. Despite this, he criticized the last minute of the episode saying "It's not necessary under any circumstances, but least of all when the episode's theme was already as subtle as a dangerously wielded power tool." Matt Roush called it a "wonderful season opener".
Not all reviews were positive. HitFix
HitFix
HitFix, or the HitFix.com is an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information and providing reviews and critiques of film, music and television...
reviewer Alan Sepinwall was mixed towards the episode and criticized it for being a " refresher course on who these people are and what the show is". Despite this, he said the episode was still funny and called it a great episode for Sofia 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...
. Several comments on a Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
forum, gave the episode a mixed review comments ranging from "Great" to "disappointing".
External links
- "The Old Wagon" at ABC.com