Moon Landing (Modern Family)
Mitchell offers legal advice; Claire meets an old friend.
"Moon Landing" is the fourteenth episode of Modern Family's first season. Originally set for January 27, 2010, on ABC, it was delayed by the State of the Union address and aired February 3, 2010. Bill Wrubel wrote it, and Jason Winer directed. The episode follows Mitchell offering Gloria legal advice after a car crash, Claire reconnecting with a former coworker, and Jay struggling to focus on racquetball after a locker room incident.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Modern Family
- Season
- 1
- Episode
- 14
- Air date
- 3 February 2010
- Production
- 1ARG13
- Writer
- Bill Wrubel
- Director
- Jason Winer
- Guests
- Minnie Driver as Valerie; Reid Ewing as Dylan
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Jay asks Mitchell for legal advice regarding Gloria, who was in a car crash. Mitchell initially believes it was not her fault, but Manny informs him that Gloria is a terrible driver and it was her fault. She later returns to apologize and asks for his assistance again after a second crash, this time into a restaurant while attempting to leave. Claire meets Valerie, an old work friend, and realizes Valerie pities her for quitting her job to raise a family. Claire brings Valerie home to prove her decision was right, but things at the house are not perfect. Meanwhile, Jay goes to the gym with Cameron to play racquetball, but a disturbing locker-room incident—which Cameron calls a "moon landing"—distracts Jay. Also, Haley and Dylan break up, and Dylan tries to win her back by playing music outside her window.
Reception
The episode attracted 9.194 million viewers and a Nielsen rating of 3.9/11, ranking 14th in the 18–49 demographic but not breaking the top 20 in total viewership. It received positive reviews. Robert Canning of IGN gave it an 8, calling it "Impressive" and noting that while the storylines could have been more fully developed, the episode still delivered a decent amount of laughs. Jason Hughes of TV Squad gave a positive review, remarking that the show is one of the cleverest on television and that the episode title recalls a great moment. Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave it a B+, stating that fans of Lost would be satisfied. Lesley Savage of Entertainment Weekly gave a positive review, saying the episode was extremely funny and that the Dunphy family stole the evening.
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