Mother Tucker (Modern Family)

Plot

The episode begins with Haley taking tutoring lessons from a smart boy named David. Claire and Alex leave the house, but Claire returns for her shopping list and finds Haley making out with David. Haley decides to break up with Dylan via text message, a decision everyone except Phil supports. Phil decides Dylan might need support, so he and Dylan get Phil a guitar and drink at a juice bar.

Haley initially thinks Phil is on a date with a girl because of his feminine sweat jacket and wants Dylan back, but Dylan says he needs time 'dating Dylan,' disappointing both Haley and Phil. At the Pritchett house, Jay has a stomachache. Manny constantly asks about symptoms and enters them into a medical website, making Jay worry he has a serious problem. Gloria dismisses it, saying in Colombia she would not rush to the hospital for every little thing.

Jay goes to the hospital and is diagnosed with acute appendicitis, requiring emergency surgery, causing Gloria to panic. Meanwhile, Cameron's mother Barb Tucker arrives, making Cameron happy and Mitchell uncomfortable due to her inappropriate touching. Following Claire's advice, Mitchell tries to prove to Cameron that his mother is handsy, but Cameron always looks away. When Mitchell finally confronts Cameron, Barb is behind him and overhears.

Her feelings are hurt, but she eventually realizes she touched him inappropriately and apologizes while Mitchell is in the bathtub.

Production

The writing duo of Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh, who had previously penned "Earthquake" for the season, handled the script. Michael Spiller, already responsible for seven earlier episodes that season, took the director's chair. Celia Weston appeared as Barb Tucker, Cameron's mother.

TV Guide broke the news of her casting on September 7, 2010. Weston noted her character fully embraces Cameron and Mitchell, while Eric Stonestreet credited Barb with shaping Cameron into the man he is. Weston had collaborated with casting director Jeff Greenberg and creators Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan on a 2004 episode of Frasier.

Reception

In its original American broadcast, 'Mother Tucker' was viewed by an estimated 10.53 million viewers and received a 3.7 rating/12% share among adults 18-49, becoming the lowest rated episode of the season. The episode received a significant drop due to airing Thanksgiving Eve. Despite the low rating, it became the highest rated series of the night and the tenth highest rated series of the week in the 18-49 demographic. The episode received mixed reviews.

Joel Keller of TV Squad called it 'among the weakest of the season, if not the weakest,' feeling the Dunphy plot was the best but uneven. Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club rated it a B+, saying it 'wasn't the strongest episode of this show ever, but it was solid across the board' and 'continued season two's streak of improvements'. Rachael Maddux of New York wrote that after two great episodes following a wonky start, the show looked like it might return to first-season form.