| "Phil on Wire" | |||
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| Modern Family episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 3 |
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| Directed by | Jason Winer | ||
| Teleplay by | Danny Zucker | ||
| Story by | Bianca Douglas Danny Zucker |
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| Production code | 3ARG01 | ||
| Original air date | September 28, 2011[1] | ||
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Justin Kirk as Charlie Bingham |
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| Season 3 episodes | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| List of Modern Family episodes | |||
"Phil on Wire" is the third episode of the American sitcom Modern Familys third season and the 51st episode overall. The episode originally aired on September 28, 2011 on American Broadcasting Company (ABC).[1] The episode was written by Danny Zucker, with the story co-written by Zucker and Douglas. Jason Winer also directed the episode. Justin Kirk guest starred in the episode as Mitchell's boss, Charlie Bingham.
The episode revolved around the growing bond between Jay (Ed O'Neill) and the dog, Stella which gets on Gloria's nerves. Meanwhile, Phil (Ty Burrell) and Luke (Nolan Gould) go on a tightrope, but it's Claire (Julie Bowen) with the missteps, as she tries to teach the girls a life lesson. Also, Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) starts a juice fast.
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Gloria grows angry towards Jay's attachment to their dog, Stella. Meanwhile, Phil, inspired by Man on Wire, attempts to go on a tightrope while Claire tries to teach the girls a life lesson. Also, Cam and Mitchell go on a juice fast.
"Phil on Wire" was written by Danny Zucker, and was based of a story by Bianca Douglas and Danny Zucker.[1] This marked Zucker's twelfth writing credit for the series and Douglas's first.[2] The episode was also directed by Jason Winer, his second director's credit for the season.[1][3] The episode was filmed between August 1, 2011 and August 3, 2011.[4][5] Justin Kirk guest starred as Mitchell's boss, Charlie Bingham.[1] Lusia Strus also guest starred in the episode as Officer Belvin, a cop Claire quickly becomes enemies with.[1]
In its original American broadcast, "Phil on Wire" was viewed by an estimated 13.45 million viewers and received a 5.7 rating/15% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.[6] This means that it was seen by 5.7% of all 18–49 years olds, and 15% of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This marked a eight percent drop in the ratings from the previous episode, "Dude Ranch".[6] Despite this, the episode also ranked as the highest rated show on Wednesday.[6] The episode also ranked first in its timeslot, beating the Fox reality series, The X Factor, CBS drama series Criminal Minds, NBC drama series Harry's Law and The CW reality series, America's Next Top Model.[6] Added with DVR viewers, who viewed the episode within seven days of the original broadcast, the episode received a 8.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic, adding a 2.4 rating to the original viewership.[7] The episode also received more than 18 million viewers, when adding DVR viewers.[7] "Phil on Wire" was the second most-watched scripted show for the week of broadcast among adults aged 18–49 and the eleventh most watched show among all viewers.[8]
Episodes like “Manny Get Your Gun” and last week’s “When Good Kids Go Bad” take seemingly disparate storylines and fuse them successfully into one fully realized story. But more often than not, each family gets stranded in its own world.
The episode received mixed-to-positive reviews. The A.V. Club reviewer Ryan McGee criticized the episode saying it had "An overflow of quality performers calling it a "a 'contractual obligation' episode, in which the three families barely intersect and all pretty much do their own thing".[9] He ultimately gave the episode a B-.[9] CNN writer Henry Hanks called the episode "exemplary" commenting that in the final moments of the episode he "couldn't help but cheer Phil Dunphy as he went across that tightrope".[10] Michael Arbeiter of Hollywood praised the episode, specifically the ending writing that "This is where Modern Family’s strength comes in: it cherishes the idea of family. [...] And it isn’t at all hokey, because the very end of the episode has Phil admitting just how oblivious he is to all of the meaningful messages being embodied by his family members."[11] He ultimately called the episode, "Very sweet, very funny".[11]
While reviewing the first part of the third season, Slant Magazine reviewer Peter Swanson critiziced the Mitchell-Cameron subplot calling it an "unfunny farce".[12] He went on to complement the Phil-Luke subplot calling it a "more effective narrative thread".[12]
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