Travels with Scout

"Travels with Scout" is the twenty-first episode of Modern Family and the twenty-first episode of the series overall. It originally aired on April 28, 2010 on ABC. The episode was written by Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh and directed by Seth Gordon.

In the episode, Phil's father visits unexpected bringing a dog, named Scout, with him. Claire is angry with him because he is planning to leave the dog with them but when he finally leaves and takes Scout with him, Claire is upset because she has bound with him. Jay takes Manny with him to the movies to watch a movie that an old friend of Mitchell is playing in, but he does not know that is a horror movie, leading Manny to be scared causing troubles at home. Cameron joins Dylan's band as a drummer, since the drummer has to move to Portland.

The episode also makes references to 21 Jump Street. "Travels with Scout" was viewed by slightly more than 10 million viewers and was the highest rated episode of the series for two weeks. It received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

In the Dunphy family, while Phil (Ty Burrell) is at work, his father Frank (Fred Willard) comes to visit with his RV and a dog named Scout, without telling Claire (Julie Bowen) that the dog is for them. Claire is angry at the situation because she expects the family not to help with the dog and she will do all the work. A little bit later, while taking the trash out, she overhears Frank crying in his RV. Claire tells Phil, but Phil does not believe it since his father would never cry. She finally convinces him to ask his father what is wrong, but when he gets ready to ask, Phil avoids it with another question. When Phil finally gets to ask Frank, Frank tells Phil that he fell in love and Phil thinks that his parents are getting a divorce. Frank clarifies that he fell in love with Scout and he does not want to leave him. Phil tells him that he can take Scout home and Claire, who was pretending that Scout was bothering her, she is upset with the idea of him leaving because in reality she was bound with him. Frank leaves with Scout and Luke (Nolan Gould) chases the RV like a dog.

Jay (Ed O'Neill) meets Mitchell's old acting friend, Ben Dugan, who is starring in a new movie named Maple Drive. Jay, not knowing it is a horror movie, takes Manny (Rico Rodriguez) with him to watch the movie and Manny gets completely frightened by it. Jay promises Gloria (Sofía Vergara) that Manny's fear will only last a while, although he realizes they have to do something when Manny begins sleeping in their room. He asks Ben to come and visit them to show Manny how likable he is and stop being scared anymore. Ben arrives, but because the doorbell does not work, he tries to get into the house by the window. Manny sees him, and when Ben sees him he says "Are you Manny? I'm here for you", something that makes Manny even more scared.

Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) comes to meet and Frank and Scout. While being there, he hears Dylan (Reid Ewing) saying that the drummer of their band is moving to Portland and offers to take his place since he used to play drums before they got Lily. Cameron auditions for the part and he gets into the band. When Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) finds out, he is annoyed since the day that the band has a concert, he and Cameron have to go to a party and he asks him to cancel the concert. Cameron refuses to do it and they decide that they can go to the concert and later to the party, but Mitchell ends up staying at the concert, admitting Cameron was amazing. When the concert ends, the old drummer returns and Cameron has to leave the band.

Production

The episode was written by Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh and directed by Seth Gordon. The episode also features the second guest appearance of Fred Willard on Modern Family after "Undeck the Halls".^[1] Fred Willard previously worked with Christopher Lloyd, Steven Levitan (creators of Modern Family), and Ty Burrell on Back to You and had worked with Ed O'Neill on Married...with Children.^[2]

Reception

Ratings

Fred Willard's performance received positive reviews from critics.

In its original American broadcast, "Travels with Scout" was viewed by an estimated 10.008 million households and received an 18–49 demographic of 4.2 and a share of 11% making it the second highest rated episode of the series after "Hawaii" and tying with "Pilot", "Fifteen Percent" and "My Funky Valentine".^[3] The episode came second in its time slot after American Idol.^[4] The show ranked 6th in the 18–49 weekly ratings, becoming second highest rated show on ABC after Dancing with the Stars and was the highest rated scripted show on ABC as well. The show also ranked 19th in total viewers, making it the 10th most viewed show on ABC.^[5]

Reviews

Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode an 8.5, saying it was "Great" and "Overall, "Like any sitcom, the jokes get funnier the more you know about, and like, the characters. Our experiences with Luke made him running after his grandfather's RV like an excited puppy, with Phil yelling, "No, Luke, stay! Luke! Stay!" all the more funny. So the more we see of Frank, the better."^[6]

Margret Lyons of Entertainment Weekly gave the episode a lukewarm review as well writing "The thing about a just okay episode of Modern Family is that it’s still pretty damn good, so it’s hard to rag on. But I know how great this show is when it’s firing on all cylinders, and “Travels With Scout” just didn’t." although she praised Fred Willard and Ty Burrell's performance saying "Even though this won’t go down as one of Modern Family‘s best episodes, there’s no denying the fact that Fred Willard and Ty Burrell are the best cast father/son duo in living memory. Part of it is looks, but most of it is mannerisms and vocal cadences.^[7]

Donna Bowman of A.V. Club gave the episode a B- saying "Let's be clear, this is a sloppy outing for Modern Family. It's an episode that feels plunked down out of order, not advancing any story lines in particular, and nothing in particular happening."^[8]

Jason Hughes of TV Squad said "I didn't fully grasp just how perfect Fred Willard is for the role of Phil's father until I saw them slinging jokes back and forth in this weeks' [sic] episode."^[9]

Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger gave the episode a positive review, saying "very funny overall" although said that Fred Willard was too good for the role of Phil's dad.^[10]

Awards

As well as receiving positive reviews from critics Fred Willard has been nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

References

1. ↑ "Modern Family: "Travels with Scout"". TV.com. 
2. ↑ Bierly, Mandi (April 12, 2010). "Fred Willard talks upcoming 'Castle,' 'Modern Family,' 'Chuck' appearances". Entertainment Weekly. 
3. ↑ Gorman, Bill (April 29, 2010). "Wednesday Broadcast Finals: Modern Family, American Idol, Top Model Adjusted Up; High Society Down". TV by the Numbers. 
4. ↑ Seidman, Robert (April 29, 2010). "TV Ratings: Sad Happy Town Premiere; But ABC's Smiling Over Modern Family". TV by the Numbers. 
5. ↑ Seidman, Robert (May 4, 2010). "TV Ratings Top 25: Idol, Glee Tops With 18-49 ; Dancing Leads With Viewers". TV by the Numbers. 
6. ↑ Canning, Robert (April 29, 2010). "Modern Family: "Travels With Scout" Review". IGN. 
7. ↑ Lyons, Margaret (April 29, 2010). "'Modern Family' recap: I'm with the band". Entertainment Weekly. 
8. ↑ Bowman, Donna (April 28, 2010). "Travels with Scout". The A.V. Club. 
9. ↑ Hughes, Jason (April 29, 2010). "'Modern Family' - 'Travels with Scout' Recap". Huffpost TV. 
10. ↑ Sepinwall, Alan (April 29, 2010). "Modern Family, 'Travels with Scout': Cameron's with 21 Jump Street". nj.com. 

External links

• "Travels with Scout" at ABC.com
• "Travels with Scout" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Travels with Scout" at TV.com