Australia (Modern Family)

Last updated
"Australia"
Modern Family episode
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 20
Directed by Steven Levitan
Written by Elaine Ko
Danny Zuker
Production code5ARG21
Original air dateApril 23, 2014 (2014-04-23)
Guest appearance
Episode chronology
← Previous
"A Hard Jay's Night"		Next →
"Sleeper"
Modern Family season 5
List of episodes

"Australia" is the 20th episode of the fifth season of the American sitcom Modern Family , and the series' 116th overall. It was aired on April 23, 2014. The episode was written by Elaine Ko & Danny Zuker and directed by Steven Levitan. The episode is notable for its inclusion of Australian landmarks and points of interest. Each character in the episode explores Australia in their own way and encounter evolving attitudes and personal growth as they encounter unexpected obstacles during their visit. The episode garnered 9.59 million views upon its first broadcast and has received mixed reviews.

Contents

Plot

The whole family travels to Australia where Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell) was conceived (and where his great-grandfather was from) and he wants to connect to his late mother and his heritage by visiting the country.

Phil hires an Australian guide (Mark Coles Smith) to show them the land, however Jay (Ed O'Neill) and Claire (Julie Bowen) barely participate in the vacation because they want to work on a project for their work that will allow them to triumph over the "Closets Closets Closets Closets" company in a competition. They find different excuses to leave the others so they can finish it, something that makes Gloria (Sofía Vergara) and Phil mad. While Jay and Claire are busy, Gloria and Phil try to enjoy the country but after a number of "accidents" Gloria is not sure if she can keep Phil safe anymore. Phil gets stung by jellyfish, bitten by mosquitoes, has an allergic reaction after having a vegemite sandwich, and he even gets punched in the face by a kangaroo. Phil is left despondent believing Australia has rejected him, but is made to feel better when a local man shows off several scars explaining that Australia is nice to tourists but brutal against its own people.

Haley (Sarah Hyland) rejects a hot surfer who flirts with her because she believes that Australia's main export is hot surfers so she can not get the first one who appeared. She also says the same to Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) about buying a souvenir since her daddies gave her money to buy only one thing. So, the two of them along with Alex (Ariel Winter) spend the whole day watching souvenirs to find the perfect one.

Under the belief that Bondi Beach is a nudist beach, Luke (Nolan Gould) and Manny (Rico Rodriguez) want to spend the time at the beach so they can "admire" the topless women. They spot one and Luke runs into the water to try and talk to her but a strong wave pulls him under and causes him to lose his swim trunks. The topless woman sees that something happened and when she learns what it is, she offers to help him find his trunks saying that it will not be hard since the water is really clear, something that makes Luke panic.

Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) leave the rest of the family because Cam had promised a "friend" who lives in Australia, Fergus (Rhys Darby), to have lunch with him when they would get there. Neither of them wants to do it but they do not have a choice. During the lunch they discover that Fergus has his own talk show and is famous in Australia. They immediately change their mind and want to spend more time with him and enjoy his life. The next day they ditch their family again because Fergus invited them to a party that Hugh Jackman is giving. Cam and Mitch get there but they only find Fergus had a fight with Hugh and he was left behind when the boat left dock. The three of them try to have fun together but Mitch and Cam just want to go back to Lily and the rest of the family. Heading back, their cab breaks down and the two are taken the rest of the way by a group of friendly bikers.

Gloria is furious with Jay and Claire ignoring the whole family to work and she starts screaming at Jay making him understand that it is better to have time with his family than trying to work. He then talks to Claire and they agree to enjoy the rest of their vacation with their family.

The family reunites and spends the rest of their vacation together, having a wonderful time as they enjoy several activities including climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, scuba diving, and sightseeing.

Reception

Ratings

In its original American broadcast, "Australia" was watched by 9.59 million; up by 0.59 from the previous episode. [1]

In its Australian broadcast on Network Ten the episode received 1.05 million views and aired against The TV Week Logies and My Kitchen Rules , which rated highly; it was one of the network's biggest audiences all year. [2] In the Australian broadcast, a 30-minute special aired before the episode, titled "An Aussie Adventure" with behind the scenes footage and interviews with the cast. [3] It ranked sixth for the night. [4]

Reviews

"Australia" received mixed reviews.

Leigh Raines of TV Fanatic rated the episode with 5/5. "I bet this was an incredible episode to film. The last part of the half hour with all the clips of their adventures really just seemed like we were watching the actors on a real life vacation. It must've been amazing!" [5]

Madina Papadopoulos of Paste Magazine rated the episode with 5.4/10. "This week's episode, "Australia," left me underwhelmed in humor and a little overwhelmed with all the storylines that were going on. [...] the classic, magic number of storylines in television is three. This week Modern Family had six, and they definitely dropped a couple of balls." [6]

Joshua Alston from The A.V. Club gave the episode a C−, saying that the script isn't a structural marvel but it’s quietly elegant and he compares the episode with the "Las Vegas" one: "Compared to "Las Vegas," which at the very least belongs on a shortlist of the season's best episodes, "Australia" doesn't have half the structural brio and perhaps even less of the jokes. "Las Vegas" was classic, cleverly executed sitcom with Sin City as its backdrop. "Australia" is Modern Family plus Australia." [7]

Jordan Adler from We Got This Covered gave a mixed review to the episode saying that there were too many plotlines: "This episode is too rushed and randomly plotted to achieve the manic comedy highs that catapulted that half-hour. [...] By trying to push so much into the episode, "Australia" turns into a half-hour driven by situational jokes rather than insightful, character-based humor." [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Me? Jealous?</span> 14th episode of the 3rd season of Modern Family

"Me? Jealous?" is the 14th episode of the third season of the American sitcom Modern Family and the series' 61st episode overall. It was aired on February 8, 2012. The episode was written by Ben Karlin and directed by Michael Spiller.

"Aunt Mommy" is the 15th episode of the third season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 63rd episode overall. It was aired on February 15, 2012. The episode discusses the antics surrounding the surrogacy of Cam and Mitch's second child. There are problems surrounding the issue of which father would be the child's biological child, so Claire offers them her egg. This would mean that both fathers share genetics with the child, but it would mean that Mitchell's child would be the child of his sister as well. Another plot line within the episode entails Manny getting hurt while Jay was trying to convince him to play football because he thinks his son is too similar to his mother. Overall, the episode received positive reviews, but was not viewed by as many people compared to the previous episode. The episode was written by Abraham Higginbotham & Dan O'Shannon and directed by Michael Spiller.

"The Last Walt" is the 20th episode of the third season of the American sitcom Modern Family and the series' 68th episode overall. This episode originally aired on ABC on April 18, 2012. It was written by Dan O'Shannon, Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh and directed by Michael Spiller.

"Games People Play" is the 23rd episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 95th episode overall. It was aired on May 15, 2013. The episode was written by Ben Karlin based on a story by Danny Zuker and it was directed by Alisa Statman.

"The Wow Factor" is the 18th episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 90th episode overall. Modern Family is an American television mockumentary family sitcom created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for eleven seasons, from September 23, 2009 to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of Jay Pritchett and his family in suburban Los Angeles, including his second wife, her son, their son, and his two adult children and their husbands and children. It was aired on March 27, 2013. The episode was written by Ben Karlin and directed by Levitan.

"Farm Strong" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 100th overall. It was aired on October 9, 2013. The episode was written by Elaine Ko and directed by Alisa Statman and deals with the insecurities each character possesses as they encounter discrepancies between how they view themselves and how others view them.

"ClosetCon '13" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 104th overall. It was aired on November 20, 2013. The episode was written by Ben Karlin and directed by Fred Savage.

"The Big Game" is the ninth episode of the fifth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 105th overall. It was aired on December 4, 2013. The episode was written by Megan Ganz and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller.

"The Feud" is the 15th episode of the fifth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 111th overall. It was aired on February 26, 2014. The episode's story was written by Christopher Lloyd and the teleplay by Dan O'Shannon. "The Feud" was directed by Ryan Case. Julie Bowen submitted this episode for consideration due to her nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards.

"Spring-a-Ding-Fling" is the 16th episode of the fifth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 112th overall. It was aired on March 5, 2014. The episode was written by Ben Karlin and directed by Gail Mancuso. Ty Burrell won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in this episode.

"Other People's Children" is the 17th episode of the fifth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 113th overall. It was aired on March 12, 2014. The episode was written by Megan Ganz and directed by Jim Hensz. As the episode's title suggests, the theme of the episode is sharing experiences with the children of others and the importance of removing oneself from his or her comfort zone.

"Las Vegas" is the 18th episode of the fifth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 114th overall. It was aired on March 26, 2014. The episode was written by Paul Corrigan, Brad Walsh, and Bill Wrubel and directed by Gail Mancuso. The episode is notable for its overlapping story arcs between the characters as they each seek to find their ideal experiences in Las Vegas. This was the only episode of the show to feature only the parent cast.

"A Hard Jay's Night" is the 19th episode of the fifth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 115th overall. It was aired on April 2, 2014. The episode was written by Megan Ganz and Ben Karlin and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller. The episode touches heavily on the theme of discomfort in settling into new phases of life. The title of the episode, is a reference to the Lennon-McCartney, written Beatles track, and film A Hard Day's Night (film)

"Message Received" is the 22nd episode of the fifth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 118th overall. It aired on May 7, 2014. The episode deals with themes of stepping outside one's comfort zone. While the episode touches on lighter plot elements such as Jay's household all trying new things, the name of the episode refers to the revealing conversation between Jay and Mitch regarding Jay's assertion that he does not feel free to hold his own beliefs or ideas.

"The Wedding" is the finale of the fifth season of the American sitcom Modern Family. It aired in two parts, on May 14, 2014 and May 21, 2014. The first part was written by Abraham Higginbotham, Ben Karlin and Jeffrey Richman, and directed by Steven Levitan. The second part was written by Megan Ganz, Christopher Lloyd, and Dan O'Shannon and directed by Alisa Statman. Both episodes received mixed reviews from critics, however the various guest performances were highly praised. This episode was filmed at the Trump National Golf Club, Los Angeles.

"The Long Honeymoon" is the first episode, making it the season premiere, of the sixth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 121st episode overall. The episode aired on September 24, 2014. The episode was written by Danny Zuker and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller.

"Queer Eyes, Full Hearts" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 127th episode overall. It originally aired on November 12, 2014. The episode was written by Stephen Lloyd and directed by Jason Winer.

"Three Turkeys" is the eighth episode of the sixth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 128th episode overall. It originally aired on November 19, 2014. The episode was written by Jeffrey Richman and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller.

"The Closet Case" is the third episode of the seventh season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 147th episode overall. It aired on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on October 7, 2015. The episode was written by Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh, and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller.

References

  1. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (April 24, 2014). "Wednesday Final Ratings: 'Survivor', 'The Middle', 'Suburgatory' & 'Modern Family' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 25, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  2. ↑ Knox, David (April 28, 2014). "My Kitchen Rules roasts Logies in the ratings". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on May 3, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  3. ↑ Knox, David (April 14, 2014). "Airdate: Modern Family: An Aussie Adventure". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on May 23, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  4. ↑ Knox, David (April 27, 2014). "Free To Air Ratings". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on May 23, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  5. ↑ Raines, Leigh (April 24, 2014). "Modern Family Review: Crocodile Dunphy". TV Fanatic. Archived from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  6. ↑ Papadopoulos, Madina (April 24, 2014). "Modern Family Review: "Australia"". Paste Magazine. Archived from the original on April 25, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  7. ↑ Alston, Joshua (April 24, 2014). "Modern Family: "Australia"". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on April 25, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  8. ↑ Adler, Jordan (April 24, 2014). "Modern Family Review: "Australia" (Season 5, Episode 20)". We Got This Covered. Archived from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.