Someone to Watch Over Lily

Last updated
"Someone to Watch Over Lily"
Modern Family episode
Someone to Watch Over Lily (Modern Family).jpg
Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) discussing about who will be Lily's guardians
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 20
Directed by Michael Spiller
Written byBill Wrubel
Production code2ARG18
Original air dateApril 20, 2011 (2011-04-20) [1]
Guest appearances
  • Alice Dodd as Dr. Klausner
  • Rachel Marie as Gabby
Episode chronology
← Previous
"The Musical Man"		Next →
"Mother's Day"
Modern Family season 2
List of episodes

"Someone to Watch Over Lily" is the 20th episode of the American comedy television series Modern Family 's second season, and the 44th episode overall. It was originally aired on April 20, 2011. The episode was written by Bill Wrubel and directed by Michael Spiller.

Contents

In the episode, Mitchell and Cameron are looking to assign legal guardians for Lily in case anything were to happen to them, and are secretly assessing their family members. But no one is impressive, as they witness Jay giving Manny a dose of tough love, Claire secretly taking Luke to a child psychologist to assess his development, and Haley and Alex getting into some delinquent activities at school.

"Someone to Watch Over Lily" received generally positive reviews from critics. The episode was viewed by 9.83 million households and received a 3.8 rating/10% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, making it the lowest rated episode of the season tying with "Mother Tucker".

Plot

Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) are looking for a legal guardian for Lily in case the two were to die, and are secretly assessing their family members. After turning down the option of Claire (Julie Bowen) and Phil (Ty Burrell) to be the ones, Mitchell is trying to convince Cameron that Jay (Ed O'Neill) and Gloria (Sofía Vergara) can be the best guardians while Cameron says that his family could be Lily's guardians, something that Mitchell rejects saying that Cam's family is in Missouri, far away from everything Lily knows.

Jay takes Manny (Rico Rodriguez) to a store and Mitch and Cam go with them. While they are discussing about who can be Lily's guardian, they witness Jay making Manny ascend a rock climbing wall in a sports store. In the meantime Gloria took Lily with her for a walk and she pierced her ears. When everyone comes back home and sees that, the discussion of Jay and Gloria being the best guardians comes up again.

Meanwhile, Claire is secretly taking Luke (Nolan Gould) to a child psychologist to assess his development because she is worried about him. Phil finds out about it and he is already there, surprising Claire. After the session is over, Claire and Phil are fighting about something Claire said to the psychologist; that she is afraid that Luke is turning into Phil. While they are fighting, they get into their cars to get back home, accidentally leaving Luke behind. Back home, while they are talking, they realize that they left Luke behind and they panic. On their way to go and find him, someone brings Luke back home by limousine. Listening to his story and how he managed to find someone to bring him back home, Claire says that he is an incredible kid and she should not be worried.

Claire asks Haley (Sarah Hyland) to take her sister Alex (Ariel Winter) to her cello lesson while she was picking up her friend Gabby (Rachael Marie). While she was dropping Alex off, Gabby told her something a classmate said about her. Alex comes back in saying her cello instructor wasn't home so Haley and Gabby take her with them to break into their school and spray shaving foam into the classmate's locker, for which a security guard arrests them. Haley and Alex manage to escape to the car where Alex reveals that she hadn't gone to her instructor's house and didn't really like playing the cello, Haley convinces her to stop, and sprays the shaving foam in her face.

Mitch and Cam want to make the announcement about who will be Lily's guardians. Mitch is ready to say that they will be Claire and Phil but Cameron, after a discussion he had with Manny about Jay, interrupts him and says that Jay and Gloria will be the ones. That makes Gloria really happy. Claire is not that happy with that decision and she is trying to ask why they did not choose her and Phil since they are raising three kids amazingly. While saying that, Phil tells her that they have to go because their daughters had vandalized the school.

Production

"Someone to Watch Over Lily" was written by co-executive producer Bill Wrubel, his sixth writing credit for the series. [1] [2] The episode was also directed by Michael Spiller, his thirteenth directing credit for the series. [1] [3] The episode was filmed between January 17, [4] and January 21, 2011. [5]

Reception

Ratings

In its original American broadcast, "Someone to Watch Over Lily" was viewed by an estimated 9.83 million households and received a 3.8 rating/10% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. [6] [7] This means that it was seen by 3.7% of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 10% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This made it the lowest-rated episode of the second season, tying with "Mother Tucker". [6] This also marked a slight drop in the ratings from the previous episode, "The Musical Man". [6] [8] Despite this, the episode became tied for being the highest rated scripted program among 18-49 viewers. [9] The episode tied with Glee's "A Night of Neglect". [9]

Reviews

The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics.

The A.V. Club 's Donna Bowman wrote positively of the episode, praising the use of "conventional plots" and adding "professionalism, a keen eye, good timing, and an approach that rediscovers the delight in this standard situation." She also called it an improvement over "The Musical Man" and ultimately gave this episode an A−. [10] TV Squad writer Joel Keller called the episode "mediocre", writing that it didn't reach its potential of being "one of the top episodes of the year". Despite this, he said the episode was "still pretty damned good". [11] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix , who has had serious issues with the show's second season and moved the series out of his "commenting on every episode" rotation, gave the episode a positive review. [12] He called it "ambitious episode, but never one that felt overstuffed." He ultimately called it the best episode since "Manny Get Your Gun". [12]

New York writer Rachael Maddux praised the episode's writing and pacing, saying it is "in the running for best of the season". She also praised the character development writing that it featured the most character development "than perhaps any other single episode in the whole series so far." [13]

Lesley Savage of Entertainment Weekly praised the Dunphy family plot, commenting, "Their craziness [...] had me dying throughout the entire episode." [14]

Related Research Articles

"Earthquake" is the third episode of the second season of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) American sitcom, Modern Family and the 27th episode overall. The episode originally aired October 6, 2010. It was written by Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh and directed by Michael Spiller. It guest starred Nathan Lane as Pepper Saltzman and Vic Polizos as a plumber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Old Wagon</span> 1st episode of the 2nd season of Modern Family

"The Old Wagon" is the second season premiere of the American sitcom Modern Family and the 25th episode overall. It was aired on September 22, 2010. The episode was written by Bill Wrubel and was directed by Michael Spiller. The episode is also Wrubel's first credit as co-executive producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strangers on a Treadmill</span> 4th episode of the 2nd season of Modern Family

"Strangers on a Treadmill" is the fourth episode of the second season of the American sitcom, Modern Family and the 28th episode of the series overall. The episode originally aired on October 13, 2010 on American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The episode was written by Danny Zuker and directed by Scott Ellis.

Unplugged (<i>Modern Family</i>) 5th episode of the 2nd season of Modern Family

"Unplugged" is the fifth episode of the second season of the ABC sitcom, Modern Family, and the 29th episode of the series overall. The episode originally aired October 20, 2010. It was written by series co-creator Steven Levitan and directed by Michael Spiller.

"Chirp" is the seventh episode of the second season of Modern Family and the 31st episode overall. It originally aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on November 3, 2010. The episode was written by Dan O'Shannon and directed by season two's main director, Michael Spiller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manny Get Your Gun</span> 8th episode of the 2nd season of Modern Family

"Manny Get Your Gun" is the eighth episode of the second season of the sitcom, Modern Family and the 32nd overall. It originally aired November 17, 2010 on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The episode was written by Danny Zuker, from a story by Modern Family co-creator, Christopher Lloyd and was directed by Michael Spiller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Children, Ourselves</span> 12th episode of the 2nd season of Modern Family

"Our Children, Ourselves" is the 12th episode of the second season of the American television comedy series, Modern Family and the 36th overall episode of the series. Executive producers Dan O'Shannon & Bill Wrubel wrote the episode, and Adam Shankman directed it. The episode originally aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on January 12, 2011. It featured guest star Mary Lynn Rajskub as Mitchell's ex-girlfriend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regrets Only</span> 16th episode of the 2nd season of Modern Family

"Regrets Only" is the 16th episode of the second season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 40th episode overall. It aired on February 23, 2011, on ABC. The episode was written by Abraham Higginbotham and directed by Dean Parisot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two Monkeys and a Panda</span> 17th episode of the 2nd season of Modern Family

"Two Monkeys and a Panda" is the 17th episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Modern Family and the 41st episode overall. It was originally aired on March 2, 2011. The episode was written by Carol Leifer and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boys' Night</span> 18th episode of the 2nd season of Modern Family

"Boys' Night" is the 18th episode of the American comedy television series, Modern Family's second season and the 42nd episode overall. It was originally aired on March 23, 2011. The episode was written by series co-creator Steven Levitan and Jeffrey Richman, and was directed by Chris Koch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Musical Man</span> 19th episode of the 2nd season of Modern Family

"The Musical Man" is the 19th episode of the American comedy television series, Modern Family's second season and the 43rd episode overall. It originally aired on April 13, 2011 on American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The episode was written by Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh and was directed by Michael Spiller.

Mothers Day (<i>Modern Family</i>) 21st episode of the 2nd season of Modern Family

"Mother's Day" is the 21st episode of the American comedy television series, Modern Family's second season and the 45th episode overall of the series. It originally aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) on May 4, 2011. The episode was written by Dan O'Shannon & Ilana Wernick and was directed by Michael Spiller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Cop Bad Dog</span> 22nd episode of the 2nd season of Modern Family

"Good Cop Bad Dog" is the 22nd episode of the American comedy television series Modern Family's second season and the 46th episode overall. The episode originally aired on May 11, 2011, on American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The episode was written by Abraham Higginbotham & Jeffrey Richman and was guest directed by former child star Fred Savage. It guest starred Lin-Manuel Miranda as Guillermo, the Grocery Store worker who tries to convince Jay to invest with him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">See You Next Fall</span> 23rd episode of the 2nd season of Modern Family

"See You Next Fall" is the 23rd episode of the American comedy television series, Modern Family's second season and the 47th episode overall. The episode originally aired on May 18, 2011, on American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The episode was written by Danny Zuker and directed by Modern Family co-creator and executive producer, Steven Levitan.

The One That Got Away (<i>Modern Family</i>) 24th episode of the 2nd season of Modern Family

"The One That Got Away" is the 24th episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Modern Family, and the 48th episode overall. It is the last episode of season 2. It was originally aired on May 25, 2011. The episode was directed by James Bagdonas and was written by Paul Corrigan, Brad Walsh and Dan O'Shannon.

"Dude Ranch" is the third season premiere of the American sitcom Modern Family and the 49th episode overall. The episode originally aired on September 21, 2011, on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and ran back-to-back with "When Good Kids Go Bad". The episode was written by Paul Corrigan, Brad Walsh & Dan O'Shannon and directed by Jason Winer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">When Good Kids Go Bad</span> 2nd episode of the 3rd season of Modern Family

"When Good Kids Go Bad" is the second episode of the American sitcom Modern Family's third season and the 50th episode overall. The episode originally aired on September 21, 2011 on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and ran back-to-back with "Dude Ranch" in a one-hour timeslot. The episode was written by Jeffrey Richman and directed by Michael Spiller.

"Go Bullfrogs!" is the sixth episode of the third season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 54th episode overall. "Go Bullfrogs!" first aired on October 19, 2011, on ABC. The episode was written by Abraham Higginbotham and was directed by Scott Ellis. It featured guest star Gilles Marini as Julian.

"Virgin Territory" is the 16th episode of the third season of the American sitcom Modern Family and the series' 64th episode overall. It aired on February 22, 2012. The episode was written by Elaine Ko and directed by Jason Winer.

"Crying Out Loud" is the twenty-third episode of the sixth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 143rd episode overall. It originally aired on May 13, 2015. The episode was written by Megan Ganz, Stephen Lloyd & Chuck Tathum, and directed by Ryan Case.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Daily News Releases". Abcmedianet.com. 2011-04-04. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
  2. ↑ "Filmography by TV series for Bill Wrubel". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved 2011-04-09.
  3. ↑ "Filmography by TV series for Michael Spiller". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved 2011-04-09.
  4. ↑ "Asset Display". Abcmedianet.com. 2011-01-17. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
  5. ↑ "Asset Display". Abcmedianet.com. 2011-01-21. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
  6. 1 2 3 Seidman, Robert (April 21, 2011). "TV Ratings Wednesday: 'Modern Family,' 'Happy Endings,' 'Breaking In,' 'American Idol,' Down; 'Cougar Town' Up and Down; 'Better with You' Up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
  7. ↑ Seidman, Robert (2011-02-27). "Wednesday Final Ratings: 'The Middle,' 'Modern Family,' 'American Idol,' 'Survivor' Adjusted Up; 'Cougar Town' Adjusted Down - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Archived from the original on 2011-04-24. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
  8. ↑ Gorman, Bill (2011-02-27). "Wednesday Final Ratings: 'American Idol,' 'Modern Family,' 'Happy Endings,' 'Survivor,' 'Criminal Minds,' 'Suspect Behavior' Adjusted Up; 'Breaking In,' 'Minute,' 'Shedding' Adjusted Down - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Archived from the original on 2011-04-17. Retrieved 2011-04-14.
  9. 1 2 Seidman, Robert (2011-04-24). "TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: 'American Idol,' 'Glee,' 'Dancing with the Stars,' 'NCIS' Top Week 31 Viewing - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Archived from the original on 2011-04-29. Retrieved 2011-04-28.
  10. ↑ Bowman, Donna (April 20, 2011). "Modern Family "Someone to Watch Over Lily"". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
  11. ↑ Keller, Joel (April 21, 2011). "'Modern Family' Season 2, Episode 20 Recap". TV Squad . Retrieved 2011-04-21.
  12. 1 2 Sepinwall, Alan. "Review: Modern Family - Someone to Watch Over Lily: Keep yourself alive". HitFix.com. Retrieved 2011-04-28.
  13. ↑ Maddux, Rachael (2011-04-21). "Modern Family Recap: Child Custody - Vulture". Nymag.com. Retrieved 2011-04-28.
  14. ↑ Hibberd, James (2011-04-21). "Modern Family recap: The Godfather | Season 2 Episode 20 | EW.com". Tvrecaps.ew.com. Retrieved 2011-04-28.
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.