Starry Night (Modern Family)

"**Starry Night**"
"Starry Night"
Modern Family episode
	Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), Jay (Ed O'Neill) and Manny (Rico Rodriguez) during the star gazing.
Episode no.	Season 1; Episode 18
Directed by	Jason Winer
Written by	Danny Zuker
Production code	1ARG15
Original air date	March 24, 2010
Guest appearance
	Lombardo Boyar as Jose;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Truth Be Told"	Next →; "Game Changer"
	Modern Family season 1
	List of episodes

Last updated November 15, 2024

"Starry Night" is the eighteenth episode of the first season of Modern Family and the eighteenth episode of the series overall. It originally aired on ABC on March 24, 2010. The episode was written by Danny Zuker and directed by Jason Winer.

In the episode, Claire and Phil take rival approaches to keeping Haley and Luke focused on projects that are due the next day. Manny's ribbing of Mitchell during a trip with Jay causes tension between the three. Cameron tries to make amends with Gloria for past awkward encounters with a night out in her old neighborhood.

The episode received positive reviews and was viewed by 9.18 million viewers with an 18-49 Nielsen Rating of 3.6.

Plot

In the Dunphy household, Luke (Nolan Gould) and Haley (Sarah Hyland) both have projects due and Claire (Julie Bowen) and Phil (Ty Burrell) are responsible for ensuring their children get their work done on time. Claire gives Phil the task of making sure Luke completes a project covering Van Gogh while she keeps track of Haley as she has to cook cupcakes for a fund-raiser. While Phil demonstrates signs of ADHD (narrated in voice-over as Alex (Ariel Winter) tries to convince her mother Luke has the condition), Luke surpasses his mother's low expectations and completes the project.

Meanwhile, Haley manipulates her mother into making the cupcakes for her - only to have Claire throw away all the cupcakes after she is shocked with Luke's success. Luke recites his planned presentation speech to Alex, who is impressed until Luke begins talking about how Van Gogh was warning us of aliens about to attack and Alex calls for her mom.

Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) hangs out with Jay (Ed O'Neill) and Manny (Rico Rodriguez) while Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) hangs out with Gloria (Sofía Vergara). Mitchell and Jay have a tradition of watching meteor showers together and Jay brings along Manny to get him out of the house. Cameron attempts to make up for slight offenses over the past couple of weeks with Gloria by inviting her to a fancy restaurant.

Jay and Manny tease Mitchell during the stargazing; Jay is trying to get Manny to overcome a severe disappointment earlier in the week and encourages him to treat Mitchell as a brother would - teasing, joking, camaraderie. Jay asks Mitchell to encourage Manny to not focus on other children calling him "weird" and the two bond. At the same time, Cameron takes Gloria to one of her favorite little eateries, where he tries to bond by eating very spicy food, to which he has a bad reaction. The two end up finding their similarities lie in fashion, shopping and things of that nature.

At the close, the family tries cupcakes that Haley has managed to cook while they celebrated Luke's success. Once Haley is sent to school, they immediately start scrambling to get the horrible taste out of their mouths, as Claire wonders what the phone number for Poison Control is.

Production

"Starry Night" was directed by Jason Winer, marking his twelfth-directed episode of the series. The show was written by Danny Zuker.^[1]

Reception

Ratings

In its original American broadcast, "Starry Night" earned a 3.7 rating among adults 18-49 and was viewed by 9.18 million viewers. The episode dipped slightly from the previous week's numbers.^[2] The episode ranked 22nd in the weekly viewership ratings and 13th in the 18-49 rating.^[3] Danny Zuker is currently nominated for writing for an Episodic Comedy at the 2011 Writers Guild of America Awards facing six other programs including the Modern Family episode, "Earthquake".^[4]

Reviews

The episode got mostly positive reviews.

Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode a 9.5 saying it was "Incredible" and that ""Starry Night" was a near perfect episode of Modern Family. The storylines were great and tied together in very entertaining ways. The characters delivered what we would expect, while still being able to develop deeper connections between each other. And it was also fall-off-the-couch hilarious. Add the patented Modern Family touching ending and you've got one of their best episodes of this debut season".^[5]

Jason Hughes of TV Squad gave "Starry Night" a positive review, saying the changed dynamics "worked better than anyone could have expected." He admired Ty Burrell (Phil)'s "stellar physical comedy" as Phil demonstrated his obvious ADHD. In the end, Hughes stated "these characters still ring more true and real than most families you see on television."^[6]

Lesley Savage of Entertainment Weekly gave it a positive review saying that the episode was "so fantastic". She really enjoyed Cameron's performance in the episode, citing his zingers and stating "...if I had to pick one to take home to watch TV with me every night, it would be Cameron."^[7]

Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave it an A− with readers giving it a B+. She noted that the episode "impressed with the way it all fit together." The episode wasn't a "laugh riot" but was a "well-integrated episode".^[8]

Related Research Articles

"Game Changer" is the nineteenth episode of the first season of Modern Family and the nineteenth episode of the series overall. It premiered on ABC on March 31, 2010. The episode's teleplay was written by Joe Lawson & Alex Herschlag from a story by Vanessa McCarthy & Joe Lawson. It was directed by Kevin Sullivan.

"Coal Digger" is the fifth episode of the American family sitcom television series Modern Family. It premiered on ABC in the United States on October 21, 2009. The episode was written by co-creator and executive producer of Modern Family, Christopher Lloyd and directed by Jason Winer.

"Run for Your Wife" is the sixth episode of the American family sitcom television series Modern Family. It premiered on ABC in the United States on October 28, 2009. The episode was written by Brad Walsh & Paul Corrigan and directed by Jason Winer.

"En Garde" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American family sitcom television series Modern Family and the seventh episode of the series overall. It premiered on ABC in the United States on November 4, 2009. The episode was written by Danny Zuker and directed by Randall Einhorn.

"Up All Night" is the eleventh episode of the first season of the American family sitcom television series Modern Family and the eleventh episode of the series overall. It premiered on ABC in the United States on January 6, 2010. The episode was written by co-creator Christopher Lloyd and directed by Michael Spiller. The episode features the first appearance of Javier, Manny's biological father and Gloria's first husband, portrayed by Benjamin Bratt.

"My Funky Valentine" is the fifteenth episode of first season of the American family sitcom television series Modern Family and the fifteenth episode of the series overall. It premiered on ABC on February 10, 2010. The episode was written by Jerry Collins and directed by Michael Spiller.

"Fears" is the sixteenth episode of the first season of the American family sitcom television series Modern Family and the sixteenth episode of the series overall. It originally aired on ABC on March 3, 2010. The episode was written by co-creator, Steven Levitan and directed by Reginald Hudlin.

"Benched" is the twentieth episode of the first season of Modern Family and the twentieth episode of the series overall. It premiered on ABC on April 14, 2010. The episode was written by Danny Zuker and directed by Chris Koch.

"Hawaii" is the twenty-third episode of Modern Family on the first season and the twenty-third episode of the series overall. It originally premiered on May 12, 2010, on ABC. The episode was written by Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh and directed by series co-creator Steven Levitan.

"Family Portrait" is the twenty-fourth episode and the season finale of the first season of the American family sitcom television series Modern Family and the twenty-fourth episode of the series overall. It originally aired on ABC on May 19, 2010. The episode was written by Ilana Wernick and directed by Jason Winer. It guest stars Kobe Bryant and Sean Smith.

"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.

"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.

"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" 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.

"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.

"Bixby's Back" is the 14th episode of the second season of the American comedy television series, Modern Family and the 38th episode overall. It originally aired February 9, 2011 on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The episode was written by Danny Zuker, and directed by Chris Koch.

"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.

"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.

"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.

References

↑ "Starry Night Writers, Directors, and Crew". TV.com. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
↑ Seidman, Robert (March 25, 2010). "TV Ratings: Human Target Drops 13% vs Survivor; Idol Rises; "Fly Girls" Crashes on Takeoff". TV By the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 5, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
↑ Seidman, Robert (March 3, 2010). "TV Ratings Top 25: American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, Big Bang Theory, Undercover Boss Top Weekly Broadcast Charts". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
↑ Seidman, Robert (December 8, 2010). "2011 Writers Guild Awards Nominees Include 'Boardwalk Empire,' 'Breaking Bad,' 'Dexter,' 'Friday Night Lights' and 'Mad Men'". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 10, 2010. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
↑ Canning, Robert (March 25, 2010). "Modern Family: "Starry Night" Review". IGN.
↑ Hughes, Jason (March 25, 2010). "Modern Family' - 'Starry Night' Recap". TVSquad. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
↑ Savage, Lesley (March 25, 2010). "'Modern Family' recap: What doesn't kill us makes us stronger". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
↑ Bowman, Donna (March 24, 2010). ""Starry Night" : Modern Family". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2010.

External links

"Starry Night" at ABC.com
"Starry Night" at IMDb

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.

[1] "Starry Night Writers, Directors, and Crew". TV.com. Retrieved March 25, 2010.

[2] Seidman, Robert (March 25, 2010). "TV Ratings: Human Target Drops 13% vs Survivor; Idol Rises; "Fly Girls" Crashes on Takeoff". TV By the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 5, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2010.

[3] Seidman, Robert (March 3, 2010). "TV Ratings Top 25: American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, Big Bang Theory, Undercover Boss Top Weekly Broadcast Charts". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 6, 2010.

[4] Seidman, Robert (December 8, 2010). "2011 Writers Guild Awards Nominees Include 'Boardwalk Empire,' 'Breaking Bad,' 'Dexter,' 'Friday Night Lights' and 'Mad Men'". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 10, 2010. Retrieved December 8, 2010.

[5] Canning, Robert (March 25, 2010). "Modern Family: "Starry Night" Review". IGN.

[6] Hughes, Jason (March 25, 2010). "Modern Family' - 'Starry Night' Recap". TVSquad. Retrieved March 25, 2010.

[7] Savage, Lesley (March 25, 2010). "'Modern Family' recap: What doesn't kill us makes us stronger". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 25, 2010.

[8] Bowman, Donna (March 24, 2010). ""Starry Night" : Modern Family". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2010.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

v t e Modern Family
Awards and nominations Characters Episodes Season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Season 1	"Pilot" "The Bicycle Thief" "Come Fly with Me" "The Incident" "Coal Digger" "Run for Your Wife" "En Garde" "Great Expectations" "Fizbo" "Undeck the Halls" "Up All Night" "Not in My House" "Fifteen Percent" "Moon Landing" "My Funky Valentine" "Fears" "Truth Be Told" "Starry Night" "Game Changer" "Benched" "Travels with Scout" "Airport 2010" "Hawaii" "Family Portrait"
Adaptations	Familia moderna (Chile) Haft Sang (Iran)
Category