Undeck the Halls

Last updated
"Undeck the Halls"
Modern Family episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 10
Directed by Randall Einhorn
Written by Dan O'Shannon
Production code1ARG11
Original air dateDecember 9, 2009 (2009-12-09)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Fizbo"		Next →
"Up All Night"
Modern Family season 1
List of episodes

"Undeck the Halls" is the tenth episode of the first season of the American family sitcom television series Modern Family and the tenth episode of the series overall. It premiered on ABC in the United States on December 9, 2009. The episode was written by Dan O'Shannon and directed by Randall Einhorn. [1] Fred Willard guest stars as Phil's dad, Frank Dunphy.

Contents

In the episode, Claire and Phil threaten to take away Christmas when they discover that one of the kids tried a cigarette but none wants to admit it. Alex takes the blame to save Christmas but it is revealed that they were all saying the truth from the start. Cameron and Mitchell take Lily to get her first picture with Santa at the Mall, but they complain to the management that Santa is not jolly enough for the kids, leads to Santa losing his job. Jay wants to introduce Manny and Gloria to some Christmas traditions while they want to do the same to Jay with Colombian Christmas traditions.

The episode received positive reviews from critics and had a 3.8. in the 18–49 demographic.

Plot

While Claire (Julie Bowen), Phil (Ty Burrell) and the kids talk to Phil's dad, Frank (Fred Willard) via video chat to wish him Merry Christmas, Claire discovers a burn mark on the arm of the couch. Seeing that, they get to the conclusion that one of the kids was smoking a cigarette and they ask them to say who did it. When none of the kids admit the truth, Phil reacts in an extreme manner and threatens to cancel Christmas, taking the tree away until someone confesses.

Despite the dismay of Claire and the kids, Phil stands his ground. Alex (Ariel Winter), seeing that Phil is serious about taking away the Christmas tree, admits that she was the one who tried to smoke. Phil brings back the Christmas tree and Claire says that Alex is grounded for a whole week, starting December 26 so she will not miss the Christmas day but will miss New Years. While they are celebrating, they discover that the burn mark on the couch was caused by the refracting sunlight through a Christmas ornament that Frank sent them. When they ask Alex why she lied, she says that she did not want Phil to take away the Christmas so she chose to take the blame. Christmas is back on, although when the kids reminds Phil he blamed them and threatened to cancel Christmas for something they didn't do, he impulsively promises to take the family to Italy.

Jay (Ed O'Neill) tries to introduce Manny (Rico Rodriguez) and Gloria (Sofía Vergara) to some Pritchett Christmas traditions such as watching Miracle on 34th Street . Gloria and Manny though want to incorporate some of their country's traditions that includes jokes and fireworks. Jay initially does not react well but at the end he realizes that they can have both American and Colombian traditions together.

Meanwhile, Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) take Lily (Ella Hiller) to the mall to take her first picture with Santa (Brian T. Finney). When their turn for the photo comes, they do not find the Santa big enough. They complain to management about it and the guy who portrays the Santa gets fired. Feeling guilty about what they have done, they take Santa home to share a dinner with him. Although uneasy at first, especially since they got him fired, things work out and it is revealed that he knew about their getting him fired. Leaving Cam and Mitchell's house, Santa punches a carol singer who usurped Cameron from his a cappella group that showed up to their house to spite Cameron.

Reception

Ratings

In its original American broadcast, "Undeck the Halls" was viewed by an estimated 9.666 million households and received a 3.8 rating/10% share in the 18-49 demographic with a 5.6 rating/6% share Nielsen rating in the Nielsen Media Research. [2] "Undeck the Halls" finished 23rd place in the weekly ratings with. [3] The episode was the 6th highest rated show on ABC in overall viewership for the week, and was second in the 18-49 ratings for the week (following the Disney special Prep and Landing ). [3]

Reviews

"Undeck the Halls" received positive reviews.

Robert Canning gave it an 8.6/10 saying it "set the bar for hopefully many more Christmas episodes to come" saying the most fun came from Cameron and Mitchell's subplot and says he looks forward to more Christmas episodes. [4]

Jason Hughes of TV Squad stated in his review "This holiday episode was lighter on the funny moments than most episodes of Modern Family, which isn't to say that it wasn't plenty funny. It substituted those with more heartfelt moments.". He also stated the best moment of the episode was when Jay surprised Gloria and Manny with fireworks. [5]

TV Fanatic gave the episode a positive review saying "The episode might not have been as funny as previous installments, but it certainly had some very sweet heart, especially when it came to Jay's storyline." But the episode was criticised for not featuring Fred Willard, saying "Fred Willard is comedic genius and could have added a lot to the already amazing Modern Family cast, but was for some odd reason underused." [6]

Related Research Articles

Game Changer (<i>Modern Family</i>) 19th episode of the 1st season of Modern Family

"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.

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Funky Valentine</span> 15th episode of the 1st season of Modern Family

"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 (<i>Modern Family</i>) 16th episode of the 1st season of Modern Family

"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.

Starry Night (<i>Modern Family</i>) 18th episode of the 1st season of Modern Family

"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.

Benched (<i>Modern Family</i>) 20th episode of the 1st season of Modern Family

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travels with Scout</span> 21st episode of the 1st season of Modern Family

"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.

"Airport 2010" is the twenty-second episode of the American television sitcom series Modern Family and the twenty-second episode of the series overall. It premiered on May 5, 2010, on ABC. The episode was written by Bill Wrubel & Dan O'Shannon and directed by Jason Winer.

<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">Dance Dance Revelation</span> 10th episode of the 2nd season of Modern Family

"Dance Dance Revelation" is the tenth episode of the second season of the sitcom, Modern Family and the 34th overall. It originally aired December 8, 2010 on the ABC. The episode was written by Ilana Wernick and directed by Gail Mancuso.

Caught in the Act (<i>Modern Family</i>) 13th episode of the 2nd season of Modern Family

"Caught in the Act" is the 13th episode of the second season of the American television comedy series, Modern Family and the 37th overall episode of the series. Co-creator Steven Levitan & Jeffrey Richman wrote the episode and Michael Spiller directed it. The episode originally aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on January 19, 2011. It featured guest star Rachael Harris as restaurant owner, Amelia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Someone to Watch Over Lily</span> 20th episode of the 2nd season of Modern Family

"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.

Punkin Chunkin (<i>Modern Family</i>) 9th episode of the 3rd season of Modern Family

"Punkin Chunkin" is the ninth episode of the third season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 57th episode overall. It aired on November 23, 2011. The episode was written by Ben Karlin and directed by Michael Spiller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Express Christmas</span> 10th episode of the 3rd season of Modern Family

"Express Christmas" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 58th episode overall. It was aired on December 7, 2011. The episode was written by Cindy Chupack and directed by Michael Spiller. Express Christmas is the second Christmas episode of the series.

"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.

"Planes, Trains, and Cars" is the 21st episode of the third season of the American sitcom Modern Family and the series' 69th episode overall. It aired on ABC on May 2, 2012 and was written by Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh and directed by Michael Spiller.

"Snip" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 75th episode overall. It aired October 10, 2012. The episode was written by Danny Zuker and directed by Gail Mancuso.

"When a Tree Falls" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 81st episode overall. It aired November 28, 2012. The episode was written by Ben Karlin and directed by Steven Levitan.

"A Slight at the Opera" is the 14th episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 86th episode overall. It aired February 6, 2013. The episode was written by Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh and directed by James Bagdonas. For his performance in the episode, Nathan Lane received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

References

  1. ↑ "Modern Family: Undeck the Halls: Writers, Directors, and Crew". TV.com. Retrieved December 14, 2009.
  2. ↑ Seidman, Robert (December 10, 2009). "Broadcast Finals: Glee rises to season high; Criminal Minds up; The Middle, Gary Unmarried down a tick". TVbythenumbers. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Robert Seidman (December 15, 2009). "TV Ratings, Sunday Night Football, Big Bang Theory, Biggest Loser and CSI top weekly broadcast charts". Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  4. ↑ Robert Canning (December 10, 2009). "Modern Family: "Undeck the Halls" Review" . Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  5. ↑ Hughes, Jason (December 10, 2010). "Review: Modern Family - Undeck the Halls". TV Squad . Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  6. ↑ The Barnacle (December 10, 2009). "Modern Family Review: "Undeck the Halls"". TV Fanatic. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
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.