It could not be more perfect that Phil's birthday and the release date  of a hot new product coincide, and he wants nothing so much as to be one  of the first people to get one; this is Claire's mission. Meanwhile,  before coming to Phil's party, Mitchell is preoccupied with a new found  desire to toughen up, Cameron gets himself involved in a neighbor's  marital problems, and it's Jay against Gloria and Manny in chess.

Game Changer

Ed O'Neill

Sofía Vergara

Julie Bowen

Ty Burrell

Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Eric Stonestreet

Sarah Hyland

Ariel Winter

Nolan Gould

Rico Rodriguez

Kevin Rodney Sullivan

Alex Herschlag

Vanessa McCarthy

Joe Lawson

Sally Young

Benched

Starry Night

Jay has just recently married his younger, Colombian wife, Gloria, but he's having trouble keeping up with her and her son Manny. Claire is having trouble with her own family, especially with her husband Phil, who thinks he can be hip with his three kids. Also, Mitchell and his partner Cameron adopt a Vietnamese baby, Lily.

Pilot

Phil is determined to help Luke prove to mom that he is responsible  enough to have the brand new bike they just got him. However Phil ends  up being the irresponsible one when a hot neighbor clouds his judgment.  Meanwhile Mitchell and Cameron take Lily to their first Mommy &amp; Me  class, and Jay and Manny have some awkward father and son time.

The Bicycle Thief

Phil pushes Jay to go out with him and fly his new model plane. While Manny takes time out to play with Luke, Gloria accompanies Alex in shopping for a dress. Later on, Manny ends up having a heart-to-heart talk with his sister Claire.

Come Fly with Me

Claire and Mitchell's mother, Dede, drops in for a surprise visit and is determined to make amends with everyone she offended during what has been deemed "the incident" at Jay and Gloria's wedding. Needless to say, no one is thrilled to see her and everything comes to a head when the whole family shows up to dinner at Claire's house.

The Incident

The whole family is invited to Jay and Gloria's for some barbeque and  football. However an earlier incident at school between Manny and Luke  makes things very awkward for Gloria and Claire, and then things  escalate when a not-so-flattering label is uttered.

Coal Digger

It's the first day back at school for the kids and, at the Dunphy house,  Phil oversteps when he misreads how Claire is coping with an empty  nest. Over at Jay's, he and Gloria are in disagreement over Manny's  interesting choice of outfit for his first day of class, and Mitchell  and Cameron freak out after Lily gets her first bump on the head.

Run for Your Wife

The whole family comes out to support Manny's newfound interest - fencing. It turns out he's quite masterful in the sport, but Jay's proud enthusiasm triggers an old childhood wound for Mitchell. Meanwhile Phil is determined to find where Luke's hidden talents lie.

En Garde

With a history of giving bad gifts, Claire is determined to surprise Phil with an amazing anniversary present: a private performance by one of their favorite musicians, Izzy LaFontaine. However, it turns out to be unexpected in more ways than one. Meanwhile, Mitchell and Cameron call up their "party-girl bestie", Sal, for a long overdue night out on the town.

Great Expectations

Nothing is too big when Phil and Claire decide to throw Luke the biggest and best birthday party a boy could ever want, but when Cameron shows up as Fizbo the Clown, it sets off a chain of events that ends with someone in the hospital.

Fizbo

Christmas is in full swing at the Dunphy house until the kids get in  some trouble and Phil and Claire threaten to take away Christmas until  one of them fesses up. Meanwhile, Jay struggles with wanting to stick to  his holiday traditions while Gloria and Manny want to incorporate some  of their Colombian practices, and Mitchell and Cameron take Lily to the  mall for her first picture with Santa -- but end up with a disgruntled  mall Santa on their hands.

Undeck the Halls

Gloria is less than pleased with Jay's reaction to the arrival of  Javier, Manny's infamously unreliable dad. Meanwhile, Phil is suffering  from kidney stones and his dramatics leave Claire no other choice but to  call for the hot firemen to rush him to the hospital, and Mitchell and  Cameron have a harder time than Lily as they attempt to sleep train her.

Up All Night

When Claire finds a dirty picture on the computer and assumes it's  Luke's doing, a guilty Phil doesn't necessarily correct her. Jay and  Gloria disagree over his beloved life-sized dog butler statue, and  Cameron gets sucked into their gardener's woes, much to Mitchell's  chagrin.

Not In My House

Mitchell plants the seed in Jay's head that he thinks one of Jay's old buddies might be secretly gay. Jay doesn't believe it for a second... except for all the questionable signs he now keeps noticing. Meanwhile Gloria gives Manny's date a makeover and Claire faces off with Phil's universal remote.

Fifteen Percent

Claire feels slightly inadequate when her old friend, Valerie, visits and is nothing like Claire remembered.  Meanwhile Jay has an unsettling locker room moment when he and Cameron  go play racquetball, and Mitchell tries to help Gloria with some legal  problems

Moon Landing

Phil and Claire break from their traditional Valentine's Day dinner date and plan a little "role play" excursion. Meanwhile, Jay and Gloria's ideas of romance clash when he takes her to a comedy show, and Mitchell and Cameron play cupid for Manny.

My Funky Valentine

When Phil and Luke embark on a discovery expedition underneath the  house, Phil tries not to let his fear of the dark and of creepy crawlies  get the best of him. Meanwhile, Claire takes a nervous Haley to the DMV  for her driver's test, Manny's sudden illness before a friend's  amusement park birthday party makes Gloria suspicious, and Cameron and  Mitchell invite Lily's pediatrician over for what turns out to be an  anxiety-ridden brunch.

Fears

After reconnecting on Facebook, Phil invites his old high school  girlfriend to drop by the house, but this  friendly visit quickly turns into trouble. Meanwhile Jay accidentally  kills Manny's beloved pet turtle, then goes to extremes to cover his  tracks, and an overworked Mitchell finally stands up to his boss.

Truth Be Told

Phil and Claire each tackle one of their kids' school projects; Jay and  Mitchell set out on their traditional father-son outing to see the  meteor showers, but Mitchell is surprised to see Manny will be joining  them; and with the boys gone, Gloria and Cameron go out for some quality  bonding time, but not without a few mishaps.

When Luke and Manny's hot-tempered basketball coach quits in the middle  of a game, Jay and Phil both jockey to fill the position. Claire and  Gloria each struggle with the realization that they might not be number  one in their children's lives anymore, and Mitchell takes Cameron along  to meet a prospective employer, but Cameron's big personality doesn't  necessarily help to make a good impression.

Claire is caught off guard when Phil's father shows up in an RV with a little four legged friend, and she becomes suspicious that he might be hiding a larger reason for the visit. Meanwhile, when Cameron hears Dylan is down a drummer in his band, he enthusiastically offers to fill in, and Jay and Gloria have to pay the consequences of accidentally taking Manny to see a traumatizing horror movie.

Travels with Scout

For Jay's birthday, Gloria gives him the best surprise -- a romantic birthday getaway to Hawaii -- the only kicker is she invited the whole entire family to come along. Everyone arrives at the airport, and it's a maddening scene with forgotten I.D.'s, security breaches and flying phobias.

Airport 2010

Jay could not be more excited to do nothing but indulge and relax in this  tropical paradise, but then an unexpected reality check dampens his  plans. Meanwhile, Phil is determined to make this trip romantic for  Claire, Mitchell and Cameron have opposing views on whether to sightsee  or not to sightsee, and the kids get into a little bit of mischief when  left to their own devices.

Hawaii

Claire painstakingly plans for a new family portrait to be taken, but it seems like everything and everybody is working against her. Gloria and Manny go with Phil and Alex to a Lakers game and end up having a very awkward moment on the jumbotron; Luke interviews Jay for a school project, and Cameron gets a gig as a wedding singer while Mitchell is home alone with Lily and a wayward pigeon.

Family Portrait

The Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan is a wonderfully large and blended family. They give us an honest and often hilarious look into the sometimes warm, sometimes twisted, embrace of the modern family.

Game Changer

Seasons11

Season 1 Episodes24

Cast10

Crew6

Discussion

Episode Summary