Undeck the Halls

"Undeck the Halls"
Modern Family episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 10
Directed by	Randall Einhorn
Written by	Dan O'Shannon
Production code	1ARG11
Original air date	December 9, 2009
Guest appearance(s)
Brian T. Finney (Scott) Fred Willard (Frank)

"Undeck the Halls" is the tenth episode of the ABC sitcom 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.

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 their 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 Skype 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 takes the Christmas tree away until someone confesses.

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. While they are celebrating, they discover that the burn mark on the couch was caused by the reflecting sunlight on 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.

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 does not react really well but at the end he realizes that they can have both, American and Colombian traditions.

Meanwhile, Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) take Lily (Jayden/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 jolly enough. They complain to the 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. This has some nerve-wracking results.

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]

References

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

External links

"Undeck the Halls" at ABC.com
"Undeck the Halls" at the Internet Movie Database
"Undeck the Halls" at TV.com

Modern Family

Episodes

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"

Season 2	"The Old Wagon" "The Kiss" "Earthquake" "Strangers on a Treadmill" "Unplugged" "Halloween" "Chirp" "Manny Get Your Gun" "Mother Tucker" "Dance Dance Revelation" "Slow Down Your Neighbors" "Our Children, Ourselves" "Caught in the Act" "Bixby's Back" "Princess Party" "Regrets Only" "Two Monkeys and a Panda" "Boys' Night" "The Musical Man" "Someone to Watch Over Lily" "Mother's Day" "Good Cop Bad Dog" "See You Next Fall" "The One That Got Away"

Season 3	"Dude Ranch" "When Good Kids Go Bad" "Phil on Wire" "Door to Door" "Hit and Run" "Go Bullfrogs!" "Treehouse" "After the Fire" "Punkin Chunkin" "Express Christmas" "Lifetime Supply" "Egg Drop" "Little Bo Bleep" "Me? Jealous?" "Aunt Mommy" "Virgin Territory" "Leap Day" "Send Out the Clowns" "Election Day" "The Last Walt" "Planes, Trains and Cars" "Disneyland" "Tableau Vivant" "Baby on Board"

Season 4	"Bringing Up Baby" "Schooled" "Snip" "The Butler's Escape" "Open House of Horrors" "Yard Sale" "Arrested" "Mistery Date" "When a Tree Falls" "Diamond in the Rough" "New Year's Eve" "Party Crasher" "Fulgencio" "A Slight at the Opera" "Heart Broken" "Bad Hair Day" "Best Men" "The Wow Factor" "The Future Dunphys" "Flip Flop" "Career Day" "My Hero" "Games People Play" "Goodnight Gracie"

Season 5	"Suddenly, Last Summer" "First Days" "Larry's Wife" "Farm Strong" "The Late Show" "The Help" "A Fair to Remember" "ClosetCon '13" "The Big Game" "The Old Man & the Tree" "And One to Grow On" "Under Pressure" "Three Dinners" "iSpy" "The Feud" "Spring-a-Ding-Fling" "Other People's Children" "Las Vegas" "A Hard Jay's Night" "Australia" "Sleeper" "Message Received" "The Wedding (Part 1)" "The Wedding (Part 2)"

Season 6	"The Long Honeymoon" "Do Not Push" "The Cold" "Marco Polo" "Won't You Be Our Neighbor" "Halloween 3: AwesomeLand" "Queer Eyes, Full Hearts" "Three Turkeys" "Strangers in the Night" "Haley's 21st Birthday" "The Day We Almost Died" "The Big Guns" "Rash Decisions" "Valentine's Day 4: Twisted Sister" "Fight or Flight" "Connection Lost" "Closet? You'll Love It!" "Spring Break" "Grill, Interrupted" "Knock 'Em Down" "Integrity" "Patriot Games" "Crying Out Loud" "American Skyper"

Season 7	"Summer Lovin'" "The Day Alex Left for College" "The Closet Case" "She Crazy" "The Verdict" "The More You Ignore Me" "Phil's Sexy, Sexy House" "Clean Out Your Junk Drawer" "White Christmas" "Playdates" "Spread Your Wings" "Clean for a Day" "Thunk in the Trunk" "The Storm" "I Don't Know How She Does It" "The Cover-Up" "Express Yourself" "The Party" "Man Shouldn't Lie" "Promposal" "Crazy Train" "Double Click"

Season 8	"A Tale of Three Cities" "A Stereotypical Day" "Blindsided" "Weathering Heights" "Halloween IV : Revenge of Rod Skyhook " "Grab It" "Thanksgiving Jamboree" "The Alliance" "Snow Ball"

Adaptations

Familia moderna
Haft Sang

Category

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