Fizbo

"Fizbo"
Modern Family episode
Eric Stonestreet as Fizbo
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 9
Directed by	Jason Winer
Written by	Brad Walsh & Paul Corrigan
Production code	1ARG09
Original air date	November 25, 2009
Guest actors
Reid Ewing (Dylan) Margo Harshman (Jungle Tanya) Stacey Hinnen (Guy at the gas station) Kaitlyn Dever (Bianca)

"Fizbo" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American comedy series, Modern Family. It originally premiered on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on November 25, 2009. In the episode, when Phil and Claire try to throw a party for Luke, things go wrong and leads to a trip to the emergency room. Cameron decides to dress up as his clown character Fizbo and Manny has a hard time impressing a girl after taking advice from Jay.

The episode was written by Brad Walsh & Paul Corrigan and directed by Jason Winer. It has received positive reviews from critics with many naming it the best episode up to that point. Despite this, "Fizbo" was viewed by 7.12 million households becoming the lowest rated episode of the series, low ratings some attribute to airing the night before Thanksgiving. Eric Stonestreet won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in this episode.

Plot

It is Luke's (Nolan Gould) birthday and Phil (Ty Burrell) and Claire (Julie Bowen) want to throw a big birthday party for him. Phil is the one who organizes things for the party and among other things he ordered, he also asks for an animal handler, Jungle Tanya (Margo Harshman) who's bringing different animals to show them to the kids, including iguanas, a python and a scorpion.

Manny (Rico Rodriguez) wants to impress a girl he likes from school, Bianca (Kaitlyn Dever), and she is going to be at Luke's birthday party. He does not know what to do to get her attention and he asks for Jay's (Ed O'Neill) advice. Jay tells him that girls go for power and success and since he doesn't have any of those, he should be the funny guy.

Haley's (Sarah Hyland) boyfriend Dylan (Reid Ewing) is also at the party and when he starts talking with Jungle Tanya, Haley gets jealous and she frees the scorpion from its box.

Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) dresses up as Fizbo the clown, despite Mitchell's (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) disagreement, to go to the party because he believes that there can't be a party without a clown.

Everything is going well at the party until the moment that the freed scorpion triggers a chain of events and the whole family ends up in the hospital because Luke fell and broke his arm. While everyone is worried, Luke seems really happy for having a cast because he always wanted one and he says that this was the best party ever.

Production

The episode was written by Brad Walsh & Paul Corrigan and directed by the series' main director, Jason Winer. The episode was inspired by the fact that Eric Stonestreet actually once performed as a clown; Fizbo was a nickname that his dad gave him. Fizbo's clothing is Stonestreet's real clown clothes.

Reception

Ratings

In its original American broadcast, "Fizbo" was viewed by an estimated 7.12 million households with a 2.4 rating/7% share in the 18-49 demographic becoming the lowest rated show in the series history due to the fact it aired Thanksgiving Eve. The show came fourth in its timeslot losing to Criminal Minds, The Biggest Loser, and Glee according to Nielsen Media Research.

Reviews

The episode was critically acclaimed by critics with many naming it the best episode of the season.

Although it was the least viewed episode of the season, it was the highest rated on IGN with a rating of 9.3. IGN reviewer Robert Canning noted, "Modern Family continued its trend of outstanding episodes." Nolan Gould considered the episode his favorite of the series.

BuddyTV named the episode the 26th best episode of 2009 saying "A perfect ensemble piece had the family gather for a disastrous birthday party that featured a clown, a crossbow, a scorpion, a bouncy castle, a zip line and beads".

Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A saying "Best birthday ever. And best episode since the first couple. Welcome back, Modern Family!"

Robert Canning in a review of the season remarked "the episode perhaps being that moment when the series went from being a strong freshman series to a breakaway critical success."

James Poniewozik of Time gave the episode a positive review calling it "an impeccably executed pile-up of comic misfortune" and also said "Besides playing well of the defining traits of several characters, . . . it also proved again that the show has a great touch for physical comedy."

M.L. House of TV Fanatic named the episode the best episode of the season saying "This episode also brought all storylines and family members together in an ideal conclusion to the half hour".

Chris "Boomer" Beachum and Rob Licuria of Los Angeles Times stated Eric Stonestreet has the best chance to win a Primetime Emmy Award for his performance in the episode.

External links

• "Fizbo" at ABC.com
• "Fizbo" at IMDb
• "Fizbo" at TV.com