Benched (Modern Family)
| "Benched" | |||
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| Modern Family episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 20 |
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| Directed by | Chris Koch | ||
| Written by | Danny Zucker | ||
| Production code | 1ARG20 | ||
| Original air date | April 14, 2010 | ||
| Guest stars | |||
| Season 1 episodes | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
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"Benched" is the twentieth episode of the first season of Modern Family. It premiered on ABC on April 14, 2010.
In the episode Luke (Nolan Gould) and Manny's (Rico Rodriguez) hot-tempered basketball coach quits in the middle of a game after Jay (Ed O'Neill) and Phil (Ty Burrell) argue with him, causing both to jockey for the position. Claire (Julie Bowen) and Gloria (Sofía Vergara) each struggle with the adolescence of Alex (Ariel Winter) and Manny, respectively, and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) takes Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) along to meet a potential boss.[1]
The episode was written by Danny Zucker and directed by Chris Koch. "Benched" has received positive reviews from critics and was viewed by an estimated 8.809 million households.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Luke and Manny's hot-tempered basketball coach quits in the middle of a game after Jay and Phil criticize him for being to hard on the kids, causing both to jockey for the position. Claire takes Alex out shopping but their trip is cut of by an encounter with some of Alex's friends from school. Alex decides to go shopping with them instead. Claire feels like her daughter has finally turned into a teenager and doesn't want her around. Gloria faces the same problem with Manny. Manny pulls her off to the side and says that her words of affection embarrass him in front of his friends. Mitchell takes Cameron along to meet a potential boss, who happens to be a golfing buddy with Jay. Mitchell and his potential boss talk and he gets offered the job. Saying he would need to talk it over with Cam, they accidentally lock themselves in the garage. Trying to get out, they end up wrecking Mitchell's new boss's ferrari.[1]
[edit] Production
The episode was written by Danny Zucker making it his third writing credit after "En Garde" and "Starry Night" and was directed by Chris Koch his second directing credit for the series after "Not in My House".[2] "Benched" originally aired April 14, 2010 as the twentieth episode of the first season.[3]
[edit] Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Benched" was viewed by an estimated 8.809 million households and a 3.6 rating/10% share dropping 8% from last week's episode. The show was the 6th most viewed show of the night and 3rd in its timeslot.[4] The episode ranked 20 in the weekly viewership ranking sixth for ABC and ranked 8 in the 18-49 Nielsen Rating ranking 3rd on ABC in the rating.[5]
The episode received generally positive reviews. Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode a 7.8 saying Eric Stonestreet (Cameron)'s performance was "great", even though the general reaction to the episode was lukewarm. Additionally, the episode "still provided a few big laughs and helped move some of the character development forward".[6] Margaret Lyons of Entertainment Weekly gave the episode a lukewarm review, saying only that "I loved the Cam/Mitchell story of who wants to work and who wants to stay home, [but] the cringe-factor of the party was a little too much for me".[7] Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C+ saying the episode "stumbled". "Clumsy exposition, inconsistent timing, and a lost opportunity at a big setpiece" added up to the episode's performance as "middling at best".[8]
Jason Hughes of The TV Squad called Claire's (Julie Bowen) dressing down of Alex "hilarious but brutal." Summing up the show's first season so far, Hughes stated "[a]fter this first season, I'd say the show is making a pretty strong case for itself" as one of the greatest comedies of all time.[9] James Poniewozik of Time said "After the travesty that was the iPad episode (which mercifully aired while I was on vacation), Modern Family was back with an episode that hit on pretty much every subplot, explored some new combinations of characters while offering fresh takes on old ones and proved the maxim: if you have a revolving driveway in the first act, it had better go off by the end of the third."[10]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Listings: Modern Family". http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings.aspx?id=20100315abc04. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ "Benched Writers, Directors, and Crew". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/modern-family/benched/episode/1327917/cast.html?flag=6&tag=episode_header;cast. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ http://www.tv.com/modern-family/benched/episode/1327917/summary.html?tag=ep_guide;summary
- ^ Robert Seidman (2010-04-01). "UPDATED TV Ratings: Fox Wins As Ugly Betty Finishes Up & Human Target Finishes Down". TV By the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/04/15/tv-ratings-ugly-betty-human-target-finales/48605. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
- ^ http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/04/06/tv-ratings-top-25-dancing-idol-lost-top-weekly-broadcast-charts/47530
- ^ Robert Canning (2010-04-15). "Modern Family: "Benched" Review". http://tv.ign.com/articles/108/1083970p1.html. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ Margaret Lyons (2010-04-01). "'Modern Family' recap: Put me in, coach". http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/04/15/modern-family-recap-benched/. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
- ^ Donna Bowman (2010-04-14). ""Benched" : Modern Family". The A.V. Club. http://www.avclub.com/articles/benched,40129/. Retrieved 2010=04-19.
- ^ Jason Hughes (2010-04-15). "'Modern Family' - 'Benched' Recap". TVSquad.com. http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/04/15/modern-family-benched-recap/. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ Time. 2010-04-15. http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/2010/04/15/modern-family-watch-trash-talk-and-cash-talk/.
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: "Benched" |
- "Benched" at ABC.com
- "Benched" at the Internet Movie Database
- "Benched" at TV.com
