In Modern Family season 1 episode 22, the Pritchett-Delgado-Dunphy-Tucker clan departed for a trip to Hawaii but naturally, things didn’t go according to plan. It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years since the first season of ABC’s sitcom Modern Family aired. A decade of laughs and several Emmys later, Modern Family’s lovably dysfunctional brood are well and truly part of the pop culture landscape which makes the fact the show is now airing its eleventh and final season bittersweet.
Over the course of its eleven seasons, Modern Family has become known for certain recurring themes. The show’s Halloween themed episodes are particularly popular as are episodes that see the entire clan take vacations together. The family’s vacation episodes have taken them to locations as far-flung as Australia, a Wyoming dude ranch and a houseboat on Lake Tahoe but their very first vacation in the show came in Modern Family season 1 episode 22.
Titled “Airport 2010”, this episode saw Gloria (Sofia Vergara) surprise curmudgeonly patriarch Jay (Ed O’Neill) with a family trip to Hawaii for his birthday – much to his dismay as he’d been hoping it was a trip for just the two of them and he’s also stumping the bill for the entire family. As its title suggests, the episode covered the most nightmarish part of any vacation – the airport – and several problems befell the family before they even stepped foot on the plane that would take them to Hawaii.
First off, Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) realized he’d forgotten his wallet and ID and blamed his husband Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) for not helping him pack their bags. Phil (Ty Burrell) convinced Mitchell he could drive him home and back to the airport in time which annoyed his wife Claire (Julie Bowen), who wanted Phil there to calm her pre-flight nerves, which weren’t helped by their son Luke making references to plane crashes and Lost (a nod to Julie Bowen’s time on the ABC series).
Elsewhere in Modern Family season 1 episode 22, Gloria’s then 11-year-old son Manny (Rico Rodriguez) was questioned by the TSA because his name matched somebody’s on a no-fly list while Jay wondered if Gloria had invited the family along because she didn’t want to spend time with him. By the end of the episode, however, Jay found out he and Gloria were staying on a few extra days in Hawaii by themselves and the whole family miraculously managed to board the plane on time with their island adventures continuing in the next episode of Modern Family.
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