Episode
Modern Family: A Tale of Three Cities
Overview
After recent trips take the Dunphys to New York; Mitch, Cam and Lily to the Midwest; and Jay, Gloria, Manny and Joe to Juarez, Mexico; the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan reunites for Father's Day.
Details
- Series
- Modern Family
- Season
- Season 8
- Episode
- Episode 1
- Air date
- 2016-09-21
- Runtime
- 22 min
Episode context
A Tale of Three Cities is Episode 1 in Season 8 of Modern Family. It aired on 2016-09-21. The runtime is 22 min.
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More episodes from this season
Episode 3: Blindsided
The Dunphys and Pritchett's are going head-to-head when Luke decides his best chance at getting into college is running for senior class president against Manny. The outcome of this election is even more important to Jay, Gloria and Claire, who prove to be dubious campaign managers. Now that Haley has started her own promotion business, Phil insists on introducing her to marketing guru Merv Schechter, who hasn't seen a stress ball he can't slap a logo on yet. Meanwhile, Cam finds out his star football player is moving away and makes a rash decision that is going to make home life a little cramped for Mitch and Cam.
Episode 4: Weathering Heights
Phil can't cover up his excitement when he's invited to appear in a real-estate news segment for the local news. The day gets even better after meeting his “weatherman” hero, Rainer Shine. Phil made one little mistake; he introduced him to Hayley. Over at the Pritchett house, Jay decides to infuse a little grit into Manny's video interview for his college application. In the Tucker-Pritchett home, Lily is over their new houseguest and decides to take matters into her own hands.
Episode 5: Halloween 4: The Revenge of Rod Skyhook
Luke's Halloween party isn't the monster bash he dreamed of and is at risk of having the worst party of the year. Sensing trouble, the rest of the Dunphy's realize all his party needs is a visit from Rod Skyhook, a little promotion and some adult supervision to get it started. Meanwhile at the Tucker-Pritchett home, Cam faces off with his Halloween nemesis while Lily and Mitchell try to save the day and work to keep him from going to the darkside. Finally, when Jay finds out that Manny is going to a party at the home of an old enemy, he enlists him to deliver a trick he will never forget.
Episode 6: Grab It
Jay's favorite place in the world, and only refuge, may be losing some of its charm when Phil considers becoming a member. At the Dunphy house, Claire mistakes her influence on Alex's life choices, and Hayley cares too much about what Alex thinks about hers. Meanwhile, when Cam doesn't give Mitchell the full story on what his play is really about, it really puts Mitchell in the spotlight.
Episode 7: Thanksgiving Jamboree
It's going to be a Thanksgiving jamboree at the Pritchett-Tucker home this year and Cameron has spared no expense. While Phil tries to get used to Rainer Shine dating his daughter, Hayley has to break it to her dad that she would rather spend the rest of her holiday with her new boyfriend than stay for the traditional family football game.
Episode 8: The Alliance
Hayley's plan for a fun-filled girl's day with Rainer Shine's teen daughter may be a little more angst-filled than expected. Meanwhile, Luke finds himself in a compromising position with a widow at the club and unwittingly helps his grandpa, Jay, with his petition. At the Pritchett-Tucker home, Gloria, Phil and Cam have formed a secret alliance to ensure their respective "mistakes" are concealed from their spouses. However, their diabolical plan may be derailed when Mitchell starts suspecting something just isn't right.
Episode 9: Snow Ball
When Manny and Luke put on the school's lavish winter dance and end up over their heads due to a texting error, it is up to them to fix it before the end of the night. Meanwhile, Gloria, Claire, Mitchell and Cam all volunteer at the dance while Jay's thinly veiled guise to get out of it by pretending to want to spend time with Phil backfires. During the dance, Claire and Gloria attempt to set up Marjorie, an overbearing mom, with the school's principal. Finally, Mitchell is unnerved to be back in high school and is shocked to see a lot of himself in the school bully and feels he needs a little guidance.
Episode 10: Ringmaster Keifth
Trying to recover from his Thanksgiving debacle, Cam decides to treat the family to a New Year's Day feast. After realizing that Cam's recent attempt is also a complete fail and in order to salvage their meal, Mitch uses a "concierge gift card" that he received as a Christmas gift. Cam soon discovers that the concierge who is on his way to save the day is none other than his ex-boyfriend, Keifth, a former circus ringmaster who left him without saying goodbye. Meanwhile, Phil's dad, Frank arrives with his new girlfriend, who happens to be Phil's childhood babysitter, which sets him on a confusing tailspin. Finally, Gloria and Jay have to decide who should take care of little Joe if something should ever happen to them.
Episode 11: Sarge & Pea
Cam is incensed that an anonymous and rude parent robbed him of a precious Lily moment during her recent dance recital. While he and Hayley visit Alex at her coffee shop the next day, he thinks he recognizes the culprit and goes to extremes to uncover her identity, and give her a peace of his mind. Meanwhile, Jay, Claire and Mitch attend a family wedding and unexpectedly run into Dede at the reception. Afraid their parents are going to once again make a scene, Mitch and Claire devise a plan to keep them apart. Finally, Phil and Gloria are on a college tour with Luke and Manny, and have very different ways of getting the boys ready to head out on this new adventure and also learning to let go.
Episode 12: Do You Believe In Magic
Fearful that the romance between him and Claire is fizzling, Phil calls upon his altar ego, Clive Bixby, to get Valentines day back on track. Meanwhile, much to Gloria's chagrin, Jay shows a bit of child favoritism when they must deal with Joe's inappropriate Valentine gift-giving and Manny's dating indecisiveness. When Cam and Mitch try to empower Lily, Haley and Sal to stand up to the men in their lives, things don't turn out as planned. Finally, Alex discovers she has a secret admirer who may be a little too involved with family.