Well, it’s finally happening, everyone. The renowned award-winning series Modern Family will end after its 11th season. It’s sad to think about it since it’s such a staple in American television, but on the other hand, you can’t say it hasn’t had a good run after eleven years on the air. To commemorate Modern Family‘s departure, let’s have a look at some the show’s most memorable moments from its best episodes.
This episode marks the first appearance of Cam’s alter-ego, Fizbo the Clown. Cam is determined that Fizbo will make an appearance at Luke’s birthday party much to Mitch’s irritation and the clown-phobic Phil’s terror.
Haley, Alex, and Luke try to surprise their parents with breakfast in bed on their anniversary, but receive the shock of their lives when they accidentally catch Phil and Claire doing the deed, something no child should ever have to witness. Phil and Claire sit the kids down to try to rectify the situation, but only succeed in further traumatizing their children.
This entire episode (“Disneyland”) is great. Alex and Haley are fighting over a boy, little Lily has to go on a toddler leash, Gloria suffers from the pain her stilettos are causing, and Manny obsesses over stocks like a neurotic, coke-fueled Wall Street mogul. But the real stand-out is poor Phil who just wants to enjoy the day with his family and have fun on the rollercoasters, but is slowly being sapped by the flu that is slowly overtaking him. I always empathize because the exact same thing happened to me during a day at Hershey Park.
It’s Baby Joe’s christening, and with Claire too busy to help the kids with their problems, Phil has to step in and help the kids with their feuds with other people. After failing in his “kill them with kindness” strategy, Phil goes full-on Godfather on all of these brats. While Phil stands up as Joe’s actual godfather, Luke and Dylan execute Phil’s plan by wreaking Godfatherly havoc on the Dunphys’ enemies.
Mere seconds after Cam gives Mitch a parenting pep talk after Mitch accidentally bumps their daughter’s head, the two inadvertently lock Baby Lily in the car. It’s perfectly paced pandemonium in under two minutes. Cam falls into complete hysteria and tries to break the car window with a public trash can while Mitch struggles to pacify his husband as he talks to emergency assistance, the operator mistakes Cam’s high-pitched screams for a woman’s voice, and the scene ends with complete and sudden calm once the emergency signal unlocks their car door.
A scene right from the very first episode. When Mitch and Cam call a family meeting for a surprise, Jay mistakes the occasion for Mitch announcing their breakup. After Jay refers to Cam as a “drama queen,” and Mitch tries to object, Cam offsets the protests by emerging from the back room elaborately robed to present Baby Lily Lion King-style complete with The Circle of Life playing in the background. This one scene shows the audience exactly what we can expect from the flamboyant Cam, and the series does not disappoint.
Here we see the feisty Gloria’s scarier side on full display. It’s strongly hinted that Gloria might have murdered the neighbor’s dog, but Jay is relatively sure of his wife’s involvement after witnessing Gloria violently slaughter and decapitate a rat in their yard with complete satisfaction.
In ten seconds, we learn that sometimes Phil doesn’t always make the most well-thought-out decisions on his own. And Claire learns why she shouldn’t let Phil out of the house unsupervised
There really are no words that can best describe this scene. You just have to watch.
Mitch is home alone with baby Lily when a pigeon gets into the house. Mitch is terrified of birds, and Cam isn’t around to save him. From Mitch hiding from the pigeon in his daughter’s nursery to having to run for the kitchen hysterically screaming to get Lily’s bottle, down to where Mitch decides to take down this feathered f**k for good by chasing the pigeon through the house wielding a tennis racket and fire extinguisher as he destroys his home in slow-mo while Cam sings “Ave Maria” in the background, these are the most priceless three minutes and fifteen seconds.