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Good Cop Bad Dog
Original Air Date: May 11, 2011
Karen Belgrad- Associate Editor
karenbelgrad@
thetwocentscorp.com
At this point I think it’s safe to say that the unwritten rule of Spring 2011 is a Lady Gaga reference must be included in every television show. Glee, American Idol, Brothers & Sisters, Castle, and now Modern Family have all referenced her within the past few weeks. I love me some Gaga, but I’m wondering where else she’ll pop up this month.
Tonight’s episode is all about what the different halves of a couple bring to the relationship. If one person is nurturing, might the other be a little selfish? If one is strong, maybe the other has too much compassion. And if one is always the killjoy, maybe the other is a little too lenient. Can you guess which character falls into each categorization?
Cam is sick. As in “ew gross, what happened?” sick. He’s bed ridden and full of snot. While Mitchell is taking care of him, he opines that he’d still like to go to the Lady Gaga concert (“it’s the one gay cliché I allow myself”, as he uncrosses his legs.). It seems they have great tickets, but Cam is clearly too ill to go. Mitchell tries to justify going (“We could sell the tickets online, but there’s the Craigslist Killer.“) and side talking Cam into agreeing, but Cam really wants Mitchell to take care of him in his hour of need. After a talk with Claire (more on her later), and when Cam falls asleep mid lecture, Mitchell sneaks out and comes back as if he never left. Unfortunately his blinky rave necklace gives him away.
Gloria likes to bring in strays, not animals, but people. This time she’s brought entrepreneurial Guillermo home. She convinces Jay to listen to the man’s business pitch (Good Dog, Bad Dog Training System) of a bland/bacon-flavored dual sided doggie treat container, which is a total flop as dogs just love treats. When Jay crushes the man, they end up in possession of his French Bulldog, Stella. Jay refuses to keep the pooch, but when he tries to return it falls in love. So let’s welcome Stella to the Pritchett home.
The best story of the night was the role reversal of Claire and Phil as the respective disciplinarian and laid back parents. When Claire is sick of always enforcing the rules, she opts to go go-karting with Manny and Luke while Phil makes Haley and Alex clean their bathroom. Claire goes too far in the other direction, crashing the boys’ go-karts and plying them with junk food until Luke pukes in the van. Phil loses it as the girls take advantage of him, forcing them to scrub the bathroom until it sparkles, including removing a disgusting hair clog from the drain. By the time Claire returns home, she and Phil are ready to return to their normal family roles.
The story also gave us some great quips:
Phil: “If you want intense family drama, rent Spy Kids.”
Luke: “This is very confusing, at the movie theatres, she says I’m 11.”
And for good measure, Mitchell: “He’s sick, they’re not going to make a Lifetime movie about him.”
And how great was the return of the broken stair? I have to say, I really enjoyed Phil being the evil one this evening. We all knew he had to crack at some point!
As Gloria said, it’s important to find the people that give us what we need… and hold on to them. So those are my TwoCents! Share your TwoCents, comments, and feedback below!
TheTwoCents 
When Phil cried out “Sweet and sour chicken!” I cried from laughing.
Phil really stole the show.
And I loved that Jay caved and brought the dog home. I knew he would when she made that adorable puppy face at him.
The best part in the Cam/Mitchell part was then Claire asked him how Cam was when he was sick, and they show a quick scene of Cam carrying him around. And of course he just brushes aside that image. lol