The Bicycle Thief (30 Sep. 2009)

Jay has problems trying to bond with Mannie, but takes advantage of Mannie's father not showing up in an effort to make peace with him, even though Gloria believes there's real peace in the... See full summary »

Director:

Jason Winer

Writers:

Steven Levitan (creator), Christopher Lloyd (creator),

Stars:

Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Ed O'Neill	...	Jay Pritchett
Sofía Vergara	...	Gloria Delgado-Pritchett
Julie Bowen	...	Claire Dunphy
Ty Burrell	...	Phil Dunphy
Jesse Tyler Ferguson	...	Mitchell Pritchett
Eric Stonestreet	...	Cameron Tucker
Nolan Gould	...	Luke Dunphy
Rico Rodriguez	...	Manny Delgado
Brandy Ledford	...	Desiree
Julia Lehman	...	Danielle
Lindsey Stoddart	...	Helen
Kofi Natei	...	Bike Salesman
Davis Mikaels	...	Anton
Alex Staggs	...	Scott
Shamari Berkley	...	Kid

Storyline

Jay has problems trying to bond with Mannie, but takes advantage of Mannie's father not showing up in an effort to make peace with him, even though Gloria believes there's real peace in the household. Phil goes behind Claire's back and gets a bike for Luke, then really ends up lying about it when the bike gets stolen. Mitchell and Cameron begin daycare classes with Lilly.

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Plot Keywords:

foot chase | riding bicycle | returning stolen property | alphabet blocks | los angeles california | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 2009 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Levitan / Lloyd, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Goofs

When riding bikes in the neighborhood, Claire and Phil talk to their "hot" neighbor who is jogging. When her back is shown, the microphone pack is visible in her sports bra.

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Quotes

Jay Pritchett: Manny thinks his dad is like Superman. The truth, he's a total flake. In fact, the only way he's like Superman is that they both landed in this country illegally.

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Connections

References Bicycle Thieves (1948)

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Soundtracks

"Bad As Bad Can Be"
(uncredited)
Written by Bob Mair and G.E. Stinson
Courtesy of Black Toast Music

User Reviews

Valuable lesson

Claire and Phil are seen deep in a discussion about buying Luke a new bicycle. The boy has been riding Alex's old one, so his father feels it is about time to get him a bike to show him responsibility and a sense of ownership. For that purpose Phil takes him to a shop where he buys Luke a nice one, which his son loves immediately.

Phil and Claire are riding their bikes one morning when an attractive young woman, Desiree, obviously new to their neighborhood comes running opposite them. Phil notices she has a nice body and stops to introduce himself and his wife. He knows about the house she bought, having shown it to customers.

Phil spots Luke's new bicycle left unattended almost in front of the store in which it was bought. He figured his son would have learned to take care of his new bike, so he takes it with him. Along the way, he is intercepted by Desiree who wants Phil to help her with something in the house. As the job is finished, Phil discovers the bicycle is gone. What to do? Phil goes back to the shop and gets the same model again. He had stolen a bike!

Jay wants to spend a nice weekend with Gloria in a Napa inn, taking advantage of Manny's trip with his real father to Disneyland. The father, who is in Las Vegas wants to spend some quality time with his boy. As things turn out, the man is conveniently delayed and cannot take Manny to their outing. Jay decides to cancel his trip and take Manny instead to the amusement park himself.

Jason Winer directed the episode that was written by Bill Wrubel and Sameer Asad Gardezi. Of course, it has nothing to do with the Vittorio De Sica's neo-realist masterpiece. The episode concentrates on Phil and Jay, while Cam and Mitch spend some time at the new children's center where they took their Lily to meet her probable "best friend".