Travels with Scout (28 Apr. 2010)

Cameron wants to join Dylan's band. Claire is suspicious when Phil's father pays a visit, and Manny is traumatized by a horror movie.

Director:

Seth Gordon

Writers:

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

Stars:

Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
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
Sarah Hyland	...	Haley Dunphy
Ariel Winter	...	Alex Dunphy
Nolan Gould	...	Luke Dunphy
Rico Rodriguez	...	Manny Delgado
Reid Ewing	...	Dylan
Christopher Shea	...	Ben Dugan
Fred Willard	...	Frank Dunphy
Joshua Doswell	...	Craig
Ben Le Jeune	...	Brian

Storyline

Cameron wants to join Dylan's band. Claire is suspicious when Phil's father pays a visit, and Manny is traumatized by a horror movie.

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Plot Keywords:

foil | locked in a cage | mobile home | popcorn | dysfunctional family | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 April 2010 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Levitan / Lloyd, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

28 min 28 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

Production #1ARG14.

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Connections

References 21 Jump Street (1987)

User Reviews

A visit from Phil's father

Phil Dunphy's father, Frank, arrives unannounced at his son's house. He has been traveling in his mobile home and has come with a surprise for his family: a mutt named Scout. Phil figures he always wanted to have a pet in the house, so the idea does not seem too far fetched to him. Claire is another story. She feels she should have been consulted in such a big decision, but goes along in keeping Scout.

Jay is waiting for Manny who has gone for a dentist checkup. An old friend of Mitchell's passes by, recognizes Jay and stops to say hi. Craig has a good news announcement for Jay, he has been working in movies and just happens to have a new release out. Jay gets interested, talking Manny into going to see it. What Jay did not know is the film is a bloody horror movie that scares little Manny and has him sleeping between Jay and Gloria.

Cam going to see the new pet at Phil's cannot help be drawn into a situation in which he overhears Dylan talk about losing the drummer of his band. Cam comes to the rescue. After all, he knew his stuff as a younger man. The audition goes well; Dylan and the band can do their gig with the help of Cam. Mitchell is mortified, the engagement of the band is the same night of a gay party he and Cam had planned to attend. Mitchell goes to the show to watch his partner in action; he is mesmerized by Cam's talent as a drummer.

Claire sees Frank crying in the trailer. She figures it is because of Scout. Evidently, he could not have the pooch at home. She figures her mother-in-law's allergies have to do with Frank's decision to part with Scout. The dog has been ripping clothes apart, so she is not too unhappy to see him go, while at the same time, she feels no one asked her if it was all right to give back 'her' dog to Frank.

Jay has been trying to fix a doorbell problem, to no avail. He invited Ben, the actor he met at the dentist to come over to talk to Manny about how it all was fake. When Ben arrives that night, not being able to be heard, he knocks on the window opposite where Manny was watching television. The outside lighting makes Ben appear unreal and his fake machete even more.

Directed by Seth Gordon, the episode was written by Brad Walsh and Paul Corrigan. It was a funny and nicely paced by the director. The wonderful Fred Willard was on hand to play Frank Dunphy.