Modern Family 1x09

This is the episode in which we are introduced to the Great Fizbo! Who is he? It’s Cameron the Clown, who we learn is a trained Auguste clown. It’s Luke’s birthday and since the whole family is going to be together for Thanksgiving, Claire and Phil decide to pull all the stops this year. Phil gets a climbing wall, bounce house, snow-cone machine, balloons, you name it. Meanwhile, Jay and Gloria encourage Manny to approach a girl he likes, but she has eyes only for Haley’s boyfriend Dylan. For his part Dylan is more interested in “Jungle Tanya,” the animal trainer who’s entertaining the kids with chameleons and snakes. No one flirts with Haley’s man, of course, so she jealously releases jungle girl’s scorpion. The ensuing hilarity gave me some hearty chuckles – even if the slapstick was rather stiff. Floppy Fizbo runs for cover, freaking out Phil, who like any sane person is scared of clowns and bumps into Jay, who was just showing Luke how to use the crossbow he gave him for his birthday, which sets of an accidental arrow into the bounce house, which traps Manny’s girl inside, but as a true man of action Manny saves the day – except that Luke tripped over the beads spilled from Claire’s arts-and-crafts table and breaks his arm.