Fizbo

"Fizbo" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American family sitcom television series Modern Family and the ninth episode of the series overall. It originally aired on ABC in the United States on November 25, 2009. The episode was written by Brad Walsh & Paul Corrigan and directed by Jason Winer. In the episode, Phil and Claire try to throw a party for Luke's birthday. Cameron decides to dress up as his clown character Fizbo to attend the party. Manny has a hard time impressing a girl after taking advice from Jay. Haley gets jealous when Dylan talks to the animal handler of the party and ignores her in the process. Everything seems to go fine, but after Haley frees a scorpion from its cage, things go wrong and the family ends up going to the emergency room. "Fizbo" has received positive reviews from critics with many naming it the best episode up to that point. Despite this, "Fizbo" was viewed in 7.12 million households when it premiered, becoming the lowest rated episode of the series. Ratings analysts attributed Fizbo’s low ratings to the episode airing the night before Thanksgiving. Eric Stonestreet won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in this episode.