Bixby's Back

"Bixby's Back" received generally mixed reviews from critics with many saying it was an inadequate sequel to "My Funky Valentine".

At the Dunphy house, Phil (Ty Burrell) and Claire (Julie Bowen) decide to have a small dinner for Valentine's Day in order to avoid the disastrous results of the events of last year.

Since they only could get a very early dinner reservation, Claire realizes that all the couples are elderly so she decides to bring back their characters from last year, Clive Bixby and Julianna.

While watching Claire walk way, Phil takes the wrong room key belonging to an older woman who was arranging her purse.

She feels liberated for a brief moment but then her ex-boyfriend Dylan shows up with his band on a flatbed of a truck and he sings a love song to her.

His suspicion is soon proven wrong when Broderick hugs Cameron in an elevator revealing that he is the real object of his desire.

Jay takes Gloria to a great restaurant that she loves, with the intent to leave after pretending to find that his secretary had forgotten to make a reservation.

Unfortunately his plan goes awry; at the restaurant there really is a reservation for two under the name Pritchett, so they have to stay much to Gloria's delight and Jay's flabbergasted anguish.

Later, the reservation turns out to have been for Cameron and Mitchell, so the relieved and elated Jay and furious Gloria have to leave again.

Gloria reveals that she had figured out Jay's secret plan, moved it to the garage, and bought him a new motorcycle which sits beside the dinner table.

"[9] In its original American broadcast, "Bixby's Back" was viewed by an estimated 13.16 million viewers according to the Nielsen Media Research, and received a 5.1 rating/13% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.

Club writer John Teti gave the episode a mixed review calling it "fine".

[18] CNN writer Henry Hanks gave the episode a more positive review and praised Ty Burrell's performance calling him the "MVP of the week".