Modern Family

[Melon]

I don't watch sitcoms often mainly because the laugh track drives me insane. I'm not laughing. Why are they laughing? It's not funny! Stop laughing! ARGH IT'S SO GENERIC SOUNDING! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!



But this show doesn't have a laugh track. So I decided to give it a try. Well, that and it stars Ed O'Neill AKA Al Bundy of Married with Children fame. Had to check it out, that man has pinpoint comedic timing!



So here's the setup. There's three "families" that are part of one larger family. The show takes a "reality TV" edge to it, by constantly cutting to asides from the actors. It's not quite confessionals, but there are moments where they will be sitting and talking to the camera too. Perhaps a documentary would be a more accurate description. Well, isn't reality TV like a documentary? Oh gosh, I'm shutting up now.



Family 1:

Ed O'Neill: Jay Pritchett, an old cranky retired man. What more could you want? He has perfected his reaction faces.

Sofia Vergara: Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, "the younger woman" whose vivacity for life often clashes with the jaded/cranky Jay.

Rico Rodriguez: Manny, the child from Gloria's previous marriage. Jay obviously isn't too keen on raising another child, but he puts up with it (barely) for Gloria. This kid is comedic gold.



Family 2:

Julie Bowen: Claire Dunphy, the "do it all" stay at home Mom.

Ty Burrell: Phil Dunphy, the "real estate mogul" with a perverted/awkward/eager beaver streak. He's probably the funniest character on the show to me. So many great lines and moments come from Phil and Ty plays him with a straight face. I can't tell if he's purposefully perverted or just plain ignorant of his tendencies.

Sarah Highland: Haley Dunphy, the oldest daughter and typical "I wanna grow up" teenager.

Ariel Winter: Alex Dunphy, the middle child and sarcastic "Daria" of the bunch. She gets a ton of great lines, especially mocking her older sister.

Nolan Gould: Luke Dunphy, the youngest and arguably dumbest of the bunch. He gets mostly physical humor v verbal humor.



Family 3:

Jesse Tyler Ferguson: Mitchell Pritchett, the gay "outcast" son. He seems to have an inferiority complex, and very much tries to be "normal" and not stand out in any way.

Eric Stonestreet: Cameron, the boyfriend. Very loud, fun, live for the moment type guy. Foils Mitchell completely, usually portrayed as the better half.

Unknown baby: Lily, the child Mitchell and Cameron adopted from South Korea.



Other characters:

Reid Ewing: Dylan, the boyfriend of Haley that is a bit too old for her. Check out his music video for the song in episode 4. It's surprisingly catchy.

Shelly Long (Diane Chambers from Cheers): the ex-wife of Jay. Appears in Episode 4.





I really like this show. It's funny and the characters all have room to grow should it last a long time. Really, I could sit here and quote it like I can the early Simpsons or Futurama, but that's no fun unless you've watched it. The first episode is probably the weakest because it's setting up the story and characters, but it gets better with each new episode. The little "side clips" are great too. The interview with Dylan is gold.



[center]So, here's the Hulu link.[/center]



Anyone else watching?

[surasshu]

I thought the first few episodes were enjoyable, but not on the level of Arrested Development, but a decent replacement for it. Definitely watching this season!

[al kusanagi]

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has me spoiled as far as broadcast TV comedy.

[neshcom]

I was hesitant of this show, but it's really funny. If only we had a better internet connection to watch it...



"Lily? Won't that be hard for her to say?"

[surasshu]

[quote name='Al Kusanagi' post='70430' date='Oct 20 2009, 06:27 PM']It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has me spoiled as far as broadcast TV comedy.[/quote]

Did this show get better or something? I thought it was about as funny as a gallstone the first few episodes I saw of it...

[Tsuki]

This is actually pretty funny, thanks for recommending it! I kind of don't like the Phil character too much, his dialogue tends to be a little too unbelievable, but he has his moments. It's overall pretty good, I haven't enjoyed a sitcom in a while, so this is refreshing.

[story]

Modern Family is pretty good - but I'm totally hooked on Glee right now - and Joss Whedon is going to direct an episode!