Modern Family

Before I dive into my review of Modern Family, let me say this. I haven't posted anything in a week or two so let me wrap that up in a few sentences. Concerning Christmas specials i.e. Community, 30 Rock and The Office, I am ranking them as follows: Community > The Office > 30 Rock. In brief, 30 Rock didn't go anywhere it hasn't already and just had a regular Christmas-themed episode. Although, Elaine Stritch as Jack's mom is one of the best guest stars the show has. Same thoughts on The Office save the additional return of the lovely Holly. And even though nothing too grand came from her return in the Michael-Holly department, it certainly sets things in motion like we've all been waiting for. And as for Community, well, maybe they were trying to impress everybody in their sophomore effort or maybe it really is just that good of a show, but they really blew me away with their Christmas episode. Not entirely because of the actual jokes or story of the show itself (although they were worthy) but because they chose quite an undertaking with the Rankin/Bass-type animation. Making that entire episode is a real feat and I tip my fedora to them. They are constantly churning out fresh ideas. I don't know how long it can last, but I'll take it while I can.


Modern Family 

Anyway, Modern Family, where do I begin? First of all, I have been inundated constantly over the past year with everybody shouting at me to watch Modern Family. It's kind of annoying. I mean, people would get literally mad at me for not watching the shows that they watch. Like, angry mad. A lot of those people also weren't allowed to drink soda as kids and are the same people you catch yelling at themselves in mirrors when they think nobody is watching. So, for the sake of their elevated blood pressure, I watched Season 1 and 2 (up to the most current episode) over the past couple weeks.


First, let me say, I really really do like the show. Simply put, I don't think its one of my favorite comedies ever or anything, but it's one of the best ones on television currently. Definitely a show that I will set up to record every week and watch regularly. I won't really say that I'm going to watch it religiously because it's not that type of show. But I will get to that later.


Here's how I classify Modern Family. I don't mean to be overly simplistic or keep using the same shows as crutches for comparison, but that's what I'm going to do. The show is somewhere in the land between a Two and a Half Men-type show and The Office. I don't mean that in terms of quality but rather style and overall appeal. And to be honest, it leans much more heavily towards The Office. It taps into the same subconscious, unspoken situational humor as The Office but instead of "this is what people are like in an office" it is "this is what people are like in a family" and uses the documentary interview style (By the way, they really do never explain why they are talking to the camera. Ostensibly, The Office implies that it is a documentary crew and will even occasionally make glances at the camera itself. Modern Family just sort of has the gimmick unquestioned. Though, to be fair, The Office isn't exactly more realistic because of its acknowledgment of the camera. That crew is either making the most in-depth, Ken Burns-style documentary of office life or they just have nothing better to film because I think they have enough footage already). Anyway, the reason I say it's like a CBS-type sitcom is because of its family appeal and subject matter. Say what you want about shows on CBS (example: They are moronic) but people watch the shit out of them. Some of them have such massive appeal and are so easy to watch, that they constantly outperform everything in their timeslot. Modern Family is able to marry that appeal (family jokes pretty much cast the widest net out there, audience-wise) and sophisticate it with actually good writing. Also, they invest ample amounts of time into making the audience genuinely care about the characters (another way it is similar to The Office and, really, Community too). Writing comedies with an emotionally dedicated backbone is always a good movie, in my opinion.


And another thing, I used the word "sophisticated" in describing Modern Family. What I mean by that is, essentially, it has no laugh track. For the love of God, when will comedies stop using laugh tracks. They are obsolete. I don't mean to be rude (I probably do), but shows that are still using laugh tracks are stupid. They constantly remind everybody that they are indeed watching a sitcom. Shows (good shows) shouldn't have to remind their audience where to find the joke. In fact, the entire notion of comedy writing is changing such that there is no longer a setup-punchline format. Comedies today embed their jokes in such a myriad of layers in the show that adding a laughtrack would being spitting on it. Just think about shows that haven't used laughtracks from the past few years. (Arrested Development, The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, It's Always Sunny, 30 Rock, Community...the list goes on). Chances are, if you are still using one, your show is geared towards more of a common denominator audience. Excising the canned laughter doesn't make your show automatically good (Outsourced) but it does set it up for a feel that is conducive to better comedy. For further research on the subject, watch this clip of The Big Bang Theory with all of the laughs taken out and tell me if its funny.


Ok, SO, Modern Family. I didn't necessarily stray off-topic because Modern Family fits in with what I was just talking about. It is a member of the progressive comedy class. I guess the easiest way to break the show down is by family so let me just give a brief overview of my thoughts on each three ones.

The Dunphys: The centerpiece family of the show has pretty normal problems going on in it. Hayley is a budding teenager who talks on the phone constantly and wants to break the rules. Alex is dorkier and sometimes has trouble making friends. Luke has some sort of chromosomal disorder I think. I'm not really sure what's the matter with him. In fact, I really don't think his jokes are very funny. Probably one of my least favorite characters on the show. But really, the kids in the family aren't really breaking any new ground. In fact, the whole family is pretty average and if the show were just about them, it clearly wouldn't be any considerable stand-out. Claire, the mom, is the typical hectic, mini-van driving mom. But the pièce de résistance is clearly Phil. When I first saw the actor (Eric Stonestreet) at the Emmys, I thought he looked really unfunny and probably played the straight guy. But his delivery and character are hilarious. He's a buffoon, sure. One of my favorite moments of his was when he was trying to reach his sunglasses in the garage by climbing on top of the car. But the real reason I like him is because he's such a dork and that's always more fun to watch than a buffoon. Also, its comforting to know that someone that dorky and stupid acting can land a wife that hot. 

Jay/Gloria/Manny: This one is where things get a little more irregular as these three characters are all comfortably sitting in fresh and unique territory. I think Jay is a good solid character from both a comedic standpoint as well as an emotional perspective. Some of the more memorable character breakthroughs are centered around him. Manny is interesting. At first I didn't like him. I thought the actor that plays him (Rico Rodriguez) sort of delivered his lines poorly and the "old soul" gimmick wasn't really believable. But, like all things, you get used to it and I really actually enjoy Manny now. He can be a bit much sometimes but sometimes it pays off a la the episode about his birthday. And as for Gloria, yikes. She is ridiculous looking to the point of distraction. I really have no other comments on her performance. Actually, sometimes her accent can be super annoying. Like the way she always says "Jay". I would try to type out the way she says it phonetically, but my keyboard doesn't have a "G humping a Y"-key.


Cam/Mitchell/Lily: This is really what gives Modern Family its flavor. Fortunately, the addition of a gay couple really extracts the show from a stereotypical sitcom and allows it to venture out. In my opinion, I like Cam and I don't like Mitchell. I realize that the uptight character is how Mitchell is written, but I still don't really like him. (Or maybe it's a redhead-with-a-beard thing. It just looks unnatural to me. Like a dog wearing  shoes or an infant wearing a monocle.) Plus, Cam is so charismatic as it is, it's pretty easy to dislike Mitchell by comparison. When Mitchell freaks out about something, I'm just like "Shut up, you baby" but when Cam worries about something, I say "Haha, keep doing it, you're so funny. Hey, I thought I told you to shut it, Mitchell". Cam really has the physical comedy going for him too which helps. Not that he is necessarily doing pratfalls but, as callous as it may sound, fat is funny.


Overall, the reason Modern Family is such a success is because it is watchable from many different perspectives. It's a simple show for the entire family to watch together and appreciate. But it's also worthy of an audience that watches comedy shows they consider forward-thinking and smart. The idea for the show isn't world-changing but it is still a fairly new take on a tired concept. It might not have as many in-depth jokes or room for encyclopedic character knowledge as The Office or as many subtle pop culture references as 30 Rock, but it still has pretty sharp and perceptive writing. If it was on Thursdays, it might lose out to those shows. But its on Wednesdays so, I mean, what else are you gonna watch? Criminal Minds? Essentially, its a good, witty mainstream sitcom which is needed these days. 

Updates

Sometimes my mind writes checks that my fingers can't cash (That came out sounding creepy). What I mean is, I had this grand plan to watch all this TV and type my fully formed and well-versed opinions on individual shows. Well, it turns out that some of these shows are hard to keep up with. In fact, if you miss more than one episode of an hour-long HBO drama i.e. Boardwalk Empire, you're pretty much screwed in the catch up game. I'm sure I will use the down time of the Christmas holiday to get up to speed on all of these missed opportunities. (Although, to be fair, I have stayed pretty faithful to the NBC comedies.) In the mean time, I am going to take on a somewhat more manageable task.

I'm going to pick a show each week that I don't really know anything about besides the premises outlined from whatever commercials I've seen. I'm thinking something along the lines of a crappy looking network comedy or drama whose ratings are fueled by old people accidentally leaving the TV on after they fall asleep. For instance, who is watching Mike and Molly? I think a lot of people are actually. That will definitely be one that I watch soon just to see what is going on. Interestingly, when I suggested sampling that show first to a friend, he said that Mike and Molly is a buzzword and I would seem like I was following the crowd. I don't even know what that means. First, how is Mike and Molly a buzzword? Was there something about it on Wikileaks that I didn't catch? And second, the day I get caught following the "Mike and Molly crowd" is the day I start dropping the g's from -ing words and investing in personal gravy flasks. 

Fat jokes aside, something is medically wrong with his stomach.

In other news, I have been shoveling my way through the first season of Modern Family and am going to try and catch up to the current episodes by next week so look for my overall take on the show coming soon. This is the show that everybody claims "You have to watch! What?! You aren't watching Modern Family?? What are you? North Korean?" So, I'm watching it and I've already got some thoughts brewing besides ones that have to do with Sofia Vergara. 

Anyway, if anybody (my three followers) has any suggestions for shows I should try out, I'm all ears. Or eyes. Depending on the method of communication.

Community/30 Rock/The Office

Community - "Mixology Certification"

This episode of Community is pretty much reserved for viewers that have been following the show for the majority of its run. As an avid fan, I thought it was a great episode. However, if I had to guess, anybody that tunes in casually probably thought it was ho-hum. There was no recognizable parody or send-up for viewers to find common ground on. There wasn't even much of Greendale as the consistent background for the episode. Essentially, the episode removed the group from the school setting and placed them all in a bar for the night. Now, that's a great synopsis to hear if you've been tracking the various character etchings and traits of each individual group member as it explores further dynamics between the different people. It's probably not too exciting if you still refer to Community as "that show with the guy from The Soup".


Nevertheless, frequent viewer or not, it's hard to find much fault with the episode as a whole considering the off-campus location they chose was a bar for Troy's 21st birthday, or "Explusion Day". And using that setting, the show did a pretty good job of portraying a night out. Annie was worried about getting in with a fake ID to the extent of assuming an entirely different persona and accent to fool the bar employees. Coming as no surprise, this  trick dovetailed perfectly into a reason for Annie to be a newer and less inhibited person for the night. 


Jeff and Britta both acted like typical know-it-alls at the bar as they indoctrinated Troy on the tips and tricks of ordering drinks at bars. Jeff suggested he add two drops of spring water to aged Scotch in order to activate the flavor as he twirled his glass in his hand like a real douche bag. Speaking of Jeff and Britta, I'm really getting torn as to who I'd rather see hook up with each other. Jeff and Britta, judging by this episode, are kind of good for each other. They both try to act more civilized and mature than they really are and clearly have some sort of subconscious attraction to each other. However, I really enjoy when the show teases the idea of Jeff and Annie. A. I like Annie more and B. Jeff, although clearly a snob, does have a good heart and that is best displayed when the possibility of him and Annie is entertained. However, the Troy and Annie possibility that was introduced in Season 1 seems like it could be a whole other storyline judging by the very sweet conversation between the two tonight. So really, these threads could go anywhere or nowhere at all. If nothing else, it is a real relief to watch a show that can juggle both high concept comedy and deep, believable relationships so well in ways that The Office did at its height. 

In other regions of the group, Shirley (who I constantly want to call Sharrie for some reason?) is unveiled as having quite the alcoholic history at the same bar that the group coincidentally decides to visit. This comes as a breath of fresh air because I usually find Shirley annoying. Her whole "That's nice." routine is grating and so its nice to see her open up with some flaws. As for Pierce, well, they sure are sticking to that broken legs storyline faithfully. And Abed spends the majority of the episode displaying his true nerd to the point of talking about Farscape with a gay guy at the bar despite the fact that he is obviously trying to pick him up. INTERESTING SIDE NOTE: The comedian who plays the gay guy in the episode is Paul F. Tompkins and is probably one of my five favorite comedians ever. You want to know more about my history with him? OK well I have all of his albums and he just so happened to come to St. Louis this past August and yours truly went to go see him. In fact, I have a picture to prove it. He also signed his CD for me with a personalized note. If you would like to know more stories about my run-ins with celebrities, I have several. 


Anyway, Troy was the star of this episode and really stepped up to the plate as far as creating a more fitting role as one of the norms for the show. 


-"I broke my legs, not my gender."
-"It's like the Lifetime movie of beverages."
-"Stargate is better."
-"Abed does that like three times a week."


30 Rock - "Chain Reaction of Mental Anguish"

I never have that much to write about 30 Rock. Either the fast-paced gags deliver or they don't And considering the show throws so many at you (a high JPM, or jokes per minutes, a unit of measurement I invented) that there are almost always some great ones that stick each week. However, occasionally the show will entertain some of the various relationships it has on the back burner and bring them to the forefront for the week and then usually place them back on reserve for a while. Where have Jack and Avery been? I'm sure it will come up soon and then disappear for awhile as usual. And as I've said before, this isn't a problem because nobody watches the show to check in with these relationships each week. I think the only real relationship that I care about or get anything from is between Jack and Liz. It's part friendship and part mentorship. Liz looks up to Jack for advice and Jack really does watch out for Liz, despite his occasional disgust at her life choices ("I'm tired of talking this much to a woman I'm not having sex with.")


So, this episode decided to bring a few familiar storylines into view EXCEPT for the only one I really care about watching. Tracy's son is back trying to milk money from his rich dad. I thought he was ruled a fraud like two seasons ago? Why did they bring him back? And Jenna's look-a-like boyfriend has returned. However I can't fault this appearance because of how much I love Will Forte. I hope his departure from SNL doesn't result in a lack of airtime because he is great. He has subsequently been popping up on Conan lately playing a hilarious Ted Turner. Anyway, did the episode go into unneeded territory concerning the plot? Yeah, I think so. But if the one-liners and gags are strong enough, I can't say it was a bad episode. It just wasn't a great one. And if they are going to reintroduce occasional characters, let's make it some of the all-stars i.e. Will Arnett's Devon Banks. He clearly is going to have free time on his hands once Running Wilde is cancelled. 


-"Why can't we just paint each others' toe nails, watch vintage pornography, and then go to bed in our swing like a normal couple?"
-"It was Harold, and I ate all of him. Even the face in case of a tie. I ate him sir! I ate my father pig!"
-Jack: "You're the only one bank rolling this? What about Brown and Folderson?"
Tracy: "That's what I call my wallet."

-"Anyone I ever dated in high school turned out to be either gay or a girl dressed as a guy to get a journalism scholarship."

-Of course, Jack hoping that Kenneth's father figure, who turned out to be a pig, was human was a hilarious smaller moment.

The Office - "China"

I'm having a hard time figuring out this season of The Office and I think I know why. I've been watching the show since its inception and then rewatching the seasons as they come out on DVD. This is especially true with the advent of Netflix which has all of the seasons on Instant View (same with 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation, just saying.) So, other than watching them spaced out week-by-week, I am most familiar with seasons as consumed four or five episodes per sitting. Some days I will just curl up in my bed, draw the shades, drape myself in velvet and watch an entire season of a show like The Office. Is that sad? Yes. Does it help me as a fan of the show? Yes. Is there a bed pan involved? Probably. 

Anyway, I think the prevalence of shows on DVD changes the way we think about and react to the show. It's the same reason I have trouble watching Boardwalk Empire. Its sometimes a slow show week to week. But I bet if I watch it on DVD, it becomes a lot more exciting since I can watch the episodes back-to-back. Likewise, I just recently watched all of Deadwood on DVD and proclaim it as one of the best shows of all time. However, I don't think I would say that had I watched it one episode at a time when it originally aired because it would probably seem so goddamn slow and boring.

So, what does this have to do with this season of The Office? I'm saying its hard get a good feeling for a show when you tune in for 30 minutes once a week. When you have a marathon viewing of a season, the world that the show inhabits seems to take over for extended periods of time and shows that are faithful to that world i.e. The Office or Deadwood pay off for their dedication. Essentially, I think this season has been sporadic and spotty with continual storylines mixed in with occasional offshoot episodes like Ryan's website campaign. And its hard to tell if that's unusual for the season of it's just because you're watching it so spread out. Only time will tell.

As for tonight's episode, I'll say a few quick things. I realized that I don't really care too much about Pam anymore. I thought her whole Office Administrator storyline gave her something to do, but as far as the theme of her failing at her pursuits, I wasn't really affected. I didn't really care that much when she went to art school. I will admit I did enjoy when she left and joined Michael's new paper company. But overall, once the show hooked up Jim and Pam and they got married, the bubble was burst on that subject. However, her interaction with Dwight payed off because it was one of the times, although few and far in between, that the show unveiled a human and sympathetic side of Dwight. He essentially let Pam win because he felt bad for her. Call me a sucker for those moments but they get me every time.

And I am glad that the episode pursued an Oscar storyline because I have always liked his character even though this episode made him look like a know-it-all. I think he is one of the show's norms and keeps it grounded in reality along with Jim and Pam. In fact, if I think about it, Jim, Pam and Oscar are probably the only really normal acting people on the show. Maybe Phyllis? But she is also weirdly sexual with Bob Vance in an X-rated Mike and Molly sort of way.

Overall, this episode gave Michael a chance to be right about something, at least in his mind's eye. And I always enjoy whatever small victories Michael is able to scrape from his Dunder-Mifflin (Sabre) existence. 

-That interaction on the street with the "Other Pam" was hilarious. 

Dwight: "We have a colleague with the same name. You're not a liar too are you."

Other Pam: "I've been known to bend the truth."
Dwight: "Damn it Pam! Get out!"

-"Why do you even need soap? Are you that bad at going to the bathroom?"

-"He really does fit that old stereotype of the smug gay Mexican."

-“I can’t wait to do to Pam what I just did … to Pam.”

-Also, one final note: I play trivia every Thursday night and so I watch all these shows and as soon as they end run down to The Hill for trivia. It's a pretty great day altogether. Anyway, like two weeks ago, there was an over/under category that asked to name how many cities in America had over a million people and also how many cities in China had over a million people. THE EXACT SAME DISCUSSION THEY HAD ON THIS EPISODE. What are the odds that  they would talk about that exactly two weeks after I could have used that very information.