I do my weekly DVR Purges, but let's be frank: they are crap. I don't proofread them at all most weeks. They're collections of scattered thoughts that barely even make sense a week later. What I've decided to do is, with most of these shows I watch taking a break, reflect on where I stand with them, assessing what is in the show's favor (assets) and what could get it in trouble (liabilities).
Now, not every show I watch will be included. In general, I'm sticking to shows that I've kept notes (be them from Purges or otherwise) as I've watched. That means, shows like The Bridge, Looking, Sherlock, and Dexter will not be included. To get my thoughts on those, ask me. This project, supposing I stay on schedule should take all month and I hope it does a good job summing up where these shows stand. In some cases, I'm hoping to convince you to start watching. Other times, it'll be nothing more than a postmortem for a show that's gone.
I hope you enjoy.
Favorite Episodes: "Australia" and "The Wedding (Part 1)"
The Kids: Anyone who has been paying attention knows by now that the children are the best thing about Modern Family these days. Even if you were doubting it going into the season, I don't see how you could come out of season five thinking otherwise. Let's start with Lily. Aubrey Anderson-Emmons used to be a burden, because, well, todlers don't have acting chops. Eventually, the writers realized that all she has to do is have a funny line to say. There's a string of episodes starting with "The Late Show" where her lines giving grief to her dads in which she is the best and funniest part of the entire episode. It's not like Anderson-Emmons suddenly got good. The writers have figured out how to use her and it's been with Michelle Tanner-level precision. Then we have Luke who does more with trash minutes than any character on the show. He drove maybe a handful of C stories throughout the year and almost all were highlights of the episode. He was barely even in "Larry's Wife" but did great things with the poker game. And, anytime the show wants to pair him with Phil, it's going to be great. Eventually, the show will stop shifting between writing him as a 10 year old and a 15 year old. Then maybe he'll get Manny-level screen time. Haley's season revolved around her getting together with the manny. There wasn't much to it but she still found things to do, like turning the table on her parents in "Three Dinners". Alex had the ridiculous therapy session episode which was technically well done, albeit ill-fitting with the rest of the series, but she also got to hilariously come to Phil's rescue in "The Wedding (Part 1)" when his blind routine was falling apart or dominating the smart person group in "Other People's Children". I almost don't want to include Manny here because he's the only kid who started the series with major screen time and hasn't evolved much over the course. Rico Rodriguez is almost always good though.
Ty Burrell: The one actor in the cast who always gives it his all. I'm consistently impressed with how he goes all out no matter what type of story he's given. He had an entire story about "biking" to Canada and it stayed consistently funny somehow. His narcolepsy in "Sleeper" was so well played, I almost didn't realize how profoudly stupid the story was. He does serious well too, like his vow reading in "Wedding (Part 2)" or a mix of it with comedy in his reaction to thinking Claire is pregnant in "Message Received". Even something like "The Late Show" where it's all in his reaction to his guilt over killing the bird's nest was superb. Modern Family is very lucky to have him.
Staging: This is two sided, I'll admit. One of the things I find most irritating at times is what I call "seeing the strings". After five seasons, it is way too easy to ideantify when Modern Family is setting something up. If someone moves a mirror to the bottom of the stairs, that's coming into play. If someone starts talking to someone from the other room, you can guarantee it's eventually going to be someone different than the speaker expects. I'd prefer this to play out more organically, but sometimes I still must appreciate the craftsmanship. No other show on TV even tries to pull off something like the third act of "Las Vegas" with all the room changes and compounded miscommunications. I mean, if I like when Frasier did it, I can't ding Modern Family for doing it. In fact, it's fun noting how much shared DNA the two shows have given how much the Emmys have loved both.
Liabilities:
Cam and Mitchell: No couple on TV makes me as consistently angry. It is unforgivable how badly they are written together. On the occasions when they are written as a functional couple, they're fine, even great at times. Getting the dry cleaning in "The Wedding (Part 1)" is the most I've liked them all year. Most of the time though, they treat each other like roomates who are tied to a lease and can't get out. Two instances in particular come to mind. First, there's the cake-topper in "A Hard Jay's Night". For a show that later featured a story-arc about Jay not accepting Mitchell and Cam's wedding, it's really dense to have a story that centers on Mitchell's insecurities about the perceived gender roles in his and Cam's relationship, only to reveal that it was done on purpose by Cam in order to get the wedding singer her wanted. That is way too touchy an issue for me to believe either would address so casually. Second, there's whether or not Cam shook up the can he gave Mitchell in "The Late Show". If you don't remember, a coke explodes in Mitchell's face that Cam handed to him. They'd been arguing. Mitchell's accuses Cam of shaking it. The whole thing is resolved by Cam going on a big speech about how Mitchell should believe him and how there should be trust in their relationship. Mitchell apologizes. Cam accepts. Cut to a confessional in which Cam admits to shaking the can, undercutting everything. Seriously, these two are awful to each other. There's plenty of other examples of them tricking one another, lying to each other, or simply realizing they have nothing to talk about. It's an awful relationship that needs some rehab.
The Last Beat: Speaking of "The Late Show" and Cam's confessional, Modern Family has a bad habit of trying to rewrite episodes at the end. Occasionally, it's for the best, such as Alex's attempt at an essay in "Australia". More often than not though, it's a mess of an episode, hastily wrapped up with something that sums up to "but we still love each other". Nearly every week, we get 21 minutes of Seinfeld-level "characters bound to each other because they are so awful that no one else will have them" followed by 1 minute, Full House, "everyone loves each other" rough cuts. It's an annoying structure and the longer they do it, the more it looks like a crutch.
Vacations: I'm assuming part of this was due to the production schedules and all that, but two vacation episodes in a three episode span looks really bad. An episode on location is the epitome of gimmickery in a sitcom. They got lucky in season one with a successful trip to Hawaii. Each dude ranch since hase been less successful, then this season had two different vacations, to Australia and Las Vegas, in the same run of episodes in the middle of the season. Both were good episodes. I won't argue that. The problem is that they are painfully used as filler. Even a season premiere or finale has the smell of "let's do something special". Mid-season like this reeks of "we're out of ideas". In contrast, it's taken The Middle five seasons to location scout an episode, and, unsurprisingly, it's a show I feel a lot better about its position moving forward.
Outlook:
Modern Family is cursed. It's the pretty girl who never had to develop a personality. As her looks fade, so does what is appealing about her. It started off so strong. Great cast, clever writing, amazing ratings. It was instantly rewarded with all the awards. Complacency followed and they are doing the exact same things they did in season one, only now it isn't so fresh and audiences have learned the formula. The ratings are dipping and the awards are soon to follow. In contrast, something like The Big Bang Theory started off ignored by audiences and critics alike. Over time, it learned to tweak its formula, build, and improve. It added cast members, changed character situations, dropped gags that didn't work, and now it is the biggest comedy on TV. While Modern Family dips, the older Big Bang is on the rise. I've been hard on Modern Family for a while. It does please me a little to see it falling out of favor like this because I've seen it as a show that's needed some humbling for a while. It may even have another year of Emmys on its way (which says more about the Emmys than anything) and the ratings are still pretty good, if not competing for first anymore. I know fans of the show who couldn't be more pleased with where it is right now and there's a part of me that needs to accept that I'm not the audience they are playing toward. It's just that I hate seeing a show with so much potential constantly give into bad habits. I mean, in something like "The Late Show" how does it hurt to leave out the confessional at the end? A small laugh lost in exchange for an authentic moment is a trade-up as far as I can see. The fact that every (or most, I'm not sure) episode ends with that narration proves that Modern Family desires to be a show with a message. It's still good often enough that I'm willing to wait and see if they ever learn how to do it right.
Previously this Offseason...
Community
Brooklyn Nine Nine
New Girl
Suburgatory
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