How Am I Supposed To Survive The Summer Without Modern Family?

The finale of Modern Family has just aired, thus marking the end of the freshman season (and forcing me to watch reruns if I am to get my fix). Now, I can't remember if I ever posted anything on this show before (I know I planned to and even had the entire post constructed in my head, but not sure if it lost out to pictures of Summit eating a stuffed animal), but I have to say that it is undoubtedly my favourite sitcom on television right now. It is the perfect blend of outright hilarity with moments of pure sweetness. A lot of the humour is implemented by social awkwardness or the quirkiness of the family members, but then that is counterbalanced by moments of genuine sweet sentiment. In the end, it is a fairly interesting portrayal of family, because it never even gets close to being serious but it also couldn't be considered a parody of the family. For example, Phil is an absolute clown and often will say some of the silliest things that make him seem clueless, but at the same time, he is an absolutely loving father and husband who does effectively provide for them (thus he'll occasionally have moments where you do need to respect him, and you realize why Carol married him in the first place).

In the end, Modern Family's main purpose is to deliver the funny, and it easily does that week to week. It is a show that always has instantly quotable lines. They usually are often recited throughout the week in my household -- which is even funnier when delivered by Summit. The purpose of the show is not to inform or teach, but rather make you laugh really hard -- which it is always successful. But the first year was such a massive hit, that you have to wonder if it can successfully follow up on its second season. There was so many classic moments and lines, that one may worry that they've blown all their top quality stuff already. Then again, the writers have proven to be very funny and talented, and if any show can pull off an even better follow up season then I'd say it was this one. That it isn't to say, that at some point the show won't have a few missteps. Even The Office (my previous favourite sitcom) was a show that almost never failed to be awesome in its first three seasons, but struggled a little in its fourth and fifth (coincidentally, right around the time they finally got Pam and Jim together). Then again, I feel this past season of The Office has been a complete return to form, and is easily one of their best ever. Modern Family would be in pretty good shape if it not only has four very funny seasons, but was also able to remain on the air for six or more.

As for the finale, it was the typical greatness that Modern Family always provides. I loved the showcase of Carol's obsessive perfectionist personality, and how everything needed to be perfect for the picture, which actually lead to nothing going as planned. This storyline was perfectly capped off with Carol(finally happy with how things turned out) looking at the picture and realizing the entire wall the picture was on would need to be repainted -- this was perfectly complimented with Phil mumbling 'Just shoot me', as you can just imagine him thinking an entire weekend will be ruined doing something he feels is a complete waste. Along the lines of that story, I loved the scene where both Mitchell and Carol are trying to fix things they are completely incapable of doing thus leading to more damage and destruction (Carol trying to fix a step but completely destroying it, and Mitchell apparently wanting to play a game of tennis with a pigeon but instead doing an unsuccessful version of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition instead). Other great things from the episode were the following: having Luke wrapped in plastic so that he won't dirty himself before the picture; Frank telling Luke of all the famous people's hair he cut in the 60s in order to make himself seem more impressive; the Three's Company like mix up where Phil believes both Carol and Frank are furious at him for kissing Gloria on the kiss cam; and Manny being ecstatic that his weight loss program must be working since his underwear won't fit him (which actually happens to be his stepfathers).

Of course, none of those things seem as funny unless you actually watched the show. This leads to the obvious question, why aren't you watching the best comedy on television? Well, I guess that is what summer reruns are for.