Modern Family: Not Arrested Development, but still wonderful

This is Manny Delgado, one of the standout characters on last season's breakout hit comedy, Modern Family. Countless people, especially Andy Ouriel, kept insisting I watch the show. I'm late to jump on the bandwagon for this show, but I finally caught up with it, and I'm glad that I did.

For those unfamiliar with the show, it is a mockumentary which centers on the lives of the extended Pritchett family. Patriarch Jay Pritchett lives with his much younger, Colombian wife, Gloria and her son, Manny, a ten year old who alienates other children his age by acting more like an adult than many of the adults around him. Jay's daughter, Claire, lives with her husband, Phil (who is rather clueless but well-meaning) and their three children. Claire's brother, Mitchell, lives with his partner, Cameron, and their newly adopted Vietnamese daughter, Lily.

I initially dismissed the show after watching the pilot episode when it aired in September (which is what I also did with what has now become one of my favorite shows of all time, 30 Rock). I feel like I'm the minority for not finding the Lion King/Pride Rock imitation Cameron did to introduce Lily to the family very funny. Since my plate was already pretty full of other television shows in the fall, while I didn't hate the show, I didn't find it funny enough to warrant watching on a regular basis.

When I watched the show initially, I think I came into it with different, not necessarily higher, expectations than I should have. Shortly before the show premiered, I heard critical raves about it, and many comparisons to my favorite TV show of all time, Arrested Development. So, I expected a show that was filled with questionably ethical characters and numerous inside jokes.

While it's funny, I really don't get the AD vibe from it. Sure, it's a mockumentary in which the lives of an extended family living in Southern California are chronicled (but, unlike the Office, the camera crews have no direct interaction with the family, while it has Office-style interviews). That certainly fits the bill of Arrested. However, the humor on Modern Family is a little broader than Arrested, it doesn't have the subtlety of that show. This may work towards Modern Family's advantage, because it doesn't require massive devotion to the show to find the episodes funny, like Arrested regularly would.

The characters are extremely likable on Modern Family, too. Phil Dunphy is a little thick like Gob Bluth, but he doesn't have the narcissism and oddness as Gob. Much as I love Gob, I mean that as a compliment. Manny is weirder than George Michael Bluth, but is not as, for lack of a better word, creepy as George Michael (while occasional jokes about Manny possibly having a crush on Claire and Phil's daughter, Haley, it's nothing like George Michael's incestuous love for his cousin, Maeby). The flaws in the Modern Family characters are minor compared to those of the Bluths on Arrested, and so, unlike the Bluths, people may be able to relate to them more.

So, while I enjoy the show, I don't think it's on the same page as Arrested Development, nor do I think it's meant to be. Don't start this show looking for the next Arrested, and you'll really enjoy it for what it is.

I'll admit, I may have had an unfair prejudice against the show due to its network. Laugh tracks are a major turnoff for me when it comes to TV shows, and while Modern Family does not have one, I think I looked at Modern Family and assumed it would be as unfunny and groan-inducing as other ABC comedies, such as According To Jim. I'll be honest, I wonder if my hatred of Two and a Half Men may influence my dislike of How I Met Your Mother (I can see why people like it, and I love Neil Patrick Harris, but I just don't like it) and my disinterest in the Big Bang Theory.

Liking Modern Family has helped me realize I shouldn't be so dismissive of comedies based on their network, because a network's identity doesn't define a show's quality. After all, while I view NBC as a strong comedy network, I grew to hate My Name Is Earl. (Yes, I realized I used the word "strong" to describe NBC. What an oxymoron.)

However, if you get a chance to catch up on the episodes over the summer, I'd recommend doing so. It's an episodic show, and therefore, catching ABC's reruns over the summer (Wednesdays, 9 p.m.) would suffice. It was far superior to the Office this season (not that that took much), and while I still think 30 Rock was better this season, I wouldn't be too upset to see it take the Best Comedy Series Emmy this year.