Modern Family

It used to be that I watched a lot of television shows. With the exception of Saturdays, there was at least one show I would watch (or at least record) on the lineup for each night of the week.

Then we had Nora. I've given up a lot of TV since Nora was born.

There were shows that I was getting bored with anyway, and once we had Nora, it wasn't worth wasting the time on them anymore. My television "commitments" were pared down to a select few--House, Top Chef, and Grey's Anatomy. That's it.

I've been watching all of the same shows for years now. I guess that's part of the reason it was so easy to give up most of them, as it's really the same shit over and over. I haven't taken on anything new in forever, and haven't really been interested in doing so, even as people rave over all of their new favorites.

One night, Michael and I settled in to watch a movie we rented (I can't even tell you what it was), and the usual promos came on. Movie promo after movie promo, blah blah blah. But then an extended preview came on for a television show--I was officially introduced to Modern Family.
I had heard people talking about this show, but people talk about a lot of shows. I've tuned into some of the ones that are supposed to be the absolute best, and I've always been disappointed. So I never gave Modern Family much of a thought--until this promo I just happened to see before a movie, that is.

I laughed so hard at the few minutes of clips from the show, I knew I had to start watching. I started DVRing the new episodes shortly after the second season began, and I have to say, I *LOVE* this show. I look forward to the new episodes every week. We've also been renting the first season discs through Netflix, so we've been enjoying those episodes as well.

So what makes the show so great? Well, for starters, I can't name a character I don't like. The entire ensemble was perfectly cast, from Ed O'Neill to Ty Burrell to Eric Stonestreet and Julie Bowen. I love them all.

The show is brilliantly written. The writers pull things from their real lives and make them hilarious. It's not always laugh-out-loud, pee-your-pants funny, though. Sometimes, I chuckle or shake my head at the comedy, but there are times when I'll find a scene so funny that I'll catch myself laughing about it days later. For example, Mitchell calling 9-1-1 in a panic. When the operator answers, "9-1-1, what is your emergency?" he replies, "We locked our baby in the car!! People are judging us."

You have to see it for yourself, I swear. And give yourself more than one episode to fall in love. I think I watched two or three before I started to really appreciate it all.

For those of you who already watch... Any favorite episodes, scenes, or quotes you want to share?