Posted by jr in PEER-RENTING and the MODERN FAMILY
BY Craig Detweiler
October 19, 2009
How is the new television season unfolding? I was surprised to read that Fox is closing down its Reality channel. This is the first step back I’ve seen for the cheaper programming that is Reality TV. Are audiences growing tired of gossip shows and faux competitions? The shelf-life and after market for Reality reruns is so much thinner than scripted television. Are the networks snapping back toward sitcoms and dramas?
The creative community in Hollywood is hoping the Jay Leno Show fails. Five nights of Leno means five fewer hours of scripted content on NBC, especially in a 10 p.m. slot that provided dramas like E.R. and Law and Order. Yet, the economics of Leno may make sense for the networks—one star, one staff, five nights of programming. Viewer interest (and ratings) for Leno have fallen since his high profile debut.
The initial ratings on the new TV season indicated that viewers were giving new sitcoms a chance. I’ve found myself captivated by Wednesday nights on ABC, specifically Modern Family. It is genuinely, laugh-out loud funny. ABC has already ordered a full season for the freshman mockumentary.
Perhaps I recognize the craziness that characterizes this divergent family. In the Dunphy household, Claire (Julie Bowen) is battling both her daughters, while Phil (Ty Burrell) is trying too hard to be cool. His “peer-renting” strategy provides plenty of comic surprises.
Modern Family also gives us a peek into the second marriage for the patriarch, Jay Pritchett (Ed O’Neill from Married with Children fame). He is starting over with a much younger Columbian wife, Gloria (Sofia Vergara) and her earnest son, Manny. We also follow Jay’s son, Mitchell, and his partner, Cameron, as they adopt a baby girl from Vietnam. The comedy derives from the pitch perfect writing and brilliant timing of the actors. The series cross cuts amongst the various homes with whiplash speed, scoring laughs and moving on to the next awkward scene of domestic conflict. We are alternately wincing and laughing at the disconnections that characterize this Modern Family.
Living in Los Angeles, I am quite familiar with the divergent couples presented in Modern Family. I’ve seen plenty of ‘do-overs’, where a successful businessman trades out his original wife for a younger model. Step-sons end up the same age as grandchildren. We’ve also befriended many gay couples in our neighborhoods and schools. Modern Family demonstrates all the tensions inherent in any two people with strong personalities, trying to raise kids. It suggests we need to retain a sense of humor whatever our situation may be.
Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy: a father trying too hard to relate to his kids
My favorite character is Phil Dunphy. He drops the latest lingo on his teenage daughter, just far enough behind the cultural curve that it makes his efforts both cute and painful. With my own daughter entering her tween years, Phil provides a cautionary reminder—that kids need a parent as well as a friend.
Kudos to the co-creators of Modern Family, Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd. Years of work on Frasier and Just Shoot Me primed them for this opportunity. The show makes effective use of a single camera. It also employs the documentary approach of The Office, allowing the characters to comment on their plight. Such self-consciousness shouldn’t work. Yet, the winning performances and crisp writing captivate. The temptation for Levitan and Lloyd may be to sacrifice humanity for a laugh. But as long as they retain an empathy for their families, we will follow them down every painful path. At a time when budgets are shot and nerves are frayed (at the networks and in our homes), Modern Family arrives as cold comfort, a bracing slap in the face to welcome the love that endures despite our best efforts to sabotage it.
