Modern Family

So today was my first venture in my plan of watching a new TV show every week for the rest of the semester. My friends are always recommending certain shows, or talking about them and it always makes me curious. Until now, though, most of the time I never got around to watching them and just watched "my own shows" which (somewhat embarrassingly) include the likes of: The Bachelor, Gossip Girl, Law and Order SVU and The Jersey Shore, to name a few. Now, however, I plan to start watching new TV shows that haven't been in my repertoire. Im going to watch the pilots, and discuss a little about the show premise and give my take on it. While this is certainly going to be a fun experience, it also proves to be quite dangerous, because with the semester just beginning and the amount of work beginning to pile up already, I cant afford to get addicted to too many new shows, which I know will undoubtedly happen throughout this process.

Some shows that I already know will be apart of this experiment will be, Modern Family (which my mom has desperately been trying to get me to watch), The Office, Pretty Little Liars, 30 Rock, Vampire Diaries, Mad Men and Parks and Recreation.

This week I decided to start out with Modern Family.  The show is based 3 different immediate families that make up one large family. Jay, and older, conservative, close minded man is currently married a vibrant native columbian who has a son named Manny from a previous marriage. In Jays first marriage he fathered 2 children, Mitchell and Claire. Mitchell and his partner Cameron have adopted a Vietnamese daughter name Lily. Claire has married Phil with whom she has three children, Haley, Alex and Luke. The show follows these three families and highlights funny interactions between them.

The pilot episode did a great job of introducing the characters and letting the viewer get a feel for them. Here's my quick take on the families:

Claire and Phil:
Claire definitely wears the pants in the family, while Phil is concerned with acting like a "cool dad" and "being hip" (which he thinks means knowing how to use the internet and text, especially using sayings like lol, talking like he would imagine people talk in the ghetto, and dancing and singing to high school musical). Haley, the oldest daughter is mortified of her parents, especially when she invites a boy over. The younger two siblings didn't really get much face time but the younger daughter seems more like an enforcer of rules, who acts much more mature than her age and the younger brother seems to get in all sorts a trouble.

Gloria and Jay:
Gloria is a loving colombian woman who is passionate about everything. Her husband, Jay is much older than she and he is nowhere near as expressive. The difference in their personalities and ages is highlighted throughout the episode. Manny, Gloria's son, seems to exude the same love and passion that his mother has and Jay outwardly disapproves.

Mitchell and Cameron:
Mitchell is fairly sensitive to the way that others view his relationship with his partner Cameron, especially his father, Jay. He recognizes how gays are often viewed in society and resents it. At one point he even suggests getting something "a little less gay." He is not embarrassed about his sexuality, he just doesn't seem as comfortable and flamboyant as his partner Cameron, who makes everything a dramatic spectacle. Lily, an adopted Vietnamese baby is their new daughter and they seem extremely excited.

Overall, I loved this show. I found myself laughing at several points and even had a hard time picking a favorite part because there were so many, which is always a good sign. I think this show addresses real issues, while at the same time makes light of many of them by joking and I found it hilarious. I can definitely see myself trying to catch up to the most recent season. Luckily the episodes are only about 22 minutes which makes it the perfect study break that will put me in a good mood.