Welcome to a new Sitcom Tuesday! This week, I’m continuing my look at Modern Family (2009-2020, ABC), which is currently available on DVD/Blu-Ray and streaming!
Modern Family stars ED O’NEILL as Jay, SOFIA VERGARA as Gloria, JULIE BOWEN as Claire, TY BURRELL as Phil, JESSE TYLER FERGUSON as Mitch, ERIC STONESTREET as Cam, SARAH HYLAND as Haley, ARIEL WINTER as Alex, NOLAN GOULD as Luke, RICO RODRIGUEZ as Manny, and AUBREY ANDERSON-EMMONS as Lily.
Out of all eleven seasons, Modern Family’s ninth is its dullest and most forgettable. Oh, the series’ overall quality will continue to erode after this. Its struggle to narratively sustain itself will lead to both more recycling and more contorting of the main characters in order to justify increasingly broader, less-specific (and certainly less premise-backed) notions. And in that regard, the worst is yet to come. However, both Ten and Eleven were crafted to be the series’ swan song, meaning they observe more conscious efforts to instill in individual episodic samples more character, and sometimes even premise-affiliated, stakes. Not always successfully, but enough to make those collections stand out with a higher variance in quality — more lows, yes, but a few highs too. With Nine, though, it’s pretty much all flat — consistent in its mediocrity. Well below average by the standards of this series, and the genre’s as a whole. In fact, this is a full season that, really, you could just skip. There’s nothing here that’s worthwhile in our examination of Modern Family or 2010s sitcoms… But let me not be too harsh. I guess some positive things I can say is that, uh, well, uh, I enjoy that Haley and Alex both date against type. That is, Haley dates an intellectual professor and Alex dates a less cerebral fireman. Those pairings emphasize their characterizations by contrast — a rarity in the back half of the series’ run, as usually these generic rom-com maneuvers rob them of their personalities en masse. (You know, like it’s done with Luke and Manny.) Also, I like Mira Sorvino as a parody of Gwyneth Paltrow when Haley goes to work for a Goop-like company. That’s amusing. Not enough to make this a decent collection, but hey, my goal is to help us maximize our enjoyment of this genre while studying its best examples. That’s why I present this list — these are the best entries from this season. The ones from which I can derive the most appreciation or enjoyment.
01) Episode 189: “Lake Life” (Aired: 09/27/17)
Jay yearns for quality family time when he brings everyone together for a lake trip.
Written by Elaine Ko | Directed by James Bagdonas
Nine’s premiere is a gimmicky on-location affair set at Lake Tahoe, with the entire family humoring Jay on a houseboat. It’s not as rewarding as other previous vacation entries — like “Hawaii” or some of those that didn’t even make my lists (see: “Dude Ranch”). But the show’s quality has eroded so much by now that this, though lesser compared to the aforementioned, is actually one of this year’s best, for it sets itself up for basic success — namely, it’s got an excuse to bring the entire cast together in a unity of time, place, and action that thereby connects all the disparate story threads and justifies their coexistence. Nine, sadly, doesn’t get everyone together enough — mainly because the kids are now so separated. Here, that’s not a problem.
02) Episode 193: “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Phil Dunphy” (Aired: 10/25/17)
Phil and Claire try to drum up Halloween excitement while Jay tries to rebuild Mitch’s kitchen.
Written by Jon Pollack | Directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller
Although like everything here in Nine, this year’s Halloween submission isn’t among the show’s best in that specific subcategory, it’s still an above-average showing by this list’s standards. And, in this case, not because the holiday implies overarching thematic trappings that give support to every narrative idea, thus justifying their coexistence. While that’s definitely present in the Claire and Phil material, the other major subplots aren’t steeped in the holiday ethos, as Mitch struggles with Jay’s help on rebuilding the burned-down kitchen, and Cam gets on Gloria’s nerves. Those are funny pairings, and Jay/Mitch, in particular, have foundational premise-related tension that also affirms the structural familial dynamic, elevating this half hour.
03) Episode 194: “Ten Years Later” (Aired: 11/01/17)
Claire and Mitch throw a ten-year anniversary party for Gloria and Jay.
Written by Danny Zuker | Directed by Fred Savage
With a unifying event that not only congregates the entire ensemble but is also thematically predicated on a unique family dynamic that was originally premised to be a distinguishing feature for the series as a whole, “Ten Years Later” is an intrinsically more satisfying sample of Modern Family than the majority of this season’s output could ever hope to be. Specifically, throwing an anniversary party for Jay and Gloria is a great excuse to call attention to both the fact that she’s not the traditional matriarch of this extended family, along with the initial tensions that existed between her and his children as a result. An episode like this would thus ordinarily be a perfect MVE contender — if only its actual subplots, though mostly rooted in what we know of the characters, were nevertheless more original and/or clever. But, ah, well, that makes it a true reflection of the series in this era — a must-include. (Shelley Long cameos!)
04) Episode 195: “Winner Winner Turkey Dinner” (Aired: 11/15/17)
Jay honors the family’s accomplishments at Thanksgiving, but they each feel undeserving.
Written by Bill Wrubel | Directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller
Among this year’s few actually-decent outings, “Winner Winner Turkey Dinner” is a Thanksgiving entry that sets itself up for success by gathering all the characters at a recurring holiday event with fundamental thematic and narrative cohesion as a result. Interestingly, most of it takes place prior to the holiday though, as its more specific uniting theme is the notion of stolen valor, or unearned glory, or, heck, just outright deceit — as Jay celebrates everyone’s recent accomplishments but we learn that they’ve all been dishonest in some way about what they’ve done. That’s a fun comedic springboard to launch a variety of different ideas, all of which are uplifted by this holiday-anchored context that compounds their added value.
05) Episode 200: “Dear Beloved Family” (Aired: 01/10/18)
Claire springs into action after Phil is hospitalized with stomach pain.
Written by Bill Wrubel | Directed by Gail Mancuso
Phil is admitted to the hospital with severe stomach issues, and that’s the inciting incident that inspires the rest of Episode 200’s narrative threads, like Claire’s pursuit of a stuffed animal that she knows will comfort her husband after surgery. That’s a sweet idea, and I appreciate that it’s handled mostly comedically, as is this half hour en masse, as it doesn’t let the dramatic stakes of Phil’s health overtake its fundamental obligation to the audience with regard to laughs. Oh, none of the subplots are especially clever or unique to the series — many clichés, I’m afraid — but the thematic cohesion is welcome, particularly for a list like this where I just don’t see a lot of greatness unburdened by the era’s macro weaknesses. (Fred Savage guests.)
06) Episode 202: “Written In The Stars” (Aired: 02/28/18)
Gloria and Jay try their hand at Claire and Phil’s role-playing tradition on Valentine’s Day.
Written by Abraham Higginbotham & Jon Pollack | Directed by Jaffar Mahmood
Season Nine’s Valentine’s Day offering is, again, not the best in this subcategory. But holidays are ideal fodder for Modern Family, supplying thematically grippable material for a variety of disconnected subplots that crave narrative kinship. This one is no different. Of course, I can never really champion this series for its creative ingenuity, and that’s only gotten more obvious over the last few years. So, you can bet that nothing here is terrifically special or personalized. However, I admit that I enjoy its twist on the well-worn Clive and Julianna running gag, as now Jay and Gloria take their own turn at similar role-playing. It’s amusing and uses the continuity associated with the series on this recurring holiday for easy comedic gain.
07) Episode 204: “Wine Weekend” (Aired: 03/21/18)
The family stays at Haley’s boss’ fancy house.
Written by Elaine Ko | Directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller
This outing boasts elements of farce — a style of comedy that these Frasier writers know well from past experience and have been deliberately trying to provide at least once a year on Modern Family, ever since the success of Season Five’s “Las Vegas.” Nothing after that has been as excitingly simple — and there’s nothing inherent to the tonality of this series, from its situation, that makes farce an actual extension of its identity (unlike on Frasier). But this kind of storytelling is comedy-forward and requires an ensemble of players with clear objectives — meaning, easy-to-get reasons for sneaking around in pursuit of something. And though story-driven, that’s nevertheless dependent on character definition in a way that this genre celebrates, especially when they also contribute big laughs. Now, again, none of the individual subplots here are great by the standards of past seasons, but it’s more masterful than most of this list, as its structure is able to bring everyone together for a satisfying-enough climax.
08) Episode 206: “Daddy Issues” (Aired: 04/04/18)
Gloria’s ex-boyfriend shows up, bearing a remarkable resemblance to Manny.
Written by Vali Chandrasekaran & Stephen Lloyd | Directed by Chris Koch
If it’s not been made clear already, I’ll say it again for the people in the back: there are no great selections in the ninth season of Modern Family. Nothing that we’ll remember or is worth knowing in the context of this particular series. However, the routine of picking an MVE (Most Valuable Episode) is helpful in directing focus to a sample that is either better-than-average or squarely representative of a season, serving a series (and/or my own commentary) either favorably or accurately. So, for this list, I’ve selected “Daddy Issues” — and in this case, it’s because each of its three ideas have some value for character, along with some possible premise-backed support. No, the notion of Manny’s paternity being questioned doesn’t really have the same charge as it did on Frasier when David Ogden Stiers guested, for we already know Jay is not Manny’s biological dad — in fact, that’s one of the “modern” wrinkles in their family dynamic. But it does emphasize the closeness of their rapport in spite of not being blood, and that’s indeed affirmation of the situation. Similarly, a story about Mitch and Cam not knowing how to handle Lily maturing into womanhood speaks to the premised distinction that neither of them are women — a conflict that only works like it does here because of their “non-traditional” family. As for Phil and Claire, they get a subplot about a miracle mop that turns chaotic — a play to technology, the very element this show has occasionally tried to half-heartedly posit as something that makes them “modern,” even though that’s never truly been foundational to their depictions and a real cause of interpersonal conflict (especially in the early, most premise-affiliated years). But it’s fine here because it yields a memorable physical set piece — the kind of bold comedy Modern Family needs in this era to justify its viability within the genre.
09) Episode 208: “Mother!” (Aired: 05/02/18)
DeDe visits the family after a fight with her new husband.
Teleplay by Jon Pollack & Ryan Walls | Story by Abraham Higginbotham | Directed by Eric Dean Seaton
Shelley Long makes her final on-screen appearance as DeDe in this fairly simple outing that, as usual now, won’t gain any points for originality. It merely injects her into the proceedings as a nuisance — although less so to her ex-husband this time than her two kids — and it uses her to create a thematic umbrella under which a subplot about Manny’s monster movie can also coexist. To that point, the paralleling of mothers and monsters — via both DeDe, and more lightheartedly, Gloria — is forced. But the narrative unity is memorable, allowing this otherwise mediocre excursion to rise above its sheer gimmick of deploying DeDe as a continuity-supported congregating force, ultimately reaching something more comedically clever.
10) Episode 209: “The Escape” (Aired: 05/09/18)
The family goes to the nursing home to visit Jay’s sister while Haley meets her boyfriend’s folks.
Written by Jack Burditt & Danny Zuker | Directed by Steven Levitan
This installment reinforces the basic design of Modern Family as we meet Jay’s sister — aunt to both Mitch and Claire — and are reminded of that foundational familial construct that unites the three households. From there, the choice to have her be unpleasant is great for guaranteeing both easy comedy and conflict. Meanwhile, I also enjoy the subplot about Haley meeting her professor boyfriend’s intimidating parents — Haley’s characterization is accentuated by a juxtaposition against such obvious contrasts. It’s one of the smarter long-term narrative ideas from this season, and this is the entry where that value for her character is at its highest. (Also, there are lots of guests in this one — including Mary Louise Wilson and Kate Burton, plus recurring folks like Mira Sorvino, Adam Devine, Reid Ewing, and Nathan Fillion.)
Other notable episodes that merit mention include: “Catch Of The Day,” which has decent subplots for Mitch and Cam, and Jay with Manny, “Royal Visit,” which I like because of the deliberate way that Haley and Alex’s respective boyfriends are used as mirrors to reiterate their characterizations and how they’ve both chosen against type, and “Brushes With Celebrity,” which has a thematically cohesive shape but nothing better for character or premise than anything highlighted above. I’ll also take this space to cite “Sex, Lies, And Kickball,” as each of its main subplots has at least one funny notion, and “Spanks For The Memories,” which has a Mitch and Cam story that feels adjacent to “Frasier and Niles” fare.
*** The MVE Award for the Best Episode from Season Nine of Modern Family goes to…
“Daddy Issues”
Come back next week for Season Ten! And stay tuned tomorrow for a new Wildcard!