I'm watching Modern Family for the first time... and I'd like to review it. First Season Part 1

Okay. Hear me out. 

I didn't watch a lot of TV growing up. I was waaay too busy studying.

So now, since I have a lot of free time, why not catch up on everything that I missed? And I mean everything...

So here we go. I decided my first project will be Modern Family, which ran from 2009-2020. I've seen a few clips on it on social media. I have an idea about the main characters and well, their characters, so I'm not exactly going in blind. But I'd still like to do write about it because I have no idea what to do with my life after spending a third of my life studying.

So here we go... if you haven't watched the show yet, watch it along with me.

And... NO SPOILERS PLEASE. If I wanted to spoil myself, I'd google the show.

Now my general rule for sitcoms is it's mostly crappy people being funny. There are a lot of crappy stuff shown in sitcoms and we're supposed to find it funny, so we're not supposed to take it too seriously. 

I'm going to have remember that. So here we go:

S1E1 - The Pilot

Oh. It's one of those, talking to the camera shows. Breaking the 4th wall, that sort of thing. So first we meet Phil (Ty Burrell) and Claire (Julie Bowen), married for 16 years, with their three kids: Haley (Sarah Hyland), Alex (Ariel Winter) and Luke (Nolan Gould); Jay (Ed O'Neill) & Gloria (Sofia Vergara), married for 6 months, and Gloria's son, Manny (Rico Rodriguez) (Jay is obviously twice Gloria's age, so I guess if you can't stomach that this show is not for you); and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron (Eric Stonestreet), a gay couple together for five years, who just recently adopted a girl from Vietnam. 

I like the style of the opening credits.

Hmmm. Is Claire's actress pregnant? Because something is always blocking her belly.

Phil's the 'cool' dad, and Claire is giving me neurotic vibes. Gloria is a hot headed Latina, and her son is a Casanova wanna be. Mitchell is also giving me uptight vibes, while Cameron seems chill.

I'm cringing at Phil's attempts to be the 'cool' dad. And we actually danced 'We're all in this together' at a school function. Don't ask.

Mitchell's family is judgmental and he hasn't told them about him adopting a baby girl. His dad hasn't accepted him being gay yet. So Cameron decides Mitchell has to tell his family and invites them all to dinner.

Claire's family is at dinner... and Jay and Gloria. 

OHH. Claire and Mitchell are Jay's adult kids from his first marriage.

Like I said, I already watched some clips before so I already know so let's just pretend I'm surprised. Oh my God Claire and Mitchell are Jay's kids and they're all related!

Mitchell trying to say that Cameron isn't that dramatic and Cam comes out in a robe, holding Lily and then Circle of Life playing is hilarious.

Jay takes Gloria's words to heart and tells Mitchell and Cameron that he supports them as Mitch introduces Lily to his grandpa.

Rating: 8/10

After episode thoughts:

As far as pilots go, this one is good. It doesn't end with a cliffhanger and gives you something heartwarming. It makes me wanna keep watching. And that's a huge deal, because I have a very decreased attention span lately.

So far I'm still neutral with the characters. Jay reminds me of my grandpa though. Very traditional but still somehow open minded.

In reality, I don't think Vietnam would allow a same sex couple to adopt there. So I'm curious why the baby specifically had to come from Vietnam. 

And yes, apparently Julie Bowen was eight months pregnant with twins while filming this episode, so....

S1E2 - The Bicycle Thief

Okay... first off, is it such a pilot thing that the setting is different in the first episode? The house that Mitchell and Cameron in is different now. 

We learn that Luke is the troublemaker and irresponsible child, hence Claire has a hard time trusting her son. To prove her wrong, Phil goes ahead and buys Luke a bike... but the kid leaves it unlocked, so Phil decides to teach his son a lesson and letting him think his bike is stolen... only for the bike to get stolen for real. 

Jay and Gloria are still in the honeymoon phase of their marriage, but there's a bit of a problem: Jay has a hard time bonding with Manny, Gloria's preteen son, since the latter adores his father. Except Javier, Gloria's first husband, isn't the hero Manny thinks he is. Not wanting Manny to be disappointed, Jay tries his best and preserves Javier's image.

Mitchell and Cameron are enrolling Lily in a toddler play class. (What on earth is a toddler play class?) Mitch asks Cameron to tone down his dramatics to make sure Lily gets along will with the other toddlers, only for another gay couple to come to the class. Oh, and Mitchell steals from another baby.

Rating: 6/10

Thoughts:

I think I dozed through this episode. The only saving scene for me was Jay pretending the limousine he had for them and Gloria was sent by Javier just so Manny wouldn't be sad. 

S1E3 - Come Fly With Me

First off, why does Dylan sound like that?

I've seen that Costco clip on social media. It's funny.

Anyway, moving on...

Phil tries to hang out with Dylan (Reid Ewing), Haley's boyfriend, but Claire points out that he hasn't actually hung out with Jay a lot. So he tries to spend time with his father-in-law, only for Jay to hit him with a toy helicopter.

Manny is wiser than his age as he and Claire talk. Gloria bonds with Alex, who assures her that she can be girly without trying to be Haley.

Claire confronts her dad about him not liking her husband despite being married to her for 16 years. 

The episode ends with a huge group hug.

Rating: 7/10

Thoughts:

I wouldn't be too hard on Jay. While I get that Phil might not be his first choice to marry Claire since the guy is kinda quirky and Jay is a guy's guy, he's trying. Injuring Phil isn't cool though. And it is nice to see Jay acknowledging Phil.

S1E4 - The Incident

All three families are having a good day, until the Wicked Witch of the East, aka Dede (played by Shelley Long), Jay's first wife and Claire and Mitchell's mother arrives.

Oh, Mitchell is a kind of a mama's boy. And that's not an insult. It's just, by personal experience, as an older sister with a younger brother, I gravitated towards my dad and my brother preferred my mother.

The incident is... basically Dede ruining Jay and Gloria's wedding by being drunk and making fun of Gloria. And now Dede wants forgiveness so she can go to the next level of her spirituality. Whatever that means.

Full disclosure, I am not American, so I always find it funny whenever I see teenagers talking back to their parents. That would get me punished so hard and I'm not talking about grounding.

Now as an adult, I get why Claire dislikes Dylan. And well, it's her basically trying to prevent her daughter into becoming like her, which most of the time doesn't turn out well. And also her trying not to become like her mother.

Mitchell tries to smooth things for his mother. On the night of the dinner, Dede comes along. Gloria is furious, but eventually listens to Dede and forgives her... only for Dede to start trying to choke Gloria.

The important thing is Phil's got Gloria.

Anyway, Dylan, the visitor, smooth things over by talking about how their family gets along really well. Touched, Claire decides to give Dylan a chance and asks for Dylan to play a song. He does, playing a song for Haley, that basically asks her to have sex with him under the moonlight.

That song Dylan wrote was so funny it even made *Phil* go "nu uh, not a chance in hell".

The end credits show all of them singing Dylan's song.

Rating: 8/10

Thoughts: Dede is funny. And Mitchell is such a mama's boy, that everyone points it out. I have a feeling it's not Dede's last appearance. I hope not. 

S1E5 - Coal Digger

Why is an eleven year old boy drinking coffee?

There's barbeque later at the Pritchett household and Jay isn't happy, since he wants to watch football. Someone else is excited to watch football.

Cam.

I'm not surprised Cam was a former football player. 

Luke and Manny get in trouble for fighting at school. We can see that there's a little animosity between Claire and Gloria. 

Phil's crush on Gloria is really obvious at this point. It doesn't seem to bother Claire, she just looks annoyed. So Phil tries to make the two women talk, and Gloria says that she feels Claire doesn't like her. Claire denies it, but we know at this point she's lying.

The two kids sort things out, with Luke eventually revealing that Claire used to call Gloria as a 'coal digger'.

Claire gaslighting Gloria is not okay, but honestly, Claire thinking the latter was a gold digger isn't that crazy. A hot, sexy single mom (not to mention SOMEONE YOUR AGE) marrying your rich Dad? Anyone would think that too. Claire should have owned up to it, apologized and clarified instead of trying to sweep it under the rug... you know, Jay's style.

Phil tries to explain to Gloria why Claire used to dislike her (see above), and Claire herself apologizes. Gloria then tells her that she would only forgive Claire if she jumps in the pool.

This ends up as a spontaneous pool party. 

Rating: 9/10

Thoughts: 

This episode is pretty funny. 

Phil's crush on Gloria, if I view it through a sitcom lens, it is pretty funny. Obviously in real life it's not funny. 

I'm starting to see that the Pritchetts all married someone opposite to them, with varying degrees of wackiness. 

And the scene where everyone (except) Haley ends up in the pool. Seeing Mitchell grab Alex and jump in is pretty cute to me. I hope we get a lot of their scenes? (Don't spoil.)

S1E6 Run For Your Wife

I'm a bit confused. In the previous episode, the kids are already in school. So why is Luke saying it's the first day of school?

Luke and Manny are starting 5th grade. Manny is proud of his heritage, wearing a traditional Colombian poncho. As usual, Gloria is raining praises on her son while Jay thinks the kid needs to dial it a bit. However, when Manny brings out his pan flute, Gloria asks Jay to destroy the flute or [her] 'son will die a virgin'.

Haley is learning how to drive. She's a terrible driver. 

Cameron is trying to make Mitchell loosen up a little and play with their daughter... and Mitch ends up banging Lily's head on the beam. (Lily's fine.) After making sure Lily is fine after a visit to the pediatrician, Mitch feels like he's not fit to be a parent. They end up locking Lily inside the car. (Lily's fine... again.)

First day of school is hard on Phil. He's trying to get Claire to do something with him but she just wants to relax. Eventually she relents and lets Phil run with her, to which she realizes that Phil just misses his kids.

Rating: 7/10

Thoughts:

Hmm. This episode is meh to me. 

Though Mitch saying he was a guy's guy in his childhood is pretty funny. How did Jay not have an idea his son was gay?

"Sir, tell your wife to relax."
"That's a man."
"Really?"
Funny. 

Claire basically telling us Phil is a kid. I know what she meant, but still. 

S1E7 En Garde

Manny is competing in a fencing competition.

Wow. Manny is a great fencer. Jay is so proud while basically beating Phil to a pulp.

Okay now I have to ask... who are they talking to? Like a secret crew of cameramen or...?

Seeing Jay so proud of Manny brings up an unpleasant memory for Mitchell: when they were kids, he and Claire competed in figure skating as a team but Claire quit. Twenty years later, Claire reveals she quit to protect her brother, as he kept dropping her in practice (and she was obviously bigger than him at that point.)

Manny goes to the finals but doesn't want to fight a girl. Gloria encourages him not to hold anything back just because his opponent is a girl because to do otherwise is a great disrespect to women... only for his opponent to be revealed to be a diabetic orphan. Manny wins. Oops.

Rating: 8/10

Thoughts:

Mitchell and Claire's talk made me tear up a little. Guys, if you have siblings... treasure your moment with them. You fight, you spend time together... cherish it. Because once you grow up, most of the time you part ways.

I think this is one of the episodes where it highlights Claire and Mitchell's sibling relationship.

Honestly, if I was Caroline, I wouldn't want Manny to lose on purpose just because of her background. Plus it seems she was expecting the very best. And it doesn't even seem close. 

Jay's proud smile at the end.

S1E8 Great Expectations

It's Claire and Phil's anniversary. Phil has gifted her a bracelet, but Claire has given her husband a coupon for... five free hugs. You can see the obvious disappointment in his face. So Claire tries to make it up to her husband and hires a guitarist (Edward Norton) to serenade them. Except Phil doesn't know the guitarist or the band. But they end up having a good night anyway. 

Mitchell and Cameron need a break and decide to call their friend Sal (Elizabeth Banks). Well when you're parents, you can't hang out with your single friends anymore, not the way you used to. 

Jay is hosting his grandkids for 'Jay's Night'. I think it's sweet. And it reminds me of my grandpa. He loved watching western films. 

Rating: 8/10

Thoughts:

Did Mitch just touch Sal's boobs?

Luke being concerned about Jay possibly dying is so sweet.

I'm not liking Haley. What is it with American teenagers and parties? Will you die if you don't go to a party? Maybe I'm a little biased. Growing up, I was Alex. And I still had friends We just hung out at school. 

Jay knowing Dylan is hiding in the bushes is funny. Especially when he reveals it's how he first met Phil.

And Claire and Phil just celebrating their anniversary is so sweet, considering they've been married for more than a decade. 

S1E9 Fizbo

Uhh... okay, who's in the hospital?

Okay, it's Luke's birthday, which usually falls around Thanksgiving week, so it's usually forgotten, so Phil and Claire decide to make it up to their only son.

Mitchell wants to give Luke a gift card, but Cameron has another idea... himself as a clown.

Let me just preface it. I HATE CLOWNS. NOPE. Where I live, there used to be a billboard of Ronald McDonald and it gave me nightmares. 

Okay, now I know who's in the hospital. It's Luke, isn't it?

The party has gone out of control. Animals, a snow cone machine, rock climbing and... arts and crafts. 

Phil has a huge fear of clowns because he found a dead clown in the woods. Who could blame him?

So everything happened... because Haley was jealous Jungle Girl was talking to her boyfriend she set let out a poisonous scorpion . It set off events that led to Luke breaking his arm.

Good thing the birthday boy didn't mind.

And in the end, that scorpion ended in her room in the ending scene. 

Rating: 7/10

Thoughts: 

Manny is so cute that his girl craziness is also adorable. Except he's basically an eighteen year old in an 11 year old body. But if I think about it, I don't think a kid that girl crazy is healthy. This is a sitcom, so we're just gonna run past that. 

I may hate clowns, but Cameron is kinda scary in that moment. You can even see Mitchell being turned on. And trivia: Fizbo is from Eric Stonestreet (he's been performing as a clown as a kid). 

Alex's thing is being smart and being mean to her siblings. I do hope she improves later on. 

Haley sucks.

S1E10 Undeck the Halls

It's Christmas Eve, and the Dunphy family is greeting Phil's dad, Frank (Fred Willard),  who lives in Florida. Claire discovers a burn on the couch and asks the kids who smoked. None of them admit it.

Manny wants to celebrate Christmas the Columbian way. Jay wants to do Christmas his usual way. Of course, in the end, you know there's going to be compromise as Jay softens up to also mix in some Columbian traditions.

Mitchell gets someone fired because he wasn't fat enough to be Santa and Cameron is bitter that his old caroling group kicked him out and is now singing all over town. 

Rating: 6/10

Thoughts:

I find it sweet that it's Alex who eventually tries to take the fall for "smoking" when she and Haley tried to set up Luke. 

Gloria and Manny's faces were so sad when Jay immediately starts saying no Columbian things. Only for Jay to say he was just kidding. 

Overall, it's an okay Christmas episode.

S1E11 Up All Night

Phil has a kidney stone. The rest of the plotline is the rest of the kids and Claire getting excited because the LAFD is hot. 

Javier Delgado (Benjamin Bratt) shows up and Jay confronts him about not showing up. The two men bond, but Gloria warns Jay that Javier will charm him before he even knows it.

Mitchell is trying to ferberize Lily but Cameron keeps ruining it. Eventually, Mitch tells Cam that they have to work as a team, because Cam cannot be the fun dad while he has to be the stern dad. 

Rating: 7/10

Thoughts:

We finally meet Gloria's ex husband and Manny's dad, Javier Delgado. So now you'd think... why did Gloria leave this guy? So we learn that Javier was wild, undependable, and she wanted something stable for her son.

Mitch has a point. I'm starting to think I'm going to side with Mitch a lot in this show. I get it, Cam's character is a sort of flamboyant narcissistic diva. It's going to rub me the wrong way at some point, I can tell. The way Eric Stonestreet portrays Cam is funny though. 

S1E12 Not in My House

Haley accuses Alex of reading her journal. Claire thinks Luke is looking at smut on her computer. The truth: Luke read Haley's journal, Phil was the one looking at smut. Claire is upset because she didn't want her baby boy growing up just yet.

Gloria hates the dog butler Jay bought in Vegas. The whole episode is basically a lot of innuendo between Jay and the dog butler, with Gloria being mortified and jealous at the same time. 

Mitchell, Cam and Lily are supposed to go to the Moscow Marionette Theater, but Cam decides to help their gardener who is obviously going through something. 

Thoughts:

I can feel Mitch's anxiety here. I hate being late for something, especially when it's something I've been looking forward to. So I guess, for me, I side with Mitch. Mitch 2, Cam 0. Helping friends, I understand that... but it's the gardener. Come on. I hate strangers in my house. 

When is that step going to be fixed?

So, we're halfway through the season... and I'm gonna continue watching it so far. 

TO BE CONTINUED.