Modern Family 2.20 “Someone to Watch Over Lily” Review

I evidently had a different view of last week’s episode than others did. So, what about this week?

This week’s Modern Family centered how people often underestimate members of their own family. All of the main stories (Claire/Phil/Luke, Haley/Alex, and Mitchell & Cameron/Rest of the Family) addressed this issue head on with characters believing another character is not smart, not cool, or not a fit parent. This is a typical sit-com trope whose success is determined by the dialogue written and how it is performed and directed. In this episode, the script, performances and direction were so top notch that the episode was not only successful, but was, in my opinion, one of the best of the season.

Everything about this episode worked for me. As I commonly say in these reviews, Modern Family performs every aspect of a prime-time network comedy so well that even when it isn’t at its best, it is still better than most comedies on TV. The other side of that quality is that when the show is at its best, it is quite superior to it’s competitors. This week was one of those times. I didn’t find a period longer than a minute where I wasn’t laughing, and those minutes were when I was fast-forwarding the commercials. All of the usual aspects of the show (dialogue, physical comedy, clever premise) were hitting on all cylinders. What I find most interesting, however, was my reaction vis a vis the environment in which I was watching the show: with a group of people.

I have watched almost every episode of Modern Family alone (my wife is on Broadway so she has shows at night). With her pregnant now, she is home, and additionally, we had some friends over to watch Survivor (check out my recap here!), and they stayed to watch Modern Family. With an audience greater than one, I found myself laughing harder, longer and deeper. It’s not an uncommon phenomenon that comedic performances often seem funnier when other people are enjoying them with you, but tonight’s experience made me wonder about how the viewing environment really has an effect on my enjoyment of this and other shows.

The episodes that I didn’t enjoy as much, would I have liked them better if I was watching them with someone else? Moreover, do writers and producers focus the show (if it is possible) toward single viewers, or is the show constructed with a group of viewers in mind? If there is an intention one way or the other, how does that intention effect the show itself? I’m not sure there are answers to these questions, but this conundrum was brought into great relief for me this week. Man, I love it when a TV show can get me thinking like this.

I would normally move now to my favorite lines of the night, but regular readers will know that I am a great admirer of Luke, so once he uttered the following line, it was all downhill from there:

Luke: Dad, I’m going to teach myself how to juggle.
Phil: OK, buddy.
Luke grabs the block of kitchen knives. Cameron grabs them and replaces them with a bowl of fruit as Luke walks out.

I about fell out of my chair when I saw that exchange. Other great punchlines were:

Mitchell: Oh, that’s a reason to stop by the frame store!

Luke: She gave me a Woody….She knew he was my favorite Toy Story character.

Jay: I’ve seen vines climb walls faster!

So, that’s what I have for this week’s Modern Family. What did you think of the episode? Did you like it as much as I did? How do you watch the show, alone or with a group? Do you think your viewing environment effects your enjoyment of the show? Are there any bother shows that you prefer to watch alone or in a group? Pease drop your comments below. I’ll be back next week with another review. Until then, I’m off to play the pan flute (like Zamfir!).

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