Hello, Off Color TVians! Due to Thanksgiving travels and reruns, it’s been a while since I’ve been here. Side note, don’t you know if we were all hanging out somewhere chatting over a platter of assorted meats and cheeses and I used the phrase ‘its been a while’, there would be that one guy who breaks out into an acapella version of that Staind song? Is that just me, or does that happen to you too?

Before I officially move into the Modern Family Christmas season, I have to tell everyone about something that happened after my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. My sister and I were standing in the kitchen. I was eating a piece of pie that she had made whose ingredients included chocolate, cheesecake, whipped cream, and I think Oreos. It was pie and it was cheesecake. I’m not sure how she made that work, but she did and I applaud her for it. I began to tell her how magical her pie was so she told me the story of how she got the recipe:

Me: This pie is so good, it makes me want to slap my sister… I’m just kidding.

Sister: It is good isn’t it? I got the recipe from this lady at church. We had a dinner one Sunday after church and this lady brought it. I told her I had to have the recipe. She said she would bring it to church the next week. That whole week, I was like “Lord, please don’t let her die, please don’t let her die.”

Sister#2: Wait…wasn’t that Linda…who has cancer?

 Sister: Yes

Ok, I know you came here for Modern Family and not my personal preferences in pies so I will get on with it. Christmas episodes are always hit or miss, usually either incredibly cheesy and stale or hilarious. I thought last night’s MF was great, probably one of the better Christmas episodes we will see this season.

We start the night with Phil cancelling Christmas due to an unexplained cigarette burn on the couch. After only a few minutes of Phil and Claire’s interrogation, I was convinced none of the kids had anything to do it with. Alex conjuring up the Spartacus plan only furthered my beliefs. I just couldn’t figure out how the burn actually got there. (SPOILER ALERT! (that is the first time I have ever actually used that phrase. (I swear.))) I would have never guessed the Seinfeld-esque revelation at the end where the ornament Phil’s parents had gotten them, that was so casually mentioned in the opening, would end up being the culprit. Nicely played, MF writers. Also, nicely played Alex, for stepping up and atoning for throwing Luke under the bus and being willing to sacrifice yourself for the sake of a Dunphy Christmas. I hope you get a window seat on the flight to Italy.

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I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going with the Band-Aid approach. Last night’s, Great Expectations, wasn’t my favorite episode. I know, I know, believe me, writing that probably hurts me more than it does you because I love this show. The good thing is, even though I had to say it wasn’t my favorite, there were still laughs a plenty. In keeping with the stereotypical sports metaphors that perpetually seem be coupled with television reviews, it wasn’t a touchdown, but it was a decent drive toward the endzone, picking up first downs here and there, then finally settling for a field goal. HOWEVER, with a show like Modern Family, just because it wasn’t my favorite, doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. It only has 7 episodes that preceded this one, but that is 7 strong opponents.

I could relate to the Phil/Claire storyline because LB (my wife) and I are terrible gift givers. We always give each other what we would personally want, I tend to give her DVD’s and she gives me clothes. I once had the idea of each of us just buying ourselves our own present, that way our gift to each other would be actually getting something we wanted. It didn’t fly with LB, though I think after last night, Phil might be on board with my idea. After waking up Claire up with the ‘Viewfinder of Their Life’ (very Phil) and a diamond bracelet, he received coupons for free hugs, “which are usually free, but now its official ” in return. Claire’s excuse was that Phil never wants anything, and then Phil’s wish list rebuttal cracked me up. “I can’t not think of things I want.” Claire knew she had to make up for the hugs so she did some research and brought in Izzy LaFontaine (Ed Norton), bass player of Spandau Ballet, to perform a private concert in the Dunphy living room. Claire thought she had really outdone herself by landing a member of one of Phil’s favorite bands, the only problem, Phil had never heard of him. This led to some quality awkward moments as soon as Izzy found out Phil wasn’t a “fandau.” But after the resolution of this storyline, I was left thinking that Norton’s appearance was kind of a waste.

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Let’s face it, there is just too much good television these days for one person to successfully keep up with it all. SB is doing a great job keeping you recapped up on about 137 different shows, but there was one show she thought was undeservedly getting the shaft each week, ABC’s new Modern Family. I was lucky enough to catch the pilot and instantly became a fan. I loved it and it has been consistently funny ever since. I couldn’t let the injustice of it not getting the attention it deserves go, so I volunteered to cover it for her. She accepted and here we are.
 
Why do I like the show so much? Of course because it is funny and I like stuff that brings the funny, but I think it goes deeper than that with me. I have somewhat of a personal connection with the show.
 
When my wife and I first got married, we rented a 650 sq ft basement apartment in downtown Atlanta from this gay couple, Mike and Howard. They were awesome and I might as well have been making those rent checks out to Mitchell and Cameron. Mike was Mitchell, a little more reserved and straight laced (except for the time he thought he heard a “prowler” and ran downstairs to check on things in his smiley face boxers) and Howard was Cameron, a little less…reserved. I feel like I already know Mitch and Cam, couple that with their hystericalness and they are one of the best parts of the show. Their “interviews” always make me laugh and one of my favorite scenes so far is Cameron introducing Lily to the family Mufasa style, then Mitchell telling him to turn it off. Cam’s response: “I can’t turn it off. It’s who I am.” It’s who Howard was, too.
 
Another connection, Manny reminds me a lot of myself at his age. Only without the rich Columbian heritage, multi-colored ponchos, and a flare for writing love poems to 16 yr old mall workers. However, like Manny, I was emotionally advanced for my age. I remember back in ’87 watching the movie Mannequin and tearing up during “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.” Ok, that’s not true either. About the only thing Manny and 11yr old Scott have in common is probably their Husky sized jeans, but he is hilarious and this paragraph makes for a great lead into last night’s episode.
 
The whole gang comes together to support Manny in his latest interest of fencing, which, unlike soccer, he kicks ass at, to be more specific, Afghani-orphaned diabetic female ass with a wheelchaired cheering section. The family rallying behind him provided a chance for the show to highlight the beauty of these increasingly more common ensemble casts. You get all these great characters herded together into one scene and they are going to make like Fat Joe and Make it Rain, only with laughter, not dollar billz, y’all. I love all the interaction and everything going on those scenes: Haley’s static electricity battery, Phil getting manhandled by his father-in-law, Cameron’s home films.
 
Little Manny’s new found skill set not only easily sent him through to the championship round, they also brought to the surface the 20yrs worth of resentment Mitchell has held against Claire for quitting their skating duo right before “the Emerald City at the end of his yellow brick road.” I liked parts of this story line, like getting to see the history of Fire and Nice and Mitchell “making figure skating even gayer,” though I think I could have gone without seeing a grown man and woman fake ice skate in a parking lot. But really, how else could Claire make up for taking away “his moment”? I guess I am being a bit of a hypocrite because I thought Cameron’s “Now you do me!” in the tag was great.  
 
Then there was the Luke stuff, Phil and Claire trying to seek out Luke’s strengths. At first I was like…meh, I could take it or leave it. But by the end of the show, I realized that small stuff like that is what sets Modern Family apart. Not only is it full of humor and dysfunction the whole way through, but it has little snippets mixed in there that show that this family really does care for each other. Phil stuck with Luke, filling him with praise pitch after pitch until he finally got it right then tackled him out of elation when he did. Jay isn’t immune to showing a little heart either, while proudly holding Manny’s new trophy and uttering the line “Guilt fades, but hardware lasts forever” the camera pans down to where he has prominently displayed an 8×10 of Fire and Nice. Jay does care.
 
Ok, because I don’t want to end after possibly making TV blogging even gayer, here’s some other stuff that made me laugh:
 
Jay: “So that wasn’t angry talk?”
Cameron running with this camcorder.
Phil’s smile after Gloria and Claire hug.
Mitchell: “You look like the sun.”
Manny’s fencing taunts.
Cameron forcing Mitchell and Claire to make up.
Claire: “That….uh….was a little gay.”
Luke with the ipod in his mouth
Jay’s t-shirts: “Who’s Da Manny?” “Claire and Present Danger”
 
So, what did you think? What did you like/not like? Get it out now before it “comes out later all hurtful and bubbly.” And remember internet, this was my first time to recap a show, so please be gentle.