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Modern Family – Mother’s Day

Modern Family was new this week with “Mother’s Day,” the 21st episode of the second season. Sitcoms always place an extra emphasis on holiday-themed episodes because they can be very relatable, and this episode was a worthy reflection of all the show’s moms. With Mother’s Day just around the corner, Modern Family served up an episode that was both witty and a tear jerker.

Starting with Mitchell and Cameron, they are dealing with the definition of parenting roles. Mitch serves Cam breakfast in bed, and he takes this to mean that he is the “mother” between the two of them. Even at a picnic for Lily’s play group, the women invite Cam into their picture as an “honorary mom.” Cameron is feeling increasingly insulted as he realizes that everyone considers Mitchell the “husband” and Cam the “wife” in their relationship. Mitch explains that they are just a new type of family and that the right vocabulary to describe them doesn’t exist. Out of anger, he grabs a football and throws it as hard as he can…right at an old man. He then chases after him, and Mitch has to remind him to not flail his wrists.

Meanwhile, Claire and Gloria take their children on a nature hike, and all the kids can do is whine. Out of anger, Claire decides to leave them behind so that she and Gloria can enjoy their day. This prompts a conversation between the two of them about how sometimes their kids can annoy them. Claire provokes Gloria until she finally admits that she can be slightly irritated by Manny. She calls him “persnickety” and says his poetry isn’t that good. She turns around to find Manny standing right behind her. Down the hill, Luke, Haley and Alex decide to not apologize for their actions this time. They finally think they have discovered a way to beat Claire at her own game.

While the ladies are away with the children, Jay and Phil are cooking a Mother’s Day feast. Flipping through a recipe book, Phil finds a poem that Jay wrote for his mom when he was nine years old. Upon reading the poem, Jay starts to tear up a little. When the entire family comes home for dinner, Mitchell recalls a story about his grandmother. Jay then tells a story about his mother yelling in the face of his little league coach, which causes him to finally let his tears go. Haley breaks her own rule and apologizes to Claire, followed shortly by Alex and Luke. And in typical sitcom fashion, everyone starts crying and hugging each other.

With only three episodes left in the second season, I look forward to Wednesday nights more and more every week. Modern Family will be new the next few weeks leading up to and including the season finale. Unless the upcoming episodes are absolutely terrible, I think I can safely say that the series has not experienced a sophomore slump like a lot of strong-starting series do. What do you think? Has the second season of Modern Family been better than the first?

Memorable quotes are below the jump:

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Disney XD cancels “I’m In The Band”

According to Deadline Hollywood, Disney has canceled the sophomore comedy “I’m In The Band” that airs on Disney XD. Any shows currently in the can will be aired, but there will be no season three. I’ve watched this show a few times with my son.… Read More »Disney XD cancels “I’m In The Band”

Extreme Makeover Home Edition – Must Watch TV?

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted about Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I used to watch the show religiously, but I deleted it from my record list about two seasons ago. It was some combination of the show hitting the same emotional tones over… Read More »Extreme Makeover Home Edition – Must Watch TV?

Modern Family recap: The Musical Man

Ed: Please welcome back Adam Britten. I promise to get him a full user account for the next recap.

After taking another short hiatus, Modern Family returned last night for “The Musical Man.”  This episode introduced us to Jay’s brother Donnie, played by Jonathan Banks. Their storyline revolved around the fact that Donnie and Jay have some distance between them due to poor communication.  The only times they talk, they are either picking on each other or making a joke. (Too similar to the relationship between Phil and his dad, if you ask me.)

Speaking of Phil, he’s taken the initiative to increase his “brand awareness” as a Realtor by wrapping the Dunphy’s minivan with an advertisement, complete with a picture of the whole family.  (Claire and Haley actually end up on opposite sides of the car, with the rest of the family on the back – this is where it gets funny.)  As Claire and Haley are driving through town, several cars honk while passing by.  Claire dismisses it, not realizing that the text near the picture is….suggestive.  Phil’s phone is ringing off the hook, and of course he thinks that people are calling to look at a house, and later finds out what’s going on when people start asking for “the hot blonde.”  Claire, who has been upset that her better years might be behind her, has her confidence boosted by the fact that she received more calls than Haley.

Meanwhile, Cameron is deeply invested in turning a middle school concert into a full-blown spectacle.  He has been named interim musical director of Franklin Middle School, and he decides to finally give their show some “flare” and a theme.  The show has been rebranded as “a musical trip around the world” and Cameron is prepared to teach the entire set before the performance that night.  Of course, disaster ensues during the production.  Luke is stuck hanging in a harness above the stage, even while saying the line “learning about the world was fun, but I’m glad to have my feet back on the ground.”  Cameron directed the children to hold up letter cards which would spell out “WE LOVE THE WORLD.” Luke’s absence combined with Franklin’s insignia being lowered into just the right spot caused the children to actually spell out “WE LOVE THE F WORD.”

Back to Jay’s brother, who we find out has cancer.  This causes Jay to treat him differently, which upsets Donnie.  The brothers agree to resume their normal relationship, which is sealed by Jay punching Donnie in the stomach.

Yes, this episode was funny. Generally, every episode of Modern Family has that quality. However, I do not think this episode was as good as the previous episode, or the ones before that.  What did you think of “The Musical Man?”

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Adam Britten is a student social media strategist and marketing major at Syracuse University.  Read about him more at www.AdamBritten.com or @AdamBritten.

Don’t miss the memorable quotes below the cut:

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Dancing with the Stars: Week 2 Performances

After a smashing season premiere, our Season 12 stars took to the ballroom for another round of performances before the ballroom renders its first cruel judgment of the year. Tonight they dance; tomorrow one couple is sent packing. So which of our stars shone the brightest?

Sugar Ray and Anna
Dance: Jive
Verdict: I think Sugar Ray is more of a classical ballroom guy, because while he looked like he was having fun – it was Your Uncle at a Wedding Fun, not Dancing with the Stars Fun. His feet weren’t pointed, he lost the timing in places … it needed to be a lot better.
Carrie Ann: “You’re such a fantastic showman.” – 6
Len: “I think you’re in jeopardy.” – 5
Bruno: “It needs more punch – in the feet.” – 6

Kendra and Louis
Dance: Quickstep
Verdict: Kendra had her first rehearsal cry for the season, but the dance turned out okay. It wasn’t quite as graceful or refined as it could have been, but Louis got her through it.
Carrie Ann: “I saw more that just the choreography […] Elegance is a state of mind.” – 7
Len: “Overall, I thought you did an excellent job.” – 6
Bruno: “You tried your best, but you were very, very tight.” -6

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Jesse Tyler Ferguson of ABC’s Modern Family on Toy Story Midway Mania

I noted on Twitter Friday that actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson was having fun at Universal Orlando which seemed odd given that he’s one of the stars of ABC television’s hit series “Modern Family.” Shouldn’t he have some brand loyalty? Many answered my query with the… Read More »Jesse Tyler Ferguson of ABC’s Modern Family on Toy Story Midway Mania

Catching up with ABC’s Modern Family

Ed: I’d like to welcome guest author Adam Britten who reviews the most recent episode of ABC’s hit show Modern Family:

Every time that Modern Family takes a few weeks off, I feel like I’m missing something. The family was back this week, and they were back with another bang. One of the best parts of this episode is that it brought out a lot of previously unseen character pairings that were very pleasant. Nathan Lane returns to add some flair to Boys’ Night, delivering the kind of quality I’ve grown to expect from the series.

Mitchell and Cameron are going out for an evening with their friends, and Haley offers to babysit Lily. She’s bored because she’s grounded. While the guys are out, Cameron calls Haley because he’s seen a guy walk through the living room. (He saw it on his phone, but through the open laptop on the counter. I love how Modern Family throws in tech-inspired things like that.) Of course, it’s Dylan. Haley throws a fit saying that Cameron was accusing her of something, and she makes Dylan leave. But he leaves behind his shoes. Busted.

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New Werther’s Original Candy Commercial again highlights Epcot

As I have previously covered here and here, apparently one of the privileges of being and EPCOT corporate sponsor is that you get to use pavilion as a set for your commercials. In this case Werther’s Originals, which recently opened the Karmel-Kuche store in the… Read More »New Werther’s Original Candy Commercial again highlights Epcot