What Happened, Yo!:
-Walt has died and Phil and Claire worry about telling Luke. Luke doesn't seem very affected by the news though, which worries Claire. Later, she and Phil see Luke enter Walt's house, and Claire thinks it's so he can say goodbye, but in actuality, Luke is taking Walt's TV (Walt told Luke he could have one thing when he died.). Claire becomes frustrated by Luke's continued non-reaction to Walt's death and demands he take back the TV. As they take it back, Luke shares some memories about Walt's house. A couple people show up looking for Walt, and are surprised when Claire can't share the news of his death without smiling. Luke tells her that that's weird and she calls it a coping method. Luke puts the TV back and admits that when he would see it on from his window at night, it would make him feel better and he guessed he'd miss that. Claire is touched and lets him take the TV.
-Meanwhile, Phil realizes that he hasn't made many lasting memories with Alex, and not wanting to end up like Walt, who was estranged from his daughter, he takes her out to throw Walt's dog tags in the ocean and create a memory. But when a seagull takes the dog tags, he takes her out to a 50-miles away diner for the world's best milkshakes, but the machine is broken, so he begins trying to get the only waitress there, who is over 9 months pregnant, to induce labour in an effort to create a memory. This doesn't work, and he later confides to Alex that he just wants to do something special for her, like the astronaut who carved his daughter's initials into the moon. Alex is touched by the gesture, but throws up due to too much food (They'd been there a while.). As they go home, she thanks him and he puts her initials into the moon on the logo of the diner.
-Also meanwhile, Cam's dad is in town and he, Mitchell and Cam are supposed to have dinner with Jay and Gloria. Jay tries to get out of it, because he doesn't like the guy, but Mitch makes him go. Cam finds out that his dad doesn't like Jay that much either. At dinner, Jay reveals he doesn't like Cam's dad because he always implies that Mitchell is the wife in the relationship. Later, they talk their issues out and both admit that while they know Cam and Mitch are equals, it's a little easier to imagine that they are with someone who is like a woman. This reconciles the two men.
-Finally, Haley tricks Gloria into letting her host a pool party at the house by saying that there will be a chaperone her parents approve of. She informs Claire that her uncle will be there to get permission, but she is referring to Manny. Manny takes this in stride and begins enforcing rules and acting like a chaperone. Gloria gets back early and is mad that Haley tricked her, but also mad that Manny won't enjoy the party. She forces Hayley to have the party as punishment (She gets a bit confused), but also makes Manny enjoy himself, while still letting him enforce as many rules as he wants to ruin the party for Hayley.
I Liked This: The Last Walt was an entertaining episode of Modern Family with plenty to like about it. The best parts of the episode were related to the death of Walt (which was disappointing, as he was a very funny recurring character, but probably neccesary for the series). Claire worrying about Luke not processing it well was a good story, making good use of the infinitely funny Luke, who was more concerned about the fact that he couldn't take two things than the fact that his friend had died. Claire not being able to say horrible news without smiling was also funny and the callback at the end was great. Meanwhile, Phil's quest to have adventures with Alex was sweet, and also had it's share of funny moments, many of which simply came from Phil reacting to things. Putting his daughter's initials into the diner's sign was a nice note to end the episode on. As for the other stories, I liked the introduction of Cam's tough guy father, and how it led to a good story about Jay's continued efforts to fully accept Mitch's homosexuality (always a good source for stories). And now that both of Cam's parents have been introduced, perhaps they could both appear in an episode together at some point? That'd be good. And Hayley and Manny had the slightest story of the evening (more of a runner), but it was full of good moments and made great use of Manny's maturity.
But...: Nothing comes to mind for complaints this week.
The Bottom Line: The Last Walt was a great episode of Modern Family, with lots of good moments for all characters involved.
Grade: 83% (Great)
Memorable Moments
-Phil reassures Luke about Walt's death (He died writing an angry letter to the postmaster general.): "It was very peaceful. Not the letter, that was full of threats."
-Gloria describes building blocks with Manny. "I would make the buildings and he would inspect them and if they weren't up to code, ay yi yi, the paper work!"
-Manny chaperones a party: "I believe I made it clear the bedrooms were off limits. Young lady, I don't think you're ready up here for what you're planning to do up there".
-Luke gets mad at Claire: "You are so mean. When [Walt] used to look through those binoculars and say your dad is one lucky man, he was wrong!"
-Alex: "You know what I'll never forget? The time my dad spent an entire day trying to create a special memory for me. Or the time when a pregnant lady slipped in my vomit."
-Gloria: "Two birds. One bullet."
Showing posts with label Modern Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Modern Family. Show all posts
Thursday, 19 April 2012
Thursday, 12 April 2012
Quicky Opinions!
Hey gang. Sorry for the lack of posts on things in recent weeks, but I've been busy/lazy. So here's some quicky opinions on things I should be posting about, but just haven't found/made the time to do. I'll try harder as we head into sweeps season, though.
Glee: After a seven-week hiatus, Glee returned with a strong, funny episode. Matthew Bomer was great as Cooper Anderson, Blaine's actor brother. His acting advice to the kids was comically horrible and I really bought into Blaine's conflict with him. Meanwhile, Sue seems to be getting a good arc for the last part of the season, trying to get the Glee club to win Nationals in order to prove she can still lead the Cheerio's without Roz Washington has co-captain (and struggling with the fact that her baby may have down syndrome). As for Quinn, I liked how the resolution to her car crash was handled. Watching her get used to being in a wheelchair will be interesting to see (As will this flirty thing she has going on with Artie) and provides a nice arc for the character going to graduation, as she attempts to walk again. And it's good to see that Finn and Rachel never got married, and this new conflict with Finn possibly going to California will be exciting to watch. Welcome back Glee. Quicky Grade: 82% (Great)
Modern Family: I've dropped the ball lately when it comes to talking about Modern Family, but Election Day was a great episode, filled with lots of humour and pathos. Mitchell and Cam abusing the power of their car megaphone was a highlight, as was Phil trying to get Walt to the polling stations.And although it would've been interesting if Claire had won, it's probably better for the show that she didn't. And Haley's worrying that she'll get rejected from her last college was a good plot for the character and the moment at the end with everyone celebrating her being waitlisted was funny and sweet. Aside from a massive lack of David Cross, good job, Modern Family. And I'll try to write more about you in the future. Quicky Grade: 85%
Survivor: One World: I've also been dropping the ball with Survivor these past few weeks, to the point that the landscape of the game has drastically changed since I last wrote about the show. Anyways, this season, I've been enjoying Kim slowly but surely becoming the mastermind of the season without anyone really figuring it out. Well Troyzan figured it out when she was too assuring to him, but all that knowledge wound up doing is costing him his hidden immunity idol. It's too bad Jay's gone, because he was shaping up to be an interesting player. Bet he's regretting giving up the challenge for chicken wings now. Speaking of which, Chelsea talking Leif into giving up the challenge was great. And Tarzan remains as comical as ever. Another great episode from a great season. Quicky Grade: 80% (Great)
Glee: After a seven-week hiatus, Glee returned with a strong, funny episode. Matthew Bomer was great as Cooper Anderson, Blaine's actor brother. His acting advice to the kids was comically horrible and I really bought into Blaine's conflict with him. Meanwhile, Sue seems to be getting a good arc for the last part of the season, trying to get the Glee club to win Nationals in order to prove she can still lead the Cheerio's without Roz Washington has co-captain (and struggling with the fact that her baby may have down syndrome). As for Quinn, I liked how the resolution to her car crash was handled. Watching her get used to being in a wheelchair will be interesting to see (As will this flirty thing she has going on with Artie) and provides a nice arc for the character going to graduation, as she attempts to walk again. And it's good to see that Finn and Rachel never got married, and this new conflict with Finn possibly going to California will be exciting to watch. Welcome back Glee. Quicky Grade: 82% (Great)
Modern Family: I've dropped the ball lately when it comes to talking about Modern Family, but Election Day was a great episode, filled with lots of humour and pathos. Mitchell and Cam abusing the power of their car megaphone was a highlight, as was Phil trying to get Walt to the polling stations.And although it would've been interesting if Claire had won, it's probably better for the show that she didn't. And Haley's worrying that she'll get rejected from her last college was a good plot for the character and the moment at the end with everyone celebrating her being waitlisted was funny and sweet. Aside from a massive lack of David Cross, good job, Modern Family. And I'll try to write more about you in the future. Quicky Grade: 85%
Survivor: One World: I've also been dropping the ball with Survivor these past few weeks, to the point that the landscape of the game has drastically changed since I last wrote about the show. Anyways, this season, I've been enjoying Kim slowly but surely becoming the mastermind of the season without anyone really figuring it out. Well Troyzan figured it out when she was too assuring to him, but all that knowledge wound up doing is costing him his hidden immunity idol. It's too bad Jay's gone, because he was shaping up to be an interesting player. Bet he's regretting giving up the challenge for chicken wings now. Speaking of which, Chelsea talking Leif into giving up the challenge was great. And Tarzan remains as comical as ever. Another great episode from a great season. Quicky Grade: 80% (Great)
Thursday, 12 January 2012
Modern Family: Egg Drop
What Happened, Yo!:
-Luke and Manny are working on containers to keep an egg safe for a school project. Parents aren't supposed to be helping, but Jay suspects Claire will be helping Luke (And Claire suggests Jay will be helping Manny), so they both start helping their kids and begin competing with one another. They both create good designs (Though not as good as the design Alex one used), but keep being competitive, so Luke and Manny (worried that they'll be caught having parental help at this rate) admit to their parents that they tricked them into doing their products, because they knew how competitive they were. Claire and Jay send them to make new products, and Claire blames Jay for making her so competitive with him, but Jay says she's always been this way and that he likes that she's a fighter.
-Meanwhile, Phil has just become a partner at a new real estate agency and is preparing a seminar for new home buyers with Hayley's help. When Claire (who is also supposed to help as a plant in the audience) drops out to work on Luke's project he gets Gloria to help instead. However Gloria and Hayley make a trip to the salon and when Gloria's car gets towed (They parked in a tow zone), they find themselves unable to get to the presentation in time, leaving Phil to have to do it by himself. The presentation goes terribly. Hayley gets Gloria to take the blame because Phil never gets mad at Gloria. This turns out to be true, so Gloria gets mad at Phil because he won't get mad at her and that's not how family should treat each other. Phil does end up yelling at Gloria, but Gloria is happy about this because it means he cares about her.
-Also meanwhile, Cam and Mitchell are meeting with a potential birth mother for their child and Cam is worried Mitch will focus on her flaws, so Mitch promises he won't, even though the candidate isn't very bright. The potential makes them perform for her, because it's important to her that the baby grows up in a musical family, but Cam gets offended when she says that Mitch is the better singer. The rest of the interview goes well and they seem to be a lock, until Cam insists on singing another song which upsets the girl and makes her decide to keep her baby.
I Like This: Egg Drop was a rather strong episode of Modern Family with pretty much every character getting in at least one great moment. I liked the idea that Jay and Claire can be very competitive with each other, and their whole storyline was full of good moments. The twist that Luke and Manny were conning their parents into doing their project for them was unexpected and pretty genius. Phil's storyline also delivered. I like how it went from being about his career to his relationship with Gloria and the way he literally put her on a pedestal was quite funny indeed. I liked the continuation of Cam and Mitchell trying to adopt a second baby, and Cam not being able to take hearing Mitchell be called the better singer added a nice curve to the proceedings.
But...: Even with the great last part of the story, Cam and Mitchell once again wind up with the weakest plot of the evening.
The Bottom Line: Three (mostly) strong plots and some interesting character dynamics lead to another solid episode of Modern Family.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments:
-Phil: "So the five keys to investing wisely in a downward real estate market are: "Keyp your cool", "Keyp Informed", "Legwork"...
-Phil: "I wanted to give them a step-by-step description of what I can do for them. Am I worried that they may just write it all down and do it themselves? Quite frankly, I hadn't thought about it until just now."
-Luke's first idea for the egg drop is a simple Egg Carton. "What if the best idea has been under my nose this whole time?"
-Mitchell: "Actually it's the opposite of a first date: You don't want to have sex, but you do want a baby."
-Prospective Mother: "It's OK to eat tuna, but not Dolphin? My theory is a fish is a fish." Mitchell: "Well, a dolphin's actually a mammal, so..". P.M: "Tomato, Tomato". Mitchell: "More, like Tomato, Cow".
-Mitchell: "Ok, now we're actually doing a song and dance".
-Gloria: "Why did you have to do your toes, too?" Hayley: "Well, there's this really cute boy at my school whose really into my feet". Gloria: "Careful, that can get really creepy fast".
-Gloria after her hail for a taxi is ignored: "You see, they don't stop because I'm latina". Hayler: "Or because that was just a yellow car".
-Claire: "You know, I made the egg that made you that made that project, so in a lot of ways that design is already mine!"
-Cam: "Yes, she was upset. But on a positive note, what I take from this experience is: I can sing!"
-Gloria: "That's when you know your family loves you, when they feel free to scream at you."
-Alex after deploying her perfect egg drop design: "Give up. You're all just playing for second".
-The end tag with Alex thinking she's having a deep conversation with Hayley, when Hayley is just talking on her cell and not even aware that Alex is awake was gold.
-Luke and Manny are working on containers to keep an egg safe for a school project. Parents aren't supposed to be helping, but Jay suspects Claire will be helping Luke (And Claire suggests Jay will be helping Manny), so they both start helping their kids and begin competing with one another. They both create good designs (Though not as good as the design Alex one used), but keep being competitive, so Luke and Manny (worried that they'll be caught having parental help at this rate) admit to their parents that they tricked them into doing their products, because they knew how competitive they were. Claire and Jay send them to make new products, and Claire blames Jay for making her so competitive with him, but Jay says she's always been this way and that he likes that she's a fighter.
-Meanwhile, Phil has just become a partner at a new real estate agency and is preparing a seminar for new home buyers with Hayley's help. When Claire (who is also supposed to help as a plant in the audience) drops out to work on Luke's project he gets Gloria to help instead. However Gloria and Hayley make a trip to the salon and when Gloria's car gets towed (They parked in a tow zone), they find themselves unable to get to the presentation in time, leaving Phil to have to do it by himself. The presentation goes terribly. Hayley gets Gloria to take the blame because Phil never gets mad at Gloria. This turns out to be true, so Gloria gets mad at Phil because he won't get mad at her and that's not how family should treat each other. Phil does end up yelling at Gloria, but Gloria is happy about this because it means he cares about her.
-Also meanwhile, Cam and Mitchell are meeting with a potential birth mother for their child and Cam is worried Mitch will focus on her flaws, so Mitch promises he won't, even though the candidate isn't very bright. The potential makes them perform for her, because it's important to her that the baby grows up in a musical family, but Cam gets offended when she says that Mitch is the better singer. The rest of the interview goes well and they seem to be a lock, until Cam insists on singing another song which upsets the girl and makes her decide to keep her baby.
I Like This: Egg Drop was a rather strong episode of Modern Family with pretty much every character getting in at least one great moment. I liked the idea that Jay and Claire can be very competitive with each other, and their whole storyline was full of good moments. The twist that Luke and Manny were conning their parents into doing their project for them was unexpected and pretty genius. Phil's storyline also delivered. I like how it went from being about his career to his relationship with Gloria and the way he literally put her on a pedestal was quite funny indeed. I liked the continuation of Cam and Mitchell trying to adopt a second baby, and Cam not being able to take hearing Mitchell be called the better singer added a nice curve to the proceedings.
But...: Even with the great last part of the story, Cam and Mitchell once again wind up with the weakest plot of the evening.
The Bottom Line: Three (mostly) strong plots and some interesting character dynamics lead to another solid episode of Modern Family.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments:
-Phil: "So the five keys to investing wisely in a downward real estate market are: "Keyp your cool", "Keyp Informed", "Legwork"...
-Phil: "I wanted to give them a step-by-step description of what I can do for them. Am I worried that they may just write it all down and do it themselves? Quite frankly, I hadn't thought about it until just now."
-Luke's first idea for the egg drop is a simple Egg Carton. "What if the best idea has been under my nose this whole time?"
-Mitchell: "Actually it's the opposite of a first date: You don't want to have sex, but you do want a baby."
-Prospective Mother: "It's OK to eat tuna, but not Dolphin? My theory is a fish is a fish." Mitchell: "Well, a dolphin's actually a mammal, so..". P.M: "Tomato, Tomato". Mitchell: "More, like Tomato, Cow".
-Mitchell: "Ok, now we're actually doing a song and dance".
-Gloria: "Why did you have to do your toes, too?" Hayley: "Well, there's this really cute boy at my school whose really into my feet". Gloria: "Careful, that can get really creepy fast".
-Gloria after her hail for a taxi is ignored: "You see, they don't stop because I'm latina". Hayler: "Or because that was just a yellow car".
-Claire: "You know, I made the egg that made you that made that project, so in a lot of ways that design is already mine!"
-Cam: "Yes, she was upset. But on a positive note, what I take from this experience is: I can sing!"
-Gloria: "That's when you know your family loves you, when they feel free to scream at you."
-Alex after deploying her perfect egg drop design: "Give up. You're all just playing for second".
-The end tag with Alex thinking she's having a deep conversation with Hayley, when Hayley is just talking on her cell and not even aware that Alex is awake was gold.
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Modern Family: Lifetime Supply
What Happened, Yo!:
-Phil visits the doctor who checks out a tender spot on his arm and says he will call if anything's wrong.
-The next day, Phil misses a call from his doctor who leaves a message saying to get back to him quickly, but when he calls the doctor back, he learns the doctor has just gotten on a plane to London.
-While Phil tries to assure himself he'll be fine (He takes Claire not being worried as a good sign), things such as his lifetime supply of razors running out and Gloria panicking because she saw a black mouse in her dream (An omen in Columbia) keep him freaked out throughout the day.
-Meanwhile, Manny's father Javier has come to town to take Manny to the racetracks for a belated birthday present. Jay is forced to tag along, because Gloria doesn't like leaving Manny alone with Javier (Who once took Manny to a "stripper club" with the name "Petting Zoo").
-At the race, Javier wins every race he bets on, crediting it to a connection with the souls of the horses. On the race that Jay's horse wins, an inquiry is made and the results are overturned so Jay loses.
-Jay later apologizes to Javier for being hard on him, and admits to the cameras that he has a good thing going with Manny and doesn't like being reminded that Manny isn't his son.
-Also meanwhile, Mitchell wins an environmental award (Which is basically the Oscar for Environmental Lawyers) and proudly displays it on the mantle. But when Cam puts up a trophy he won for fishing, Mitchell begins to suspect Cam is jealous. He decides Cam must be jealous for sure when the next morning, he finds Cam has added a piece to his trophy, making it bigger than Mitchell's.
-Mitchell and Cam have an argument, but after talking with Alex who admits she feels jealous when Claire praises over her siblings lesser accomplishments, Mitchell realizes he's been acting like a 14-year-old girl.
-Mitchell looks in the garage and finds that Cam has hidden tons of trophies from him to protect his feeling. He decides to make a big display of the trophies as a surprise, but accidentally drops the box when he sees a black mouse in there, just as Cam and Lily get home. Cam gets upset and walks off.
-Later, everyone shows up at the Dunphy household, when Gloria tells the whole family Phil is expecting bad news. This panics Claire, which causes Phil to really panic when the doctor calls. It turns out he was just calling to ask about a real estate listing, much to the annoyance of Phil.
I Liked This: I got both seasons of Modern Family over the holidays, so I was pretty psyched for this show to return. And it did not disappoint with Lifetime Supply. All the stories were funny, and felt fresh, rather than being rehashes of previous stories and themes. Phil is my favorite character of the show, and it was great to watch him get more and more worried over the course of the day, with his chances of survival apparently decreasing (He goes from saying there's a 60% chance he's going to die to saying there's a 5% chance he'll make it). I like Benjamin Bratt as Manny's father, and he was great here, spouting off philisophical nonsense to Manny, which seems to actually work. And the moment where Jay admits he doesn't like being reminded he's not Manny's father was a nice bit of sentiment for the show.
But...: Cam and Mitchell probably had the weakest story tonight, though it still had it's moments (Particularly the pay-off).
The Bottom Line: Lifetime Supply is a very solid start to 2012 for Modern Family. Very solid indeed.
Grade: Totally Awesome! (Great)
Memorable Moments
-Luke's elderly friend Walt returned this week to play videogames with Luke, which was also funny. Luke learns a lot from him including the phrase "See you in hell, Klaus!"
-Alex: "I wouldn't get out of bed in the morning for a trophy that small".
-Young Phil won a lifetime supply of razors on a quiz show. "Two blades? It'll never get better than this".
-Claire: Claire: "Maybe Luke hit you with his broomstick when you guys were playing Quidditch." Phil: "I'm way too fast, he never touched me."
-Cam signed autographs after winning his fishing award. "Best fishes, Cameron Tucker".
-Jay bought a coffee cake, but Javier brought it in from the car so he gets the credit.
-Lily continues to show off her ability to talk, sending Phil over the edge with "Are you going to die?"
-Phil sees Claire as a flight attendant. So when she gets worried...: "Oh boy. The plane's in trouble. You've put away the drink cart and you're strapping in."
-Javier gets the attention of both Claire and Cam, to the point where Mitchell has to say "Stop staring".
-On the game show, Phil references both the eternal love of Jay and DeeDee Pritchett, and his friend who's about to test his homemade helicopter.
-Phil visits the doctor who checks out a tender spot on his arm and says he will call if anything's wrong.
-The next day, Phil misses a call from his doctor who leaves a message saying to get back to him quickly, but when he calls the doctor back, he learns the doctor has just gotten on a plane to London.
-While Phil tries to assure himself he'll be fine (He takes Claire not being worried as a good sign), things such as his lifetime supply of razors running out and Gloria panicking because she saw a black mouse in her dream (An omen in Columbia) keep him freaked out throughout the day.
-Meanwhile, Manny's father Javier has come to town to take Manny to the racetracks for a belated birthday present. Jay is forced to tag along, because Gloria doesn't like leaving Manny alone with Javier (Who once took Manny to a "stripper club" with the name "Petting Zoo").
-At the race, Javier wins every race he bets on, crediting it to a connection with the souls of the horses. On the race that Jay's horse wins, an inquiry is made and the results are overturned so Jay loses.
-Jay later apologizes to Javier for being hard on him, and admits to the cameras that he has a good thing going with Manny and doesn't like being reminded that Manny isn't his son.
-Also meanwhile, Mitchell wins an environmental award (Which is basically the Oscar for Environmental Lawyers) and proudly displays it on the mantle. But when Cam puts up a trophy he won for fishing, Mitchell begins to suspect Cam is jealous. He decides Cam must be jealous for sure when the next morning, he finds Cam has added a piece to his trophy, making it bigger than Mitchell's.
-Mitchell and Cam have an argument, but after talking with Alex who admits she feels jealous when Claire praises over her siblings lesser accomplishments, Mitchell realizes he's been acting like a 14-year-old girl.
-Mitchell looks in the garage and finds that Cam has hidden tons of trophies from him to protect his feeling. He decides to make a big display of the trophies as a surprise, but accidentally drops the box when he sees a black mouse in there, just as Cam and Lily get home. Cam gets upset and walks off.
-Later, everyone shows up at the Dunphy household, when Gloria tells the whole family Phil is expecting bad news. This panics Claire, which causes Phil to really panic when the doctor calls. It turns out he was just calling to ask about a real estate listing, much to the annoyance of Phil.
I Liked This: I got both seasons of Modern Family over the holidays, so I was pretty psyched for this show to return. And it did not disappoint with Lifetime Supply. All the stories were funny, and felt fresh, rather than being rehashes of previous stories and themes. Phil is my favorite character of the show, and it was great to watch him get more and more worried over the course of the day, with his chances of survival apparently decreasing (He goes from saying there's a 60% chance he's going to die to saying there's a 5% chance he'll make it). I like Benjamin Bratt as Manny's father, and he was great here, spouting off philisophical nonsense to Manny, which seems to actually work. And the moment where Jay admits he doesn't like being reminded he's not Manny's father was a nice bit of sentiment for the show.
But...: Cam and Mitchell probably had the weakest story tonight, though it still had it's moments (Particularly the pay-off).
The Bottom Line: Lifetime Supply is a very solid start to 2012 for Modern Family. Very solid indeed.
Grade: Totally Awesome! (Great)
Memorable Moments
-Luke's elderly friend Walt returned this week to play videogames with Luke, which was also funny. Luke learns a lot from him including the phrase "See you in hell, Klaus!"
-Alex: "I wouldn't get out of bed in the morning for a trophy that small".
-Young Phil won a lifetime supply of razors on a quiz show. "Two blades? It'll never get better than this".
-Claire: Claire: "Maybe Luke hit you with his broomstick when you guys were playing Quidditch." Phil: "I'm way too fast, he never touched me."
-Cam signed autographs after winning his fishing award. "Best fishes, Cameron Tucker".
-Jay bought a coffee cake, but Javier brought it in from the car so he gets the credit.
-Lily continues to show off her ability to talk, sending Phil over the edge with "Are you going to die?"
-Phil sees Claire as a flight attendant. So when she gets worried...: "Oh boy. The plane's in trouble. You've put away the drink cart and you're strapping in."
-Javier gets the attention of both Claire and Cam, to the point where Mitchell has to say "Stop staring".
-On the game show, Phil references both the eternal love of Jay and DeeDee Pritchett, and his friend who's about to test his homemade helicopter.
Friday, 25 November 2011
Modern Family: Punkin Chunkin'
What Happened, Yo!:
-Kenneth, a former neighborhood kid who looked up to Phil is coming to visit on Thanksgiving.
-Kenneth reveals that he's become very rich and successful and he owes it all to emulating Phil and following his heart.
-When Luke wonders why Kenneth has gotten rich being like Phil and Phil hasn't, Phil decides it because Claire supresses him.
-After Claire criticizes his efforts setting the tables for Thanksgiving, he vents his frustrations at her.
-Meanwhile Manny has made a bad centrepiece for Thanksgiving, but Gloria insists on praising it and tells Jay not to be negative.
-Jay eventually tells Manny anyways, because he feels he could handle it. Manny takes it, but he clearly isn't happy about it.
-Also meanwhile, Cameron is telling his Punkin Chunkin' story, which is about how he and his friends allegedly shot a pumpkin across a football field and through the sunroof of the local preacher. When it ends a little flat, Mitchell makes the wah-wah sound and saves it. Cam does not appreciate this.
-Mitchell tells Cam to maybe stick with the stories that are true, but Cam insists Punkin Chunkin' happened.
-Lastly meanwhile, Alex distracts Hayley who inadvertantly dents the family van. Hayley wants Alex to keep it a secret, but Alex has a hard time with this.
-At the Thanksgiving dinner, all the tension comes to a head with the family dividing into camps based on who believes Cam's story. This means we have the Dreamers (Most of the characters) and the Pritchetts (Jay, Claire, Mitchell, Alex). They decide to settle once and for all if you can shoot a pumpkin across a football field.
-The dreamers try and fail, but the Pritchetts take pity on them and decide to help them, by adjusting the sling they're using and getting more pumpkins.
-Alex and Hayley come clean about the van just as a pumpkin finally makes it across the field and slams into the side, meaning it would've been dented anyways and they could've got away with it.
I Liked This: I haven't talked about Modern Family in a while, mostly due to timing issues, but I was a fan of Punkin Chunkin'. A lot of the elements in it are familliar (Claire, Mitchell and Jay being spoilsports isn't exactly breaking new ground), but there's plenty of comedy in it and they did find some new places to go with it. Phil and Luke continue to be a stellar combination, and the whole thing with the headscratcher was great. And the resolution of the realists helping the dreamers was sweet. Also, this is the second time in like two weeks that a character named Kenneth has been on a show I watch. I find that awesome.
But...: There was some weak moments to all the plots, and the Alex/Hayley story could've used at least one more scene before the conclusion. And while the resolution of the episode was sweet, it was a bit too predictable.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
The Bottom Line: Punkin Chunkin' was a solid Modern Family episode with lots of fun to be had, even with the rehashing of old themes.
Memorable Moments
-Luke's inexplicable hatred of Lily continues to be great for comedy. Especially his desire to try shooting her across the football field.
-Phil and Luke do the voice of the turkey while Claire prepares it. When she adds in "Tell my wife and kids I love them" as she puts the turkey in the oven, they find that too dark.
-Phil: "If I had a son he'd be like Kenneth Ploufe". Claire: "You do have a son".
-Phil: "I wouldn't say I was his hero". Claire: "You just did". Phil: "Because you weren't going to".
-Jay: "If you told him the truth he'd thank you later". Gloria: "Like Claire and Mitch, did they thank you?" Jay: "Not yet, but it's coming".
-Haley: "Saying nothing is not lying. It's just letting the truth speak for itself".
-Phil: "I love your 'I love you,' but I'm getting tired of your 'but.' Yeah I heard it."
-Kenneth, a former neighborhood kid who looked up to Phil is coming to visit on Thanksgiving.
-Kenneth reveals that he's become very rich and successful and he owes it all to emulating Phil and following his heart.
-When Luke wonders why Kenneth has gotten rich being like Phil and Phil hasn't, Phil decides it because Claire supresses him.
-After Claire criticizes his efforts setting the tables for Thanksgiving, he vents his frustrations at her.
-Meanwhile Manny has made a bad centrepiece for Thanksgiving, but Gloria insists on praising it and tells Jay not to be negative.
-Jay eventually tells Manny anyways, because he feels he could handle it. Manny takes it, but he clearly isn't happy about it.
-Also meanwhile, Cameron is telling his Punkin Chunkin' story, which is about how he and his friends allegedly shot a pumpkin across a football field and through the sunroof of the local preacher. When it ends a little flat, Mitchell makes the wah-wah sound and saves it. Cam does not appreciate this.
-Mitchell tells Cam to maybe stick with the stories that are true, but Cam insists Punkin Chunkin' happened.
-Lastly meanwhile, Alex distracts Hayley who inadvertantly dents the family van. Hayley wants Alex to keep it a secret, but Alex has a hard time with this.
-At the Thanksgiving dinner, all the tension comes to a head with the family dividing into camps based on who believes Cam's story. This means we have the Dreamers (Most of the characters) and the Pritchetts (Jay, Claire, Mitchell, Alex). They decide to settle once and for all if you can shoot a pumpkin across a football field.
-The dreamers try and fail, but the Pritchetts take pity on them and decide to help them, by adjusting the sling they're using and getting more pumpkins.
-Alex and Hayley come clean about the van just as a pumpkin finally makes it across the field and slams into the side, meaning it would've been dented anyways and they could've got away with it.
I Liked This: I haven't talked about Modern Family in a while, mostly due to timing issues, but I was a fan of Punkin Chunkin'. A lot of the elements in it are familliar (Claire, Mitchell and Jay being spoilsports isn't exactly breaking new ground), but there's plenty of comedy in it and they did find some new places to go with it. Phil and Luke continue to be a stellar combination, and the whole thing with the headscratcher was great. And the resolution of the realists helping the dreamers was sweet. Also, this is the second time in like two weeks that a character named Kenneth has been on a show I watch. I find that awesome.
But...: There was some weak moments to all the plots, and the Alex/Hayley story could've used at least one more scene before the conclusion. And while the resolution of the episode was sweet, it was a bit too predictable.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
The Bottom Line: Punkin Chunkin' was a solid Modern Family episode with lots of fun to be had, even with the rehashing of old themes.
Memorable Moments
-Luke's inexplicable hatred of Lily continues to be great for comedy. Especially his desire to try shooting her across the football field.
-Phil and Luke do the voice of the turkey while Claire prepares it. When she adds in "Tell my wife and kids I love them" as she puts the turkey in the oven, they find that too dark.
-Phil: "If I had a son he'd be like Kenneth Ploufe". Claire: "You do have a son".
-Phil: "I wouldn't say I was his hero". Claire: "You just did". Phil: "Because you weren't going to".
-Jay: "If you told him the truth he'd thank you later". Gloria: "Like Claire and Mitch, did they thank you?" Jay: "Not yet, but it's coming".
-Haley: "Saying nothing is not lying. It's just letting the truth speak for itself".
-Phil: "I love your 'I love you,' but I'm getting tired of your 'but.' Yeah I heard it."
Thursday, 20 October 2011
Modern Family: Go Bullfrogs!
So I didn't have time to talk about Modern Family last week, but I enjoyed it. This time, with lots of shows not being on this week, I have plenty of time to talk about Go Bullfrogs!, which I also enjoyed, even without Luke who was at a sleepover this week.
The episode did have plenty of Phil though, as he takes Hayley on a tour of his old college. Phil and Hayley alone is not a pairing you see often and it worked well here, as Phil let Hayley go off to a party with kids her own age, only to panic when he learned through GPS tracking that she was at a frat house. Of course the party is completely safe, as Hayley's drinking ginger ale and talking to a boy that Phil used to coach in T-Ball, as his dad watches on. So Hayley is of course, really embarassed, but after a heart-to-heart, where Phil says that he just wants to keep his daughter safe for as long as possible and Hayley points out that he won't be able to do that once she's in college, before forgiving him for his sweetness. Then they slide down the hill on lunch trays. Aww. The story had plenty of comedic moments too, like Phil mistakening someone blocking the sun with his hand as an offer for a high five or chilling with undergrads in the bar.
Meanwhile, with a rare night alone, Claire decides to go out with Mitchell, Cam and some of their gay friends instead of watching Gone With the Wind with the other moms. But when most of them cut out, she winds up spending most of her time with a man who turns out to be anything but gay (though he is french.), much to her shock. She also winds up embarassing herself in front of the other moms, who now think she hasn't changed since high school. This wasn't the best story, but it was pretty entertaining, as was Mitchell and Cam realizing that they took the wrong car from the valet and it seems to belong to someone who has a much more exciting life than they do. Of course, the owner of the car also has a scorned wife who beats up the car with a golf club, not knowing who's in it.
And in a final story, Gloria and Jay are settled down to watch a columbian soap opera, but Gloria is distracted because Manny has gotten a mysterious package. The funniest part of the story is realizing just how engrossed with this soap opera Jay really is, to the point that when he has to go check on Manny, he calls the housekeeper to find out why one of the characters shot another character. This is a delight and the revelation that Manny had ordered a device from the internet that is supposed to make you taller was great. All in all, this was a solid episode that, while not perfect, delivered on the laughs. And as long as it does that, I won't feel slighted.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments
-No mention of Claire running for town council, which was introduced last week. That's fine, as this will be the first real story arc (apart from the second adoption thing) the show is tackling and this is a new thing for them.
-Phil corrects Claire's butchering of his high school's team name (They're the bulldogs, but Claire calls them bullfrogs): "When I talk to my old friends from college, do we croak or do we bark?"
-Cam: "I think we're going to head home. Claire: "What? Why? It's 9:30". Mitchell: "It's 9:30?!"
-Foreshadowing. Claire: "Alright ladies. Go home, roll up your hair and clap off the lights because this guy, who I just met, is gonna show me a good time". Mitchell: "If he was straight this would be just like high school".
-Claire: "I just wanted to spend my night with some fun gay people. It's not my fault this one decided to be straight!"
-Gloria: "I cannot believe he spent 50 dollars on this". Jay: "I know! He could've gotten a two-year subscription to Playboy for that."
-At the end, Cam and Mitchell run into the guy who has their car. When he sees the state his is in, he simply says: "I see you've met my wife."
The episode did have plenty of Phil though, as he takes Hayley on a tour of his old college. Phil and Hayley alone is not a pairing you see often and it worked well here, as Phil let Hayley go off to a party with kids her own age, only to panic when he learned through GPS tracking that she was at a frat house. Of course the party is completely safe, as Hayley's drinking ginger ale and talking to a boy that Phil used to coach in T-Ball, as his dad watches on. So Hayley is of course, really embarassed, but after a heart-to-heart, where Phil says that he just wants to keep his daughter safe for as long as possible and Hayley points out that he won't be able to do that once she's in college, before forgiving him for his sweetness. Then they slide down the hill on lunch trays. Aww. The story had plenty of comedic moments too, like Phil mistakening someone blocking the sun with his hand as an offer for a high five or chilling with undergrads in the bar.
Meanwhile, with a rare night alone, Claire decides to go out with Mitchell, Cam and some of their gay friends instead of watching Gone With the Wind with the other moms. But when most of them cut out, she winds up spending most of her time with a man who turns out to be anything but gay (though he is french.), much to her shock. She also winds up embarassing herself in front of the other moms, who now think she hasn't changed since high school. This wasn't the best story, but it was pretty entertaining, as was Mitchell and Cam realizing that they took the wrong car from the valet and it seems to belong to someone who has a much more exciting life than they do. Of course, the owner of the car also has a scorned wife who beats up the car with a golf club, not knowing who's in it.
And in a final story, Gloria and Jay are settled down to watch a columbian soap opera, but Gloria is distracted because Manny has gotten a mysterious package. The funniest part of the story is realizing just how engrossed with this soap opera Jay really is, to the point that when he has to go check on Manny, he calls the housekeeper to find out why one of the characters shot another character. This is a delight and the revelation that Manny had ordered a device from the internet that is supposed to make you taller was great. All in all, this was a solid episode that, while not perfect, delivered on the laughs. And as long as it does that, I won't feel slighted.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments
-No mention of Claire running for town council, which was introduced last week. That's fine, as this will be the first real story arc (apart from the second adoption thing) the show is tackling and this is a new thing for them.
-Phil corrects Claire's butchering of his high school's team name (They're the bulldogs, but Claire calls them bullfrogs): "When I talk to my old friends from college, do we croak or do we bark?"
-Cam: "I think we're going to head home. Claire: "What? Why? It's 9:30". Mitchell: "It's 9:30?!"
-Foreshadowing. Claire: "Alright ladies. Go home, roll up your hair and clap off the lights because this guy, who I just met, is gonna show me a good time". Mitchell: "If he was straight this would be just like high school".
-Claire: "I just wanted to spend my night with some fun gay people. It's not my fault this one decided to be straight!"
-Gloria: "I cannot believe he spent 50 dollars on this". Jay: "I know! He could've gotten a two-year subscription to Playboy for that."
-At the end, Cam and Mitchell run into the guy who has their car. When he sees the state his is in, he simply says: "I see you've met my wife."
Friday, 7 October 2011
Wednesday Quicky Opinion Time, Yo!
Kenny Sage here (Of course). So I've had this blog for about a month now and have a pretty good rhythm for posting regular opinions of shows. But sometimes I just get busy and miss a opinion here or there. (I haven't seen Ringer since Pilot. Don't think that will become regular despite my initial claims.). So I'm experimenting with a few things. The first thing I'm trying is called an opinion quicky. Ir's where I quickly talk about shows that I: A. don't usually talk about all the time B. Just didn't have time to talk about. So this week, I'll be quickly talking bout' Modern Family, Suburgatory, and Survivor: South Pacific.
Modern Family: Door to Door
I really wish I had time to write a full opinion this week because it enjoyed this episode a lot. David Cross showed up for his first episode since getting a recurring role as a city councilman and he was fantastic. Phil and Luke teamed up again. And Cameron and Gloria had a great story involving looking for the dog Stella (Cameron quickly gets caught up in a whirlwind of Streetcar Named Desire references, including an encounter with a little girl named Blanche.). This show is still great and I will talk about it more fully next week, when I'm not doing silly things like practicing for my Learner's test. Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Suburgatory: The Barbeque
I didn't intend to talk about Suburgatory regularly, but if it keeps up the quality, I may talk about it more often this winter. Anyways, this episode has Tessa dealing with an unwelcome attraction to dumb jock neighbor Ryan Shay, while George finds out he has to throw a barbeque, lest he be shunned by the suburbs. This was a quality episode with lots of great jokes, and a couple funny new hopefully recurring characters (including father of Ryan and Lisa Shay, played by the great Chris Parnell and a couple of husbands who are probably closeted). Keep it up, Suburgatory. Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Survivor: South Pacific: Survivalism
In future weeks, I plan to list my five favorite moments each episode of Survivor, because this is turning out to be even better than Redemption Island. Less focus on Brandon Hantz this week, which is welcome because that guy is paranoid. Actually, there was a bunch of focus on people who hadn't had much screen time to date, like Stacy and Dawn. And it was sweet. I was a bit sad when Stacy was voted out this week, but it had to be done. Here's hoping for more awesomeness from this season. Grade: Totally Awesome! (Great)
So that's it for quicky reviews for now. Stay tuned for my NBC Thursday reviews to be up shortly.
Modern Family: Door to Door
I really wish I had time to write a full opinion this week because it enjoyed this episode a lot. David Cross showed up for his first episode since getting a recurring role as a city councilman and he was fantastic. Phil and Luke teamed up again. And Cameron and Gloria had a great story involving looking for the dog Stella (Cameron quickly gets caught up in a whirlwind of Streetcar Named Desire references, including an encounter with a little girl named Blanche.). This show is still great and I will talk about it more fully next week, when I'm not doing silly things like practicing for my Learner's test. Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Suburgatory: The Barbeque
I didn't intend to talk about Suburgatory regularly, but if it keeps up the quality, I may talk about it more often this winter. Anyways, this episode has Tessa dealing with an unwelcome attraction to dumb jock neighbor Ryan Shay, while George finds out he has to throw a barbeque, lest he be shunned by the suburbs. This was a quality episode with lots of great jokes, and a couple funny new hopefully recurring characters (including father of Ryan and Lisa Shay, played by the great Chris Parnell and a couple of husbands who are probably closeted). Keep it up, Suburgatory. Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Survivor: South Pacific: Survivalism
In future weeks, I plan to list my five favorite moments each episode of Survivor, because this is turning out to be even better than Redemption Island. Less focus on Brandon Hantz this week, which is welcome because that guy is paranoid. Actually, there was a bunch of focus on people who hadn't had much screen time to date, like Stacy and Dawn. And it was sweet. I was a bit sad when Stacy was voted out this week, but it had to be done. Here's hoping for more awesomeness from this season. Grade: Totally Awesome! (Great)
So that's it for quicky reviews for now. Stay tuned for my NBC Thursday reviews to be up shortly.
Thursday, 29 September 2011
Modern Family: Phil on Wire
There are so many great characters on Modern Family, it's hard to choose one who is my favorite. They definitely have one of the strongest ensemble But if I really had to choose, it would come down to Phil or Luke and then I'd refuse to narrow it down any further. They're both such great characters and it was wonderful to see them paired up tonight in an episode, that maybe wasn't as funny as Dude Ranch last week, but still had lots of great moments, many coming from Luke and Phil who begin the episode by watching a documentary about a tightrope walker.
"Seeing that weird, wonderful little man up there pursuing his dream of walking on a tightrope made me think maybe I could pursue my dream... of walking on a tightrope".
And with that, Phil sets in motion his plot for the episode, assisted by an eager Luke who unbeknownst to everyone has obtained a large stash of junk food from Mitchell (who is going on a juice fast with Cameron. More on that later.) and is on a big sugar high ("There was a lot of chocolate in that bag"). He begins by walking it while on the ground (and he only falls a couple times), but is unable to do it when it's slightly higher. It takes some wisdom from Luke to make him realize that maybe he's only falling because he knows he can fall. So he tries it from seven feet up and pulls it off.
Meanwhile Alex and Hayley wind up in the same math class and hate it. Claire tries to convince them to tough it out, but she only causes them to agree to Alex giving Hayley answers in exchange for a month at the cool table. She also has a couple run-ins with the parking officer at the school and doesn't react well to them at all. As she tells them she's disappointed that they ruined a chance to better themselves and be super Dunphy's, they see Phil on the wire and Claire sees it as Phil teaching them a lesson by actions (teaching Alex to relax and Hayley to challenge herself). As Phil puts it though:
"I kept thinking if I could do this... then I'd have two ways to get across my yard". Oh Phil, never change.
Meanwhile Mitchell is helping Cameron on his juice fast, but is concerned because he's been invited to his boss' fundraiser party and Cameron doesn't act well on diets. (stages he goes through involve dispair and rage. Rage leads to a great gag where Cameron bumps his head on a cabinet and rips off the cabinet door in anger. He gets farther than he's ever gotten, but Mitchell has no idea what's gonna come next When they get to the party, Cam is irritable, but it's Mitchell who winds up having an emotional breakdown as his boss tells his story of a sea lion he became attached to who got caught in some ocean garbage and disappeared. This leads to Mitchell racing to the ocean and Cam having to calm his down. Which they do, but they get caught in a wave. Needless to say, they don't make a good impression.
Jay and Gloria also have a story where Gloria is angry that Jay is paying more attention to the dog than her. This is a small story and there's not much to it, but it still has some good jokes in it (Like Gloria wanting to know why Stella is allowed in the bed, but Manny isn't when he has nightmares. Cut to Manny on the floor wanting Jay to answer the question.)
All in all, another solid episode of Modern Family. If they keep this up, I predict much, much more emmy's for them.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments
-Jay: "They're not real cupcakes. They're doggies treats in the form of cupcakes". Gloria: "You should've told Manny that before he ate one." Jay: "Come on! His coat never looked shinier!"
-Phil: "Tightrope shoes. Got them at an estate sale. Only worn once". Claire: "That's not a ringing endorsement Phil."
-Luke: "The other day, Uncle Mitchell brought a bag of junk food over so he and Cam could do a jew fast". Phil: "You mean Juice fast." Luke: "I'm pretty sure they said Jew".
-Gloria: "Gloria: Where I come from, men cherish women. It goes wife, mistress, dog. Dog always at the bottom".
"Seeing that weird, wonderful little man up there pursuing his dream of walking on a tightrope made me think maybe I could pursue my dream... of walking on a tightrope".
And with that, Phil sets in motion his plot for the episode, assisted by an eager Luke who unbeknownst to everyone has obtained a large stash of junk food from Mitchell (who is going on a juice fast with Cameron. More on that later.) and is on a big sugar high ("There was a lot of chocolate in that bag"). He begins by walking it while on the ground (and he only falls a couple times), but is unable to do it when it's slightly higher. It takes some wisdom from Luke to make him realize that maybe he's only falling because he knows he can fall. So he tries it from seven feet up and pulls it off.
Meanwhile Alex and Hayley wind up in the same math class and hate it. Claire tries to convince them to tough it out, but she only causes them to agree to Alex giving Hayley answers in exchange for a month at the cool table. She also has a couple run-ins with the parking officer at the school and doesn't react well to them at all. As she tells them she's disappointed that they ruined a chance to better themselves and be super Dunphy's, they see Phil on the wire and Claire sees it as Phil teaching them a lesson by actions (teaching Alex to relax and Hayley to challenge herself). As Phil puts it though:
"I kept thinking if I could do this... then I'd have two ways to get across my yard". Oh Phil, never change.
Meanwhile Mitchell is helping Cameron on his juice fast, but is concerned because he's been invited to his boss' fundraiser party and Cameron doesn't act well on diets. (stages he goes through involve dispair and rage. Rage leads to a great gag where Cameron bumps his head on a cabinet and rips off the cabinet door in anger. He gets farther than he's ever gotten, but Mitchell has no idea what's gonna come next When they get to the party, Cam is irritable, but it's Mitchell who winds up having an emotional breakdown as his boss tells his story of a sea lion he became attached to who got caught in some ocean garbage and disappeared. This leads to Mitchell racing to the ocean and Cam having to calm his down. Which they do, but they get caught in a wave. Needless to say, they don't make a good impression.
Jay and Gloria also have a story where Gloria is angry that Jay is paying more attention to the dog than her. This is a small story and there's not much to it, but it still has some good jokes in it (Like Gloria wanting to know why Stella is allowed in the bed, but Manny isn't when he has nightmares. Cut to Manny on the floor wanting Jay to answer the question.)
All in all, another solid episode of Modern Family. If they keep this up, I predict much, much more emmy's for them.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments
-Jay: "They're not real cupcakes. They're doggies treats in the form of cupcakes". Gloria: "You should've told Manny that before he ate one." Jay: "Come on! His coat never looked shinier!"
-Phil: "Tightrope shoes. Got them at an estate sale. Only worn once". Claire: "That's not a ringing endorsement Phil."
-Luke: "The other day, Uncle Mitchell brought a bag of junk food over so he and Cam could do a jew fast". Phil: "You mean Juice fast." Luke: "I'm pretty sure they said Jew".
-Gloria: "Gloria: Where I come from, men cherish women. It goes wife, mistress, dog. Dog always at the bottom".
Friday, 23 September 2011
Modern Family: Dude Ranch/When Good Kids Go Bad
I enjoy Modern Family. I'll probably never love it as much as The Office, Parks and Rec, or Community, but I think it's clever, I get a lot of laughs out of the show and I look forward to it every week. I also don't have any objections about it sweeping the Emmy's again. Sadly, there are plenty of people who do have objections to Modern Family sweeping the Emmy's again because it's not the most innovative comedy in the world. In order to fight off the backlash, MF needed a strong episode to open the season. Luckily it had two strong episodes (though one was stronger than the other).
The stronger one was Dude Ranch which saw the family take it's annual vacation, which this year is at a dude ranch in Wyoming. The best episodes are usually the ones where the whole family gets to interact with each other and this one is no exception, with lots of good storylines, good lines, and of course Dylan, who Claire has reluctantly agreed to let come along on this vacation.
Claire's hatred of Dylan has been a running gag in the show for 2 seasons now and it comes to a head here, when she tries to be nice and accepting to Dylan at the behest of Phil (who knows what it's like to have a parent of his girlfriend dislike him.) Of course Dylan initially misinterprets her efforts at friendship as her making an advance on him and is relieved when he learns that isn't the case (though he lets Claire know if Hayley wasn't his girlfriend and Phil was out of the picture, he'd be honored to raise her kids with her). Of course all niceness ends when Dylan proposes to Hayley and Claire fiercely objects. This leads Dylan to run off upset (he lets them all know the fan in his tent sometimes sounds like crying) and Haley to be furious with Claire for interfering. It's a nice moment for Hayley's character when she later reveals she turned down Dylan's proposal and she's mad at Claire because it was her proposal to turn down, not Claire's. Meanwhile Dylan's disappeared and everyone's worried that he's been killed by the various dangers in the woods. When he turns up, it turns out he's taken a job as a ranch hand and ends things with Hayley because they're from two different worlds. Farewell Dylan. You'll be missed
.
That's not the only thing that happened in the episode though. Phil is trying to prove he's a man so Jay will respect him but Jay's distracted by their guide Hank and his constant advances on Gloria (who's having a hard time hearing because her ear hasn't popped yet.). This leads to a couple great scenes. One where Phil tells Jay that he's been a great husband and father and if that's not enough for Jay, then that's his problem and another where Phil and Jay subsequentally confront Hank who claims his advances where an act so Jay could look like a hero, only for Gloria to point out that Jay's an hero every day as a father. As they ride off Phil tells Hank that he will only be checking off somewhat satisfactory on his customer comment card. Oh Ty Burrell. You definitely earned that Emmy this year.
Meanwhile Mitchell is starting to have second thoughts about adopting a son because he doesn't get boys or "boy things". This plot starts out slow but gets better when he starts spending time with Luke who wants to set off a firecracker. Luke and Mitchell is a combination we don't see in action much and it's a great one, especially when the firecracker turns out to be less of a dud than they initially believe when they try to blow up a bird house. And in another story that's pretty cute, Alex deals with an admirer and has a bit of a summer romance.
And while Dude Ranch was the stronger episode, When Good Kids Go Bad was pretty great too. Mainly because it had plenty of screen time for new Lily. Who can talk! And in my opinion, the only thing cuter than babies is toddlers that say cute things. And also things that imply they're not going to be thrilled with a new baby and may in fact, try to harm that baby. Which of course cause Mitchell and Cam to figure out why this behavior is happening. At first it seems to be because Cam is too clingy (and the montage of him being clingy is one of the funniest parts of the night), but then Mitchell learns at her preschool that she's having issues sharing. Something he hasn't been that good at. Of course he hides this from Cam until right before they're about to announce their adoption plans to the family because Mitchell had been glad that for once, he wasn't the one at fault.
Meanwhile Phil and Claire are arguing about who was responsible for Claire taking a spill at the supermarket. Claire is convinced she's right, but the kids are a little tired of her being right. Also Alex and Hayley talk Luke into moving into the attic (which he was planning on doing anyways), despite Claire saying that this isn't a good idea for Luke. And Manny steals a girl's locket so he can remember her, but is willing to fess up and get punished until Gloria just has him return the locket to the girl's locker and lie to Jay about fessing up. Jay isn't buying this and knows it's just a matter of time before Manny fesses up.
Everything converges at Mitchell and Cam's party where they're supposed to be announcing their plans to adopt a boy. Of course Cam doesn't want to tell them anymore, because it won't be a happy moment but it slips out anyways while they're arguing. Everyone's happy about the news and Cam even breaks out his original plan for celebrating, which involves a banner saying "It's A Boy" with the words gonna be added to it and the song "Let's Hear it For the Boy" playing. Then Claire shows up with security footage from the grocery store proving she's right and everyone's shocked that she'd go to such difficult lengths just to prove a point. Until Jay guilt's Manny into admitting he lied about confessing, and Jay declares he was right. Looks like Lily isn't the only one who picked up things from her dad. The episode ends with Claire getting Luke out of the attic, but in a less "I was right" way, even though she was right.
So Modern Family starts off with two solid episodes. They weren't perfect (particularly the second one) but they were pretty dang good. And that's good enough for me.
Grade: Totally Awesome! (Great)
Memorable Moments
-"I want to be able to teach my son all the things my dad taught... Claire"
-"You want me to go home?" "No, it's the opposite of that". "...I want you to go home?" Again, Dylan will be missed.
-"Haha. You kiss boy"- The first words we hear new Lily say this season
-"For what it's worth, my second wife was in high school" Oh Jake, the cowboy.
-Jakes nicknames include Hollywood (Manny), Cactus flower (Gloria), Old Timer (Jay), and Bossy (Claire) The family enjoys that last one.
-"...Worth the wait" Phil, when he get's the nickname Buffalo Phil
-"My sister was born with a full set of teeth" "That never happened." "Oh, yea? You should have seen her crib. It looked like beavers lived there." If we ever meet Cam's sister, and the writers could pull it off, that'd be fantastic.
-"There's a line of ants going to a trick-or-treat bag in my closet, and I don't want to still be there when they get sick of candy."- Luke's motivation for wanting the attic.
-A possesive Lilly pushes Luke. His response? "This isn't over".
-We also learn Claire pushed Mitchell in the dryer as a child. "Is this why I'm afraid of tumbling?! I HAD TO QUIT GYMNASTICS, CLAIRE!"
The stronger one was Dude Ranch which saw the family take it's annual vacation, which this year is at a dude ranch in Wyoming. The best episodes are usually the ones where the whole family gets to interact with each other and this one is no exception, with lots of good storylines, good lines, and of course Dylan, who Claire has reluctantly agreed to let come along on this vacation.
Claire's hatred of Dylan has been a running gag in the show for 2 seasons now and it comes to a head here, when she tries to be nice and accepting to Dylan at the behest of Phil (who knows what it's like to have a parent of his girlfriend dislike him.) Of course Dylan initially misinterprets her efforts at friendship as her making an advance on him and is relieved when he learns that isn't the case (though he lets Claire know if Hayley wasn't his girlfriend and Phil was out of the picture, he'd be honored to raise her kids with her). Of course all niceness ends when Dylan proposes to Hayley and Claire fiercely objects. This leads Dylan to run off upset (he lets them all know the fan in his tent sometimes sounds like crying) and Haley to be furious with Claire for interfering. It's a nice moment for Hayley's character when she later reveals she turned down Dylan's proposal and she's mad at Claire because it was her proposal to turn down, not Claire's. Meanwhile Dylan's disappeared and everyone's worried that he's been killed by the various dangers in the woods. When he turns up, it turns out he's taken a job as a ranch hand and ends things with Hayley because they're from two different worlds. Farewell Dylan. You'll be missed
.
That's not the only thing that happened in the episode though. Phil is trying to prove he's a man so Jay will respect him but Jay's distracted by their guide Hank and his constant advances on Gloria (who's having a hard time hearing because her ear hasn't popped yet.). This leads to a couple great scenes. One where Phil tells Jay that he's been a great husband and father and if that's not enough for Jay, then that's his problem and another where Phil and Jay subsequentally confront Hank who claims his advances where an act so Jay could look like a hero, only for Gloria to point out that Jay's an hero every day as a father. As they ride off Phil tells Hank that he will only be checking off somewhat satisfactory on his customer comment card. Oh Ty Burrell. You definitely earned that Emmy this year.
Meanwhile Mitchell is starting to have second thoughts about adopting a son because he doesn't get boys or "boy things". This plot starts out slow but gets better when he starts spending time with Luke who wants to set off a firecracker. Luke and Mitchell is a combination we don't see in action much and it's a great one, especially when the firecracker turns out to be less of a dud than they initially believe when they try to blow up a bird house. And in another story that's pretty cute, Alex deals with an admirer and has a bit of a summer romance.
And while Dude Ranch was the stronger episode, When Good Kids Go Bad was pretty great too. Mainly because it had plenty of screen time for new Lily. Who can talk! And in my opinion, the only thing cuter than babies is toddlers that say cute things. And also things that imply they're not going to be thrilled with a new baby and may in fact, try to harm that baby. Which of course cause Mitchell and Cam to figure out why this behavior is happening. At first it seems to be because Cam is too clingy (and the montage of him being clingy is one of the funniest parts of the night), but then Mitchell learns at her preschool that she's having issues sharing. Something he hasn't been that good at. Of course he hides this from Cam until right before they're about to announce their adoption plans to the family because Mitchell had been glad that for once, he wasn't the one at fault.
Meanwhile Phil and Claire are arguing about who was responsible for Claire taking a spill at the supermarket. Claire is convinced she's right, but the kids are a little tired of her being right. Also Alex and Hayley talk Luke into moving into the attic (which he was planning on doing anyways), despite Claire saying that this isn't a good idea for Luke. And Manny steals a girl's locket so he can remember her, but is willing to fess up and get punished until Gloria just has him return the locket to the girl's locker and lie to Jay about fessing up. Jay isn't buying this and knows it's just a matter of time before Manny fesses up.
Everything converges at Mitchell and Cam's party where they're supposed to be announcing their plans to adopt a boy. Of course Cam doesn't want to tell them anymore, because it won't be a happy moment but it slips out anyways while they're arguing. Everyone's happy about the news and Cam even breaks out his original plan for celebrating, which involves a banner saying "It's A Boy" with the words gonna be added to it and the song "Let's Hear it For the Boy" playing. Then Claire shows up with security footage from the grocery store proving she's right and everyone's shocked that she'd go to such difficult lengths just to prove a point. Until Jay guilt's Manny into admitting he lied about confessing, and Jay declares he was right. Looks like Lily isn't the only one who picked up things from her dad. The episode ends with Claire getting Luke out of the attic, but in a less "I was right" way, even though she was right.
So Modern Family starts off with two solid episodes. They weren't perfect (particularly the second one) but they were pretty dang good. And that's good enough for me.
Grade: Totally Awesome! (Great)
Memorable Moments
-"I want to be able to teach my son all the things my dad taught... Claire"
-"You want me to go home?" "No, it's the opposite of that". "...I want you to go home?" Again, Dylan will be missed.
-"Haha. You kiss boy"- The first words we hear new Lily say this season
-"For what it's worth, my second wife was in high school" Oh Jake, the cowboy.
-Jakes nicknames include Hollywood (Manny), Cactus flower (Gloria), Old Timer (Jay), and Bossy (Claire) The family enjoys that last one.
-"...Worth the wait" Phil, when he get's the nickname Buffalo Phil
-"My sister was born with a full set of teeth" "That never happened." "Oh, yea? You should have seen her crib. It looked like beavers lived there." If we ever meet Cam's sister, and the writers could pull it off, that'd be fantastic.
-"There's a line of ants going to a trick-or-treat bag in my closet, and I don't want to still be there when they get sick of candy."- Luke's motivation for wanting the attic.
-A possesive Lilly pushes Luke. His response? "This isn't over".
-We also learn Claire pushed Mitchell in the dryer as a child. "Is this why I'm afraid of tumbling?! I HAD TO QUIT GYMNASTICS, CLAIRE!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)