Quicklet on Modern Family Season 1 (CliffsNotes-like Book Summary‪)‬

ABOUT THE BOOK

For some television comedies, it takes time to create truly memorable episodes. Classic series like Friends, South Park, and Seinfeld needed a season or two to fully flesh out their characters and give them the personality traits we grew to love.

Others, like Arrested Development and Curb Your Enthusiasm, wasted no time in cranking out classic dialogue and classic episodes. It’s in this group that ABC’s mockumentary-style comedy Modern Family falls. It hit the ground running in its debut season, netting a Season 1 score of 87 on review aggregator Metacritic. That score made it the top-rated TV comedy of 2009, and the 87 tally trailed only Season 4 of Friday Night Lights.

From shore to shore, critics were eager to praise Modern Family’s refreshing take on the American home. The San Francisco Chronicle called it “the best new comedy by far” in a season stacked with great new shows, and the New York Times hailed it as “the best new half hour of funny television.” Even the residents of the White House sang its praises, as President Obama revealed to People that his family’s go-to show to watch together was Modern Family.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Luke stole an English degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He's been a blogger for nearly a decade, and a digital editor at an ad agency for three years.

EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK

Acceptance - Prevalent in just about every Modern Family episode. The couples are at the forefront here, and seem to in a lot of ways be complete opposites. Mitchell is uptight and no-nonsense, while Cam is sensitive and emotional. Phil is young at heart, nerdy, and longs to be the cool parent, whereas Claire is the disciplinarian, the worrier, and eager to prove she’s not as crazy as she once was. Jay and Gloria, for all of their physical differences, are just as dissimilar in their personalities. Gloria is passionate and wears her heart on her sleeve, and Jay avoids confrontation and stifles emotion in favor of manliness.

When one of these six people forgets the traits of another (which can happen often because of the stark differences), conflict arises. It’s when each person can be accepted for who he or she is that true happiness emerges (this is fittingly found at the conclusion of each episode)...

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