The Good: Consistently gunny, Decent character development, Good serialization for some of the plot elements.
The Bad: Nothing exceptional on the acting front (that’s qualified in the review!).
The Basics: Modern Family Season Three is arguably the best season so far and is well worth picking up for anyone who likes eclectic family comedies!
I can think of no single comedy that so quickly rocketed into the “must watch each week” category for my wife and I as Modern Family. We actually got hooked during the primary run of Modern Family’s third season and once we decided it was a new weekly tradition for us, we backtracked and watched all of Season 1 (reviewed here!) and Season 2 (reviewed here!) in short order. But having rewatched the entire third season again, it is easy to see why it was the season that hooked us both.
In its third season, Modern Family is consistently funny and the characters actually grow beyond the comfort levels established for them in the prior seasons without making them seem even momentarily like new or unfamiliar characters. Over the course of the twenty-four half hour episodes of Season Three, the Pritchetts and Dunphys experience more of the trials and tribulations of daily life in contemporary times. This family-focused comedy follows three family units within the extended family of Jay Pritchett, The result is a show that is willing to serialize some of its important elements in order to actually develop the characters. Unlike some of the earlier seasons, in its third season, Modern Family commits to the characters over each episode’s theme.
It is in the third season that Claire runs for city council because the current head of the city council ignores her pleas for a new traffic sign. Her effort to run for elected office is vocally supported by Phil and the three children who realize that if Clair wins, she will not be home to bug them for quite some time. As they work to support Claire, Haley begins her college search and discovers that she might not have what it takes to go to college when she graduates (if she graduates!) high school! Cam and Mitchell work to adopt a second baby, much to the chagrin of Lily.
More ridiculous elements only survive the individual episodes, like the Christmas episode which has the whole extended family running around to prepare for an express Christmas or the episode that pits the dreamers against the family members who believe in empirical, provable, results. Jay and Claire essentially fight one another to do Manny and Luke’s egg drop project. Jay tries to set Manny up with a work ethic by having him become a door to door salesman and Lily starts saying the “F-word!”
The third season of Modern Family works very hard to balance the various characters, but more often than not, the show finds focus with Phil. So, for example, as Claire campaigns for the city council, it is often Phil’s backwards attempts to help that steal the show. And while the three women in the Dunphy family seem like they would be the focus of an episode where their menstrual cycles synch up on Leap Day, it is actually Phil’s reactions to their heightened moodiness that steals the show. In fact, it seems like in every episode in the third season of Modern Family, there is a plotline that integrally involves Phil. That is not so with all of the other characters.
The show takes on a few more serious concepts, like the death of a neighbor who was Luke’s friend and the revelation that Haley has lost her virginity. And when Gloria screws up and lets down Phil, the show uncharacteristically confronts head-on the attraction that Phil has for his father-in-law’s wife. That is actual character growth. Of course, elements like Jay and Claire getting increasingly competitive with one another is very much within their established characters. Part of what makes Modern Family so good is how the show works hard to evolve its characters, but seems to acknowledge that not everyone changes and those who do change have the tendency to have relapses of one form or another.
While the characters doo seem to grow a bit in the course of the third season of Modern Family, the acting is largely what one might expect from the show. By this point, all of the adult actors know their roles and they continue to play within their bounds. It is notable that by the end of the third season, Modern Family’s young cast successfully embodies each of their characters enough to convince the viewers that they are thoroughly professional and secure in exactly who they are supposed to be.
As is typical with television comedies, Modern Family Season Three comes with minimal bonus features. There is a gag reel and a handful of deleted scenes where the characters talk to-camera from the couch (Modern Family has a quasi-documentary shooting style). This is not one of those series’ where every episode gets multiple commentary tracks. Still, the low-key extras can be very nice. The primary programming of Modern Family Season 3 makes it worth the buy on its own!
For other shows from the 2011 – 2012 television season, please check out:
30 Rock - Season 6
The Big Bang Theory - Season 5
Happy Endings - Season 2
New Girl - Season 1
Once Upon A Time - Season 1
Weeds - Season 7
8.5/10
For other television reviews, be sure to check out my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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