Modern Family

I LOVE Modern Family (and Arrested Development). I don't think that I will ever get over the loss of Arrested Development. Nothing will ever replace that show's genius. But, Modern Family is coming close. If you have seen it, you know what I am talking about and if you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and Hulu and episode or two. Arrested Development's fatal flaw was that it was hard to jump into in the middle of the series. The relationships were so absurd that it was tough for new viewers to connect with the seemingly chaotic jumble of characters. Modern Family, on the other hand uses more stable family archetypes and is less dependent on inside jokes. Whereas I feel you MUST start watching Arrested Development from the beginning, you can jump into Modern Family at any time and be up to speed instantly.

The best part of Modern Family is that every character is perfect. I can't stop laughing at the precocious 11 year old professing his love to women twice his age (trust me it's adorable and not creepy) or at the well-intentioned dad who describes himself thusly, "I'm cool dad, that's my thang. I'm hip, I surf the web, I text. LOL: laugh out loud, OMG: oh my god, WTF: why the face?" Not to mention the BEST gay couple on television. On top of all of that, the show has heart and will surprise you with moments of sentimentality. Bottom line, it's a great show, tell a friend. Because if this show gets cancelled before its time, then ... well ... you will be reading about it in my HATE column.