Modern Family – The Complete First Season (2009/Fox Blu-ray)

 

Picture: B+     Sound: B+     Extras: B     Episodes: A-

 

 

Not many series can gather an instant fan base like Modern Family has, but with its unique, fresh brand of humor and the great chemistry between the cast it is no wonder why it is such a success.

 

There is no summation that could do this multifaceted comedy series justice.  To put it briefly, the series is a hand camera series that follows a family as they go through the trials, tribulations and funnier moments of life.  From awkward moments, to old grudges, to the odder moments of parenting it is all there and more.  Each episode is comedic gold with stories that flow with ease.  The stories obviously come from a talented writing staff and are performed by an equally impressive troop of actors.  Veteran actor Ed O’Neill stars as Jay the patriarch of the family who has just married (the much younger) Latin hottie Gloria (Sofia Vergara) and became stepdad to Manny (Rico Rodriquez), a child mature beyond his years.

 

Jay is father to Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Claire (Julie Bowen of Happy Gilmore fame).  Mitchell is gay and his live-in boyfriend Cam (Eric Stonestreet) is as over the top as they come.  Together Mitchell and Cam have adopted a baby girl named Lilly and we have seats front and center as the couple struggles with the emotions and happenings of being new parents.  Claire is married to comedically egotistical Phil (Ty Burrell) who thinks he is the king of real estate, among having many other talents.  Claire is uptight, but Phil balances her out as he is kindhearted and dimwittedly attempts to be the “cool dad” time and time again, only to go down in flames.  Their kids are Luke (Nolan Gould), Haley (Sarah Hyland) and Alex (Ariel Winter) who each embody their own personality to add a dash of charm, brains and even the occasional head stuck in a banister.  All together the members of this modern family make a brilliant cast of characters that collectively make the series an instant classic.

 

I must say that I laughed throughout every single episode.  The casting is PERFECT and the jokes (though often times tongue in cheek) are quick and keep coming. 

 

The technical features on this new series are well done.  The picture is presented in a 1080p that is looks wonderful, especially for a handheld camera series (like that of The Office).  The series is filmed in HD and broadcast on ABC (a Disney Network), but this set has been transferred for this Blu-ray presentation by FOX.  The picture is crisp and clean, full of life and color.  There is no motion blur or grittiness to the series and every moment just seems to pop.  From the vibrant colors to the superb level of detail the series is admirable; though other moments seem to vary greatly, especially the cut away sequences.  And whereas the colorful palette is well done, the blacks could be better.  The sound is a DTS 5.1 HD Master Audio that is somewhat wasted as the sound comes mostly from the front, but does have its moments where the surrounds kick in to add a bit of ambience.  There are solid panning effects, but the surrounds aren’t used much otherwise.  The dialogue is high priority in the case of this series and every scream, whisper and under breath insult clear as day.

 

The extras are plentiful, but are composed mainly of Deleted Scenes and Extended Scenes that are just as hilarious as anything that appeared throughout the season.  Also included are a Gag Reel and a series of featurettes including “Real Modern Family Moments,” “Before Modern Family,” “Fizbo the Clown,” “Making of Modern Family” and “Modern Family Hawaii.”  Sadly there are no commentaries on this set, which would have been nice to hear because I imagine the casts’ chemistry off set is just as good as on set.

 

I HIGHLY recommend this series.  The stories are endearing and the laughs keep coming.  Each episode has a fast paced, giddiness about it that gets you excited to see the next episode.  The rewatchable quality is there as viewers will want to share this series with friends, on top of the fact that there are plenty of jokes you may have missed on the first pass through.  A great series that will only get better.

 

 

-   Michael P. Dougherty II