How This Became The Worst Episode Of Modern Family

this navigation system's all messed up it thinks we're in a park oh my God it is a park away from the kid from 2009 to 2020 the television series Modern Family provided a satirical look at the ins and outs of the Contemporary face of American Suburbia the show successfully upended the Decades of sitcom conventions with representations of family that were largely limited to the post-world War II ideal of the nuclear family providing representation that was sorely lacking in much of prime time television although the series certainly had its highs it also had its low points as well despite upending many of the traditions of Television it still was unable to overcome some of the medium's most long-lasting conventions leading to an episode that is the epitome of the problems with long-running television seasons oh geez look at that and now you stepped on it what's wrong with me in season 9 episode 19 of Modern Family we get an episode that encapsulates many of the problems with contemporary television the cultural shift from network television to streaming services has forced the executives behind the scenes to rethink numerous aspects of just how television is made while the prestige cable or streaming drama has found a strong place in our modern culture Network sitcoms like Modern Family are still seeking how to evolve in this new age with so many streaming series out there is it possible for sitcoms to maintain that traditional 22 episode season and still maintain our interest without the need to fill out a majority of a Year's worth of programming streaming television shows can keep their series concise and eliminate useless fluff and filler as such Modern Family had to meet those demanding 22 episode orders season after season the show existed in this strain change place where it was following the old ways of producing television while also being experienced and enjoyed through the more contemporary methods of streaming services the show was available to stream on Hulu the day after it aired and full seasons were streamable to new potential viewers at any time on other streaming services the need for the 22 episode season was non-existent the show did not need to be airing constantly to keep viewers attention or to prevent people from falling behind the ability to catch up on an entire series was always just a few button clicks away your mind is scattered Gloria your mind is gonna be scattered Beyond being tired and overdone the plot lines we are given feel very out of place for the characters and involve nonsensical conclusions Phil and Claire have a rematch of a race from all the way back in season one which has some humorous jokes about how the characters have aged since the initial competition I immediately pulled that muscle that runs from the top of your head down to the bottom of your feet but it also features a running gag about Phil's robot fighting group an obscure callback to a throwaway gag eight seasons prior it's a joke that not only is really for hardcore fans but it frankly sounds like a more interesting idea for an episode similarly this episode features Mitchell's sudden interest in law enforcement a character trait that has never been mentioned or addressed in any capacity in the series up to this point I'm a cop uh if I thought your alternate life was you teaching at risk youth the street dance no I teach them to believe themselves through streets this plot line especially feels like an attempt by the writers to grasp at straws because of the way it ends with some half-baked social commentary on how the power granted to police officers can lead to the dehumanization of those who Society deems criminals yes as ridiculous as it may sound that massive social issue is addressed by generously three to four lines of dialogue I don't think that I can just toss someone into prison it also goes against Mitchell's established career as a defense attorney the person responsible for protecting people from overreach by law enforcement logically this is something he should stand against rather than be inspired by finally the plotline that gives its episode the title follows Haley trying to convince Gloria to sell her salsa company to her new startup company it's ironic that this is the titular plotline considering it's completely dramatically inert Gloria at first is hesitant to sell the salsa she agrees to take the meeting but she seems to be trying to sabotage the sale Jay believes it's because she does not want to let go of the family's salsa recipe and he rescinds the deal on her behalf Gloria is furious because she actually did want to sell the sauce after all as you can tell by this riveting summary it's a very tedious plotline that leaves the characters in exactly the same place as the start of the episode nobody learns anything about themselves or the other members of the family this only further underlines a major issue with the choice to put the plots of this episode together structurally some sitcoms with large casts like Modern Family attempt to have their diverging plot lines coalesce into a satisfying conclusion whether whether in a literal sense or thematically but that never happens here instead each of these separate plot lines reach their conclusions without us ever understanding the larger point of their relationship maybe I was a little rash really maybe a big rush now that's not to say that the current streaming model is Flawless one advantage of having a longer season and a week by week structure is that shows will simply stay in the Public's mind for a longer period of time when shows are released with an entire season at once intended to be binged in Rapid succession the cultural discussion around these shows tend to burn out over the span of a weekend people will discuss the latest season of stranger things with an excited fervor after it drops but rarely does that excitement last beyond the first week or two of release our modern entertainment landscape is so overwhelmed and overstuffed with shows that are often treated as content fodder rather than works of art and that can be especially damaging for streaming sitcoms in fact it's obvious that part of of the reason for the success of streaming sitcoms like Ted lasso is due in part to their week-to-week release or consider the series Mythic Quest a show that released its entire first season at once in a bingeable model with very little Fanfare from audiences once the show switched to a week-to-week model for its second season it began to receive more attention from audiences the major advantage shows like Ted lasso and Mythic Quest have over network shows like Modern Family shorter Seasons even though they're returning to the older week by week release date schedules those shows still Implement shorter Seasons which often gives the show's more focused plot lines and a better allocation of budgets that creates a stronger visual sense than most Network sitcoms we locked our baby in the car and people are judging us do not break the window you hear glass on her another advantage to the longer seasons of a show like modern family it's the fact that the show had plenty of space to play around with and figure out the personalities of its characters this makes it all the more frustrating when the show fails to deliver on previously established personality traits and Canon betrayals of these characters and instead falls back on two-dimensional betrayals that have never been a part of who these characters are in the previous eight seasons the choice to abridge the 22 episode season is not only necessary it's essential for the medium by providing a Show's writing team to set the expectations of how many episodes a series needs to be the quality of television shows will inevitably go up in order for television to evolve and become its best self these shows need to move beyond the dull inspired Filler episodes and the unwieldy season orders that make them necessary in the first place networks are desperate for content to pad out their streaming services but it it's not a glut of shows that will make their services popular its quality over quantity that is needed Modern Family wasn't always perfect but it had strong moments of comedic Brilliance that were dulled as time went on by episodes like chips and salsa that feel like they were produced to fill a quota rather than inspired by The Passion of the creatives behind the scenes at the end of the day the old adage proves true less is more but what do you think is binging the way to go do you prefer your sitcoms short and sweet or do you prefer as many episodes as you can get let us know what you think and don't forget to like comment and subscribe to nerdstolic foreign

Channel: Nerdstalgic

Views: 333,672

Keywords: Modern Family, Modern Family Worst Episode, Modern Family Chips and Salsa, Modern Family Perfect Episode, Modern Family Final Season, Nerdstalgic, Modern Family Haley Dunphy, Modern Family Claire Dunphy, Modern Family Phil Dunphy, Modern Family Worst Season, Modern Family Downfall, The Office, Parks and Recreation, Arrested Development, Big Bang Theory, Schitt's Crek, New Girl, Worst Episode, Perfect Episode, Sitcoms, New Rockstars, Corridor Crew, Screen Crush, IGN, Collider

Id: E7ArqUQQmsQ

Length: 8min 22sec (502 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 23 2022