*DVD Extras not reviewed*

Premise:

A mockumentary style comedy following the lives of members of a modern family: the father with his trophy wife; the son with his husband and adopted baby; the wife with her goofy husband and three kids.

Created by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd (Frasier).

Review:

I watched Modern Family after hearing rave reviews about it and I'm glad to say that it didn't disappoint. What makes the show brilliant is the fact that all of the three couples that make up the family are as interesting and funny as each other, there is no weak link. So the best place to start when reviewing Modern Family is with the cast:

Ed O'Neill (Married with Children) is the head of the family, Jay Pritchett. Jay is the kind of man that thinks he knows everything but soon discovers he has a lot to learn, and despite his macho front he is a softie at heart. Probably the most 'normal' of the six main roles, it's easy to downplay his part in the show. However, I think his character balances against the other more eccentric characters in the family well.

Sofia Vergara (The Smurfs) plays Jay Pritchett's beautiful younger wife, Gloria Delgado-Pritchett. Gloria is essentially a slightly crazy Colombian woman, which also sums up Vergara quite well. Vergara's character seems to divide people, mainly due to her rather strong accent. Personally, I think she is one of the best characters on the show; Vergara has great timing and plays excellently off Ed O'Neill.

Julie Bowen (Boston Legal) is Jay's daughter, Claire Dunphy. Claire is a housewife, who is a bit uptight and fed up of constantly having to play bad cop to her husband's good cop. Bowen manages to stay the right side of irritating, which is quite an achievement given that her character is pretty much a nag a lot of the time.

Ty Burrell (The Incredible Hulk) plays Claire's husband, Phil Dunphy. Phil is a self-proclaimed cool dad; he comes up with terms such as 'peerenting' and knows all the dances to High School Musical, very cool. Phil is, sadly, the character I most relate to, despite being half his age and a woman. If I ever have kids, I will be as cool as him. Ty Burrell is great in the role, an absolute perfect fit.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson (The Class) is Jay's son, Mitchell Pritchett. Mitchell is quite reserved, proud of being gay yet at the same time not that comfortable with public displays of affection. Ferguson has less acting credits than the actors that play the children of Modern Family, nevertheless he is a great choice for the role and great chemistry with all the other actors.

Eric Stonestreet (The Island) is Mitchell's husband, Cameron Tucker. Cameron is the stereotypical flamboyant gay man, a perfect match for the more reserved Mitchell. Stonestreet does camp very well, he is straight but he makes for a very convincing gay man.

Now onto the children of Modern Family:
Gloria's son, Manny Delgado, from a prior marriage is played by Rico Rodriguez (Epic Movie), a preteen that acts like a 40 year old. Claire and Phil Dunphy have three children: Nolan Gould (Friends with Benefits) plays Luke, the idiot of the family. Sarah Hyland (Lipstick Jungle) plays Haley, the teen rebel who's only interested in boys. Ariel Winter (Killers) plays Alex, the nerd of the family. Mitchell and Cameron have adopted a Vietnamese baby named Lily (Ella and Jaden Hiller); the twins are the cutest thing ever.
The roles are pretty standard fare, but the actors slip into their roles so well and unlike most child actors, they don't annoy me with their uselessness.

The whole cast work so well together, I don't think there is another TV show out there were there isn't one cast member that I'm not fussed about. Modern Family is a true ensemble, with all three couples and their children getting equal screen time and rightly so.

As I said at the start of the review, Modern Family is a mockumentary. Each episode is based around a theme and revolves around the characters learning something about themselves and each other. The first season consists of 24 episodes, which I always think is a long run for a comedy, but it doesn't lose pace or quality and each episode brings new and hilarious situations. I really can't pick out 'best' episodes as they are all so good; watch the pilot and go from there. Pilots are often a little iffy but Modern Family hits it out of the park straight away.

Modern Family has been nominated for a load of awards despite only being on air for two seasons-Golden Globes, SAGs, Writer's Guild etc. etc. The Oscars of television is the Emmys and in 2010 Modern Family won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series for its debut season. Eric Stonestreet won the 2010 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (with Ed O'Neill being the only adult cast member not nominated, something which has been rectified in the 2011 Emmys nominations).

I really can't recommend Modern Family enough; it is a great show with a great cast. Modern Family is on Sky One or available on DVD and Blu-ray now. Definitely one to watch!

Extras:

Deleted, Extended and Alternate Scenes
Deleted Family Interviews
Gag Reel
Real Modern Family Moments
Before Modern Family
Fizbo the Clown
Modern Family: Making of "Family Portrait"
Modern Family Hawaii

Cast:

Ed O'Neill - Jay Pritchett
Sofia Vergara - Gloria Delgado-Pritchett
Julie Bowen - Claire Dunphy
Ty Burrell - Phil Dunphy
Jesse Tyler Ferguson - Mitchell Pritchett
Eric Stonestreet - Cameron Tucker
Rico Rodriguez - Manny Delgado
Nolan Gould - Luke Dunphy
Sarah Hyland - Haley Dunphy
Ariel Winter - Alex Dunphy

Also posted on ciao under the username shabbating