I think Modern Family jumped the shark tonight

[suestorm]

i thought the show was hilarious!

Phil wiping his face with the cat
Cam going nuts on the sidelines
Phil saying how his favorite redhead once sang "The Sun Will Come Out Tommorrow"... and that plucky redhead was Mitchell. i almost peed my pants.

Claire is annoying though, if she wanted her coworkers to treat her like everyone else, she shouldnt be calling the CEO "DAD"!!! When i intern at my Dads company durning the summer i called him by his name. even Sir would serve her better.

NAMO, You need to check your facts again. The older sister had the kidney transplant

[brdlwyr]

15? Hope that she is not pregnant. The oldest daughter does red carpet shows. I think she has Type I diabetes.

[Reginald Tresilian]

I don't think she is. I remember reading last year that there was lots of family drama, and that she eventually left her mother's house and is under the custodial care of her sister, or something. And I think mom's been suing for custody periodically.

Normal teen stuff is bad enough; add to it the stress of being famous AND legal wrangling, and it's not surprising if there are some eating issues. (And I'm glad she's not starving herself.)

[brdlwyr]

I raised two teen daughters - I know stress and drama!

[songanddanceman2]

Sorry but this thread has jumped the shark, all sitcoms have a few dodgy episodes, I think this one is holding up far better than most. And as for Luke on the last episode and even using the word homophobia......give me a break, maybe the charachters didn't pull him on it because nothing happened what would require it.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Sorry the thread upsets you, but I'm not sure what's wrong with discussing what some have found to be disappointing episodes.

[songanddanceman2]

Nothing is upsetting me and discussing episodes ain't the problem, but to say they show had jumped the shark and is over (I know you didn't say that) is so OTT

[FindingNamo]

The "I think" in the title was supposed to make it abundantly clear that it was MY OPINION, in my thread.

Unfortunately, it is an opinion that has been supported by subsequent sub-par episodes.

[suestorm]

in my opinion, if there was one show that should not be attacked by the ultra-PC crowd of being homophobic of any kind its this one. I mean seriously its a comedy, not a documentry

[Liza's Headband]

Namo, I'm sure he wouldn't mind as much if we were spending so much time discussing Madonna or Lady Gaga or something else instead. Whatever.

"ps, it turns out the woman playing the youngest daughter had a kidney transplant last April."

Actually, it's Sarah Hyland (who plays older daughter Haley). She battles kidney dysplasia. You may notice that her face appeared to be a bit bloated and skin tone slightly different at the end of last season. That is partially due to the disorder.

[Reginald Tresilian]

I agree that a couple of iffy episodes doesn't equal jumping the shark.

[FindingNamo]

Maybe the past few episodes have been disjointed because tegu removed connective scenes with the awful nanny? That I could support.

[TheatreDiva90016]

"Is the actress playing the youngest daughter pregnant? "

No, but she did come back with some HUGE boobs and they didn't know what to do with her, so they are putting baggy sweaters on her to cover her up.

She can't be sexier than her slutty sister!

[theaternut]

Luke makes the show for me.

[Liza's Headband]

But in all seriousness, has it jumped? Even as a diehard fan I thought Wednesday night's episode was a snoozefest.

ETA: As the season goes on, the writing becomes more and more disjointed

[bobs3]

Wow! It is amazing how Manny and Luke have grown over this season. They are both taller and have deeper voices and Alex is growing some big boobs and Lily is losing her baby teeth. I feel so much older than since the show began. I hope they bring back Alex's "gay boyfriend" Michael this season. He was hilarious.

[Reginald Tresilian]

It's still the only sitcom I watch every week.

I agree about Alex's "boyfriend"! My other favorite guest is Cam's mom.

[ClydeBarrow]

I will admit that I still watch the show but it hasn't been that great the last couple of seasons. However, I think people are not using the term "jumping the shark" correctly. Yes, it deals with a decline in quality but the crux of the term comes from the show using a gimmick to gain viewer's interest. I don't think Modern Family has done this yet. Some classic examples include Roseanne when the Conners won the lottery, Married with Children when they suddenly had Seven or the original random new child…Cousin Oliver on the Brady Brunch.

[EricMontreal22]

Clyde, I think that's a fair point.

I've never been a massive Modern Family fan, but am a casual viewer, so keep that in mind. For me the show seems in a rut--and, as when that happens on many shows, the show's humour feels more shrill to me (though often still funny) than it once did.

[artscallion]

The term "jump the shark" comes from an episode of Happy Days. Toward the end of the series run when ratings were declining, they decided to it give the show a PR boost by having Fonzie water ski jump over a shark as a stunt. It didn't help.

Clyde's description is correct. But this is where the term came from, specifically.

[EricMontreal22]

But the "studio audience" loved it!! Oh Gary Marshall...

(And check out Fonzie's shorts...) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4ZGKI8vpcg

Of course a year and a half after Jaws, but...

[Jon]

Henry Winkler blames his mother, who made a point of telling Garry Marshall that her son could water ski, and that they should use that in an episode some day.

[NYadgal]

Last night was such a *yawn*...

[JoeKv99]

I thought last night was right back on track- especially with Alex & her stress issues. I though they handled that perfectly- from Alex researching & booking her own therapist to trying to run the appointment to her breakdown at the end.

[ClydeBarrow]

Not to say that it's totally jumped the shark but it's coming close to Will & Grace territory with those whole parade of guest stars. I realize that Shorty and Tiffany have been on before but Mary Cherry, Mark Zuckerberg and Jenna Maroney haven't been. The one I didn't have issue with was Mary Cherry because she is always THE BEST.

[bwayto]

Jenna Maruoney is not a person.

You're thinking of Jane Krakowski. She played the character Jenna on 30 Rock. And I thought she was great on 30 rock - and she wasn't really a guest "star". She played a bit part.