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Modern Family: “My Funky Valentine”

Believe it or not, I actually liked this episode. I'm still not as fond of this series as I am Ugly Betty or The Office but I am starting to warm up to the characters now and appreciate the writers' attempts to breathe new life into old plotlines -- even if it sometimes seems as if their creativity peaked with the idea of using the same fictional documentary approach used in The Office on a family sitcom.

It is nice to see actor Ed O'Neill play a character who is actually supposed to be likable for a change and I like the fact that the writers are starting to depict his Colombian wife more like an actual person and not just some walking ethnic joke. I appreciate the fact that actress Julie Bowen actually gets more airtime -- and sympathy -- on this show than she ever seemed to get on The James Spader Show AKA Boston Legal. I like the interaction between the gay couple on the show. At times it seems a bit over-the-top, but then I could say the same thing about some real-life heterosexual couples I know. Indeed, after some of the real-life dysfunctional families I've witnessed, the sight of a couple who are actually doting on their child seems like a breath of fresh air, even if the doting couple and the child are just fictional.

It would be interesting to see what happens when the show gets older and the children on it -- especially Lily, the adopted Asian child of the gay couple -- start growing up. Indeed, this appears to be one of the few new TV shows I have seen this year which has me looking forward to a second season. Then again, I have not been watching a lot of the newer shows so please feel free to take that for what little it is worth.