The Film
What a week for Modern Family. The ABC sitcom took Sunday's Emmys by storm, scarfing up five awards (including the big one for Best Comedy). A few days later, the show kicked off its highly anticipated third season. Sandwiched in between those two events, we get the Blu-ray box for Modern Family: The Complete Second Season.
The show revolves around the various arms of the Pritchett family. Patriarch Jay (Ed O'Neill) lives with his an uber-hot, much younger Columbian wife Gloria (Sofia Vergara) and her son (Rico Rodriguez) from a previous marriage. Jay also has two children, who are all grown up with families as well. Claire (Julie Bowen) is married to the unintentionally hilarious Phil (Ty Burrell) and has three kids (Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter and Nolan Gould). Jesse Tyler Ferguson is the provider for his partner (Eric Stonestreet) and the duo's adopted baby girl (played by twins Ella and Jaden Hiller).
In the show's sophomore season, the gang covers everything from old cars to school dances to dogs to really inappropriate bicycle shorts. It's surprising, but the show manages to squeeze in all of its characters without being overwhelming. However, it's not exactly underwheming, either, thanks to stellar writing and an incredibly talented cast that just seems to sync.
The Picture
The show's documentary, shaky-cam style doesn't lend itself to a lot of detail. That said, this 1.78:1 transfer does show some nice improvement over what we've experienced from ABC over our 1080i DISH Network set-top. It's not anything that you'll consider for a demo (unless you're trying to showcase how to do a sitcom properly). However, the image has some strong black levels and outstanding color throughout.
The Sound
This is a sitcom, not a superhero flick. The DTS-HD Master Audio track is heavily focused on the dialogue, which sounds wonderful here. Like the season one set, the surrounds don't get much action, except when it comes time to belt out the show's theme song.
The Extras
Fans of the show will be frothing for this set's special features. Each of the three discs has its own deleted and extended scenes, for a total of about 21 minutes across the set. The extra family interviews are pretty funny, and a staple of every episode. Besides those standards on each of the three discs, there are plenty of other special features here. The two most notable pieces are the behind-the-scenes peek at the show's three holiday episodes and a table read for "Strangers on a Treadmill." The latter features the entire cast reading that particular episode, in its entirety, in front of a live audience. Series co-creator Steven Levitan is also present, to perform all of the stage directions.
Final Thoughts
Without a doubt, Modern Family is one of the best sitcoms currently on TV. Modern Family: The Complete Second Season doesn't have a demo-worthy image, the most full surround sound experience, or even a bevy of awesome extras. What it does have is a ton of laughs, making this one that you'll want to pick up.
Product Details
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Movie | |
| Extras |
