Synopsis: Mitch finds himself at odds with Cam's ludicrous level of romantic gesture as he tries to get back to his normal work schedule following their wedding. Meanwhile, the Dunphys are experiencing a blissful Summer with Alex out of the country on a mission trip. Upon her return all goes awry and her parents and siblings try to get her out of the house again, convinced Alex is a curse on the family. In Jay and Gloria's world, Gloria becomes so frustrated with Jay's lack of effort to look good for her that she goes to a business dinner with him with a lazy outfit, frizzy hair, and no make up.
Review: Nothing about this season premiere is very special. While the "Modern Family laugh a minute humor" is indeed totally present, the three story arcs in this episode are all issues that have become a bit stale due to overuse in previous episodes. These being the "Jay feels intimidated by Gloria's good looks because he's so old resolving with Gloria and Jay apologizing to each other," the "Alex, though being a child, is the most competent member of the Dunphy family and they realize that they need her around even if she does muck up the family chemistry," and finally (the most overused) "Cam gets a head full of steam to do something that he considers wonderful and Mitch becomes increasingly annoyed with it until he eventually can't take it anymore and he and Cam have a fight that leaves Mitch feeling bad and then he apologizes soon after." The specificity of these scenarios ought to speak to the fact that the Modern Family writers really need to figure out some new story-lines.
However, despite my gripes Modern Family was the best rated show among high income 18-49 year olds in its premiere week (even narrowly beating out The Big Bang Theory). This is probably because holds a uniqueness among other shows, and now in its sixth season, it has burrowed its way into the hearts of the American TV viewing audience, and man, that "mockumentary" humor is top notch.
My Grade: C+
Nielsen Ratings: 3.9 (with 11.38 million viewers) winning the night and helping out Blackish.
Reviewer's Quotes: "It’s unlikely the episode will rank in the top tier of season 6—probably no Emmy tape in its future—but it performs solidly and none of its three plots is disastrous. It plays with some fun, mischievous story ideas, and it’s pretty funny throughout. Modern Family’s B-game is far from perfect, and probably shouldn't be breathing the same oxygen as Louie, but what it does, it still does well." -Joshua Alston (avclub.com).
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