It’s more fun, of course, to pick apart the bad stuff on TV. There is always plenty to choose from, after all. But since one of my resolutions for 2010, and beyond, is to accentuate the positive, let me optimistically begin this final column of 2009 by highlighting the good news on the small screen this past year. Fortunately, there was a lot to highlight.
The next time someone suggests the half-hour sitcom is “dead,” tell them to check out ABC on Wednesday for a glimpse of Modern Family, which I think will give NBC’s overrated 30 Rock a run at the Emmys. Family love and dysfunction have never been this perfectly portrayed, including the comic high point of the series, gay couple Cameron and Mitchell.
As long as you’re watching Modern Family, make it a point to get to ABC at 8:30 p.m. for lead-in The Middle, which is happily reminiscent of recent classic Malcolm in the Middle. Although Patricia Heaton as frustrated mom Frankie is less cantankerous than Jane Kaczmarek as equally frazzled Mom Lois, 11-year-old Atticus Shaffer is the new Dewey. The resemblance is eerie.
Read the rest of the story at Media Week
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Tags: American Broadcasting Company, Jane Kaczmarek, Malcolm in the Middle, Modern Family, NBC, Patricia Heaton, Situation comedy, Television
