[RatskyWatsky]

The whole Claire/Mitchel story was a joke though. How could anyone think that's normal?

They were drunk.

[levious]

Enjoyed the episode. The end scream was great. The whole Claire/Mitchel story was a joke though. How could anyone think that's normal?

not saying it's normal, but people have done that. The show didn't just come up with this idea.

[HammerOfThor]

HAHA WTF was that about anyway?

If you look at past episodes, he seems to playfully have some kind of 'rivalry' going on with her. At least thats how I took it.

[TripOpt55]

Really good episode.

Okay, but we can all agree that she's a disaster of a human being.

This was hilarious.

[AlphaSnake]

Ahahaha, Haley's ex-bf Dylan is in the new Wendy's "Where's the Beef" commercial!

[big ander]

Heh, great episode. And definitely the most awkward of the entire show.

Man, Jay is just the fucking best guy.

[Diprosalic]

not saying it's normal, but people have done that. The show didn't just come up with this idea.

didn't phoebe do it for her brother on friends?

[AlphaSnake]

didn't phoebe do it for her brother on friends?

Indeed.

[Ignatz Mouse]

This season hasn't been as good as the first two, but this episode was golden.

Seems like the biggest problen has been the formula is getting tired, and they broke from it this week. Very refreshing.

[levious]

didn't phoebe do it for her brother on friends?

you sure she wasn't a surrogate?


edit: "Betty Luke" was one of the best recent gags.

[Zalasta]

didn't phoebe do it for her brother on friends?

Not the same right? Phoebe only acted as a surrogate. Where as Claire was going to provide her own egg (but not the oven).

[Koodo]

I just saw the last two episodes back to back and died laughing. They were great.

The stories of "that trainwreck Danielle" had me in tears, and Phil's commentary about taking his wife to bed omg.

Latest episode was amazing too. That drunk scene :lol and Cam/Mitchell/Lily screaming at the end. :lol :lol

[ivysaur12]

That was a really touching episode. In a weird, not exactly Modern Family-typical way. Hmm. I mean, I loved it. One of my favorite of the series, actually. But. Hmm.

Jesus, poor Cam.

[RatskyWatsky]

I liked this one. Fairly light on the laughs, but it was touching. I'm a bit surprised that Haley lost her V card off camera. I mean, I didn't expect them to show it, obviously, but most shows would have made a deal out of it. I'm kinda glad they didn't.

Also, someone needs to GIF Manny driving by the lemonade stand in slow motion. lol

[ivysaur12]

I liked this one. Fairly light on the laughs, but it was touching. I'm a bit surprised that Haley lost her V card off camera. I mean, I didn't expect them to show it, obviously, but most shows would have made a deal out of it. I'm kinda glad they didn't. Also, someone needs to GIF Manny driving by the lemonade stand in slow motion. lol

Easily the best part of the episode.

Fun fact - this episode is written by Elaine Ko, the only woman on Modern Family's very large writing staff, who was a diversity hire through Disney (meaning she's not paid through 20th, she's paid through Disney and thus is not part of the show's budget). It's a great episode, but the fact that this is their third season and they've done nothing to alleviate the huge gender issue on their staff (when half of their cast is female) is really upsetting.

Parks and 30 Rock all have plenty of women on their writing staff. Mad Men and Happy Endings have more women than men. Come on, Levitan.

[madaimer]

...why should It really matter whether if it's written by a guy or a girl, they have obviously hired a writing staff which works well for them and their viewers...I guess there were not enough female writers who were up to their standards.

[ivysaur12]

...why should It really matter whether if it's written by a guy or a girl, they have obviously hired a writing staff which works well for them and their viewers...I guess there were not enough female writers who were up to their standards.

No. The fact that you've somehow insinuated that there is not and never has been a woman who could write for the "standards" of Modern Family is bullshit. There are funnier shows than Modern Family that have plenty of women on staff.

They have a show about families, where five of their main characters are female. Television is written by committee - it's more important than every to have as many diverse opinions in a writer's room in order to create more realistic and less stereotypical characters.

I don't know, I find it somewhat insulting that a show that is 90% written by men has its only adult female characters without jobs. I also find it insulting that they only woman they've chosen to hire is one they've gotten for free off of their budget. Because that says a lot.

[AShep]

^^ Pump your brakes son. He said nothing of the sort.

Also, the fact that you celebrate shows with more female writers than male yet chide MF for the opposite is laughable.

[ivysaur12]

^^ Pump your brakes son. He said nothing of the sort. Also, the fact that you celebrate shows with more female writers than male yet chide MF for the opposite is laughable.

Laughable? 15% of the writers of primetime network television shows are female. That's not laughable, that's a fucking glass ceiling if there ever was one. It's especially encouraging when two of the best shows on television are written by predominately female writing staffs, even as only 15% of the broadcast landscape is female. I was also not celebrating, just stating a fact that there are two shows that have somehow found a way to be successful and also have plenty of women on their staff (which is a shocker to some, apparently). I was pointing out that despite what madaimer might think, there are women on critically acclaimed shows that are "up to the standards" of that showrunner.

"I guess there were not enough female writers who were up to their standards." - Really, how is that not saying that there aren't female writers that are funny enough for the showrunners of Modern Family? That's exactly what that statement says.

It's a serious issue in the industry and something that's been pointed out time and time again to Modern Family's producers. They have no real interest in changing that. And yet again, all of their adult females are jobless. Hilarious.

[AShep]

Have you considered for even a second that there might simply be more males in the industry than females?

Don't trot out the glass ceiling argument unless you can actually name a female writer who was turned down by MF in favour of a less qualified male.

Also since you seem to be about gender equity, I'm sure you'll realise how offensive your disappointment that Claire and Gloria are 'mere homemakers' is.

[ivysaur12]

Have you considered for even a second that there might simply be more males in the industry than females? Don't trot out the glass ceiling argument unless you can actually name a female writer who was turned down by MF in favour of a less qualified male. Also since you seem to be about gender equity, I'm sure you'll realise how offensive your disappointment that Claire and Gloria are 'mere homemakers' is.

You have an overwhelming male writing staff on a show where they only two women do not have jobs. How does that work for you. What the fuck.

EDIT: There are plenty of very talented women attempting to break into the industry who have not been able to obtain the level of success as their male counterparts. That's been a fact and something examined throughout television over the past few years - only this year with Kapnek, Merriwether, and (hate her all you want) Cummings was there actually a change against this disturbing trend.

http://www.aoltv.com/2011/09/08/wome...ucers-decline/

As the fall TV season approaches, it's worth taking a closer look at the people who have created and written the scripted fare you'll see. In the 2006-2007 television season, 35 percent of the writers of broadcast network, prime-time programs were women, according to an annual study by San Diego State University's Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film. In the 2010-2011 season, that number had dropped by more than half, to 15 percent. What happened? Since the latest edition of the annual SDSU study came out two weeks ago, I've posed that question to a dozen experienced television writers and creators, female and male alike. Most of these professionals, who've worked on everything from 'Battlestar Galactica' to 'Sons of Anarchy' to 'Pushing Daisies' to 'Chuck,' were alarmed by the numbers that the Center released. For some, it confirmed their worst fears. "The situation is getting worse," said one veteran woman writer. "In the '90s, the networks cared more. They don't anymore." For others, it made them re-evaluate gains they thought women had made. "I had certainly perceived the situation as getting better and better for women -- I am rarely the only woman in the writers' room anymore, and I encounter more women at the higher levels," said Jane Espenson ('Once Upon a Time,' 'Torchwood,' 'Buffy,' 'Battlestar Galactica'). "I remember what it was like 20 years ago, and this is not that." Today, everyone seems to agree in principle that diversity is desirable for a whole host of reasons, some of them pragmatic. "Overall, I've found that an equal mix of estrogen and testosterone in the writers' room -- and, indeed, with the support staff -- make for the best working environment for both genders," said Marc Guggenheim ('No Ordinary Family,' 'Eli Stone,' 'Brothers and Sisters'.) "A good working environment equals, in my opinion (though Lord knows there're plenty of examples to prove me wrong), good television." "A balanced writers room is like a balanced world. Everyone thrives, good work gets done, people like each other and the show is better for it," said an experienced female writer who did not want to be named (let's call her Writer A). "Women keep the room moving. They're great at multitasking and getting along with others. They don't procrastinate and they open up with lots of personal anecdotes that make for great stories on the show and great character beats. They tend to smell good." But the SDSU study isn't the only one showing that progress for women writers has, at best, stalled. According to statistics compiled by the Writers Guild of America, in 1999, 26 percent of working writers in cable and broadcast were women. By 2009, that number had risen by a mere 2 percent (and that was before the sharp decline recorded by the SDSU study). Moreover, between 2000 and 2009, "the earnings gap between women and white males [had] nearly quadrupled (from $4,735 to $17,343)." "With women comprising a majority of the television viewing audience, this doesn't make much sense. You would think it would be an advantage to have greater numbers of women on staff," said Shawn Ryan ('The Chicago Code,' 'Terriers,' 'The Shield'). Asked to explain these worrying trends, the writers I spoke to offered various interpretations, ranging from economic pressures to old-fashioned sexism. Taken together, their observations paint a nuanced picture of a professional environment that's as stubbornly resistant to change as any in America. The Economic Factor The stagnant economy of the last several years affects hiring decisions in peculiar ways, some of which may prove especially detrimental to women. "If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that the size of writing staffs and the number of job opportunities for TV writers have been shrinking since the [2007-2008] writers' strike and the start of the recession," Guggenheim said. "While that wouldn't explain the disproportionate decrease percentage-wise, my instinct is that when jobs are harder to come by, it's minorities -- including women -- who are disproportionately impacted." And old-school attitudes can inform hiring decisions, according to Nell Scovell ('Warehouse 13,' 'NCIS,' 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch'). "Anecdotally, I think in hard economic times, there's a misconception that men are still the breadwinners, i.e., 'If you give a woman a job, she's only supporting herself, but if you give a man a job, he'll support an entire family.' This is far from the truth." The networks' and studios' desire for a "security blanket" in uncertain times is also a factor. Ask any television writer or critic: When we read about projects that the networks are developing or greenlighting, the names of the same male producers (and their proteges) crop up again and again. "I think networks are panicking a little," said Amy Berg ('Eureka,' 'Leverage'). "With the emergence of digital media, no one is quite sure where the television industry is headed. How long will it be before content is created and distributed exclusively online? I think this, along with the country's current economic instability, is making networks reach for their security blankets. They're buying content from familiar faces with proven track records instead of taking risks with fresh voices. And if you're a veteran of this industry, chances are you're also a dude." 'Terra Nova' may well be emblematic of the current state of television drama. It's a big-budget, action-adventure series from big names -- among them Steven Spielberg and former Fox executive Peter Chernin -- and it has a whopping 12 executive producers. Two of them are female, and though 'Terra Nova' is being pitched in part as a family show, neither of those women is creatively guiding the project on a day-to-day basis (the project's showrunners are veteran writer/producers Rene Echevarria and Brannon Braga). The Woman in the Room In some quarters, there's still the perception that if a show has one woman writer on staff and perhaps one writer of color, that program's commitment to diversity is fulfilled (about 10 percent of working writers are minorities, according to the WGA, and that number has not budged for many years). But several woman pointed out that those writers are often the junior ones in the room, and they say it's not unusual for those writers to stay on the lower rungs of writing staffs for years rather than be promoted to positions of greater responsibility. "If women aren't hired to write on staff they can't be mentored. They can't gain experience and they can't move up and then ultimately create their own show. They can't have overall deals" with studios, Writer A said. "They are essentially shut out of the process. We are seeing the effects now of women being shut out of the process." The women who do get hired aren't particularly keen on being thought of as "the woman writer." As Ali Adler ('No Ordinary Family,' 'Chuck') put it, "During staffing season, you'll hear people say: 'We're looking for an upper-level female writer,' versus [a female writer] just being the best and brightest and shiniest non-gender specific penny in the bunch." Being the only one of anything can certainly be an anxiety-inducing situation. Writer A recalled working for a show that fired its sole female writer every few months. "Being the only woman in a writers' room is like walking around with a target on your back," she said. One male showrunner who has made strenuous (and successful) efforts to have a racially diverse writers' room remains frustrated that he still only has one woman on staff, and he said he's been thinking a lot about what it must be like for that woman. "When you reach a critical mass of guys, you realize, even if you add women, it's still a very male culture, and that may not be the working style that the woman is used to or most comfortable with," noted that showrunner (let's call him Writer B). In that male culture, a woman may be less willing and able to offer ideas and pitches that come from their personal experience. (It also produces a different kind of show: The SDSU study found the number of female characters has dropped from from a high of 43 percent in the 2007-2008 season to 41 percent in the 2010-2011 season.) When she staffed 'Alcatraz,' Elizabeth Sarnoff ('Lost,' 'Deadwood'), who co-created the show with J.J. Abrams, made sure that the writing staff had four women on it. All those women are senior writers. "There just aren't enough women on writing staffs, period. There just aren't," Sarnoff said when I spoke to her a few weeks before the SDSU stats came out. "I felt very marginalized on every staff I've ever been on, because you feel like, 'Now I have to say that chicks wouldn't do that.' You know what I mean? Because there's nobody else to say it. It's not that guys are biased in one way or another, they're just guys in the same way we're women." The irony is, according to Sarnoff, is that women's cultural conditioning makes them more likely to be able to contain their own creative impulses in ways that allow them to hew to the vision of the showrunner. "[Women are] better at subjugating their own egos and allowing themselves to embrace another voice," Sarnoff said. "Men fight it. I've seen it. I've been on enough staffs to see it, where they're the ones who are trying to push their own [stuff] through rather than actually say, "Okay, I'm actually here to serve another." It's All About the Genre The kind of shows that are in vogue can affect the composition of writers rooms as well. Women are perceived as being more appropriate for the staffs of "soapier," ensemble-driven shows, but that's not where TV is headed right now. "The trend in the industry has been away from that kind of [soapy] TV, toward shows that are either more episodic or more big-event shows," said Writer B. "And in those areas, the perception -- and I'm not saying I agree with this -- is that they are more the province of male writers." (Here's a bit of advice for aspiring women writers from that showrunner, whose last few potential female hires got better offers from other shows: "If you're a woman who writes kick-ass action, the employment picture is a lot better.") Comedy's comeback could be a factor as well; networks have been bulking up on half-hour programs ever since 'Modern Family' became a breakthrough hit. Though late-night shows typically have very few or zero women on staff (that's true even now, despite last year's controversy over the overall lack of women in late-night writers' rooms), finding a prime-time comedy in which more than a third of the writing credits come from women isn't all that easy. Though 'Parks and Recreation' has many women on staff (40 percent of its Season 3 writing credits went to women), that's not necessarily typical -- of the 17 credited writers for 'Modern Family's' first two seasons, five are women. (NOTE from ivy: Only one of these women, Elaine Ko, is actually a staff writer. Cindy Chupak was brought in this year, but I'm unsure exactly of what her role is) "Having started in the half-hour world, I definitely felt that was male-dominated territory," said Rina Mimoun ('Privileged,' 'Pushing Daisies,' 'Everwood'). "Those rooms are generally larger than one-hour writing rooms, and they almost always have hardly any women on staff. [Maybe] that could account for some of the statistics?" Ad Advice But what if the problem is simply baked into television's revenue structure? For everyone except Netflix and the premium pay networks, pleasing advertisers is the name of the game, especially in these uncertain times. "Just look at the primary measuring statistic for a viewing audience, the only statistic that matters financially -- males 18-49," said Kurt Sutter ('Sons of Anarchy,' 'The Shield'). "Networks demand that shows be aimed at that target audience. They have to. That's what advertisers demand of them. No ads, no TV. So by default, for the most part, we are creating television for white guys. "Play out that reality -- who better than to write those shows? White guys. I'm guilty of it. I have women on staff, but the truth is, I've learned that men write shows about the struggles of men better than women," Sutter added. "I'm not saying that women can't write male characters. Some do, very well. But men can write male characters more accurately." Even networks aimed at female viewers are generally cautious and unlikely to pursue shows that take creative risks -- and feature truly unconventional stories by and about women. "We're not making art out here, we're making programming that allows networks to sell ad dollars," says Jill Soloway ('Six Feet Under,' 'United States of Tara,' 'How to Make It in America'). "The only ad dollars that appeal solely to women only are diapers and cleaning products. The expensive ad dollars, like cars and air travel, must appeal to both genders. ...Sometimes I watch 'Louie,' which, for my money, is one of the best shows I have ever seen on television, and wonder if ... a network would air a show where a woman was talking about masturbating and farting (in an awesomely deep way, mind you). The answer is no -- not because networks hate women, not because studios refuse to hire women creators -- but because there is no brand that would be willing to be associated with the idea of such an anti-heroic woman." The Elephant in the Room And then there are the powerful men in the industry who just don't get it. "They tend to say things like, 'We tried [hiring a woman] once but she just didn't work out.' Or 'Women aren't as funny as men. Women writers aren't as good.' Yes, they say this. I've heard it. They often don't even realize how they sound," said Writer A. "Without going into specifics, two older male colleagues teamed up to make my life miserable" at one of her previous gigs, Berg said. "The experience was as surprising as it was devastating, which is probably why I didn't handle it well. As a result, I'm much more discerning now with the jobs I take on other shows and have a strictly enforced No Douchebags policy when hiring a staff of my own." "I've been on staffs, not recently, where I remember at the beginning of one season, the boss just called in all the men and didn't want the women, and was so happy not having the women around," Sarnoff recalled. "When I asked later why he did that, he said, 'Well, you know, it was just the upper-level people.' I said, 'Do you understand how wrong that is on every level?'" An Unequal Future? Perhaps as successive generations of men and women take the reins of the creative community in Hollywood, things will change. But where will the next generation of female writer/producers come from if the talent pool is shrinking? "We've backtracked," says Scovell. "My sense is there are more women at the top, but fewer coming up the pipeline." Given the dire statistics, there may be a vicious circle at work: Women who hear that the television industry is not welcoming to them may be less likely to become part of it in the first place. Writer B said he's tried to convince female feature writers to work as TV scribes, but they're wary of the hours and the probably have heard stories like the ones above. In any case, the process of winnowing down the number of female candidates begins at the talent agency level, where agents determine which writers even get representation in the first place. They tend to go with writers who have powerful mentors or who are shopping the kind of TV projects that have worked in the past. And so the cycle continues. "My guess is that the majority of the showrunners are still males and tend to hire males disproportionately to women," said Ryan. "Anecdotally, I will say that when I get spec scripts [i.e., work samples] sent to me for consideration (from staff writer level all the way up to co-executive producer), we always get more from male writers than female. Are more male writers trying to write in Hollywood than women? Are agencies representing a disproportionate number of males? I'm not sure." Whatever set of factors have led to the current state of affairs, the networks and studios have stood by while it happened. For the networks and the studios, there's no real downside to things remaining exactly as they are. Women are understandably reluctant to engage in the kind of legal actions that would make them unemployable, and who would they sue, anyway? There are multiple studios and networks; the industry is more diffuse than, say, Walmart, which was sued because only 33 percent of women were in management. (And, as I pointed out in a story last year, that percentage would be an improvement for women in Hollywood, where only about 25 percent of the people with the title executive producer are women). So things stay the same -- or, when the industry recoils from perceived or real crises, things get worse. Will the brave new world of online media save the day? Will the decoupling of advertising and content lead to greater opportunities and different kinds of stories made by a wider variety of people? It's hard to say. In a hopeful example, Felicia Day and Kim Evey, the women behind the hit web series 'The Guild,' talked in this story about how creating their own online series -- a season of which costs six figures -- allowed them to bypass many of the hurdles that women in the industry must jump. On the other hand, when Netflix commissioned its first series, 'House of Cards,' it went with David Fincher, a big-name talent who has no experience running a television show. Is 'House of Cards' even television, considering you won't need to be near a set to watch it? It's a good question -- one that Fincher will reportedly have $100 million to answer. Who'll have the last laugh? Well, Felicia Day owns her content. Maybe David Fincher should ask her for career advice.

And to put this article into context, Elizabeth Sarnoff, the showrunner on Alcatraz, was let go.

[Babalu.]

wtf take that shit to PM's. geeze.

nobody in this modern family official topic thread on a video game forum gives a shit about how many female writers this show or any show has.

this show is funny. I dont care if monkeys write it as long as it makes me laugh.



Just saw the last episode and LOL at manny driving past the girl with the music bumpin.

Didn't really like the cam scenario or the ohhh mitchel is going to make a mistake and tell his dads friends by accident because it was pretty predictable.

But the girls and dad was hilarious. and claire going shooting was just lol.

[big ander]

Okay episode. The Luke and Manny stuff was good, and I thought Lilly was actually funny.

You have an overwhelming male writing staff on a show where they only two women do not have jobs. How does that work for you. What the fuck. EDIT: There are plenty of very talented women attempting to break into the industry who have not been able to obtain the level of success as their male counterparts. That's been a fact and something examined throughout television over the past few years - only this year with Kapnek, Merriwether, and (hate her all you want) Cummings was there actually a change against this disturbing trend. http://www.aoltv.com/2011/09/08/wome...ucers-decline/ And to put this article into context, Elizabeth Sarnoff, the showrunner on Alcatraz, was let go.

Exactly. That article's a lot to work through, but it really boils down to two important things for me:
1) There are a TON of female writers who are being overlooked solely because of their gender
2) A female perspective is definitely needed for shows like Modern Family. In fact, I wouldn't feel too wrong in saying that part of the reason Parks and Recreation and Community are funnier and better-written than MF is that they have some wonderful female writers. Megan Ganz might be one of the funniest people I've heard of recently. Modern Family not having a better perspective on an entire family (which is the point of the show) hurts it.

wtf take that shit to PM's. geeze. nobody in this modern family official topic thread on a video game forum gives a shit about how many female writers this show or any show has. this show is funny. I dont care if monkeys write it as long as it makes me laugh.

Bullshit post here. It's relevant to the show and the topic at hand, it sure as hell belongs in the thread. And people should and do give a shit. You seriously just made some idiotic post that boiled down to "I don't care too much about other people in general." Get out.

[bigboss370]

You have an overwhelming male writing staff on a show where they only two women do not have jobs. How does that work for you. What the fuck.

what's wrong with women who stay at home raising their families? do you have any idea how demanding that is, or how much respect women who do that should get? Cam also stays home, so what?

the show is great, it consistently has awesome episodes each week. why would i want a change in writing staff just for the sake of changing the writing staff?

[ivysaur12]

what's wrong with women who stay at home raising their families? do you have any idea how demanding that is, or how much respect women who do that should get? Cam also stays home, so what? the show is great, it consistently has awesome episodes each week. why would i want a change in writing staff just for the sake of changing the writing staff?

Because while it's admirable, it's completely unrealistic for the "modern" family, especially when the youngest children in both families are over 10. It makes sense for Cam, not as much for Claire and Gloria. Especially not Claire. Phil is starting his own fucking business. And she's still a stay at home mom.

You don't see something wrong with one of the most notorious "Boys clubs" writer's staffs in the industry having a show that for three seasons has two adult women who never have had a job? Okay.

You should want a female imput on the show because better comedies than Modern Fanily have succeeded in creating more interesting women on their shows with more than one woman on their writer's staff. When you submit a script every eight days for twenty four episodes, yes, you might want as diverse opinions as possible. It's not only what holds Modern Family back, but it's the producers's continual insistence to balk the problem for this long.

[bigboss370]

Because while it's admirable, it's completely unrealistic for the "modern" family, especially when the youngest children in both families are over 10. It makes sense for Cam, not as much for Claire and Gloria. You don't see something wrong with one of the most notorious "Boys clubs" writer's staffs in the industry having a show that for three seasons has two adult women who never have had a job? Okay.

you're insinuating that being a stay at home wife is somehow inferior to one that has a job, that's not right. both women have been portrayed as being very independently capable and strong willed.

[ivysaur12]

you're insinuating that being a stay at home wife is somehow inferior to one that has a job, that's not right. both women have been portrayed as being very independently capable and strong willed.

No. I'm not diminishing stay at home mothers. But for a show called Modern Family that is supposedly progressive, NOT ONE ADULT WOMAN IS ACCOMPLISHED IN ANY CAREER.

How is it realistic that Claire, after all her children are grown, would not go back to her job when her husband starts his own firm in a bad housing market? It's not. Especially not for Claire.

[Agent Icebeezy]

Because while it's admirable, it's completely unrealistic for the "modern" family, especially when the youngest children in both families are over 10. It makes sense for Cam, not as much for Claire and Gloria. Especially not Claire. Phil is starting his own fucking business. And she's still a stay at home mom. You don't see something wrong with one of the most notorious "Boys clubs" writer's staffs in the industry having a show that for three seasons has two adult women who never have had a job? Okay. You should want a female imput on the show because better comedies than Modern Fanily have succeeded in creating more interesting women on their shows with more than one woman on their writer's staff. When you submit a script every eight days for twenty four episodes, yes, you might want as diverse opinions as possible. It's not only what holds Modern Family back, but it's the producers's continual insistence to balk the problem for this long.

Gloria married rich, so that excludes her. Though it came out that she drove a taxi before she met Jay. Claire? I don't remember but she did try to run for councilwoman so that should count for something

[ivysaur12]

Gloria married rich, so that excludes her. Though it came out that she drove a taxi before she met Jay. Claire? I don't remember but she did try to run for councilwoman so that should count for something

Gloria, I'll give. Claire? No fucking way. Especially given Phil's career move.

[bigboss370]

No. I'm not diminishing stay at home mothers. But for a show called Modern Family that is supposedly progressive, NOT ONE ADULT WOMAN IS ACCOMPLISHED IN ANY CAREER.

so you are diminishing stay at home mothers? why do they have to be accomplished in careers, when housewife is just as respectable? and obviously Claire's family is doing well enough that she doesn't have to go work. we saw Phil recently make a sale.

They already explored Claire's thoughts of abandoning her career for her family in that one episode when she met up with a former colleague (who came onto Phil i believe). in the end she decided her family was more important and she liked staying at home more than pursuing her career.

[videogames]

You don't think that Phil is a projection of all the writer's thoughts on how cool they are as dads? Phil is a pretty straight up representation of Cool Dad. He doesn't punish his kids, he's fun loving and a free spirit, and he makes tons of money being suave.

Like, I bet you could trace Gloria's character creation to "Ha, sometimes women just speak a different language then men."

"Yeah, like Spanish or something."

"HOLD. THE. FUCKING. PHONE. You got something there!"

Claire is just an overstressed mom who is the uncool parent. This was probably decided because Cool Dad couldn't be the bad guy, but the parent group needs a bad guy or else their children would be crazy and it'd be 'Hippie' Family. Claire is sort of the pickup character. Any loose holes they had in the family structure pretty much got dumped on her. They also made her technologically retarded in like, the most stupid way possible.

Cameron's character has been more or less 'queened' up. The relationship between him and Mitchell actually came across as very genuine; the episode where they both were upset about there always being a classification of the 'mom' and 'dad' in a relationship was good. Now he's just, I dunno, weird with lot's of qualities I'd define as feminine. Can be pretty strong but sometimes I feel like half his jokes are "Lol, gaaay!" Like, they're a gay couple so one of them has to be into feminine things. It just comes across lately, to me anyways, as a female character with a penis.

[bigboss370]

^^

[ivysaur12]

so you are diminishing stay at home mothers? why do they have to be accomplished in careers, when housewife is just as respectable? and obviously Claire's family is doing well enough that she doesn't have to go work. we saw Phil recently make a sale. They already explored Claire's thoughts of abandoning her career for her family in that one episode when she met up with a former colleague (who came onto Phil i believe). in the end she decided her family was more important and she liked staying at home more than pursuing her career.

Of couse Phil is going to do well. He's a breadwinner. And of couse Claire is going to want to choose her family, even though everything about her character screams the opposite. Because that's the issue witht writing of women on the show.

[bigboss370]

Of couse Phil is going to do well. He's a breadwinner. And of couse Claire is going to want to choose her family, even though everything about her character screams the opposite. Because that's the issue witht writing of women on the show.

no, its not an issue. like i said, you're equating Claire choosing to stay home as some sort of inferior option to pursuing a career. its not.

[Koodo]

In regards to the family unit, it has always seemed to me the show's intention is to show a very traditional family unit in the year 2010 (and beyond). The show is not "modern" because it shows a new breed of family, rather it is modern because it shows a traditional family living and rejoicing in a modern world. This is most evident in Cam/Mitchell's household: a gay couple is typically viewed as un-traditional, but the show strips them off any special status and portrays them just like any other traditional, routine family.

So no, having a more gender diverse writing team would likely have not changed the family unit, or character personality traits and how they interact. The family is traditional and stereotypical, that's the point. It would not be Modern Family, otherwise.


I do, however, completely agree that the show does need more female writers. Diversity is good in every facet of life; you bounce off more ideas, different ideas, if the group of people is different rather than homogenous. And a more diverse brainstorming session can only lead to a better end result.

That picture of the writing team also shows that the team is predominantly (90%) white. That's a problem too.

[ivysaur12]

no, its not an issue. like i said, you're equating Claire choosing to stay home as some sort of inferior option to pursuing a career. its not.

Not only does it make sense for her character, it doesn't make sense for both adult women of the show to choose to stay at home. ESPECIALLY within the context that this is a show written almost exclusively by men. At face value, maybe it's passable. I get Glorida. Claire? For her character, it makes no sense. In the context of the show, as a piece of television that can actively choose the roles of its characters and its situations, it makes little since given the narrative of this season and her defined personality.

Up All Night takes the traditional parenting role and turns it on its head by having Will Arnett stay home. And while Up All Night isn't nearly as funny as Modern Family, that particular plot point is one of the show's strongest. Sometimes there is a necessity to combat stereotypes, especially when both of your adult women adhere to them. And especially within the context of the writer's world and the irony there.

Cam has talked about going back to work in order to provide for the family, especially when Mitch decided to take a new job. That was never even a conversation with Claire. Not even an expository excuse about why that's not possible. Adhering to stereotypes it tricky and it needs to be done well. There is an implicit suggestion that by having women stay at home that men are the leaders of the household and that women are not. And while it's admirable for people who choose to do so in the real world, that's dangerous without a balance on television. Especially when everything we know about Claire calls into question this as a role she would take given Phil's career change.

In regards to the family unit, it has always seemed to me the show's intention is to show a very traditional family unit in the year 2010 (and beyond). The show is not "modern" because it shows a new breed of family, rather it is modern because it shows a traditional family living and rejoicing in a modern world. This is most evident in Cam/Mitchell's household: a gay couple is typically viewed as un-traditional, but the show strips them off any special status and portrays them just like any other traditional, routine family. So no, having a more gender diverse writing team would likely have not changed the family unit, or character personality traits and how they interact. The family is traditional and stereotypical, that's the point. It would not be Modern Family, otherwise. I do, however, completely agree that the show does need more female writers. Diversity is good in every facet of life; you bounce off more ideas, different ideas, if the group of people is different rather than homogenous. And a more diverse brainstorming session can only lead to a better end result. That picture of the writing team also shows that the team is predominantly (90%) white. That's a problem too.

And I agree, to a point. I think the irony of Mitch and Cam is that they're the most "traditional" of the couples. My point was that given everything we know about Claire's character, it makes absolutely no sense for her to continue to stay at home. It's been something that's bothered me since the show's inception.

Would a more diverse writing staff change that? I don't know. But I certainly would feel more comfortable with it knowing that that particular plot was vetted and synthesized in the writer's room by a more diverse staff.

Either way, it's completely unacceptable for any show, not just Modern Family, to have such a small female (and diverse!) writing staff. But that clear hole in their staff manifests itself on screen more clearly than most. And the fact that it's been talked about, specifically concerning Modern Family, within the industry and Levitan and Lloyd continue to run their room as a boys' club is unacceptable.

[Enco]

They were drunk.

Cam still supported it the next day. As did the kids.

not saying it's normal, but people have done that. The show didn't just come up with this idea.

Personally I've never heard of it before.

[Oxigen_Waste]

I think I've stopped enjoying this show. Gloria has become a circus clown, and so has Cameron. Manny's antics never really diversify. Phil & the kids are still ok, but they never were the life of the show anyway. Nobody cares about Claire and Mitchell and Jay seems to have become the redeeming grace of the show. I've no idea why I'm still watching... This has become a predictable and stale formula, and I'm not enjoying it anymore.

[JaseC]

I liked this one. Fairly light on the laughs, but it was touching. I'm a bit surprised that Haley lost her V card off camera. I mean, I didn't expect them to show it, obviously, but most shows would have made a deal out of it. I'm kinda glad they didn't. Also, someone needs to GIF Manny driving by the lemonade stand in slow motion. lol

Forward:



In reverse:



Easily the two most hilarious scenes of the episode.

[levious]

No. I'm not diminishing stay at home mothers. But for a show called Modern Family that is supposedly progressive, NOT ONE ADULT WOMAN IS ACCOMPLISHED IN ANY CAREER. How is it realistic that Claire, after all her children are grown, would not go back to her job when her husband starts his own firm in a bad housing market? It's not. Especially not for Claire.

I'd say it's realistic for Claire, she had that one story/episode where she thought about what might have been with her career. Every other time she can barely leave the house without freaking out about everything.

Plus, this show is not about middle america, all three households are very well off. The Middle is a show that has a more realistic economic scenario.

Cam still supported it the next day. As did the kids. Personally I've never heard of it before.

well now you have!

[RatskyWatsky]

Cam still supported it the next day. As did the kids.

Yeah, well, Cam is weird.

Forward: In reverse: Easily the two most hilarious scenes of the episode.

AMAZING.

[Dany M]

The episode was amazing. Phil/Haley were just perfect, it was well done between the confessional and the scene.. Gloria and Claire was great, Gloria handling a gun is always funny. Manny and Luke in that 'drive by' was awesome.

Also, may times when Surrogacy is optioned for, it is often best to choose someone close to prevent psychological disconnect between the gestational mother and the couple.

[snack]

My friends got me hooked on this show. Oh. My. God.

HIMYM, move over. Modern Family is where it's at!

[RatskyWatsky]

Pretty fun episode. Not the funniest of the season though. Not by a long shot.

"Hey. Hey. We're the monkeys."

Holy shit dat timing.

"Everyone follow the birthday flag!"
"What did you just call me?"

lol

[Gunloc]

This sitcom has become too sitcomy. :/

[Ignatz Mouse]

Was there a new one? DVR didn't grab it.

[RatskyWatsky]

Was there a new one? DVR didn't grab it.

Yes.

[EleventhDoctor]

The scene with Mitchell trying to district Cam while all The Wizard of Oz characters stroll by in the background had me literally laughing out loud.

[RatskyWatsky]

The scene with Mitchell trying to district Cam while all The Wizard of Oz characters stroll by in the background had me literally laughing out loud.

Someone should GIF that. Especially when Cam starts to drive away.

[BigAT]

John DiMaggio (voice of Bender, Marcus Fenix and many other things) was the boat captain on last night's episode. I didn't even realize it was him until I saw his name during the credits, he didn't really use his normal voice for the character.