DVD/TV Series Review: Modern Family: Season 6

 

The sixth season of Modern Family had 24 episodes that aired during the 2014/2015 TV season. The show itself continues to be very funny, well-acted, and cleverly written. One of the main themes this year is Alex finishing high school and getting ready for and trying to choose a college. The writers and showrunners seem to want to totally overdo the "Alex is a nerd who does not care about her appearance and dresses her like a lumberjack with the most awful glasses they could find" thing. The younger characters, if the show is going to continue on much longer, are going to have to develop beyond what they are to keep the show fresh. And given that Ariel Winter is so very not a flannel-wearing tomboy, allowing her character to move beyond that now is one way the show can do that. While there is some of that with the adult characters, they are definitely more set, and aside from introducing new situations for them to be in (such as Claire and the internet episode) or robot Phil in the season finale, there is not nearly as much room for character development among them as there will be as the younger actors continue to age.

One of the great additions to the cast as recurring characters was Dunphy's new neighbors, the LaFontaine family, played by Steve Zahn and Andrea Anders. Zahn as a distributor of medical marijuana is hilarious, and having them as sometimes friends and sometimes enemies of Claire and Phil on a limited basis is great. The storylines for the rest of the cast really continue to be more of the same. Each of the individual families gets some focus throughout the season, and then there are storylines that involve the entire family. Every so often, there are callbacks to a prior season's episodes and storylines. The Hailey/Andy storyline that was introduced in the 5th season continues this season (especially toward the end), and we get to see that Beth (played by Laura Ashley Samuels) is actually real, and their story leads into kind of a cliffhanger at the end of the season.

The DVD release this season is better than the season 5 release, but it is still horrible that the show (especially as popular as it continues to be, even if there has been a decline in popularity) does not continue to be available on blu ray as it was during the first 4 seasons. There are not a ton of extras, a few behind-the-scenes and making-of features on some of the episodes, including the internet episode (which was almost entirely shot on iPhones, a few deleted scenes, and a gag reel. Good for what is there, but not as much as in prior seasons. There are no commentary tracks on any of the episodes this year, which is a shame because those were entertaining. If the extras are not a huge deal for you, then streaming it will get you the same audio and video quality (or better) as the DVDs will. So, while the DVD release is lackluster the show itself is still funny and worth the time to watch.