The Nillabyte Perspective: Entertainment

Modern Family, entering its fourth season this Wednesday, won the Emmy for best comedy. My reaction: What? Did they not have any competition or something?

The first season of Modern Family entertained me enough that I actually bought it on DVD. It was well written, had interesting characters which were thrown in interesting situations. It felt like a "smart comedy," similar to Arrested Development and Frasier. Plus, I could identify with some of the traits of the characters, such as Phil's fear of his wife, and Jay's love of solitude and normalcy.

Season two of the show was still funny, but it lacked the initial appeal that the first season had had. Season three, the one which won the Emmy last night, was a stinker of snoozer proportion. I was tired of Phil. Not only tired, but I really despised his character by the end of season three. I related to him more in season one, but it seems like he gets more and more dumb with each new season. He wants to be his kid's best friend, rather than a good parent.

Claire seemed like a nagging witch the whole third season, Gloria was more annoying, Phil a stupid dad, and all the kids seemed bratty. But my biggest issue with season three was that it wasn't funny and it seemed to push the gay agenda.

I'm not a homophobe. Nor do I think that homosexuals are going to burn in the bowels of hell for all eternity. I do however think that marriage should be between one man and one woman. A super-majority of Americans feel the same way. Nevertheless, Hollywood feels it necessary to impose its values onto everyone.

Even though the gay couple, Cameron and Mitchell, have always been a main focus of the show, the gay issue never seemed to be the focal point. There were always humorous story lines surrounding the couple, but it never felt like they were pushing forward a gay agenda.

Season three seemed to have changed that. The show seemed less about laughs and more about issues. Which is why I was so perplexed as to why it won best comedy last night. True, it's competition was mostly very lackluster. It was up against the howlingly unfunny The Big Bang Theory, the pompous and annoying 30 Rock, and the HBO series Veep, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Girls. I've only seen portions of Girls and Veep, and they have never made me laugh. I do watch Curb from time to time and think that last season was loads funnier than Modern Family.

I'm sure the show won the Emmy merely because Hollywood seems to like pro-gay shows. They like to pat themselves on the back: "See, we are so great. We are tolerable of everyone's preferences, unless they are conservative."

What do you think? Did Modern Family deserve winning? What show do you think should have won?