Five ‘Modern Family’ Storylines That Are Totally Antiquated Now
There’s a built-in problem when you name your sitcom Modern Family, especially when your intent is to explore all of the cutting-edge foibles particular to families in… 2009. Sure, it all seems very contemporary and fresh in the moment, but by trying not to be timeless, you’re guaranteeing a dated sitcom only a few years later. Here are just a few examples of “modern” plots on Modern Family that seem hopelessly outdated now…
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No One Can Understand Phil’s Universal Remote Control
The experts at CNET.com rated Phil’s new remote control as the best on the market! It lets you select the cable channel (the what now?) and the DVD player (which does what again?) and the clunky gadget is about the size of a paperback novel (yes, we know, another outdated reference). We’ll give Modern Family credit for correctly predicting we’d still be searching for HDMI2.
Everyone’s in Line for an iPad
When the iPad was launched, demand was so high that wannabe buyers like Claire had to stand in line for hours for the chance to buy one. These days, we barely notice when Apple releases an updated model. Pop quiz: Did Apple announce a new iPad this week? (The answer is no, but we bet you had to look it up.)
The Dunphy Family Has a Station Wagon
Honestly, this made no sense in 2009 when most multi-kid families had long since made the transition to the minivan. Another thing that confuses: Phil is a new toy junkie, always jonesing for the latest home entertainment system or iPad (see above). The first Tesla was released a year before Modern Family started. Wouldn’t Phil have been first in line? Apparently he’s more nostalgic about cars than gadgets. “It’s gonna be tough to say goodbye, it always is,” he laments. “Nobody loves change, but part of life is learning to let things go.”
Mitchell Joins a Flash Mob
Could this be the most dated storyline of all? Flash mobs were definitely a thing until we agreed as a society that pop-up musical numbers are aggressively dumb. The fact that Mitchell believed participating in surprise choreography would impress Cameron was dubious even then. Cam gets it — flash mobs are stupid. Bonus antiquity: Look at all of the people walking around the shopping mall.
In 2023, there’s no way Haley and Alex are even on Facebook. For that matter, how about Claire? We’re guessing she still has an account but hasn’t checked it since her birthday when she had to heart all those messages from the high school friends she doesn’t talk to anymore (can she even remember her password?). Everyone in family is on Instagram, but Haley and Alex have finstas where they hide the good stuff.
