Quick Take: Modern Family, “Little Bo Bleep”
“F--k.” - Lily
Review: Modern Family, “Little Bo Bleep”
(S0313) Controversy abound in the latest weekly instalment of Modern Family. The show has been pretty tame as of late, toning down on its ironic euphemisms, but it makes an explicit revival by finally utilizing the trove of toddler tropes waiting to be explored by the new, speaking version of the adopted Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons).
In their typical, misguided puritanical witch-hunt, the Parents Television Council has been protesting the episode since the news that Lily drops the “F-bomb” surfaced. Aside from the fact that the young actress portraying Lily actually said “fudge” during filming, the qualm that the gag is done in poor taste relies on the assumption that the obscenity in question is already a common-enough word to make the wrong impression on the show’s viewers who hear the bleep – so there’s that.
Before Lily launches her swear assault – no less than four times in the middle of a church – the Dunphys and Pritchetts are attending to their own slew of problems. When Phil is incapable of keeping all of the city’s newspapers away from Claire, she discovers that the voters find her “angry and unlikable.” Taking Alex’s advice, she holds a mock trial while Luke and Hayley buzz her for all the gestures and expressions that others might find aversive.
Jay and Gloria, meanwhile, are once again at odds over the status of Stella the pug. When Jay comes home to find the dog in the pool, he blames Gloria for not caring enough, overlooking the irony that Gloria herself feels neglected. When they show up for Claire’s debate, Councilman Duane (David Cross in his third appearance this season) confides to Jay that pugs such as Stella suffer from depression and are prone to suicide due to their feeling unloved. Manny uncovers that Stella was just after a toy stuck in the pool’s filter, but not before Gloria has to jump in herself, garbed and fully made-up for the wedding which Lily is about to literally and vocally light up.
Gloria is not the most embarrassed member of the family however; when Councilman Duane peppers Claire with questions about the unfortunate Valentine’s Day incident when Phil accidentally exposed himself, Phil attempts to cover for his faltering wife by making a terribly-worded appeal to reason that gets auto-tuned and put on YouTube. That’s right – Phil finally goes viral.
If you’ll indulge my momentary aside – this episode may one day be an historic relic, as YouTube and many other social-networking sites face the ominous legislative threat of SOPA and PIPA. Today, many websites partook in a blackout of protest in order to raise awareness against the attempted mass-censorship; just like Mitchell’s and Cam’s dilemma with Lily’s profanity, forcing her to stop only proves to make things worse.
