The Hecks always have a lot to deal with. This week, Axl thinks everything is lame, Sue is trying out for the position of tennis ball-girl (which she predictably fails at), and Brick’s test results (not educational, mental). This episode’s storylines are divided into Frankie and Axl, as well as Mike and Brick, with Sue being put on the back burner. Frankie just wants to know that Axl is still the sweet little kid that he used to be when he was six, but their relationship is hurt even worse when Axl is the only football player that gives his old football jersey to a hot girl, rather than his mom. Moreover, after Brick’s $500 test results reveal that Brick is obviously bad at socializing with other kids, Mike tries to get him involved with other kids.

The Axl/Frankie storyline is very predictable, and in most of Patricia Heaton’s scenes, she seems like she’s constantly overacting. Axl is the stereotypical teenage boy, and Frankie is the stereotypical, overworked mother, who is tired of dealing with the stereotypical teenage boy. Mike and Brick’s scenes, on the other hand, make for extremely humorous situations. The flashbacks of Brick trying to interact with other boys his age sets this up for a great storyline. So in an effort to make Brick seem normal, Mike signs him up for basketball, but it unfortunately has the opposite effect. Brick’s mannerisms are really what keep the show fresh, even if his whispering-to-himself gag is becoming overdone. Brick is constantly reading on the basketball court, and Mike’s frustration with him just makes it even funnier.

So like I was saying, one of the storylines, Mike and Brick’s, really had a lot going for it, whereas Frankie and Axl’s storyline seemed to be lacking quite a bit. The show has been performing well enough, but it won’t be able to survive on Brick forever. The writers and actors need to really establish these characters and make them work well together.

Grade: B

Modern Family – “Run for Your Wife”

It’s the first day of school (I thought they were already in school, though), and each family is dealing with their own set of problems. Jay and Gloria have a conflict because Manny wants to go school in an authentic Columbian poncho; Jay thinks he should reconsider to save himself the embarrassment, but Gloria is (almost) always in support of her son. Mitchell and Cam are also facing an issue after Lily suffers her first bump on the head, but, being new parents, they very concerned and take a trip to the doctor. Finally, with the house empty, Phil challenges Claire to a race, which really turns into a competitive battle.

Like all of the show’s previous episodes, each storyline is hilarious. Gloria wants Jay to show Manny that he’s supportive of him, so he brings him his poncho. However, Gloria realizes that there are limits to how badly she’ll let Manny embarrass himself, and she subtly asks Jay to destroy his pan flute, so he can’t perform his dance in front of the class. Furthermore, the tension inside the Dunphy household makes more some fantastic moments between Phil and Claire, as they keep trying to one-up each other. My favorite moment happens to be when Mitch and Cam freak out after they accidentally lock Lily inside their car.

Modern Family continues to impress. I feel like I’m gushing over this show every week, but in all honesty, it really deserves it. All I can really say is make sure you put this show on your must-watch list.

Grade: A

Guess what. The Heck family has yet another set of hectic problems in store. Sue, who has been selling cheese and sausage all over the state to go on a school trip to Indianapolis, finally has to stand up for herself when her name isn’t on the school field trip list, and Brick has his first girlfriend, Olivia, who is extremely demanding. After watching her mother say, “Eh, it’s not worth the fight,” over the years, Sue figures it’s no use to try and go on the trip to the capital, but Frankie is determined to get her to Indianapolis. The men of the house, on the other hand, spend their time trying to figure out how Brick can get rid of his new girlfriend.

Many of the jokes this week feel forced and the acting feels a tad over the top. For instance, I think Patricia Heaton’s portrayal of Frankie seems too much like a “psycho-mom,” and Sue’s over-excitement for the school trip feels insincere. However, the flashbacks showing how Sue is never noticed in school are hysterical. The best portions of this week’s episode are with Brick, Axl, and Mike as they discuss how Brick can break-off his relationship and about women in general.

So far, The Middle hasn’t had its break-out episode, but none of the episodes are ever bad. If this season continues the way it is, I’ll still keep coming back, but I don’t think it would be able to become a favorite of mine.

Grade: B-

Modern Family – “Coal Digger”

There’s a family barbeque at the Pritchett household (that would be Jay, Gloria, and Manny’s house) and a conflict between Claire and Gloria is brought out, surprisingly, by their two children, Luke and Manny. Luke and Manny had been fighting at school, and after they had patched things up, they told the family why they were making fun of each other. After a few harmless insults were brought up, Luke then reveals that he made fun of Manny because his mom used to “dig coal.” When Alex asks what a “coal digger” is, Phil quickly and hilariously points out that “You heard it wrong, sweetie, it’s gold digger.” Tensions between Claire and Gloria were already high as it is, and this turns the night into a whole new level of uncomfortable. While this part of the story is funny all by itself, a couple of small scenes with Jay, Cameron, and Mitchell watching football made me die with laughter.

A lot of the humor in this episode is reminiscent of The Office, in that it’s mainly about the uncomfortable and awkward moments, such as Gloria being called a gold digger in front of the family, or Claire walking into Gloria’s room and seeing Phil covered in Gloria’s underwear. Plus, the moments with Jay, Mitch, and Cam are absolutely fantastic. Since Claire referred to Gloria as a gold digger, Jay is suddenly self-conscious about his looks, so he asks for the opinion of his gay son and his boyfriend. Cameron eagerly replies, “You’re totally my type. You’re dangerous. You’re gettable. You have a little cashola in your pocket.” It’s such a classic moment.

It seems like every element of Modern Family clicks perfectly. The storylines are intriguing, the acting is believable, the style is unique, and the writing is hilarious. If you haven’t started watching this show, please, I’m begging you, go straight to Hulu or ABC and watch it now.

Grade: A-

So far, the premise for every episode of The Middle has basically been, “Check out how hectic this middle-aged mother of three’s life is,” but, surprisingly, it all works out. This week, Frankie Heck has a plethora of problems on her plate, including Brick being sick, Axl wanting to practice driving, Sue’s freaky obsession with a new boy at school, and having to take care of her elderly, chain-smoking aunts. But here’s the kicker, this is all going on during what is supposed to be a “romantic” anniversary vacation.

Watching Frankie juggle all of her headaches provides a ton of good, clean humor, and it definitely relieves stress when compared to your own life. Patricia Heaton is lucky to have such a diverse, humorous cast to support her. For instance, Brick ends up coming to the car dealership with Frankie where he inevitably is taken away during a test drive. In addition, Sue experiences one of the most embarrassing moments of her life after she serenades a new student over the school’s PA system.

Each episode of The Middle, so far, has been structured with about 17 minutes of Frankie frantically running around trying to solve all of the family’s problems, as well as the other family member’s shenanigans, and they usually end with a heart-warming resolution. Fortunately, this system absolutely works well with the show’s concept. This might grow a little stale over time, but currently, it’s all good.

Grade: B

Modern Family – “The Incident”

TV veteran Shelley Long (although I’m admittedly too young to have a deep knowledge of her work, thank you IMDB) guest stars this week as Mitchell and Claire’s mother, Dede, which, in turn, means Jay’s ex-wife. Dede is moving off to the “dangerous” land of Canada with her new lover, but she has decided that she can’t leave before she has closure about “The Incident,” which is what the rest of the family has code-named Dede’s alcohol-induced outburst at Jay and Gloria’s wedding. For example, one of her more distasteful comments was “I knew they were perfect for each other when I saw his wallet and her boobs.”

Mitchell, being the momma’s boy that he is, invites Dede to the family’s Sunday dinner, but he fails to ask for Gloria’s permission. Meanwhile, Phil and Claire debate with Haley whether or not she is mature enough to go to a rock concert with her senior boyfriend Dylan, and he ends up being invited to the family dinner as well. Ty Burrell does what he does best as Phil, trying to act like one of the teenagers.

Eventually, everyone shows up at the dinner and all hell breaks loose, with Gloria and Dede in a cat-fight and Phil hilariously yelling, “I’ve got Gloria! I’ve got Gloria!” as they try to break-up the fight. Dylan is the one who unexpectedly breaks up the controversy, comparing them to his members of his family, who don’t even talk to each other. And just when Phil and Claire think Dylan is nice enough to take Haley to the concert, he is persuaded by the family to sing one of his songs, entitled “In the Moonlight (Do Me),” in what I consider to be one of the greatest endings of all time. The ratings don’t lie; Modern Family is definitely one of the best shows of the fall.

Grade: A-

After watching the first two episodes of The Middle, the biggest comparison I can make to it is the show Malcolm in the Middle, and not just because they both have “the middle” in their names. The Middle is about a peculiar, lower-middle-class family of five from Indiana, of which Frankie, the mother played by Patricia Heaton, is the centerpiece.

The Hecks are just trying to make ends meet, but their already small world quickly comes crashing down around them. The parents, Mike and Frankie Heck, receive an abrupt wake-up call when they realize that all those dazzling items they bought with “no payments until 2009” have come back to bite them in the ass. Throw in a broken dryer, a job in crisis, and a dysfunctional family and you have the makings for a very hectic and pleasing episode.

There is extreme diversity between the different members of the family. Frankie is a stressed-out mother, Mike is a brutally honest  father, Axl is the average lazy teen, Sue is a girl going through her awkward stage, and Brick is the youngest son who is in a world of his own. This eclectic mix of characters adds to the reality of a struggling family, while still maintaining a bevy of hilarious moments. The show is perfectly cast, and I can’t wait to see more next Wednesday.

Grade: B+

Modern Family – “Come Fly With Me”

Modern Family is definitely my favorite new comedy of the fall. Three completely varied groups of people come together to form one great big hysterically different family. The Dunphys are a family of five, with Phil, the father; Claire, the mother; Haley, the oldest daughter; Alex the daughter in the middle; and Luke the youngest son. Claire’s brother, Mitchell, is gay, with a heavyset boyfriend named Cameron and Lily, a Vietnamese baby they adopted. Finally, there is Jay, Claire and Mitchell’s father, who married the very sexy Gloria, who has a son named Manny. That’s a lot to take in right away, but trust me, it’s worth it.

The group is all mixed up today, with Phil spending time with his father-in-law, Jay, Gloria going shopping with Alex, Claire having deep, meaningful discussions with, Manny, her cousin(-in-law?) who is very mature for his young age, and Cameron showing Mitchell the miraculous store that everyone loves: Cost-Co. Phil and Jay’s day is spent with awkward moments and ends with Jay flying a model plane into Phil’s face. Gloria and Alex’s grandmother to granddaughter conversation is sure to make you crack a smile with the young girl asking some surprising questions and Gloria not hesitating to answer. It’s also funny watching Claire pour out her deepest feelings into her young cousin, who is supposed to be playing with Luke. Mitch and Cam’s spot in this week’s show isn’t as memorable as the previous episodes, but it wasn’t completely disappointing.

With so many branching storylines in this show, it’s hard to cover everything. I’m trying to keep these as “Quick Reviews,” so forgive me if you think a sentence per storyline is too little. The most important thing to remember is that it was a great episode; one that is sure to have you laughing. The variety of the stories makes the show extremely unique and a blast to watch.

Grade: A-