When the previous season ended with the news that Gloria was pregnant, it did make me concerned for the fourth season since such a device often means that the writers are struggling to keep things fresh, and need something to inject new life (literally) into a show, and give a new device to spin plots off. Although the pregnancy and new baby are used during the season, it was nice that it did not really become a huge driver for the show so much as an incidental factor. The other characters remain the main driving force for the plots, and the writers continue to do a decent job of keeping everyone involved. At times it seems a bit obvious they are trying to keep people in play, and not all the plots work as well as others, but mostly they are solid frames for the comedy.
In this area the season continues to provide good incidental laughs throughout – fairly consistently too. It is very finely crafted, and the use of the documentary style is treated almost like a "safe spot" where jokes can be delivered around the main events; although being honest the amount of times the show now relies on this format for its deliverables means that it does bug me more that the approach is entirely without justification since there is no "filmmaker" here for them to speak to. The polish in the script is well delivered by the cast, who continue to show good comic timing across the board; Burrell continues to be great with verbal and physical humor, with Hyland, Winter, and Gould all getting good material this season. Vergara's broadness at times doesn't work so well, but still she is very funny. Indeed it is hard to say there is a weak link since Bowen, Stonestreet, Ferguson, O'Neill, and all are generally very good with their deliveries. The performance from Anderson-Emmons as Lily is variable (for good reason given her age), and she does have the problem that even when her timing/delivery is pretty good, it stands out by virtue of her company.
This season's main weakness continues from previous years, which is that the same slick polish it has, does mean that the heart of the show also feels very refined and manufactured. Usually this is not an issue, but at times the season does have emotional/bonding moments which in older times would have been accompanied by a studio audience "awwww" then applause; these work on a superficial level, which is fine, but I ended this season still not feeling any great emotional attachment to the people or the show. Not a problem in many ways, since it is a slick network sitcom, and it is the well- honed laughs that make it enjoyable, even if other aspects do keep it feeling a little more plastic than I would like.
In this area the season continues to provide good incidental laughs throughout – fairly consistently too. It is very finely crafted, and the use of the documentary style is treated almost like a "safe spot" where jokes can be delivered around the main events; although being honest the amount of times the show now relies on this format for its deliverables means that it does bug me more that the approach is entirely without justification since there is no "filmmaker" here for them to speak to. The polish in the script is well delivered by the cast, who continue to show good comic timing across the board; Burrell continues to be great with verbal and physical humor, with Hyland, Winter, and Gould all getting good material this season. Vergara's broadness at times doesn't work so well, but still she is very funny. Indeed it is hard to say there is a weak link since Bowen, Stonestreet, Ferguson, O'Neill, and all are generally very good with their deliveries. The performance from Anderson-Emmons as Lily is variable (for good reason given her age), and she does have the problem that even when her timing/delivery is pretty good, it stands out by virtue of her company.
This season's main weakness continues from previous years, which is that the same slick polish it has, does mean that the heart of the show also feels very refined and manufactured. Usually this is not an issue, but at times the season does have emotional/bonding moments which in older times would have been accompanied by a studio audience "awwww" then applause; these work on a superficial level, which is fine, but I ended this season still not feeling any great emotional attachment to the people or the show. Not a problem in many ways, since it is a slick network sitcom, and it is the well- honed laughs that make it enjoyable, even if other aspects do keep it feeling a little more plastic than I would like.