The wackiest, most hilarious Modern Family moments

Families are never perfect, and the more different people, cultures and opinions you throw into the mix, the more potential for fireworks – and comedy. Modern Family is so hilarious because even though the characters get themselves into some pretty extreme situations, we can all recognise a nugget of ourselves or our crazy relatives in the Pritchett-Dunphy clan.

Even if you’re a long-time fan, you can relive the best moment by streaming the first eight seasons now. Here are some of our favourite LOL (laugh out loud) and WTF (why the face?) moments from the series so far.

Season 1

Come Fly With Me (Season 1, episode 3)

Bless his heart, Phil is a good guy. All he wants is acceptance from his father-in-law Jay. After all, Phil has loved and cared for Jay’s daughter, Claire, and given Jay three grandchildren he loves. What does difficult dad Jay give Phil in return? A remote-control airplane straight to the face. And while you’re going to go “aww shame”, Phil gets his wish when Claire bullies her dad into telling Phil that he loves him.

Moon Landing (Season 1, episode 14)

Jay is old-school… ish. Although he loves both his son, Mitch, and his partner, Cam, he’s still a little uncomfortable around them. So what better way for Jay and Cam to bond than over a game of racketball? We’ll tell you what better way: while changing in the locker room, the pair accidentally bump butts. It’s something they swear to never speak of again, but the look on Cam’s face when Jay is sympathetic towards him tells you that tough-guy Jay really adores Cam.

My Funky Valentine (Season 1, episode 15)

Phil and Claire come across as an ordinary couple. But when it comes to romance, they’re a whole bunch of fun. Like in this Valentine’s episode when they leave the kids at home and add a little spice to their love lives. And by “a little”, we mean a whole lot: their role-playing game as strangers meeting at a bar for a sexy rendezvous in a hotel room turns into a laugh-a-minute awkward encounter that makes you love them more.

Season 2

Halloween (Season 2, episode 6)

To say that Mitch goes all out and falls flat with his plans is an understatement. So just imagine what’s on the way when his new lawyer colleagues tell him that everyone in the office gets dressed up for Halloween. Nope, it’s not a fun-filled day of people in fancy dress. Instead, it’s Mitch being the laughing stock of the office as the only person dressed up. Does he take the laughs and ribbing and realise that the joke’s on him? No way – instead, Mitch hides in the toilets, then climbs out the window and scales down the piping on the exterior of his building… dressed as a muscly Spider-Man. The humiliation is simply priceless.

Season 3

Treehouse (Season 3, episode 7)

Phil isn’t what you’d call “handy” when it comes to tools. But we’re not here to discuss his hilarious attempts at building a treehouse. And we’re not even going to talk about the over-the-top hilarity of Mitch betting Cam that Cam can’t pick up a woman. Instead, we’re looking at the love between Jay and his trophy-wife Gloria. He refuses to go salsa dancing. Point blank. Full stop. No, no, no. Until he realises that it’s something small that would mean to the world to his beloved, whom he promised to love until the day he dies (because let’s face it, he’s going first). So to see the staunch tough-guy lace up his dancing shoes and twirl his life partner across the floor is heart-warming and sweet.

Season 4

Schooled (Season 4, episode 2)

Watching your child go to college is emotional for parents. And Phil makes no excuses for having a huge heart and being a softie. So while Haley is going off to college (believe it or not), Phil’s in-camera monologue is of him sharing some of his life lessons – or as he likes to call it, “Phil-osophy”. Like this gem: “Dance, until your feet hurt. Sing, until your lungs hurt. Act, until you’re William Hurt (Bob Partridge in action spy thriller Condor).” So deep, Phil, so deep.

Yard Sale (Season 4, episode 6)

Gloria is perfect, right? Sure, she’s a little ditsy and she has that incredible accent. But it’s not like she’s hiding a tragic dark secret from her past that she’s ashamed of, right? While daily drive-by shootings and drug deals are the norm back home in Colombia, Gloria’s got something hidden in her box under the bed that even Cam and his clown alter-ego Fizbo would be ashamed of: she’s a ventriloquist who used her dummy Uncle Grumpy to win beauty pageants back home. Oh, the shame!

Season 5

Las Vegas (Season 5, episode 18)

This family holiday is almost as much fun as the Halloween episode, but this one is all about magic – literally. One of Phil’s hidden talents is that he’s a magician … or at least a wannabe. And where better for him to flex his tricksy fingers and pull a rabbit out of the hat than in Las Vegas. He may be on his own because everyone else is off having fun somewhere, but he makes the most of his moment.

Season 6

Connection Lost (Season 6, episode 16)

This episode is hugely significant… not for the show but rather for technology. The episode was filmed entirely on Apple devices – an iPad, a Macbook Pro laptop and most importantly, the brand-new iPhone 6 that was considered revolutionary when it was released in 2014. The quality of footage produced proved that you can make television-quality content in the palm of your hands.

Season 7

Clean Out Your Junk Drawer (Season 7, episode 8)

If you’ve got this far, you’ll know that the inter-family competition is fierce. There are no depths too low if it means getting the better of their “rivals”. So when Gloria wins a therapy session with self-help author Debra Radcliffe (Catherine O’Hara), it’s showtime as Gloria and Jay, Cam and Mitch, and Claire and Phil unload their emotional baggage, each exaggerating more than the first to win brownie points with Debra, who quite frankly is ready to run out the door screaming. Utter comedy gold. Plus a heart-warming aww here and there.

Season 8

A Tale of Three Cities (Season 8, episode 1)

Family holidays are meant to be fun but there’s a point when everyone just wants their own space. Like in the Season 8 premiere. So what are the Dunphys up to in New York? They’re lying to each other about their “space”. After a week’s holiday, the kids are their parents are heading home separately – except none of them are actually going home. Trouble is, they’re not checking out of their hotel rooms either… which are side-by-side. Moral of the story? Two wrongs don’t make a right, and lies have a way of coming out.