One of the things I love about Modern Family is that it’s not only quotably funny, it’s situationally funny. Like tonight, for instance — I roared with laughter through the entire cold open, but I couldn’t pick a quote from it, because it wasn’t the lines that made me laugh, it was the situations the characters were in.

From Phil getting manhandled by Jay (while he was enjoying Gloria and Claire hugging far too much), to Cam shooting the film, to Haley rubbing the battery on her head, there’s something special that happens when the entire extended family interacts. Therein lie the situations.

You want quotes? Let’s break it down to pairs of characters, because that’s where the rich quotes happened tonight.

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After weeks of heavy advertising and two months in to the new television season, the re-imagining of V is finally here. Tonight was the first episode of the series, and boy there was a lot going on. To say that it felt rushed would be an understatement. The original series started with a long, suspense-building miniseries. This pilot episode was almost completely devoid of the slow, intriguing build up that the original featured. Instead, it was all action and introduction.

That may not necessarily be a bad thing. This show clearly has a lot of potential. I’m just not sure if that’s potential to be great, or potential to be a huge disappointment.

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The best part about Cougar Town is not Jules and her dating problems. Don’t get me wrong, we get some great lines because of it — “I had to sex away his tears” –  but I’m really digging the men on this show. OK wait, the sucking on chocolate for three seconds was pretty classic too. Back to the men….

I started off adoring Travis and the relationship he has with his mom. Then, I appreciated Grayson for all that he was: cold yet sensitive, snarky and unavailable. “Please stop coming to my bar.” That pretty much sums it up.

Tonight, Bobby stole the show for me, with his honesty, the way he can just be who he is without worrying about what other people think, and the way he is clearly still in love with Jules.

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“Am I driving him to school or is he riding his burro?” – Jay to Gloria about Manny wearing his poncho to school

You want to know why the ABC comedies are getting such rave reviews? Because people can relate to them. I just finished watching The Middle, celebrating the weird kid, and then Modern Family highlights the weird husband. Yep, totally relatable. Wait — it’s not just my life, is it? [Edit Keith: Hey!]

The thing is, they balance it so perfectly. Yeah, I’m completely laughing at Brick and his soothing ketchup packets, and you know I’m mercilessly laughing at what a complete ass Phil makes of himself with the running race. Yet both of these shows handle their characters’ weirdness with such tenderness.

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I’m just going out on a limb and saying it: this was the funniest episode of Modern Family since the pilot. I’ve enjoyed every episode, don’t get me wrong, but this episode was written in the style of the pilot, meaning it left me with the inability to recover from one laugh before they got to the next one.

And did you catch all those little funnies they slipped in when you thought you weren’t listening closely? Yeah, they were there and they were priceless.

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Good times, laughing at the expense of others. And by others, I definitely mean Cougar Town’s Jules, played by Courteney Cox. Every time she sticks her foot in her mouth, it’s pure comedic gold, and brings on the funny from other characters as well.

In last night’s episode, we saw Jules stick it, and Grayson rose to the occasion. I adored seeing his sensitive side, and the way he revealed it so reluctantly, and it balanced out the hi-jinks of the rest of the episode. Cougar Town makes sure it’s characters have heart and stay likable, as goofy as they may be.

Onto the foibles:

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Modern Family continues to be one of my favorite new shows. It balances the tongue-in-cheek with the tender, and we never, ever forget just how quirky the characters are.

And they added another quirkster tonight, in the form of Shelly Long’s guest appearance as DeDe, Claire’s and Mitchell’s mom and Jay’s ex-wife.

Modern Family, how did I love your quirks in tonight’s episode? Let me count the ways:

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