‘Modern Family,’ consistently funny and important, has changed TV sitcoms

Before “Modern Family,” television’s family sitcoms tended to be about traditional families. Mom. Dad. Kids. Sometimes grandparents.If you think back to the very first episode of “Modern Family,” there was a surprise. The series began with seemingly unrelated scenes featuring three seemingly unrelated families: an older man, his much-younger wife and her son; a married couple and their three children; and a gay couple and their newly adopted baby. But, lo and behold