Kate says the thing that gets me with Home Improvement is I shouldn't be such a fan. I like Tim Allen (he is marvelous in Galaxy Quest), but I'm not a devotee, and I don't think I saw any of The Santa Clause movies. I'm not into cars. I'm not a huge fan of scatological humor. And I don't really like mean, male humor.
Yet, for some reason, I really like this show. I've seen all the seasons several times--once in order through Netflix, again by catching an episode here and there on television.
I think one reason is that everyone is trying to be nice without being sticky-sweet. The most noticeable aspect of the pilot to me is how amused Jill is of Tim (more about this later). I kind of get tired of Tim picking on Al sometimes, but Al gets his own back many, many times (he has a bigger fan club for one thing).
In fact, the bit parts are as lovingly done as the main parts. Richard Karn really did make a place for himself. (In the first season, he isn't listed in the main credits.). Earl Hindeman's role, though established from the beginning, gained umph, not to mention a long-standing joke!
Another reason I like the show is that the problems--and the advice--are real and practical. There's a great exchange that I plan to use in my Interpersonal Communications class where Jill and Tim realize that they have both been communicating in a way that assumes the other person communicates in the same way.
And finally, I confess I really do like watching Tim blow up dishwashers/drop steel beams on cars/get covered in . . . well, you name it. Yeah, we all got a little destructive monster in us. (And Tim's electrically damaged dance is cute.)
About Jill and Tim's relationship, Home Improvement has often been pointed to as the ultimate man-is-stupid-wife-is-smart show. I think this is unfair. Tim Allen was more interested in wife-husband relationships than in proving that men or women were better than the other. Since the show is told from Tim's point of view, he is, by default, the protagonist that changes the most. But that's typical for the protagonist.
And, whether anyone wants to admit it or not, Tim's jokes and insights are still relevant! I guess the men-and-women-are-different folks have won. (Seriously, was there really ever any doubt?)
Mike says that Home Improvement is the most guy accessible sitcom in existence. Even though I wasn't much of a tool/car kid, I still enjoyed this show a lot. Even now, Home Improvement is funny and heartfelt, communicating good stuff without the sticky sweet candy coating like on older sitcoms.
Everything about the show works well: a house full of boys, Tim Allen grunting around, Wilson in the faceless wise-man role, and Al as the sidekick. Tool Time is where the bulk of the show's comedy comes from, showing Tim's unbridled enthusiasm leading to cool and silly moments. My favorite segments where always "The Man's...." room clips. All guys love gadgets and seeing entire rooms tricked out to enable slothfulness was awesome.
I enjoyed all of the characters, and it was cool to see that Al was introduced a little more bumbling than later in the show, as the cool, confident, and maybe more skilled sidekick. And I always get a kick out of Wilson--in fact most of the words of wisdom I enjoyed as a kid came from him.
The pilot is a good introduction to the show and really runs with the concept. The man/women stuff is a major part of the show, and it was always handled well.... BUT.
I always found Jill kind of annoying. I'm not entirely sure why. The writers were always changing her, almost as if they were trying to find the right fit. The actress playing Jill also kept asking for her role to be expanded, for Jill to be more assertive and successful. And somehow this made Jill really grating.
The truly sad part is that the end of the show could be laid at her feet, as she's said if it were to continue, she'd want Tim and Jill to have more serious problems. Which is ridiculous! The thing that makes Home Improvement work is that Tim has this down-to-earth wife who puts up with him--he can be himself, only having to change the more "primitive" parts of the male personality. To introduce problems would make it suddenly bad to be a man, and Tim would have to face changes that would change the show.
Anyway, despite being a lot of fun, Home Improvement did have some missteps, Goth Mark and the ambiguous ending of the show being most prominent in my mind.
Overall, though, Home Improvement was about the glories and the troubles of being a man in today's world. And, for the ladies, how to put up with said man. A wonderfully warm and funny show, I really enjoyed watching it again.
Friday, February 18, 2011
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3 comments:
The last season of the show is oddly weak. Jonathan Taylor Thomas left and although he wasn't exactly Alex P. Keaton, his absence caused a void. The writers attempted to fill it by adding in the nieces (bringing back younger children with younger problems), but it really doesn't work.
In fact, the last season gives the sense of writers scrambling for story-lines and then missing obvious ones, like spending more time on Al's engagement (which happens far later than I remembered it happening).
I agree that turning the show into a soap opera of damaged relationships would have killed it, so it's kind of good it killed itself since if the show had kept going I think that particular solution would have been inevitable. Most of the story lines had been used up.
Which leads me to think that one main rule of family sitcoms--based on this list--is that they have a shelf-life directly proportional to the maturity of the youngest character: couple with no baby have only until the baby is born; family with young children have only until the young children have hit adolescence. And so on.
Everything dies--including the very, very funny idea.
Home Improvement lasted eigth seasons. I tired of it around season six. I started growing weary of it ealier due to Jill, who developed a nastiness that really grated on me.
Another problem with the later shows is that as the kid actors grew, it became obvious that only Jonathan Taylor Thomas has any real acting talent (and even that was limited. This isn't uncommon; one problem I have with with Buffy is that Nicholas Brendon isn't a very good actor and it really began to show in the late seasons as the other actors, especially Gellar, improved. Ironically, that's when they started featuring Xander more, often against Marsters. Roswell is another show where the talent difference became noticeable toward the end.)
BTW, one thing that hurts low budget films is when the producers splurge on a big name actor. Even if said actor is a has been, they're often so much more skilled than the rest of the cast, it's painful to watch. My number one rule in casting is to match skill levels of all principal actors. When working with maturing teens and beginners, this is difficult.
I really liked "Home Improvement". Tim Allen's comedy translated well to a sitcom.
The one thing I didn't like about the show was the character of Jill.
It is one thing to poke fun at your spouse, and this went both ways to good effect.
But as you watch the show, you begin seeing that Jill is often just cruel. She doesn't just poke fun at Tim; she insults him and demeans him. It isn't funny and it wears on you after a while.
The interaction between Tim and Al wasn't the same at all. Yes, sometimes it seemed that some of the things that Tim did to Al were "over the top", but Al got his licks in, too. The show also brought out that there was a real friendship between the two.
A truly enjoyable show that I need to add to my collection!
R from Seattle
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