Formula works, in entertainment as in math and science. Anyone doubting should check out Home Improvement, a classic, Red State example of a television series that defines its audience early on
and then gives that subset more of what it has grown to love. The show was originally rooted in the gruff, “guys’ guy” stand-up
comedy of star Tim Allen — part of a spate of pilot production deals handed out
to up-and-coming comedians in the early 1990s — but anyone who followed the
series in its later years will attest that only the most trace amounts of that
edge remained. Instead, Home Improvement
grew into the equivalent of a pine tree — a dependably predictable if unspectacular small
screen laffer. Not quite the majesty of an oak, definitely not the delicious novelty of an
apple or lemon tree (that would be more like Arrested Development), nor the mannered beauty of a willow tree… but there you have it, a syndication-ready small screen hit nonetheless.
For those unfamiliar with the Detroit-set show, Allen (above left) stars
as Tim Taylor, the affable, pun-loving host of a Bob Villa-type, do-it-yourself
television program called Tool Time.
His faithful co-host is Al Borland (Richard Karn, above right), and his long-suffering wife
is Jill (Patricia Richardson). Together, they preside over a brood of three
rambunctious sons (with an irritating nine names between them — Zachery Ty
Bryan, Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Taran Noah Smith), and live next door to a
rarely glimpsed neighbor, Wilson (Earl Hindman), who dispenses nuggets of
advice that help, when necessary, steer the perpetually mishap-making Tim
toward compromise and apology.
The series’ sixth
season finds the kids a bit older, so the cuddly “cuteness factor” herein is definitely on the wane. Episodic highlights include Jill planning an anniversary party with her neurotic sisters and, separately, using an inheritance to buy a fancy sports car; Tim fretting over renovation plans of his boyhood home; and Tim forgetting where he hid Jill’s Valentine’s Day gift. Home
Improvement, like many of its familial sitcom brethren, sometimes stoops a bit too
often to the overly simplified husband-as-idiot routine,
and the episodes that cover well-worn ground like couples therapy can’t match the confident strides of The King of Queens or Everybody Loves Raymond. The show is better sticking to family time squabbles and Jill’s attempts at parsing and defeating the sometimes too-macho-by-half attitudes Tim tries to instill in his sons. Still, the characters
are nicely sketched and rather warmly brought to life by both Allen and
especially
Richardson. Guest stars herein include members of the famous Unser racing family and the Beach Boys, who turn out to be cousins of neighbor Wilson.
2.0 stereo, Home Improvement: The
Complete Sixth Season comes spread out over three discs in a cardboard slipcase that houses the set’s sturdy gatefold packaging.
Unfortunately, though, the only bonus material comes by way of a six-minute, season-specific blooper
reel, at least some of which fans will no doubt recognize from Dick Clark’s
visit to the set for his blooper-laden specials. C+ (Series) B-
(Disc)