I’ve written before about Home Improvement,
and many other like-minded meat-and-potatoes sitcoms of the 1980s and ’90s, and
it’s shows like these that most bear out the maxim that one man’s trash is
another’s treasure.
actually. The notion of comfort food might be a more appropriate comparison.
Just as there are times when hunger strikes independent of the ability to make another decision at the tail end of a
long day, and one finds themselves at a local haunt picking up the same
take-out they’ve ordered a hundred times before, there are also times — many
times, it turns out, and for many people — when the thought of actively
grappling with something like new characters or narrative nuance is as big of a
turn-off as a pre-liposuction Roseanne Barr in a floss-thin thong.
Home Improvement, at least in many of its
earlier incarnations. But as this collection of the show’s seventh go-round
reflects, blue-collar inspiration has a certain shelf life. Spanning 25 episodes,
this season of the Detroit-set show finds Tim “The Toolman” Taylor (Tim Allen) scoring box seats to a Thanksgiving
pro football game, where he somehow manages to cause a blackout. Tim’s eldest
son Brad (Zachery Ty Bryan) almost gets hitched in the episode “An Older
Woman.” Tim’s wife Jill (Patricia Richardson, who received her fourth Emmy
nomination this season) makes some rather inappropriate comments about her
husband’s fix-it-up television show in “From Top to Bottom,” while wise but
rarely seen neighbor Wilson (Earl Hindman) goes face-to-face with an alien in
“Believe It or Not.” Rounding out the cast are Tim’s mischievous younger sons
Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) and Mark (Taran Noah Smith), with former Family Feud host Richard Karn costarring
as Tim’s unflappably upbeat, flannel-wearing Tool Time sidekick, Al Borland. The parade of guest stars includes
appearances from Dan Akroyd, habitually injured NBA “superstar” Grant Hill and
astronauts Ken Bowersox and Steve Hawley
co-creators Matt Williams and Carmen Finestra previously wrote for iconic ’80s
sitcom The Cosby Show, so their work
retains much of that show’s good-heartedness, if not quite the same aplomb with
which the requisite “very special episodes” are handled. Home Improvement was, of course, originally inspired by some of Allen’s
standup comedy, but little of that kick remains here — just familiar sitcom
stories with a pinch of watered-down familial drama, carried along by charisma
and goodwill. Allen has gone on to film quasi-stardom, with box office hits
like Wild Hogs and The Santa Clause franchise, proving
that he knows his audience. Here, they know him too. And that’s just the way
they like it.
Improvement’s previous DVD incarnations came in novelty cases, or at least somewhat
imaginative packaging (a buzzsaw half-slipcase, etcetera), but the seventh
season’s release sees no such fancifulness. Presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio
(that would full-screen), the set’s Dolby digital stereo audio track is
certainly more than adequate to handle the skimpy requirements of the series’ sound
design. There are a few times when some cockamamie scheme of Tim’s blows up in
his face, either figuratively or literally, but these bits are conveyed through
volume and aural smash cuts, not really much fading or layering. Spread out
over three discs, this compilation’s only supplemental extra consists of a new blooper
reel comprised of the funniest outtakes from the 1997-1998 season. Flubbed
lines lead to some consternation, but unlike, say, Chris Tucker in every Rush Hour movie, at least no one leaves
their cell phone on. To order the set via Amazon, click here. C (Show) C+ (Disc)
Matt Damon and amnesiac CIA assassin Jason Bourne, né David Webb — the tightly coiled, pit-bull seeker at the heart of