The episode where Tim doesnt like the new Binford tool, and he could have lost his job and went back on teh road selling tools He said he would have been on the road for 30 weeks 52 weeks in a year so he would have had almost HALF the year off whats the downside
It was telecast on ABC's "All-3D night" and only the opening and closing "Tool Time" segments had the 3D effect added (anaglyph - red-blue). The DVD however does not have the 3D effect added. ABC promoted that particular Tuesday's line-up in advance so that people could go out to a participating store and purchase a set of 3D glasses. I already had my own so didn't need to.
should have just had Heidi stand naked... which BTW Debbi Dunning was a HORRIBLE actress Great at the small stuff, but when she had major storylines??? WOOF
Does anyone remember this? There was some animated segment that was on TV just the other day and it was part of somebody's dream sequence or something like that, but I really forget the exact full details.
General impression: Most of the participants of this thread don't seem to actually *like* HOME IMPROVEMENT. I always thought it was a highly-rated and well-loved series.
At the time, it certainly started out that way. But like many comedy shows, it wore out its welcome fast as the formula ran aground (who didn't wear it out? very few. Cheers, Taxi, Barney Miller, Seinfeld) It comes down to the kids' episodes being off the wall and Patricia Richardson's admitted dislike of comedy as things wore on. Plus the writers couldn't come up with fresh stuff.
I could beg to differ regarding SEINFELD. It was quite formulaic in that there was usually some misunderstanding by or around George; Kramer was often in on some kind of scheme, Jerry was usually looking for a girlfriend, and Elaine was screwing something up, and somehow, it was all related by the end. That's not to say that it wasn't funny. It was often hilarious, even if you could sometimes see it all coming from a mile away. HOME IMPROVEMENT certainly also followed a set format, and I find that it too is often hilarious. I surely don't get the almost hatred of Patricia Richardson exhibited here. Her reactions to what goes on around her are often priceless. And the fact that she essentially holds together the family unit by being the "sensible" one most of the time, would seem to fit in with the modern elevation of women to higher standards in our society.
"Home Improvement" got good ratings (for most of its run anyway). I guess it's up for debate as to how well it has aged. I sometimes wonder if its decade-plus in HEAVY syndication after the show ended may have worn the show out a bit on some folks. I still enjoy the show, despite not otherwise liking Allen in anything other than "Galaxy Quest" and, I guess, the "Santa Clause" movies. The "dumb husband with a sometimes nagging wife who is way smarter and hotter" trope is tiresome, even though it continued on for years after the show (Raymond, King of Queens, etc.) As I've said in other "HI" threads, the show lost what little teeth it had once they let up on the more sarcastic/sardonic/biting jokes and moments with Al, and also when the kids got to near college age. As someone else mentioned, once Heidi was getting full episodes, and then once Al's mom died and he got engaged, the show was running on fumes and had the typical late-era bloat of a sitcom where it gets less funny, the main characters/family become *more* successful ("Tool Time" is in multiple markets now!), and so on. There are some epic stinker episodes in the late era of the show's run. The episode where Lisa/Pamela Anderson comes back and Heidi feels displaced. That musical episode where Tim and Jill do a "Grease" thing. The episodes with Tim's mom after she moved into a new house (multiple episodes with Tim's loser brother who mooches off their mother). Al and his fiance/wife. The era where Al rents a house from Tim. The earlier era, despite some of Allen's comedic style not aging well, has some pretty funny episodes. The episode where Tim has to room with Al at his apartment is great. The early Christmas and Halloween episodes are good. The only late era episode I remember liking (and maybe it's more mid-era) is the episode with Jill's "Cousin Henry" who makes outsider art. The guy is high on fumes at his art studio where Tim goes to find Jill's old childhood piano. I was always surprised they never brought that guy back.