Is anyone here a fan of the show and as mad as my wife and I are over the new characters and the goofy political slant of the show this year? After the first 2 new episodes we were about to stop watching and it has not gotten any better for us lately. We Love Time Allen and Nancy Travis as his wife and all the characters from last season. The youngest daughter has turned mean and irresponsible. They ditched the daughter with a son and brought in some new girl who is awful and gave her a goofy boy/man as the child's father that is equally as bad. The producers of this show remind me of bad mastering engineers who have to fool with something until they mess it up. But, in their minds they made it better. NOT!
I was quite surprised by the political slant of the show this season. It's almost become a latter-day attempt at ALL IN THE FAMILY. But we've been sticking with it. I still enjoy Tim Allen. Harry
I had never considered the All In The Family comparison. We still watch, but regret the changes. Kyle, Ed, and Mandy are a riot. We loved the My Pie Rack episode.
To be fair, many many TV shows over the years change the show's formula over the course of the show. Watch the first couple seasons of many classic shows and you'll find things dramatic different from the seasons that followed. (Look at Night Court. It got better for it). It isn't a bad thing by default either. That's a myth. Just because a show changes from what it used to be, it doesn't make it bad or worse than it was before. Change isn't bad. The "older seasons were better" myth is mostly nostalgia and not liking the idea of change.
Let's consider the fact that LAST MAN STANDING, though renewed for a second season, wasn't exactly setting the world on fire ratings wise. It premiered to decent numbers that fell off as last season progressed. If the show runners decided to spice things up a bit, change the pace, whatever, they may be doing out a request or demand from the network. It wouldn't be the first time that network tampering messed up decent shows. Harry
I think moving to Friday is not going to help either. Most people on Friday night are not interested in political posturing, they are winding down and just want to be entertained.
For a show I'm not in love with, it was one of just three or four shows I saw each episode of last season. Last season, it was a weak imitation of Home Improvement, but still very enjoyable. I agree this season has ruined most of what it had going for it last year. I know they've retooled as an attempt to improve ratings, but they're going to end up alienating the viewers that they did have. At least I feel that way. The confused political/social themes are not handled well and just don't work for the show. The actress replacing the older daughter is a serious downgrade, and the father of the child is just a frustratingly obnoxious addition with no redeeming value. He also makes Kyle redundant as the foolish young man foil to Tim, err, Mike. I liked the way they handled that daughter last year - a maturing mother who acted well in the "older sister" role. Now she's just slightly more mature/intelligent than the middle daughter. I agree that moving this to Friday, plus the changes, is the final death sentence to this show and Reba's new show. I think this little Friday night lineup ABC's got going is pretty amusing - Tim Allen and Reba pretty much reprising the roles of their previously very good sitcoms with pale imitations.
Being a huge fan of Home Improvement I've been wanting to check this out. Just recently started to watch - and while it's no HI it's a pretty good sitcom. The girls are cute and funny and Nancy Travis is great as Tim's wife (a big upgrade on Jill!). The only thing that I don't like is Tim's/Mike's right wing views. Like wanting to get rid of California and New York! (not a good idea to potentially alienate viewers from the two largest states) Also while I like Mike,he's a good guy even though I don't agree with the politics - Tim was more likeable.
This show is fast becoming one of my favorite sitcoms - love the classic sitcom format and the "filmed before a live studio audience" at the beginning. Reminds me of Happy Days etc. Still not a fan of the anti- left jokes - and there are a lot,at least one per episode. Don't recall anything like this in Home Improvement. Love the episodes with old Home Improvement cast members - recently Randy as a bar owner. Made for some good jokes if you were a fan of HI.
We bailed after last season. Tim Allen is letting his political views ruin the show. Shows with a political slant be it left or right arent going to translate well in years to come in syndication (All in the Family being the exception). If there was a contrasting character to oppose his views (like the meathead), it could make it more intersting. But as it is, the show should be broadcast on Fox News instead of ABC...
The politics would work if there was someone to stand up to him and represent the other side but there is no Meathead on this show. The son-in-law just sets up his punch lines.
