I have no idea how or why it took me so long to discover this show, but now that I have, I can't get enough of it!
10
"Perfect"
That's not to say that I haven't known about the show ever since it was on the air. The three Taylor boys are about the same ages as me and my two older sisters, so this is definitely a 1990's sitcom from my time. I used to watch it occasionally when nothing else was on, but I didn't think it was particularly special. Over the past few weeks, however, I have been watching it more and more (maybe because there are at least four episodes shown each day, on two different networks), and I can't believe how much fun it is.
I am usually critical of a lot of contemporary shows, but it is nearly impossible to go wrong with classics like this--classics that are every bit as entertaining and relevant as they were nearly 20 years ago. The casting is excellent, the episodes are well-written, and the dialogue is laugh-out-loud funny at times, even when you're watching all by yourself. I truly wish that television shows like this were still being made. Actually, "Home Improvement" is sort of like "Everybody Loves Raymond," only the kids are part of it more. Some elements of the two shows are different, but the family life premises are very similar. The interactions between husband and wife, as well as the scenes with the kids, are more realistic than shows like "Full House" and "Step by Step" (which I also love for different reasons), and there is something in it for people of all ages. It can be sweet without being cheesy--which is a fine line for many shows of this genre--and the laughs are genuine, which is the sign of a great script.
Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson work wonderfully together and obviously connect very well on-screen, and although some people think Richardson's character Jill was too nagging and controlling, I don't agree at all. The character is hilarious and is a perfect representation of a flustered wife and mother who works hard to raise her family and gradually works her way up in a career doing what she does best--lending a listening ear and counseling others in need. She actually reminds me a lot of my own mom. She and Allen were a great match and were always able to feed off each other. They were able to banter back and forth and come across as a "real" married couple without being over-the-top with it, and the whole family dynamic clicked from the very beginning. The actors who played their three young sons really held their own all eight seasons. These boys are living proof that it's possible to involve children in a TV series without making their dialogue too cheesy or unrealistic. All three of them looked and sounded like real kids, and on top of that, they were funny every time they came on screen. Never once were they saddled with ludicrous, cutesy dialogue written by people who found it amusing to make TV kids talk like miniature adults. Like any typical kids, the Taylor boys were cute, sassy, defiant, and got in trouble from time to time. To put it bluntly, they were real, and it's clear that the writers were very intentional in making that happen. You couldn't help but love them, and as the "cute little boys" thing wore off, and they started growing up, they had enough talent as actors to keep the storylines fresh, which is actually not common among all child stars. Having lived through the "JTT" craze that stars like Hannah Montana and The Jonas Brothers now occupy, I enjoy watching Jonathan Taylor Thomas from when he was a cute, wisecracking little kid. He was adorable and funny, as were Zachary Ty Bryan and Taran Noah Smith, and the result was a picture of an everyday American family that isn't all that different from families today, even almost two decades later.
The mysterious "faceless" neighbor is also a unique addition to the show, along with Tim Allen's "Tool Time" show. The real magic of the series, however, is the Taylor family interactions, and that is how I became hooked on it in the first place.
Now that I am such a big fan, I'm going to have to find a way to get my hands on the DVD's! But man, eight box sets is not exactly cheap! In the meantime, though, it airs enough times during the day to satisfy me for now! 10/10 for a solid, funny, and well-acted show that brings back great memories of the 90's!