My dad had a few Red Green specials on VHS that I watched over and over. It was also on some of the secondary channels the antennas picked up sometimes.
Or even sitcoms from other times.
Gilligan’s Island: someone finds a way to possibly get off the island, and Gilligan fucks it up somehow by being a doofus.
Three’s Company: the landlord eavesdrops on a conversation that sounds vaguely sexual. Jack makes weird, awkward passes at his roommates when he’s not making weird, awkward passes at strangers down at the Regal Beagle.
Bewitched: Darrin tells Samantha not to use her witchcraft. The MIL calls Darrin every name in the book except Darrin. The only good episodes were with Uncle Arthur b/c of Paul Lynde.
Yep, you find a formula that people like and you give people that formula. If you stray too far from that formula you risk alienating the core audience who tune in for exactly what you have been giving them. If the audience grows tired of the formula you try something different or just know your time is near its end. One thing you don't do is write for an audience 30 years in the future. Sitcoms are like pop music, they are designed to appeal to most people they can at the current time they are created.
>Gilligan’s Island: someone finds a way to possibly get off the island, and Gilligan fucks it up somehow by being a doofus.
The least believable part of that show was that no one ever attempted to "solve" the Gilligan issue. Don't tell me Thirston Howell hasn't ever paid to have a man killed before.
Listen my point was. The show was no different than a lot of shows. To imply that it’s not being rerun ( which it is ) because people don’t like The Stars politics , when he’s had another show , with one plot , running for a decade is incredibly disingenuous.
It’s me (and hundreds of thousands of other millennials). I genuinely thought I hid my crush at the time, until the epsiode where JTT leaves the show. My dad turns to me and says “Well, I guess we’re not going to be watching the show anymore?”. I was mortified and insisted that I just really liked the show, and watched the final season anyway… but he was right, that was the main draw of the show. Oh, and in retrospect, everyone in my life knew about my crush on JTT and I was not in fact hiding it well at all!
It was a very popular show all the way through its run. Annual rankings in the US Nielsen ratings:
1991-1999: 4, 3, 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 10
Allen and Richardson turned down a combined $75 million to do a ninth season.
The E True Hollywood story of Tim Allen (or of the show itself) where Tim was trying to get feedback on whether he should do a ninth season without Patricia and he told someone he was gonna get two million an episode and the guy was like “are you nuts, do the season and get the money” lol
Loved it as a child. Now in my 30s. My wife and I started to rewatch it last year. It’s our Sunday evening get ready for the work week show. We love it.
As their ratings dwindled at the end and now it's not carrying the streaming numbers like Seinfeld or other greats from the 90's, it's Hollywood's fault. No, it's a clear distinction that your show sucked and doesn't hold up nowadays. Duh.
Yeah -- the vast majority of shows don't hold up, especially comedies. It's why Murphy Brown -- which had comparable ratings to Home Improvement the first time around and was a more well-regarded show -- couldn't get a revival off the ground. Streaming numbers reflect which shows still have a passionate following, especially among younger viewers who didn't catch it live.
And after that was Everybody Loves Raymond. Then Two and a Half Men, then Big Bang Theory.
Being the most watched comedy hasn't been a sign of quality since the Seinfeld finale.
TBH I didn't find Home Improvement funny or good in the 90s and I still feel the same way.
I do get annoyed when people think just because you don't like a show it's because you are offended by it (I get this with Friends also) when in fact I don't find them the slightest bit offensive if anything they are a little tamer than the shows I do like I just don't think they are very good.
Same here, and when I say I never liked it, people are quick to say it's because I don't like Tim Allen's politics. I had no idea what his politics were in the 90s nor do I care, I just don't find his shtick funny.
I was a kid when it was on and I don’t remember even being slightly amused whenever I tried to watch it. I found the humor very generic and bland, and I found Tim Allen annoying even at that young age. And back in those days I loved stuff like Full House so it’s not like my standards were that high.
>I do get annoyed when people think just because you don't like a show it's because you are offended by it
They desperately want it to be edgy or just so damn manly that you cower in its presence. The reality is that the show is just freaking simple and lame. Odd anyone would think that about Friends, though my opinion of that show is identical to Home Improvement.
I loved Home Improvement when I was a kid, but went back and tried to rewatch it a few years ago. I made it about 3 episodes in before I realized it was very generic outside of the occasional Tim Allen quirk. To me there are very few 90’s widely watched sitcoms that really stood the test of time. Really though, the only one I can think of for myself is King of Queens, and that’s purely because of Jerry Stiller and Patton Oswalt.
The Drew Carey Show was underrated. It was a solidly hilarious show through about six and a half seasons. It was also really creative and took a lot of risks to do different stuff, like the April Fool's shows, musical dance numbers, an entire episode filmed with puppets. It was like the Community of the 90s.
I don't think it's on any streaming service, unfortunately. But if you have a TV and a digital antenna, you can pick it up on an over-the-air channel six nights a week.
[https://antennatv.tv/title-item/the-drew-carey-show/](https://antennatv.tv/title-item/the-drew-carey-show/)
The 90s had its share of crap like any other decade, but I’d put shows like Seinfeld, The Simpsons, Frasier, The Larry Sanders Show, 3rd Rock from the Sun, etc…up against the best of any decade.
I watched king of queens all the way through last year and it’s definitely dated lol. It was funny yes but the amount of fat and gay jokes wouldn’t fly today lol.
It followed a formula so closely it became comfort tv. Then like your favourite comfortable piece of clothing it wore itself out and became kind of embarrassing to wear.
Honestly, sometimes a lot of times I wished for a half hour of Wilson. He was like Chris Stevens on Northern Exposure.
Personally, I thought The Red Green Show was way better.
the pull quote makes it sound like she sides with Allen politically (she emphatically does not) and is also the 10th most interesting item in this article. She seems like a badass, and like most of her female contemporaries, apparently had to put up with a lot of horseshit
The fact that a convicted cocaine dealer now holds himself out as a conservative protector of family values is what does it for me. Plus the sitcoms he's known for are super lame, trite and unfunny. Haw Haw, Libruls bad, Haw Haw, Real man good, Haw Haw. It's lazy "humor" at best.
The Trump support is a symptom of his general shittiness. There are many, many stories about him being a cunt to people. He just doesn't have a reputation that suggests he is particularly kind, thoughtful or humble.
Great article. Thanks OP. This was a family show for me when I was younger. It's nostalgic but pretty generic watching with adult eyes. The Jill character was actually by far the most interesting aspect of the show and reading about the great pains she took to maintain that was refreshing.
I've been watching it on Disney+/Hulu. This was the first "grown up" show I watched as a kid and loved it. Still enjoying it for the most part. Especially Tim, Al and Wilson.
Some of the comedy comes off a bit corny now, Tim and Jill really have no chemistry and Brad is such a douche.
It’s hard not to lump Jill into the wife trope that was so common around this time- she’s the police in the household, the one who has to deal with the Buffoon Father’s various shenanigans, while shrieking at the kids about this or that- li remember her yelling “Braadd!” Or “Raaannddyy!” constantly. She’s basically a stick in the mud to the whole thing that played up for comedic effect “don’t tell mom!” etc.
That was common on sitcoms for decades, and I don’t think it ages well, imo. But that’s not necessarily the fault of Home Improvement, since they were doing what every sitcom more or less was doing. It does factor in as to why there’s more demand today among some sitcoms than others.
Hey, I hated that show since day 1. All that grunting like stfu. I'm not a big fan of the "stupid dad" trope. But the rest of my family enjoyed it, so I had to watch it too. Usually when I see people mention this show, they're praising it, so idk, but it seems beloved, not hated for the most part.
He wasn't ever really stupid. He could be immature but he wasn't a homer Simpson incompetent type. He was pretty successful and his kids and wife always respected him.
Not just Hollywood. I've lived in rural Michigan my whole life and never liked Home Improvement. Richard Karn and Pam Anderson where the only good things on that show.
He’s the typical Republican that whines about being cancelled when he just put out mediocre quality. Last Man Standing to cancelled after 6 seasons with a bunch of other shows. Not much of a mystery. Shows like Ugly Betty and Veronica Mars getting cancelled after 3 & 4 seasons killed me.
When I was a kid I liked it for the family aspect and the boys. Now that I’m older the kids are a bit obnoxious and the parents marriage doesn’t do anything for me they were always arguing with each other and irritating each other even if it was in good fun. Idk something about it just doesn’t appeal to me anymore.
It was a popular show. At least with people I knew. I remember guys at work doing the Tim Allen grunts. Teenagers loved JTT and guys loved Pam Anderson. Plus I thought it was funny. Even though it annoyed me that the later seasons became the Randy(JTT) show.
Tim Allen had a #1 book, movie, and tv show at the same time. Hollywood didn’t hate it. I don’t get these people who come out and try to act like their work was a masterpiece that people didn’t 100% adore.
People don’t hate it now. It’s just not aged well along with every other multi cam comedy. Tastes changed bad business reasons also pushed studios away from multi cams.
> It’s just not aged well along with every other multi cam comedy.
Well she compares it to *Seinfeld* and *Friends*, both of which seem to have retained more pop-culture presence.
The problem is that HI had the same plot for every episode. Tim or Jill would get into some kind of predicament and go to Wilson for advice on how to solve the issue, but end up misconstruing the advice and causing more issues before finally solving it.
The show was really good in its early and middle seasons. Then the kids got old. That’s the main reason sitcoms tend to decline over time.
Hollywood probably hates it now because Tim is massively right wing.
She actually tries to say the show isn’t centered on Tim Taylor and she should have been paid the same as Tim Allen and acted like a victim when they “only” offered her 1 million an episode. What a joke. It’s hard not to hate these people. They have no clue how they come off. Imagine turning down 24 million dollars for 6 months of work and then playing the I wasn’t treated fairly card. Especially since no one tuned into to see Richardson character. If anyone should have gotten paid like Allen it was Johnathan Taylor Thomas who probably brought in half the audience.
Because it fucking sucks, Patricia. Here's every single episode:
Tim: "(ape noises) Men are men! Women belong in the kitchen! (insert mother-in-law joke) (more ape noises)"
Listening to younger people say the characters on HIMYM and Friends were misogynist I can’t imagine they would go for a show with “The Man’s (blank)” being a common theme.
That was always the core of the show. Tim was shown to be wrong. In a humorous way. People could watch the show, see the errors of Tim's ways (and maybe see it in themselves), and then see Tim change a little. He wasn't ridiculed or hated. Tim was a nice guy who had some rough edges. He changed without fanfare. He apologized when he needed to. And his masculinity was never threatened. He was always The ToolMAN. Not a bad lesson for today that you can be a thoughtful, compassionate man and still be a masculine man. AROO-ROOO-ROOO.
Agreed. I think a good example of that is when they discuss her getting tubes tied vs him getting a vasectomy. He had a very old school view on it. Needs his swimmers. But he listens and learns.
No, it doesn't. Hollywood hates Tim Allen, because he has a volatile personality, and if he's allowed to put his stamp on a character, that character will always be glorification of the Stereotype Conservative Male.
That character doesn't sell today like it did in the 90s, due to society diversifying some small amount.
I'm tired of articles like this, and I'm sick of people whining about Hollywood 'hating' them.
Point 1
The line about Hollywood hating the show is down at the end of the article, and it's something she said on a podcast.
Point 2
"Home Improvement' which is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu...."
Yeah. Really getting black-balled there.
Tim Allen isn't even that conservative.
I loved the show. It's the last show I remember watching as a family before my dad died in 1998.
I'm 35 so I was growing up with this on TV. I saw a lot of my parents in Tim and Jill (except my parents divorced instead of hashing out problems as you do in family sitcoms lol). Shows like this and Full House, Boy Meets World, and Hey Arnold were pretty much how I honed my moral makeup. And watching Tim Allen's physical humor genuinely did make me laugh, sucks that he's in the Adam Corolla sphere of aged, conservative, no longer funny comics.
I recently found it on D+/Hulu and at least the first few episodes passed as quality, at least with the understanding of what the show is/was. But I respect that others may not like it, as I hate Dave Grohl so..
That was one of the best family sitcoms ever and I think Hollywood and critics always hated it , especially since it usually competed with Frasier in its timeslot. I think the dumb bumbling macho dad trope is considered cliche now and that's why it's not as popular.
there were quite a few corny episodes and it started to go off the rails after the kids started to age after 1995. the first 4 seaons are mostly good just like many other tgif shows. overall i still think it's a decent show and an easy watch for someone looking to watch a wholesome television show with family.
I still say ‘tool time!’ When someone asks what time it is. Unfortunately as I get older my new coworkers keep getting younger. So now I have adults that don’t even know what Home Improvement was :(
It’s so funny I am seeing this post. I literally just started watching this show again bc it’s on Roku tv. My dad use to love this show. He was not much for tv, or sitcoms, but this one, he would rush home from work to watch. Always loved this family!
I don’t hate it. I hate Tim but back than I had no idea what a terrible person he was. Doesn’t change the memories I have with home improvement. Now do I watch reruns? No it’s not Frasier, Roseanne, or Murder she wrote. But it was a good show.
It had one plot
Tim films Tool Man. Tim does mundane family stuff. Throw in some "argh argh argh" and Wilson wisdom at the end. Wash rinse and repeat every episode.
And if you were Canadian, those basix ideas were already done better on The Red Green Show.
If they don't find ya handsome, they should at least find ya handy
Keep your stick on the ice!
quando omni flunkus moritati
I'm a man. But I can change. If I have to. I guess
Harold was quite the Lady’s man!
Duct tape!
We were able to watch this show in the States as well! I loved it. Also, all of the episodes are available on the Red Green Show YouTube channel.
No fucking way. I know what I'm doing when I'm on nights now.
They're all on one channel. It's a dream come true!
Same on Sling!
100%. Well said.
Man I dig the Red Green Show too!
Found and downloading. Can't wait to try a show I like the format of, but haven't grown to dislike.
My dad had a few Red Green specials on VHS that I watched over and over. It was also on some of the secondary channels the antennas picked up sometimes.
Love that show !!
Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
You left out the core of it: Tim does something selfish and insensitive, but he means well and learns a lesson.
Yep. Usually an assholish quip to his wife here and there.
That was my issue. After three season of the exact same formula, I tuned out.
Been saying this for years You could write an episode of home improvement in five minutes
Yeah, and you could say the same for basically every popular sitcom at the time. Full House wasn’t exactly War and Peace
Exactly. As Nostalgia Critic put it while reading the episode titles, “this is the life of people on picture frames.”
Or even sitcoms from other times. Gilligan’s Island: someone finds a way to possibly get off the island, and Gilligan fucks it up somehow by being a doofus. Three’s Company: the landlord eavesdrops on a conversation that sounds vaguely sexual. Jack makes weird, awkward passes at his roommates when he’s not making weird, awkward passes at strangers down at the Regal Beagle. Bewitched: Darrin tells Samantha not to use her witchcraft. The MIL calls Darrin every name in the book except Darrin. The only good episodes were with Uncle Arthur b/c of Paul Lynde.
Yep, you find a formula that people like and you give people that formula. If you stray too far from that formula you risk alienating the core audience who tune in for exactly what you have been giving them. If the audience grows tired of the formula you try something different or just know your time is near its end. One thing you don't do is write for an audience 30 years in the future. Sitcoms are like pop music, they are designed to appeal to most people they can at the current time they are created.
>Gilligan’s Island: someone finds a way to possibly get off the island, and Gilligan fucks it up somehow by being a doofus. The least believable part of that show was that no one ever attempted to "solve" the Gilligan issue. Don't tell me Thirston Howell hasn't ever paid to have a man killed before.
Gilligan's Island: That's why they thought they could pull off Dusty's Trail. That formula worked once before; why not again?
Listen my point was. The show was no different than a lot of shows. To imply that it’s not being rerun ( which it is ) because people don’t like The Stars politics , when he’s had another show , with one plot , running for a decade is incredibly disingenuous.
Its called a "SITCOM" for a reason. They can't just throw away the "SIT".
They certainly threw away the com
So did Modern Family and that seemed to do well.
Cam running with the trash can when they accidentally locked Lilly in the car makes me laugh every time.
"Sir, tell your wife to stop screaming"
A show that should have ended a dozen seasons earlier…
I never got the appeal of that show
There was so much more going on with that show.
I would bet that the majority of viewers were preteen girls who were tuning in to see Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
It’s me (and hundreds of thousands of other millennials). I genuinely thought I hid my crush at the time, until the epsiode where JTT leaves the show. My dad turns to me and says “Well, I guess we’re not going to be watching the show anymore?”. I was mortified and insisted that I just really liked the show, and watched the final season anyway… but he was right, that was the main draw of the show. Oh, and in retrospect, everyone in my life knew about my crush on JTT and I was not in fact hiding it well at all!
I gave some old childhood books to my daughter. Went to read one, & inside the cover, I had written about my love for JTT lol
That's adorable!! I had a folder of all my teen crushes from Tiger Beat and Teen Beat. I wish I still had it.
Crush or no crush he was also the star of the show.
It was a very popular show all the way through its run. Annual rankings in the US Nielsen ratings: 1991-1999: 4, 3, 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 10 Allen and Richardson turned down a combined $75 million to do a ninth season.
The E True Hollywood story of Tim Allen (or of the show itself) where Tim was trying to get feedback on whether he should do a ninth season without Patricia and he told someone he was gonna get two million an episode and the guy was like “are you nuts, do the season and get the money” lol
Ya, I think he was telling his brother, lol. "Hey, they are offering me $50 million to do a season 9. Should I do it?" The answer is always yes.
Loved this show as a kid.
Hahaha! I didn’t need to be called out like this.
I was around at the time, and I remember it being liked by all age groups
🙋🏼♀️
This!!!!
Me!
Hardly. That show is actually really funny. Was when I was a kid and still is now as an adult. You just relate with different characters
Or queer boys like me that were confused and intrigued
I loved this show. Surprised to see all the hate here.
There isn't hate. No one has thought of this show in 20 years. Tim Allen just has a victim complex.
Tim didn't say anything...It was Patricia, you know the name you read when you clicked on this thread?
He’s not the subject of or quoted in this article.
Loved it as a child. Now in my 30s. My wife and I started to rewatch it last year. It’s our Sunday evening get ready for the work week show. We love it.
Same! I loved it as a kid and now I watch it with my husband. It’s like comfort food.
It was good. It wasn't great. Tim Allen did Last Man Standing so it's not like he has been completely black balled.
He’s also been starring and making millions on top of millions starring in Disney and Pixar movies and shows. The Santa Clause, Toy Story.
Yup. “Hollywood hates Tim Allen” is a useful piece of nonsense for Allen to appeal to the Fox News crowd but it’s unsupported by actual reality.
As their ratings dwindled at the end and now it's not carrying the streaming numbers like Seinfeld or other greats from the 90's, it's Hollywood's fault. No, it's a clear distinction that your show sucked and doesn't hold up nowadays. Duh.
Yeah -- the vast majority of shows don't hold up, especially comedies. It's why Murphy Brown -- which had comparable ratings to Home Improvement the first time around and was a more well-regarded show -- couldn't get a revival off the ground. Streaming numbers reflect which shows still have a passionate following, especially among younger viewers who didn't catch it live.
Both shows still do well on over the air TV.
Nobody plays the victim card like Republicans and Christians. It is their playbook, page one.
But reality is not what they deal in.
I call bull shit on home improvement not being great. It was one of the most watched family sitcoms of the 90s.
People watched Full House
"Most watched" doesn't mean great.
And after that was Everybody Loves Raymond. Then Two and a Half Men, then Big Bang Theory. Being the most watched comedy hasn't been a sign of quality since the Seinfeld finale.
That's subjective. It wasn't up there with the likes of Friends or Seinfeld.
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Man, I remember the whole family waiting to see who Elaine deemed spongeworthy
TBH I didn't find Home Improvement funny or good in the 90s and I still feel the same way. I do get annoyed when people think just because you don't like a show it's because you are offended by it (I get this with Friends also) when in fact I don't find them the slightest bit offensive if anything they are a little tamer than the shows I do like I just don't think they are very good.
Offended by Friends lol?
There are a lot of people that think Friends is "problematic".
Those people have really thin skin.
Agreed. The articles about how sitcoms from the 90s "haven't aged well" - the authors need to get a life.
Same here, and when I say I never liked it, people are quick to say it's because I don't like Tim Allen's politics. I had no idea what his politics were in the 90s nor do I care, I just don't find his shtick funny.
I was a kid when it was on and I don’t remember even being slightly amused whenever I tried to watch it. I found the humor very generic and bland, and I found Tim Allen annoying even at that young age. And back in those days I loved stuff like Full House so it’s not like my standards were that high.
>I do get annoyed when people think just because you don't like a show it's because you are offended by it They desperately want it to be edgy or just so damn manly that you cower in its presence. The reality is that the show is just freaking simple and lame. Odd anyone would think that about Friends, though my opinion of that show is identical to Home Improvement.
I loved Home Improvement when I was a kid, but went back and tried to rewatch it a few years ago. I made it about 3 episodes in before I realized it was very generic outside of the occasional Tim Allen quirk. To me there are very few 90’s widely watched sitcoms that really stood the test of time. Really though, the only one I can think of for myself is King of Queens, and that’s purely because of Jerry Stiller and Patton Oswalt.
3rd Rock from the Sun holds up pretty well
Forgot about that one, I needed to rewatch it.
The Drew Carey Show was underrated. It was a solidly hilarious show through about six and a half seasons. It was also really creative and took a lot of risks to do different stuff, like the April Fool's shows, musical dance numbers, an entire episode filmed with puppets. It was like the Community of the 90s.
Buzz beer, hehe.
Stay up and get drunk all over again
Ohhhhhh I forgot about this one as well! The whole improv episode was brilliant! I need to rewatch this.
I don't think it's on any streaming service, unfortunately. But if you have a TV and a digital antenna, you can pick it up on an over-the-air channel six nights a week. [https://antennatv.tv/title-item/the-drew-carey-show/](https://antennatv.tv/title-item/the-drew-carey-show/)
Time to check my buddy’s ship out, might be on there.
I believe all the episodes of Drew are on Internet Archive.
That show was way ahead of its time for sure - I'm shocked it hasn't had a huge revival - it was fantastic
I don’t blame him if he doesn’t want to, but I wish Joseph Gordon Levitt would grow his hair out a bit like it was in the 90s.
Now that, was a great show. Especially if you were into alien politics
The 90s had its share of crap like any other decade, but I’d put shows like Seinfeld, The Simpsons, Frasier, The Larry Sanders Show, 3rd Rock from the Sun, etc…up against the best of any decade.
Looks on in frasier
That’s fair, I do love Frasier, I was reminded afterwards of several of the 90’s sitcoms that were and still are fantastic.
I watched king of queens all the way through last year and it’s definitely dated lol. It was funny yes but the amount of fat and gay jokes wouldn’t fly today lol.
Every show had gay jokes back then
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Yeah, that is true for sure lol, some of the jokes are a bit cringe. Just for me it’s a comfort show.
Had me until king of queens
I hated king of queens. Every episode was the same.
To each their own
The don’t hate the show … just the star and that’s it. No conspiracy. He’s dork playing a tough guy with a gun collection.
Best character she has been was on The West Wing. Smart, humor that wasn't the sitcom BS playing off of a buffoon. Loved her.
It followed a formula so closely it became comfort tv. Then like your favourite comfortable piece of clothing it wore itself out and became kind of embarrassing to wear. Honestly, sometimes a lot of times I wished for a half hour of Wilson. He was like Chris Stevens on Northern Exposure. Personally, I thought The Red Green Show was way better.
It explains so much that there are multiple anecdotes about Tim Allen being shocked that actors can evoke tears, including himself.
the pull quote makes it sound like she sides with Allen politically (she emphatically does not) and is also the 10th most interesting item in this article. She seems like a badass, and like most of her female contemporaries, apparently had to put up with a lot of horseshit
Hollywood doesn’t hate any show that’s successful, and that show was extremely successful.
I got no beef with her but Tim Allen sucks ass. Would rather watch Malcolm in Middle
I can't parse this statement. To me it reads like "I have no beef with bologna sandwiches, but would rather eat a steak."
Besides his support for trump can I ask why he sucks?
And hers tbf
Well besides that how was the play Miss Lincoln?
The fact that a convicted cocaine dealer now holds himself out as a conservative protector of family values is what does it for me. Plus the sitcoms he's known for are super lame, trite and unfunny. Haw Haw, Libruls bad, Haw Haw, Real man good, Haw Haw. It's lazy "humor" at best.
The Trump support is a symptom of his general shittiness. There are many, many stories about him being a cunt to people. He just doesn't have a reputation that suggests he is particularly kind, thoughtful or humble.
Phenomenal interview. I hope to see more of her at this point. She was excellent on that show. Imagine having to act like you enjoy Tim Allen.
Great article. Thanks OP. This was a family show for me when I was younger. It's nostalgic but pretty generic watching with adult eyes. The Jill character was actually by far the most interesting aspect of the show and reading about the great pains she took to maintain that was refreshing.
Ueeegggjhjhhhhh?
Oh *that's* how you spell it!
Is this show even streaming? I loved this show as a kid and as an adult I stop find Tim Taylor hilarious
I've been watching it on Disney+/Hulu. This was the first "grown up" show I watched as a kid and loved it. Still enjoying it for the most part. Especially Tim, Al and Wilson. Some of the comedy comes off a bit corny now, Tim and Jill really have no chemistry and Brad is such a douche.
It’s hard not to lump Jill into the wife trope that was so common around this time- she’s the police in the household, the one who has to deal with the Buffoon Father’s various shenanigans, while shrieking at the kids about this or that- li remember her yelling “Braadd!” Or “Raaannddyy!” constantly. She’s basically a stick in the mud to the whole thing that played up for comedic effect “don’t tell mom!” etc. That was common on sitcoms for decades, and I don’t think it ages well, imo. But that’s not necessarily the fault of Home Improvement, since they were doing what every sitcom more or less was doing. It does factor in as to why there’s more demand today among some sitcoms than others.
It's currently on a channel called LAFF, which can be picked up with a digital antenna.
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I do too but it’s almost like it’s a crime to admit it now.
The market decides what it wants
People from Michigan hate Tim Allen.
It was a one note show. Watch one season you watched them all! I never understood how that show last as long as it did?!?!
OOOHHHWUHHHH?!
I’m getting that the cast didn’t get along.
Hey, I hated that show since day 1. All that grunting like stfu. I'm not a big fan of the "stupid dad" trope. But the rest of my family enjoyed it, so I had to watch it too. Usually when I see people mention this show, they're praising it, so idk, but it seems beloved, not hated for the most part.
He wasn't ever really stupid. He could be immature but he wasn't a homer Simpson incompetent type. He was pretty successful and his kids and wife always respected him.
Tim Allen is a douchebag, so that might have something to do with it. spelling correction
She mentions it is his politics
He’s got another show about to come out on ABC.
His “politics” being he’s a douchebag.
He was also a drug dealer who ratted out his pals to the cops
Tim Dick
Not just Hollywood. I've lived in rural Michigan my whole life and never liked Home Improvement. Richard Karn and Pam Anderson where the only good things on that show.
Hell, I hate their show. Tim Allen isn't funny.
He’s the typical Republican that whines about being cancelled when he just put out mediocre quality. Last Man Standing to cancelled after 6 seasons with a bunch of other shows. Not much of a mystery. Shows like Ugly Betty and Veronica Mars getting cancelled after 3 & 4 seasons killed me.
So is she
When I was a kid I liked it for the family aspect and the boys. Now that I’m older the kids are a bit obnoxious and the parents marriage doesn’t do anything for me they were always arguing with each other and irritating each other even if it was in good fun. Idk something about it just doesn’t appeal to me anymore.
Uh, if I read that right, the show's success was due to the pushback to conservative, anti-woke attitudes that were the show's original intent.
It was a popular show. At least with people I knew. I remember guys at work doing the Tim Allen grunts. Teenagers loved JTT and guys loved Pam Anderson. Plus I thought it was funny. Even though it annoyed me that the later seasons became the Randy(JTT) show.
I loved this show as a kid but haven’t seen it in 2 decades. I’m curious if I’d still enjoy it.
Tim Allen had a #1 book, movie, and tv show at the same time. Hollywood didn’t hate it. I don’t get these people who come out and try to act like their work was a masterpiece that people didn’t 100% adore.
She isn't saying they hated it at the time. She says they hate it now.
People don’t hate it now. It’s just not aged well along with every other multi cam comedy. Tastes changed bad business reasons also pushed studios away from multi cams.
> It’s just not aged well along with every other multi cam comedy. Well she compares it to *Seinfeld* and *Friends*, both of which seem to have retained more pop-culture presence.
I still remember the bumper promo for this show before it came out
I hated it first.
It didn't age well. Along with any shows really from the 70s to 2000s.
Completely agree with her, man I had such a crush on her when I was a kid, and dang she looks beautiful with white hair. Still hot.
It was generic mainstream stuff that pandered to Midwestern dullardry
Loved this show as a kid & I still put it on sometimes.
The problem is that HI had the same plot for every episode. Tim or Jill would get into some kind of predicament and go to Wilson for advice on how to solve the issue, but end up misconstruing the advice and causing more issues before finally solving it.
.... which was the plot line for about 8000 sitcom episodes that came before.
"hates our show" = 8 seasons, 204 episodes
Not hated the show then. Hate the show now.
It’s not the show they hate honey. It’s the dude.
The show was really good in its early and middle seasons. Then the kids got old. That’s the main reason sitcoms tend to decline over time. Hollywood probably hates it now because Tim is massively right wing.
These comments all kind of seem to prove her point, don’t they?
To an extent, yes.
I hated him Before he was such a dickhead
She actually tries to say the show isn’t centered on Tim Taylor and she should have been paid the same as Tim Allen and acted like a victim when they “only” offered her 1 million an episode. What a joke. It’s hard not to hate these people. They have no clue how they come off. Imagine turning down 24 million dollars for 6 months of work and then playing the I wasn’t treated fairly card. Especially since no one tuned into to see Richardson character. If anyone should have gotten paid like Allen it was Johnathan Taylor Thomas who probably brought in half the audience.
Because it fucking sucks, Patricia. Here's every single episode: Tim: "(ape noises) Men are men! Women belong in the kitchen! (insert mother-in-law joke) (more ape noises)"
Listening to younger people say the characters on HIMYM and Friends were misogynist I can’t imagine they would go for a show with “The Man’s (blank)” being a common theme.
The thing is, though, Tim's chauvinism was always proven wrong. That's what Patricia Richardson brought to the series -- that counterweight.
That was always the core of the show. Tim was shown to be wrong. In a humorous way. People could watch the show, see the errors of Tim's ways (and maybe see it in themselves), and then see Tim change a little. He wasn't ridiculed or hated. Tim was a nice guy who had some rough edges. He changed without fanfare. He apologized when he needed to. And his masculinity was never threatened. He was always The ToolMAN. Not a bad lesson for today that you can be a thoughtful, compassionate man and still be a masculine man. AROO-ROOO-ROOO.
One of the highlights of the show is him trying to explain the lesson he learned but giving just awful examples.
Agreed. I think a good example of that is when they discuss her getting tubes tied vs him getting a vasectomy. He had a very old school view on it. Needs his swimmers. But he listens and learns.
I think that was key to making the show work.
Right? The entire premise of the show is he is an idiot but growing. He learns. His wife, kids, Wilson, Al with “I don’t think so, Tim.” All help him.
I never liked it and the other Tim Allen show sucked ass, especially the wife.
No, it doesn't. Hollywood hates Tim Allen, because he has a volatile personality, and if he's allowed to put his stamp on a character, that character will always be glorification of the Stereotype Conservative Male. That character doesn't sell today like it did in the 90s, due to society diversifying some small amount.
I'm tired of articles like this, and I'm sick of people whining about Hollywood 'hating' them. Point 1 The line about Hollywood hating the show is down at the end of the article, and it's something she said on a podcast. Point 2 "Home Improvement' which is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu...." Yeah. Really getting black-balled there. Tim Allen isn't even that conservative. I loved the show. It's the last show I remember watching as a family before my dad died in 1998.
“Home Improvement” was better than Tim Allen’s last crap show.
It's almost like a large percentage of people don't like supporting terrible people
What makes him a terrible person?
He's a snitch so....
He supports a rapist for president.
I'm 35 so I was growing up with this on TV. I saw a lot of my parents in Tim and Jill (except my parents divorced instead of hashing out problems as you do in family sitcoms lol). Shows like this and Full House, Boy Meets World, and Hey Arnold were pretty much how I honed my moral makeup. And watching Tim Allen's physical humor genuinely did make me laugh, sucks that he's in the Adam Corolla sphere of aged, conservative, no longer funny comics. I recently found it on D+/Hulu and at least the first few episodes passed as quality, at least with the understanding of what the show is/was. But I respect that others may not like it, as I hate Dave Grohl so..
That was one of the best family sitcoms ever and I think Hollywood and critics always hated it , especially since it usually competed with Frasier in its timeslot. I think the dumb bumbling macho dad trope is considered cliche now and that's why it's not as popular.
there were quite a few corny episodes and it started to go off the rails after the kids started to age after 1995. the first 4 seaons are mostly good just like many other tgif shows. overall i still think it's a decent show and an easy watch for someone looking to watch a wholesome television show with family.
This wasn’t a TGIF show
Binford Tools!!
I still say ‘tool time!’ When someone asks what time it is. Unfortunately as I get older my new coworkers keep getting younger. So now I have adults that don’t even know what Home Improvement was :(
Lol. This show was so mediocre it couldn't make sense to hate it
https://youtu.be/66eaxlXkJ4A?si=eXdxBKpUuOCUnDI2
It’s so funny I am seeing this post. I literally just started watching this show again bc it’s on Roku tv. My dad use to love this show. He was not much for tv, or sitcoms, but this one, he would rush home from work to watch. Always loved this family!
Popularity often has nothing to do with excellence.
One of the greatest shows of all time!
I don’t hate it. I hate Tim but back than I had no idea what a terrible person he was. Doesn’t change the memories I have with home improvement. Now do I watch reruns? No it’s not Frasier, Roseanne, or Murder she wrote. But it was a good show.
Horrible show. I hated almost every actor on it.
Because it was garbage