Home Improvement (DVD) Review

Nominated for 9 Golden Globes and 34 Emmys, including 2 for Outstanding Comedy Series, Home Improvement was the number one family-friendly comedy for most of the 1990’s decade. Created by three writers who worked on wide range of sitcoms, such as The Cosby Show (1984) and Roseanne (1988), Home Improvement is one of a number of 1990’s smash hit sitcoms built around a lead character who stars as a stand-up comic in real life. Some of the other series include Seinfeld (1990), The Drew Carey Show (1995), Everybody Loves Raymond (1996), and King Of Queens (1998) among others. One of the trailblazers in this area, Home Improvement ranked in the Top 10 among Nielsen-rated shows for seven of its eight seasons (it ranked #11 in Season 7). One notable tidbit of trivia is that Sears was approached to sponsor the show which would’ve put Craftsman tools in the hands of Tim “The Toolman” Taylor (as opposed to the fictional “Binford” brand), but Sears rejected the offer because they feared Tim Allen’s prior conviction on a drug charge might be interpreted as unfriendly to families (funny, since Home Improvement later fell under the moniker of the Walt Disney Company)…

The Home Improvement DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the series premiere in which Jill goes to a job interview after telling Tim not to mess with the dishwasher. But Tim inevitably ruins the dishwasher when his attempt to super-charge it goes awry. When the job interviewers pass her over, Jill returns home dejected, and Tim only makes things worse – leaving room for a bit of Wilson advice to save the day for Tim… Other notable episodes from Season 1 include “Flying Sauces” in which the K&B Construction guys show off their jobsite cooking skills on Tool Time while Tim and Jill plot revenge on their eldest boys, and “What About Bob?” in which Tim cheats in a Tool Time trivia contest in order to beat guest Bob Vila…