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The Movie: "Home Improvement" eventually began to get repetitive after the core idea was worn out, but the early seasons of the series utilize the idea of a guy too obsessed with horsepower and power tools for his own good quite effectively. For those who never saw the series, it stars former stand-up comic Tim Allen as Tim Taylor, a husband and father who continually seeks out power tools of grander size and power. Allen's character was defined by both his trademark grunt and the fact that the machinery he was using often got the better of him. It all was largely based on the comedian's real-life stand-up material. The character epitomized the kind of sitcom dad that I hate - he acts all macho, screws up terribly and ends up learning a lesson from wife and family, to be repeated again next week - but Allen managed to make the character endearing and - at least for a good stretch of time - pretty entertaining. Allen was supported by Patricia Richardson as wife Jill. The character played off Allen's pretty well, as the two could not be more opposite. Richardson definitely shined in some episodes where she got more of the focus, but there were also times where her disapproval made her seem like something of a party pooper. There were also the show's three sons, played by: Taran Noah Smith (Mark Taylor), Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Randy Taylor), Zachery Ty Bryan (Brad Taylor). While none of the three were standouts, they portrayed a trio of older, middle and younger brothers well. Also good throughout show were Richard Kind as Al, Tim's co-host on his "Tool Time" TV series, and Earl Hindman as the little-seen but often heard neighbor Wilson. The third season introduces Ilene, a girlfriend for Al, in "Aisle See You in My Dreams" and offers a series of other fine episodes, including: "A Sew, Sew Evening", where Tim's new neighbor dents the car he's been working on; "Arrivederci, Binford", where Tim's boss passes away from a heart attack; "Be True To Your Tool", where Wes, the new head of Binford tries to force Tim and Al to promote a cheaply made tool on "Tool Time"; "'Twas the Blight Before Christmas", which follows Tim's competition against a neighbor when it comes to holiday lights; "Reel Men", where Al and Tim's fishing trip only leads to problems in Tim's new ice fishing shack and finally, "Great Race II", where Tim challenges Bob Vila to a hot rod race. This season also replaced Pamela Anderson with new "Tool Girl" Debbie Dunning. 3rd Season 1993 50. 3- 1 15 Sep 93 Maybe, Baby 51. 3- 2 22 Sep 93 Aisle See You in My Dreams 52. 3- 3 29 Sep 93 This Joke's For You 53. 3- 4 6 Oct 93 A Sew, Sew Evening 54. 3- 5 13 Oct 93 Arrivederci, Binford 55. 3- 6 27 Oct 93 Crazy for You 56. 3- 7 3 Nov 93 Blow Up 57. 3- 8 10 Nov 93 Be True to Your Tool 58. 3- 9 17 Nov 93 Dollars and Sense 59. 3-10 24 Nov 93 A Frozen Moment 60. 3-11 1 Dec 93 Feud for Thought 61. 3-12 15 Dec 93 'Twas the Blight Before Christmas 62. 3-13 5 Jan 94 Slip Sleddin' Away 63. 3-14 12 Jan 94 Dream On 64. 3-15 26 Jan 94 Reel Men 65. 3-16 9 Feb 94 The Colonel 66. 3-17 2 Mar 94 Room for Change 67. 3-18 9 Mar 94 The Eve of Construction 68. 3-19 16 Mar 94 Too Many Cooks 69. 3-20 30 Mar 94 It Was the Best of Tims, It Was the Worst of Tims 70. 3-21 6 Apr 94 Fifth Anniversary 71. 3-22 4 May 94 Swing Time 72. 3-23 11 May 94 What You See Is What You Get 73. 3-24 18 May 94 Reality Bytes 74. 3-25 25 May 94 The Great Race II The DVD VIDEO: "Home Improvement" is presented here in its original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio by Buena Vista. The transfer was generally better-than-expected, given the fact that the episodes are nearly 15 years old. Sharpness and detail were mostly quite good, as the image remained crisp and detailed throughout, with only a few hints of softness here-and-there. The presentation did show some very slight instances of shimmer and pixelation, but no edge enhancement was spotted and no wear on the elements was visible. Overall, the presentation appeared mostly clean and up to broadcast quality. Colors were bright and well-saturated, with no smearing or other flaws. SOUND: "Home Improvement" is presented here in 2.0 stereo, and the soundtrack was certainly adequate, with clean sounding dialogue, effects and music. EXTRAS: "Tim's Tool Shack" is an interactive area of "highlights" where viewers can click on a tool to see Allen's character in a scene featuring it. Final Thoughts: "Home Improvement"'s third season continues its strong early run of great episodes, offering an assortment of minor changes that improved the series over an already very good second season. Buena Vista's DVD edition provides very good audio/video quality, but only one minor supplement. Recommended for fans. |