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Home Improvement: The Complete Sixth Season
R1 - America - Buena Vista Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Pat Pilon (29th May 2007). |
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The Show
 For eight seasons, this show ran and was pretty funny. When it started in 1991, I was 10, the perfect demographic age. With its broad slapstick comedy and funny dialogue concerning a goof-off TV show host Tim Taylor (Tim Allen), I really enjoyed the show. I stopped watching it when the three kids started growing up and the show focused a bit more on them because, for me, the show was about Tim Taylor and not the problems his kids got into. I never made to season six, as there were other shows to watch at the time. Watching the show now, I thoroughly enjoyed the sixth season, as the three kids have now grown up past their rebellious phases and are now mature enough to be individuals. For those who don't know the series follows the Taylor family: Tim Taylor, klutzy, do-it-yourself television show host, his wife Jill (Patricia Richardson), who can't cook, and their three sons, older Brad (Zachery Ty Bryan), wise-cracking Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) and somewhat forgotten Mark (Taran Noah Smith). Tim's television show assistant, Al Borland (Richard Karn), their tool girl Heidi (Debbe Dunning), and the Taylors' neighbour, Wilson (Earl Hindman), essentially round out the main cast. The boys, now old enough to be interested in girl have somewhat steady girlfriends, but they don't have too big of a role to be mentioned here. Based on Tim Allen's stand-up about being men, but, not just that, about being real men (!), the show really belongs to him. Most of the episodes start with a short gag that has nothing to do with the rest of the show, where Tim and Al demonstrate something on their show, which, inevitably, becomes nice comedic fodder. Something always breaks, burns or explodes. Even though you know these things are coming, there's something about it that just makes it funny. You know many times that something will blow up, get destroyed or just go wrong, but you still laugh. This goes to the nice writing team, I suppose. The show definitely has some sharp writing from time to time. For example: Tim, giving a birds and the bees talk to his oldest son, trying to tell him to wait before starting to have sex: 'You don't plant your flower until your bed's made. No, bad example.' Tim and Al talking about Tim breaking Bob Villa’s consecutive TV show appearances: Tim: 'Never in my wildest dreams did I believe I could break his record.' Al: 'I believed in you.' Tim: 'Yeah?' Al: 'Oh, yeah. The minute I met you I knew you could break anything.' In fact, a lot of the jokes come from the fact that Tim can't get through one project (either in his show, at home, or anywhere else, for that matter) without inflicting copious amounts of damage to anything and everything around him. In consequence, without knowing the characters, many of the jokes just won't seem that funny. So, sixth seasons worth of character development pays off here. It's also interesting to see that not only Tim gets into trouble, though. Brad ('Workin' Man Blues'), Randy ('The Karate Kid Returns') and even Jill ('The Flirting Game') all have to deal with problems they get themselves into. It's also interesting to see how they get out of it. For example, Jill analyses everything, in her psychology-class way. Tim, of course, just steamrolls his way through everything the way he's always done it. A few more interesting points about season six is that you get to learn more about Wilson, the enigmatic neighbour with all the right answers. In 'Wilson's World', you get to learn about his life (including where he got 'Heidi ho, neibourino' (!)). You also get a glimpse of his home, which is interesting, to say the least. It’s also curious to note now they hid Debbe Dunning's real pregnancy after her character Heidi gave birth in 'The Tool Man Delivers'. For the next couple of episodes, her middle is always covered, until she disappears completely. She then reappears, fit and thin as she always was. There are no standout episodes in this season, though 'Totally Tool Time' would probably be one of my favorites. All the episodes are strong and even if some parts aren't so good there's always a line that'll make you laugh. During act breaks and the credits role, Tim Allen often throws out an ad-lib that makes the cast (usually Patricia Richardson) laugh out loud, or at least try to stifle a laugh. It's a nice season and it's also a testament to everybody involved that even in the sixth season, the show still has steam to keep going and be consistently funny. Here is a breakdown of the season and a short description of each episode. disc 1: At Sea (22:20) With every show with teenagers in them, there has to be a 'birds and the bees' episode, and this is such an episode. With his own brand of metaphors and example, Tim talks to Brad. Future Shock (22:03) Jill gets tired of Tim's routine and her has a potentially prophetic dream about her future. Not to be outdone, Tim also has his very own dream, which teaches him the benefits of flexibility in one's life. Workshop 'Til You Drop (22:22) After Tim has small fears of possibly losing Jill, they go to a workshop, where things don't go Jill's way, who suggested going to the workshop in the first place. Burnin' Love (22:39) Randy and his writing partner, Lauren, for the school paper come home and see Tim's car. Randy, obviously, likes Lauren, who's going out with someone else. Tim has a plan to get Randy and Lauren together. Al's Video (22:24) Al is hired to do a tool video, and hires Tim to direct, which, not surprisingly, backfires. Whose Car Is It Anyway? (22:24) Jill gets an inheritance and buys a sports car, which Tim disapproves of. He then, without Jill's permission, takes it out for a ride. I Was a Teenage Taylor (22:24) This is the Halloween episode, and in here, the Taylor family tries to out-prank each other. It's a fun episode. Jill and Her Sisters (22:39) When Jill’s sisters come to visit the house to plan a family event, the Taylor men camp out in the backyard. disk 2: The Tool Man Delivers (22:17) On his way to a banquet honouring Tim, his car runs out of gas and a pregnant Heidi starts getting contractions in the middle of nowhere. The last bit during the credits is pretty funny. The Wood, The Bad and the Ugly (22:30) This is the thanksgiving episode. Tim's friend Benny isn't invited to the big dinner, but then Tim has an attack of conscience when he finds Benny eatng in a soup kitchen. This episode features a nice claymation sequence. Workin' Man Blues (22:31) Brad gets a job and he’s very enthusiastic about that. Unfortunately, his home and school life seem to suffer in consequence. No Place Like Home (22:25) The Taylor family goes to Tim's childhood home to help his mom pack because she's moving out. He has to deal with the loss of his childhood home. It's a nice episode. The Flirting Game (22:23) Tim get scolded by Jill for flirting with a saleswoman. Jill then flirts with a police officer to get out of a ticket. Finally, an episode where Jill feels bad, which doesn't happen much in this series. The Karate Kid Returns (22:34) The Beach Boys make a special appearance in this episode. However, the main part of the show is about Mark saving Randy from a bully, and Randy's reaction to this event. Totally Tool Time (22:24) Swedish producers visit the show in the hopes of picking it up for distribution. Knowing Tim Taylor, you can probably figure out what happens. What's interesting about this episode is that it takes place pretty much completely on the 'Tool Time' set. Drew Carey guest stars. A Funny Valentine (22:35) Janeane Garofalo guest stars in this episode, where one of Tim's father's old flames has a secret to say about the past. Wilson's World (22:38) To celebrate Men's Cooking Week, Tim and Al decide to have a cook-off. Before this cook-off, though, the Taylors go see Wilson's monologue of his life at a university café. You get to see Wilson's house in this episode, which is pretty interesting. There are some good jokes in this episode. disc 3: Something Old, Something Blue (22:40) This episode features Al and Ilene's wedding. Of course, before the big day – the day of the bachelor party, in fact – Al gets cold feet. Communication Breakdown (22:22) Tim tries to install a new phone line after his friend installing it left for another appointment. Obviously, with Tim alone with a hole in the wall, an even bigger whole ends up in the wall. My Son, the Driver (22:38) Brad gets his driver's license and on his first night out, he's in an accident, but then tries to cover it up from his parents. Insult to Injury (22:27) In his bid to break a record, Tim injures himself and then doesn't follow the doctor's orders and hurts himself again. This leads him to miss an annual tradition with Mark. Family Un-Ties (22:41) At a big conference, Jill looks forward spending quality time with the kids, but these plans go to waste when they all find something else to do without her. The Feminine Mistake (22:07) Brad's girlfriend keeps doing things for him and Jill doesn't like this. A discussion of the role of the sexes follows in this episode. Taps (22:32) This is one of the more serious episodes. Jill lies to her dad, who then dies of a heart attack a day later. Jill's conscious gets the best of her, and she feels awful. It's a nice episode and they manage to get some good humour into this situation. The Kiss & the Kiss-Off (22:39) A lot of things happen in this episode: Lisa (played by Pamela Anderson) comes back from school and is looking for a job, Heidi quits as Tool girl and Randy and Lauren finally have their first date on Lauren's birthday. It's a nice ending to the season.
Video
1.33:1 full screen. The picture is good enough for a show from 1996. The picture doesn't seem to be progressive, but it's a pre-DVD show so I suppose it can be forgiven. It also seems sped up, which I can't really account for. The colours are bright and the contrast is good enough. The picture isn't completely clear because the print looks a little be worn. On the bright side, there are no specks, scratches or any other big print problems. The show looks nice on a tube TV, but otherwise looks just okay.
Audio
The season comes with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track, helped out with English (heard of hearing) subtitles. Everything is heard clearly and the stereo track handles every sound very easily. The grunts and dialogue are all clean and mixed in very well with all the other elements. The music and other little sounds are likewise easily audible. It’s an adequate track and everybody should be happy.
Extras
The only extra is a 6 1/2-minute blooper reel on disc 6. As you'd expect, you have flubbed lines, prop problems and general goofing off. Some of the clips are mighty funny, but others were probably better on the moment. It's nice to watch, though it's a shame it's the only bonus feature on the set. Oh, yeah, there are also some Sneak Peeks, but I don't consider these extras. You have 'The Jungle Book' (1:27), 'Scrubs: The Complete Fifth Season' (1:36), 'Bridge to Terabithia' (2:00), which are also start-up trailers. 'Desperate Housewives' (0:32) and 'Kyle XY: The Complete First Season' (1:35), are also in this section.
Packaging
Buena Vista presents the show in a standard amaray case with two discs on one side and one disc on the other. It also has a slipcase.
Overall
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