Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 23, 1994 TAG: 9404230074
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DANIEL CERONE LOS ANGELES TIMES
DATELINE: HOLLYWOOD LENGTH: Medium
In the 1980s it was the cuddlesome Cosbys. For the past two years it has been the caustic Conners. Now the Taylors are the toast of television.
Every Wednesday night, 20 million homes across the nation tune in ABC's "Home Improvement" (at 9 on WSET-Channel 13) to witness the antics of Tim Taylor, the how-to host of a cable-TV show about tools, and his wife, Jill, as they banter, bicker and buss in an ongoing battle to overcome the inherent differences between the sexes and rear their three sons.
Tim Allen, who stars with Patricia Richardson, explains the show's steam-rolling popularity this way: "It's just so real. When we hit hard, when the writers hit a subject that Pat and I can make real, there's a joke on the set: You'll hear the whole crew - all of them are married - say: `Been there. Done that.' This isn't a show about nothing. It's a show about little things that seem very big at the time they happen."
" `Home Improvement' is the 1990s version of `Father Knows Best,' turned on its head. It's more like `Mother Knows Best,' " said Dr. Victor Strasburger, an Albuquerque, N.M., pediatrician who has done research on the effects of television on children. "They're both very appealing characters, in their own ways. She's a strong woman without being too strong, and he's vulnerable without being a wimp."
The writers of "Home Improvement," all of whom have families, say they simply draw upon their own experiences when coming up with ideas for the show, now in its third season. After the initial script readings on Mondays, Allen and Richardson also give their input.
"One reason the show works is because of the relationship between Tim and Jill," said Carmen Finestra, one of the show's creators and executive producers. "People who don't watch the show dismiss it because they think it's just a show about a guy who grunts. But we look at it as a show about a man and woman, a husband and wife, a mom and dad.
"One woman once came up to me and said, `I love your show because I get to see how men think.' I was very happy to hear that. A lot of people often say to me these arguments are the same ones they have with their wife or husband."
Allen grew up in the Midwest with six brothers and so always had a strong sense of "maleness," he said. For instance, in a recent episode about keeping the romance alive in marriage - during which Tim passed gas and burped in bed - Allen believes he may have crossed the line of good taste, but at least people could relate.
"All week long guys were calling in, fathers and friends, saying, `Oh, God, my wife almost killed me when I did that. Jeez, I thought I was going to die,' " said Allen, who has won three consecutive People's Choice Awards as favorite male performer in a TV series. Then he calmly repeated his comedy mantra: "Been there. Done that."
"Roseanne" and "Home Improvement" have both been praised for mirroring the family life of middle-class workers, but the shows have done so in drastically different styles.
"I really would put `Roseanne' and `Home Improvement' in the same league: Both are outstanding shows and very socially responsible," Strasburger said. "What I like most about `Home Improvement' is the spirit of gentleness and playfulness that it has. It's not a show that I worry about children watching, getting unhealthy ideas about sex or drugs. `Roseanne' is a harder-edge show, and that tends to hit some raw nerves. `Roseanne' sometimes offends people socially, where `Home Improvement' never offends. It has perfect manners."
Indeed, many fans have hailed "Home Improvement's" promotion of family values. "What really impresses me about your show is it debunks the commercial TV myth that only sex and violence sell," wrote Diane Paull of West Bloomfield, Mich. "We watch it as a family and all laugh together."
Tricia Robin, president of the National Council for Families and Television, based in Los Angeles, pointed out that many new shows are centered on families with broken homes, whereas "Home Improvement" portrays a family that's together.
"Everybody's home there," she said, "and you have a friendly neighbor. I don't think we look at families that way nowadays. A lot of shows focus on families that are split up. The Taylors are a family and they are together, and you wonder if people are looking for that. We're all searching for something to hold on to in this world. When something hearkens back to how we all grew up, or wished we grew up, we feel comfortable with it."
by CNB