Home Improvement: Season 3
In its third season,Home Improvementsettled into a comfortable and hugely popular groove. Tim Taylor (Tim Allen,The Santa Clause, the voice of Buzz Lightyear inToy Story) banters fondly with his wife Jill (Patricia Richardson,Ulee's Gold) at home, snipes at his assistant Al (Richard Karn,Sex and the Teenage Mind) on his TV showTool Time, and discusses manly troubles with his philosophical neighbor Wilson (Earl Hindman), while his three sons (Taran Noah Smith, Zachary Ty Bryan, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who was the voice of the young Simba inThe Lion King) run amok. In just about every episode Tim garbles Wilson'sIron John-esque advice; in just about every episode he mocks Al for being a lonely oversensitive guy, even after Al finds a girlfriend; in just about every episode Tim and Jill tiff over the differences between the sexes...and yet the cast, though sheer warmth and enthusiasm, makes it feel consistently fresh--or if not fresh, cozy.Not that the season was without a few new faces: Debbe Dunning replaces Pamela Anderson as theTool Timegirl; Al gets a girlfriend, Ilene (Sherry Hursey); several episodes features some new neighbors (Mariangela Pino and Robert Picardo, later the Doctor onStar Trek: Voyager); the great M. Emmet Walsh (Blood Simple) appears as Jill's father; and a number of sports figures, shuttle astronauts, and former President Jimmy Carter make guest appearances as themselves. This is solid sitcom comfort food; dependable and satisfying, familiar but still lively. If you're not a fan of Allen's humor, this season won't change your mind, but many couples will see a little of themselves in Tim and Jill's relationship, and that's not a bad thing. More power!--Bret Fetzer