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Netflix is about to say farewell to a series that was a part of most elder millennials’ childhoods. Airing in 1991, it was as wholesome as they come, bringing together a cast that felt like family on the other side of the television screen. And while it was your typical sitcom fare featuring a bumbling dad with unending dorky catchphrases and kids going through issues he had no idea how to solve, it’s managed to hold on to a relatively enduring legacy.
As we all know by now, Home Improvement starred Tim Allen, Patricia Richardson, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas. It centered on the Taylor family—namely Tim “The Toolman” Taylor (Allen), patriarch and host of the home-improvement show “Tool Time.” The audience soon discovers that Tim isn’t nearly as handy around the house as he is on his show, essentially stumbling his way through raising his three sons with his wife, Jill (Richardson), and relying on his neighbor Wilson (Earl Hindman) to provide him with unconventional wisdom to help solve his marriage and family woes. It was very much the kind of series that you would expect to become popular in the early 90s, and while it didn’t age perfectly, there’s still something there that most people can enjoy, even if it’s just the nostalgia factor.
Home Improvement Is Quintessentially Early 90s
Only the first season of the series even rated with critics, and while they weren’t particularly buying what the show was selling, audiences really enjoyed it, finding it relatable and entertaining—and sometimes that’s all you’re looking for, especially in your sitcom. “Home Improvement isn’t groundbreaking TV or even the most original new show of the year, but it’s the most perfectly realized: an idea whose time has come combined with sharp writing and once-in-a-blue-moon cast chemistry,” said critic Greg Dawson. That wasn’t the sentiment that most critics shared, with another adding, “It doesn’t help that four of Allen’s one-liners—delivered with an annoyingly smug leer—are about butt cracks.”
Casual viewers, however, appreciated that it’s essentially a time capsule of early 90s middle America—basically the perfect formulaic sitcom. “It’s a classic. Some of the humor doesn’t work for today, but still a great nostalgic series for anyone that lived through the 90s. Great cast and straightforward plot that will make sense for anyone,” said one viewer. It was meant to appeal to almost everyone at the time, and it certainly succeeded, ensuring it would go down as a fondly remembered series even decades after it ended.
Will you be watching Home Improvement before it leaves Netflix? Let us know your favorite moment from the series in the comments. And don’t forget to check out the forum to see what other sitcom fans are saying.
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