When I was growing up, it was part of a beautiful ritual: Sister and I would get home from school and do homework, Mama would come home and start supper, then Daddy would arrive, put on his gray sweatsuit and sneakers, and we’d all pile up on the big sectional sofa with TV trays to watch our shows. A household favorite was “Home Improvement,” starring Tim Allen.
Tim loved classic cars and home renovation, just like my Daddy. The kids were the same age as Sister and me, so we could relate on that level, and even at age 11 I found Jonathan Taylor Thomas appealing in a way I couldn’t quite define.
Tim was forever trumpeting the virtues of machismo, teaching his sons how to be “manly men,” but none of them ultimately embraced his macho manifesto. Despite this, the viewer never lost the sense that Tim was attempting to forge a connection with each of them. Over the years, the writers were savvy enough to create a series that wasn’t really about a father imposing his values on his offspring. It was about how raising a family can dramatically change one’s perspective.