PILOT REVIEW: Last Man Standing

LAST MAN STANDING

Starring: Tim Allen, Nancy Travis, Alexandra Krosney, Molly Ephraim, Kaitlyn Dever, and Hector Elizondo
Created by Jack Burditt
Written by Jack Burditt, Directed by John Pasquin

Tim Allen is back on ABC after a 12 year absence. His new sitcom Last Man Standing is sort of Home Improvement in reverse because his character, Mike Baxter and wife Vanessa (Nancy Travis) are raising three daughters instead of three sons. There's oldest and single mom Kristin (Alexandra Krosney), dramatic teenager Mandy (Molly Ephraim), and tomboy and athlete Eve (Kaitlyn Dever). Also in the cast is Mike's boss Ed (Hector Elizondo), who forces him to work at home on the sporting good store's website rather than traveling for catalog shoots.

THE GOOD: Tim Allen is the reason this show works. The material is standard sitcom fare but Allen elevates it with his enthusiasm and delivery. Even though Allen's character is very traditional, there's something almost refreshing in that as most shows don't have a somewhat conservative slant. Some old-fashioned sitcoms come across stale and tired (see Whitney as the most recent example) but others have a familiar feel that isn't so bad. And that is the case here. Hector Elizondo showed some promise as the boss and Nancy Travis and Allen have a decent amount of chemistry. The Buzz Lightyear reference ("and beyond") was a nice touch.

THE BAD: The writing isn't there yet. If it wasn't Tim Allen delivering the lines, I'm not sure they would have worked. The daughters are ok but the middle one (Molly Ephraim) seems to be a caricature and not a real person. They need to give her some depth soon. They played the "Dad doesn't know what that is" too many times (Lord Voldemort, Glee, etc). Hopefully that doesn't keep up in each episode or it will tired really quickly. That's an example of lazy writing.

BOTTOM LINE: This show has a comfortable and familiar feel that could be just what audiences want despite what critics say. Since traditional sitcoms usually take a few episodes to gel, I think this show is off to a good start as the comic timing is there. They also need to be careful about reusing the same jokes over and over or the big audience that saw the first two episodes may not come back. Not every new show needs to be groundbreaking to be good, and this is a good example of that.