When “Home Improvement” first aired way, way back in 1991, what seemed to be just another comedy series based on the work of a stand-up comedian turned into a juggernaut of laughs that lasted 8 seasons and made a superstar out of Tim Allen. His professional comedy career started out around 1976, when he went up on stage in a club on a dare. For years, he enjoyed success in stand-up and his ‘manly’ approach describing the differences between men and women (which were often punctuated by a gorilla-like grunt), eventually landed him a shot at a TV series. In “Home Improvement”, Allen starred as Tim Taylor, the host of a cable show called “Tool Time.” This persona turned out to be a perfect match for Allen’s style of humor, so much so that his trademark ‘grunt’ became a familiar part of the characters vocabulary. Taylor lived with his family, which included his wife Jill (Patricia Richardson), and sons Mark (Taran Noah Smith), Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), and Brad (Zachary Ty Bryan).

He had a wise mentor, in the form of his neighbor Wilson (Earl Hindemann), whose face was to remain unseen all the way until the final episode of the series. And finally there was his assistant on the ‘show within a show’, Al (Richard Karn).

Shortly after the debut of the series, it became apparent that there was more than met the eye. The comedy was solid, which was amplified by the strong rapport between the cast members. But, still it doesn’t hurt that the series had a visual ‘hook’ that helped it to stand apart from all the other shows vying for the public’s attention. “Home Improvement” quickly became known for the unusually creative wipes that were used between scenes changes or cuts to commercials. Instead of a quick fade to black, viewers were treated to paint brushes painting over the scene or irons ironing out the existing image. You just never knew what ‘tool’ or device was going to be used to make the transitions. It was extremely cool, and it worked.

Then there was the aforementioned Earl Hindemann as Wilson, Taylor’s neighbor and sage. Wilson knew everything about the secrets of the universe, love, cooking, you name it. The hook here was that you never got to see his face. You’d see the top of head and hat and that was about it. At first, his face was hidden by the fence separating the yards, but as time went on, the writer’s started becoming more and more creative with this gimmick. In one clip I saw years ago, they showed the cast coming out to be introduced to the studio audience and when Hindemann walked out he was holding a stick with a miniature fence in front of his face. It was hilarious.

But in order to make a show last, you need more than a hook. You need a great cast and creative team and “Home Improvement” had that in spades. As Taylor, Allen exhibited an almost perfect timing when it came to quick quips and comments. Add that to the fact that even though Taylor was revered on the series as a TV ‘Home Improvement’ guru, he was as inept as they come. Nothing he built ever worked right.

As one of the top rated TV sitcoms of the 90’s, it’s hard to believe that it took so long for it to be released on DVD. Of course, ‘TV on DVD’ is still a pretty new concept, that has only really taken off in the last 2-3 years. Buena Vista Home Entertainment is the one to thank for this release of this series however, as they have already given us the 1st thru 4th seasons over the last two years. (Insert grunt here…) Now, they’re gearing up to give us the 5th season this week (grunt… grunt…)

Though the inner packaging is fairly standard for what a lot of the studios are doing in that the discs are held in a trifold digipak, I thought Buena Vista showed a bit of creativity on the outer boxes. In keeping in the style of the inventive 'wipes' the series became known for, they've designed the cases in much the same manner. Instead of simply slipping the digipak out of the side of the box, the 1st season set was designed to look like a Binford Tool Box. You have to take off the ‘lid’ in order to get to the discs. The 2nd season's outside slipcover looked like a board with several real holes drilled through it (and a picture of Taylor innocently holding a drill). With the 3rd season, the cover looked like a piece of drywall that Tim knocked a hole through. The 4th season continued this tradition with a diagonal cut across the box, as if it were cut by a radial saw. It is only in this 5th season that the overall look is a little more traditional, though still utilizing and old-fashioned trifold.

Once inside, you’ll find all 26 episodes of the series’ 5th hilarious season but very few features. The 1st season set had some commentaries, a calendar and a clip reel. The 2nd season only had a clip reel of the ‘funniest moments’ from the 2nd season. Though I appreciated the effort, ‘clip’ featurettes are for the most part a throwaway extra, since you’ll see these scenes when you watch the series. When I saw that the 3rd season set had something called “Tim's Tool Corral": Hosted by Tool Time Girl Debbe Dunning”, I hoped for something fun. Unfortunately it ended up being just a collection of clips tied to tool hanging in Tim’s garage. The only thing Dunning did was make comments before the clips played. For the 4th & 5th seasons we now have Blooper Reels, which finally gives us something a little more substantial.

The season itself showed no signs of slowing down, though the writers definitely starting hitting some touchier subjects, such as Jill's desire for Tim to get a vasectomy (a situation that reared its ugly head in our household last year!!!). They even went as far as to give the family a scare with the possibility that their son, Randy, might have thyroid cancer. It's not always fun and games in the world of comedy.

Considering how incredibly popular “Home Improvement”, as well as many of its stars went on to be, I still really hoped there would be more extensive extra features. While I would highly recommend picking up all of the seasons that have been released so far, I will keep my fingers crossed that future sets will at least deliver some much-desired interviews from the cast.

Episodes:
A Taylor Runs Through It
The First Temptation of Tim
Her Cheatin' Mind
Jill's Surprise Party
Advise & Repent
Let Them Eat Cake
The Look
Room Without a View
Chicago Hope
That's My Momma
'Twas the Fight Before Christmas
Oh, Brother
High School Confidential
Tanks for the Memories
The Vasectomy of One
Fear of Flying
When Harry Kept Delores
Eye on Tim
The Bud Bowl
Engine and a Haircut, Two Fights
The Longest Day
Mr. Wilson's Opus
Shopping Around
Alarmed by Burglars
Games, Flames and Automobiles

Starring: Tim Allen, Patricia Richardson, Richard Karn, Earl Hindemann, Jonathon Taylor Thomas, Taran Noah Smith, Zachary Ty Bryan
Extras: Blooper Reel
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Release Date: 11/14/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Home Improvement: Season 5 a B.