Watch: Preview for 'Last Man Standing' Revival Released
If you’re a Tim Allen fan, get your popcorn ready.
Yes, the “Last Man Standing” reboot is on its way, courtesy of Fox. And lo and behold, the first preview of the show has hit the internet.
It’s kind of hard to call “Last Man Standing” a reboot, mind you, considering the fact that it was barely off the air for more than a cup of coffee. However, there were acrimonious details behind its axing — it was put out to pasture despite the fact it was the second highest-ranked comedy on ABC, behind “Modern Family” and sixth overall — for reasons that many assumed were political.
“Team LMS was in the sixth inning, ahead by four runs, stands were packed and then for no reason, they call off the game. It leaves you sitting in the dugout, holding a bat and puzzled. Now we get the news from FOX that it’s time to get back out on that diamond – hell yes, I’m excited,” Allen said in a statement announcing the revival.
However, after the success of the “Roseanne” reboot — a comedy which appealed to the same demographic that “Last Man Standing” did, networks looked to Allen’s properties next — both “Last Man Standing” and “Home Improvement.”
Given that “Last Man Standing” was the more recent of the two shows, having only been quashed by the network in May 2017, it was obviously a significantly easier decision to go that direction.
“Last Man Standing” will be part of a revamped Fox lineup, which has seen the departure of some longtime favorites, including “The Mick.”
So, what’s it like? Well, even though we’re limited to a few jokes, it seems every bit as awesome as we remember.
Take a gander at the new adventures of the Baxter family, complete without trigger warning because you’re an adult who can make their own decisions.
That tax code joke had me laughing hysterically. Which means, in Kathryn VanArendonk’s world, I’m a deplorable of the highest order.
Needless to say, “Last Man Standing” didn’t fit the bill for her.
VanArendonk said that both of Allen’s popular shows were “not ‘blue collar’ … Nor do they mirror ‘the family life of middle-class workers,’ something ‘Home Improvement’ was praised for during is run in 1994. In truth, ‘Home Improvement’ and ‘Last Man Standing’ are shows about wealthy families, media personalities, and massive privilege. They are very, very far from working-class America.”
Take Allen’s character in “Last Man Standing.”
“The financial picture is even less ambiguous over on ‘Last Man Standing,’ where Allen plays Mike Baxter,” she wrote at the time. “He’s still got a hyper, defensive masculinity; on ‘Last Man Standing’ he plays the joint owner of a chain of Cabelas-esque retailers called Outdoor Man, and he’s the titular Last Man because he lives with his wife and three daughters.
“He loves guns and work boots and the American flag. He’s also very proud of how much he’s accomplished. His house is enormous and gorgeously furnished,” she continued. “When one of his daughters gets into a college that will cost him $200K, he worries about the money, but mostly because he thinks she’s not very bright and the money will be a waste. When another daughter has a chance at a college scholarship, he cheers. If she gets it, he can buy a boat!”
Yes, because plumbers and welders never can afford a boat, in spite of the fact that they earn way more than most writers like VanArendonk and don’t have to be tied to major metropolitan areas the same way those in her industry so often are. If anyone’s going to buy a boat, it’s probably blue collar types, not writers trying to make it in New York, Washington or Chicago and flushing untold amounts of money down the toilet.
But I digress — he’s also a racist, too. Mike Baxter is “immensely wealthy patriarch of a privileged white family who sees himself as a beleaguered victim. He enjoys filming himself as he rants about political topics — yes, he is also a vlogger — and tends to take a ‘just good common sense’ tone on issues like racism and immigration (sample dialogue: ‘But these days, everyone’s gunning for the American white male. [waves at camera] Hello!’).”
He speaks his opinion online and it isn’t VanArendonk’s? Get the liberal firing squad ready.
Of course, all of this beautiful claptrap and liberal outrage means only one thing: I’m going to be in front of the couch, watching this show. We can only hope it’s as good as its predecessor.
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