Flashback Friday-90’s Television- Home Improvement (1991-1999) & Mad About You (1992-1999)

In the 1990’s, television shows followed the same basic principles of television shows from past eras: the family comedy and the married couple comedy.

Tonight’s 90’s television spotlight is on two of the shows from the era: the family comedy: Home Improvement (1991-1999) and the married couple comedy: Mad About You (1992-1999).

In Home Improvement, Tim “The Toolman” Taylor (Tim Allen) is balancing two worlds: his home life with his wife, Jill (Patricia Richardson) and his sons, Mark (Taran Noah Smith), Brad (Zachery Ty Bryan) and Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) with his work life. Tim is the star of a home improvement show. On his show is his assistant Al Borland (Richard Karn) and the token female (usually wearing something visually appealing), Heidi Keppert (Debbe Dunning). Providing sage advice is the heard, but not seen (except for the top half of his head is Wilson Wilson Jr (the late Earl Hindman).

In Mad About You, the show focused on the young married couple, Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt). Paul tries to make nice with everyone while Jamie is not shy about speaking her mind when she feels it’s necessary. Their squabbles and challenges are no different from any other young couple dealing with love, life, neighbors, friends, relations, co-workers and of course each other.

Do I recommend them? I would say yes for Home Improvement because of the nostalgia factor. But for Mad About You, well I’m not sure. I’ll let you decide.

Advertisement

My Heart Is Heavy

It’s Friday. I should be overjoyed that my work week is over. I should be looking forward to sleeping in the next two days and not having to get up at the crack of dawn to go to the office.

Instead, my heart is heavy. It is heavy from the grief coming out of Paris. As of the most recent headline, at least 120 innocent people are dead. The attacks were not random, they were planned. The people who are responsible for the unnecessary loss of life knew exactly what they were doing.

My office is very near where the Twin Towers once stood. As I was walking back from lunch, I couldn’t but help admire this building of glass and metal. I also can’t help but think of the not only the lives lost 14 years ago, but the innocence that we had then about our world.

I can only hope and pray that whomever is responsible for this heinous act is brought to justice and the full measure of the law is brought upon them.

I am a born and bred New Yorker, but my heart tonight is in Paris.

Paris, je t’aime.

Happy Friday. Enjoy your weekend.

 

Flashback Friday-The Addams Family (1991)

Normal is boring. The cookie cutter perfect family is like watching paint dry. It’s been done to death. Thankfully, audiences over the years have recognized this and have welcomed imperfect and slightly crazy television families into their lives.

That is where The Addams Family (1991) comes in to shake things up. Based on the 1964 television series, which was based on a cartoon, Gomez and Morticia Addams (the late Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston) are one of the wealthiest couples on the block. They also have a very interesting sense of macabre. When a con artist attempts to re-introduce Gomez’s long-lost brother, Fester (Christopher Lloyd), it looks like the con might work. But will the fake Uncle Fester have a change of heart before he can take the money and run?

Having never seen the original television show or the cartoon, I seem to remember fond memories of the movie. There is a rebelliousness to these characters, not caring what the neighbors think. To me, that is what makes this a standout movie. And course, what early 90’s film is incomplete without a theme song from MC Hammer?

I recommend it.