Tim Allen comfy close to ‘Home’
October 6, 2011 5:16PM
Tim Allen (center) in "Home Improvement."
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Updated: November 10, 2011 9:27AM
If Tim Allen’s new ABC sitcom sounds a lot like his old ABC sitcom — “Home Improvement” — that’s all right with him.
The 58-year-old comedian says he was pitched a thousand show ideas, but all of them tried to take him away from his “Home” comfort zone — and he didn’t want to travel.
“I don’t know why we would not do a version of the same show, rather than put me in a legal drama,” he says, adding, “I do like ‘Castle.’ I would have done something like that.”
The big difference between the old Tim and the new one on “Last Man Standing” (besides a name change to Mike), says director John Pasquin, is that the character is a little older and crankier.
Allen, who refers to “Home Improvement” as “H.I.,” says he feels “fortunate” in the way his new show turned out, from the casting to the format. “I really wanted to investigate what it would be like to be around four women, who are intelligent and strong,” he says. “And I thought it would be kind of fun, literally, to flip-flop ‘H.I.’ It isn’t rocket science what I’m doing.”
What does Allen find amazing on TV these days? His first answer isn’t a comedy; it’s CBS’ “The Good Wife.”
“It’s mesmerizing writing for me. ... It’s a model for how stories are written,” he says. “And ‘Modern Family’ I think is pretty funny, too. Very funny.”
Gannett News Service
