Nancy Travis, Tim Allen
Despite negative reviews, people were curious to see Tim Allen's new sitcom. Last Man Standing debuted to 12.95 million viewers and nabbed a 3.5 rating among industry-prized 18-to-49-year-olds, overnight Nielsen ratings showed.
ABC sounded happy afterward, noting that the show achieved the network's highest demo rating in the Tuesday at 8/7c time slot in nearly two years.
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Tim Allen
So apparently Tim Taylor had a secret family. Either that, or nobody thinks we'll realize that Last Man Standing is Home Improvement with daughters instead of sons. And groans, instead of laughs.
Kicking off last night despite the fervent prayers of TV Guide Magazine's Matt Roush, Tim Allen's new comedy tests the meaning of both "new" and "comedy." Using the Improvement template as a cookie cutter, the show casts Allen as a macho dimwit (sound familiar?) with a manly job (right?), a hot sensible wife (of course!) and a house full of...
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Tim Allen
Is Last Man Standing first on your TV Watchlist?
Tell us what you thought of the ABC sitcom — and what you think of every new series this season.
Are you glad Tim Allen's back on the small screen? Or was his family man act ...
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Tim Allen, Nancy Travis
Tim Allen's new ABC sitcom Last Man Standing may present the former Home Improvement star as yet another dopey sitcom husband, but Allen's co-star Nancy Travis says that she gets to be dopey too.
Fall TV: Get the lowdown on this season's must-see new shows
"They are unlike a traditional sitcom couple, where he's the buffoon and she's the patient wife," Travis tells TVGuide.com. "We toss that ball back and forth. There are episodes where [I'm] just fumbling around and he comes off as the voice of reason. They're both kind of trying to find their way."
Allen plays Mike Baxter...
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Tim Allen
Even TV comfort food has an expiration date. So it is with Tim Allen's comeback vehicle on the network that made him a star.
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Dana Delany, Nicholas Bishop
Continuing a weeklong series of new-season analysis and previews, here's my take on how I see the new Tuesday lineups playing out.
Tuesday in a Nutshell: The no-brainer: CBS will continue to rule with its NCIS-NCIS: LA combo, and the new procedural-with-a-twist Unforgettable should fit right in, possibly putting a dent in ABC's midseason surprise Body of Proof, which roughly targets the same audience for female-driven crime dramas. Fox should make significant inroads with the younger demos, especially if Glee gets back its groove in this transitional graduation season (for some characters, anyway). The delightful New Girl deserves to break out, and may bolster the fortunes of my favorite comedy from last season, Raising Hope. On NBC, The Biggest Loser provides stability if not much excitement ...
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Emily VanCamp, Tim Allen, Jane Levy
Suburgatory's Jane Levy has an awesome life, Man Up! is not the Chris Moynihan show and that isn't all of Emily VanCamp's real body on the hot Revenge promo all over the country.
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James Spader
Send questions to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com and follow me on Twitter!
Question: Love your column, here is my question: With the exit of Steve Carell (and the last two to three seasons of The Office being very uneven), do you really think that adding James Spader to the cast will improve it? I re-watched the series from the beginning over this summer and one of the things that I noticed missing from the last few seasons is how the show went from a comedy about the office place to a comedy about characters in and outside of the office. While I like the actors, many of the characters (looking at you, Meredith) are now just caricatures; with Steve Carell leaving, I thought it would give the show a last chance to reboot, but hearing that James Spader joined the cast, my excitement has waned. Do you think that James Spader can help this show rekindle its former glory? — Larry S
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New Girl, Criminal Minds
Eager for fall TV to begin? PaleyFest has your remedy!
The Paley Center for Media has teamed up with media partners TVGuide.com and TV Guide Magazine to host "PaleyFest: Fall TV Preview Parties," where fans can get a first look at the broadcast networks' new slate of series.
Get the scoop on the new and returning fall TV shows here
Beginning next week, the Paley Center will offer screenings along with Q&A sessions with cast and executive producers of series including Fox's New Girl, starring Zooey Deschanel, CBS' Criminal Minds and CW's Ringer, which marks Sarah Michelle Gellar's return to TV.
Check out a full schedule, and get more information here on how you can score a free ticket:
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Last Man Standing, Tim Allen
In ABC's new comedy Last Man Standing, Tim Allen plays Mike Baxter, an executive of an outdoor sporting goods company who wants to restore men to their rightful manly place in a woman's world.
Fall Preview: Check out the must-watch new shows
But most of the time his caveman-like ranting makes his character -— and several others in this fall's new crop of shows that share his feelings — seem more like buffoons. Or, to quote a reporter at Monday's Television Critics Association fall TV previews, d-----bags.
"Well, that was the working title, actually," Allen joked. "Somebody's already got it.
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