It's The Funniest Show Since....

  For years, with nothing better to do on Friday evenings, I've been watching back to back rerun episodes of 
on .  Never thinking to check out this relatively new comedy on   , sincegenerally sucks, I did inadvertently click down the one channel to the local  affiliate to discover that this unknown show is a Tim Allen vehicle.    Generally, I HATE star vehicles, like .  But, I've always considered Tim Allen to be a comic genius, with perfect timing and delivery, as well as appropriate emotionality.  From his stand-up, to , to his Santa Claus movies , to , which very well may be the sweetest, funniest, most heart warming holiday movie ever, to , which may be the most enjoyable spoof movie ever made, Tim Allen has always been totally entertaining and uplifting.
Now, in its fifth season,  has become one of my all time favorite television comedies, along with such   classics and  ,  the great and eternal  savviest sitcom,  and the show that put and kept  on the air with its original Sunday evening only line-up, that of course being .

The magic of  , unlike shows like , , and even , which were all only funny when a scene involved certain characters, is that any and every combination of characters in  is entertaining and enjoyable.
 Nancy Travis, who was a laugh riot as the replacement diner owner/operator on  is a bright and beautiful delight as the perennially pun spouting wife of Tim Allen's alter ego, Outdoorman Mike Baxter.   Their daughters, all played by previously unknowns are all characters with whom we can identify, empathize and sympathize, especially youngest daughter Eve.  It breaks my heart that she was rejected by her only college of choice, West Point.  Reminds me of my 4F inability to realize my ambition to militarily serve.
And they're H-O-T-T,  , especially when performing together as their video music group, The Inglorious Baxters.

 The forever brilliant and multi-talented Hector Elizondo, best remembered and revered by me as Tony Shalhoub's second psychiatrist on  is unbelievably believable and enjoyable as Tim's senior partner/boss.

Even recurring characters like neighbor Chuck Larabee, played by Jonathan Adams, who played my favorite secondary character on  adds a wonderful, comedic tension to every scene and episode in which he appears.   Mike's dad, Bud, who recently moved to Denver, to be near the family and to open and operate a legal marijuana store, is always a hoot and a holler when he appears.
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Left wing lunatic son-in-law, Ryan, is by his written nature a character whom I love to hate, for knocking up eldest Baxter daughter Kristin, years earlier,  on prom night and then fleeing town, and for being a bafoon of an Obamabot is becoming one whom I hate to love for coming back and standing up to his responsibilities and for beginning to realize that his ultra conservative father-in-law has something to offer other than oppositional political philosophy.
  Work place underling and now middle daughter Mandy's fiancee, Kyle Anderson is perhaps the epitome of lovable, laughable doofus, with the absolute heart of gold.
Even grandson Boyd is always good for some chuckles and guffaws, now that he's old enough to talk.

Some of the most enjoyable entertainment I've ever witnessed was in the episodes which included  stars Richard Karn and Patricia Richardson.    Karn has appeared twice, as the architect for Mike Baxter's business.  Richardson sort of reprised her role as Tim the Tool Man's wife in the fourth season episode, Helen Potts.  One of the funniest half hours of television that I've ever watched, Helen is the around the corner neighbor, who everyone thinks is divorced, but turns out to be widowed.  The episode is chock full of hilarious   references. , including this over the fence conversation with Chuck Larabee, who shares a property line with Helen.   In repeated mentions of her husband, it is obvious that he was Tim the Tool Man Taylor and in speaking of their marriage, it is clearly the story line from . "Sounds like a fun Tuesday night!"  "The Nielsens LOVED him!"  "Maybe he had better writers."  With that line alone, I am let to know that the writers of  are every bit as good or better than the creative wordsmiths of .  It wouldn't surprise me a bit to learn that they are some, many, most, or all of the same talents.
Now that he's been hired to work in the service department at , I'm hoping that Joe the mechanic, played by Jay Leno  will become a recurring character, because every scene in which Joe has been has been LOL funny!

Anyway, I urge each and every one of you, who are in need and want of some honest, heart warming humor to tune in to  at 8 p.m Fridays and hope the programming idiots haven't preempted it for something really stupid like .  If you haven't seen the show up to now, I would further urge you to watch it and fall in love with its fabulous family funniness from The Pilot episode forward, on , which ranks the show among its top 50 comedies, with the first four seasons available for commercial free viewing.  If you do, I'll all but guarantee that you'll catch yourself binge watching and then going back to see some or all of it all over again.   Their Christmas episodes are incredible.
Maybe I overly individually identify with , because it is SO similar to what I, as a young man had envisioned my life being, which, of course, it is not.  Regardless, it is worthy and worthwhile television, and not the standard, stereotypical, stupid, vapid vast wasteland to which we've become so accustomed, like the show that follows it,  , which is a prime example of why I never think to check out  programming.

But I truly do LOVE THESE GUYS! 
I can hardly wait for tonight's new episode.