COMFORT FOOD: Allen with Molly Ephraim and Nancy Travis.
Tim Allen has a thing for greasy hamburgers and traditional family sitcoms.
“Last Man Standing” — his first prime time vehicle in a dozen years — is a lot like a good burger, the Denver-born comic says: its “comfort food” for a public burned out on bratty housewives and singing shows.
Allen, 58, admits the new ABC comedy shares more than a bit of its DNA with “Home Improvement” — a rating juggernaut for 8 straight seasons. As Mike Baxter, he has a beautiful wife (Nancy Travis), three wholesome-looking kids, and a manly man’s job (head of a once thriving sporting goods business).
“Instead of tools it is now guns, ATVs and boats,” he jokes. “I could have done a one-hour drama. I was luckily offered some very great things. But at the end of the day, I love doing my stand-up concerts and my Vegas act and I wasn’t really that interested in proving I could do an hour drama. Some people say ‘You didn’t venture far from ‘Home Improvement,’ and I say ‘This is kind of what I like to do.’”
Q:
What’s it like being back at work?
Tim Allen: The stuff I love about it is the same. The stuff that is hard gets worse as I get a little bit older. I totally forgot that you are on call 10 or 11 hours a day. But boo-hoo. I get paid well and I love this business.
Q:
Were you sad when “Home Improvement” ended?
TA: I wouldn’t have left the show. It was just that the boys wanted to go on to college and Pat [Richardson] wanted to do other things.
Q:
How has TV changed since you left?
TA: I had a dinner party recently and some of the people wanted to watch “The Real Housewives” of some city and it was just overly dramatic. They are just putting on a train wreck. It is a peculiar thing to watch people disintegrate in front of your eyes.
Q:
Did you turn down “Harry’s Law”?
TA:Yes. It was kind of in an early phase of it. I looked at it and thought “this is a lot of legal dialogue.” I was scared to death that I wouldn’t be able to do it for any length of time. I liked it though. I like it now. I think it was originally meant for a dude. With no offense to Kathy Bates.
Q:
On this show you have daughters instead of sons. What’s the biggest difference for you?
TA: I am far more protective.
Q:
Is it weird playing a grandfather?
TA: Yes. But I have been around grandparents. I like grandparents.
Q:
Will this show draw from your stand-up act?
TA: A little bit — but not as much as the last one. I learned my lesson. I don’t want to burn my act out. I am little bit edgier — quite a bit edgier — and more adult-oriented on stage. The show is not quite that edgy. I wanted to make sure it was suitable for families. The guy I’m playing has daughters. I learned my lessons from Pixar. You can be a little bit naughty, but you don’t have to explain anything to 8-year-olds.