Let’s get something straight.
Shifting Gears may be Tim Allen’s latest comedic vehicle (see what I did there?), but it is nothing like Home Improvement, nor was it ever intended to be.
I hated Home Improvement so much that I rarely stayed in the same room if it was on, and I love this show. And no, it’s not because I’m a Tim Allen superfan, either.
Shifting Gears Isn’t A Reboot Just Because It Stars Tim Allen
I didn’t know much about Tim Allen beyond the fact that he was in my least favorite sitcom ever and that he’s outspoken about political beliefs I don’t share.
I never watched Last Man Standing and found Home Improvement irritating.
So the plethora of articles coming out in the entertainment world about how Shifting Gears is a lower-quality version of Home Improvement that only appeals to people who are desperate to get that sitcom back aggravate me.
Yes, we live in a world full of reboots and shows that claim to be reboots but are really new shows paying tribute to old ones.
Shifting Gears isn’t one of them.
Shifting Gears’ Matt Parker has far more in common with the iconic Archie Bunker than he does Tim Taylor.
That’s not an insult, by the way. All in The Family is my all-time favorite sitcom, so comparing Matt to Archie Bunker is high praise indeed. More about that in a minute.
But first… in what universe is Shifting Gears a knock-off of Home Improvement?
Tim Allen stars in both shows. His two characters’ families include a teenage boy, and both characters work with tools. That’s where the similarities end unless I’m missing something.
It’s overly simplistic to conclude that Tim Allen is the head of the household in both shows, so therefore they’re the same show, and I’m at a loss as to how anyone comes to that conclusion.
Tim Allen Plays A Similar Type of Character In All His Sitcoms, But So What?
I can’t really discuss whether Shifting Gears and Last Man Standing are similar. I’d be guessing based on the show description for Last Man Standing.
However, judging from that description, I get that Allen likes to play men who have conservative political views and aren’t afraid to share them, including views about gender roles that many women wouldn’t appreciate.
His characters also all have families that include kids and teenagers.
Okay, so that’s consistent over three shows. That doesn’t make any one show a knockoff of another.
Besides, on Shifting Gears, Matt’s character is slightly different — the core of his character is that he hides his basic humanity behind a sarcastic, stubborn persona.
He’s also in a different stage of life than his other two characters.
Matt is a widower who is still heartbroken over his wife’s death, and a lot of his crusty personality is a defense mechanism against that pain.
When we first meet him in Shifting Gears Season 1 Episode 1, it’s not clear that’s what he’s about, but by the second half of the season it’s obvious.
Once he meets Eve, he gets both worse and better, fighting his obvious attraction to her because he’s still grieving but getting “caught” more than once being more empathetic than he lets on.
He even admits he has a soft spot for his daughter and grandchildren in the season finale, then takes it back when he learns they’re not moving out, saying, “You mean I was nice for no reason?”
I can’t imagine Tim Taylor having any conversations like that.
The comedy in Home Improvement came from Tim’s overconfident idiotism, not from his trying to hide his true personality because of grief and pain.
Why I Think Matt Has So Much In Common With Archie Bunker
Many people today remember All in The Family (if they remember it at all) as a show where two people with opposite political views yelled at each other.
The full reason why that’s wrong could be the subject of another editorial (and maybe it will be if you all are interested!).
But All In The Family, at its core, was about two things that Shifting Gears is also about.
Archie Bunker and Matt Parker are both older men who see the world slipping away from them because the people in their lives don’t share their values, and they don’t understand the society they live in anymore.
More importantly, both men love their family members who have crazy-to-them ways of living in this world … but neither one would ever admit it.
Archie Bunker could say whatever nasty thing he wanted to his son-in-law, but if someone else tried it, he wouldn’t accept it, and I suspect Matt would be the same way with his family.
During the early episodes of Shifting Gears, when Matt and Riley either got into a political debate, or she chose to agree to disagree, I got strong All in the Family vibes.
Shifting Gears toned down the political headbutting as the season went on.
I don’t know if that was a deliberate decision or a change in direction, but either way, it didn’t change the feeling I got that this show has a lot in common with my all-time favorite comedy.
At its heart, Shifting Gears is a story about an older man who loves his family but thinks his daughter makes God-awful choices. He hopes to steer his grandchildren in a different direction.
Yet Riley and the kids change him as much as he changes them.
That’s not that different from how Archie Bunker felt about his daughter’s choice of husband or the other life choices she was making.
The Bottom Line Is That Shifting Gears Is One Of The Only Family Shows Left On TV
There aren’t enough family shows — whether comedies or dramas — on a TV landscape oversaturated with medical dramas and police procedurals.
We lost Blue Bloods and Young Sheldon at the same time, and I can’t think of many others besides Shifting Gears and Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.
That’s why Shifting Gears is such a great show — not just because Tim Allen is playing the conservative head of a family once again.
What do you think?
If you’re watching Shifting Gears, is it because of Tim Allen, because it reminds you of Home Improvement, or some other reason?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comments to keep the discussion going!
The first season of Shifting Gears has ended, but you can watch it on Hulu while waiting for ABC to make a decision about renewal.
Watch Shifting Gears Online
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