Maxine Lapiduss Movies

Jill (Patricia Richardson) is invited to the out-of-town wedding of her friend, Sheila (who's already been stood up twice--but third time's the charm). Despite being presented with meticulously detailed directions to the ceremony, Tim (Tim Allen) exercises the male prerogative of finding his own way, using his "radar-like" senses--and upon getting lost he continues to assert his manhood by refusing to ask directions. The result: the Taylors end up in a ditch...in another state. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Inasmuch as Home Improvement had closed out its first season as the nation's fifth highest-rated TV program, neither its producers nor the ABC network saw the need to make anything but superficial changes for the series' second season on the air. ABC moved the program from its Tuesday night slot to an even better Wednesday-night berth, while one of the recurring characters, long-suffering "Tool Time" assistant Al Borland (Richard Karn), was promoted to "series regular" status. Otherwise, things remained pretty much the same as they'd been during season one. Protagonist Tim Taylor (Tim Allen) was still a fount of wisdom and expertise on his Detroit-based "do it yourself" cable TV series, "Tool Time" but a momument to ineptitude and insensitivity in his own home. Tim's wife, Jill (Patricia Richardson), now employed at a Detroit magazine, continued in her efforts to force culture and class upon her husband, all the while struggling to prevent him from "repairing" the household appliances. The Taylors' three sons -- eleven-year-old Brad (Zachery Ty Bryan), ten-year-old Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), and seven-year-old Mark (Taran Noah Smith) -- persisted in causing trouble for themselves and their parents, though it was clear that there was a lot of love and mutual respect in the family's household. Of the remaining characters, ubiquitous neighbor Wilson (Earl Hindman) continued to dispense advice and philosophy to Tim and his brood -- and also continued to remain a somewhat shadowy figure, never showing his face to anyone. Buxom "tool girl" Lisa (Pamela Anderson) was still a fixture of Tim's TV series, seldom saying much but certainly making a big impression whenever she wriggled into camera range. And in a new development, Maureen Binford (Vicki Lewis), ditzy daughter of "Tool Time"'s primary sponsor, became the series' producer, saddling Tim with all manners of idiotic format changes to boost his ratings. Moving from fifth to third place in the real-life ratings, Home Improvement was the second most popular sitcom of 1992-1993, beaten out only by another ABC offering, Roseanne. And for the second year in a row, an Emmy award was bestowed upon the series' director of photography, Donald A. Morgan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Darlene and Becky take Roseanne to the beauty shop for special Mother's Day surprise. However, it turns out to be a plot to get on her good side so she will let them go to a concert that weekend. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Darlene makes friends with a bookstore owner. Roseanne convinces her boss, Leon (Martin Mull), to let her take a job at the mall dressed up as Santa. She gets the job and ends up meeting Darlene's new friend, Karen Miller (Lee Garlington), who turns out to be Roseanne's age. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

The Conners can't afford to get Becky a car, so she and Mark (Glenn Quinn) steal Dan's motorcycle and take it out for a spin, causing Dan to go on an angry rampage. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Roseanne is stressed out at work so she resorts to secretly smoking cigarettes. Dan finds out and she tries to quit. Meanwhile, Becky is caught helping Darlene cheat in school. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide