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Grunt Work Podcast

Grunt Work Podcast

A Podcast About the TV Show Home Improvement

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Luck Be A Taylor Tonight

September 19, 2017 by Grunt Work Leave a Comment

Luck Be A Taylor Tonight (1992) | Home Improvement

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On This Episode of Home Improvement…

It’s poker night at the Taylor house. Tim invites Al, his mechanic friend (also a Tool Time guest), and Charlie, his brother-in-law, to play cards for a men-only night of stogies and manly scratching. The plan is that Jill and her sister Robin (Amy Ryan) will take the kids to an arts-and-crafts show while the men play cards. However, on the way to their house, Charlie and Robin get in a huge fight, and Robin sequesters herself in the bedroom. So much for men only!

On This Episode of Grunt Work…

Truman and Landen dissect the allusion of “poker night” amongst men, debate how masculinity and femininity can coexist within relationships, and lament the worst joke this season of Home Improvement has given us.

Filed Under: Podcast Episode, Season One Tagged With: Al Borland, Amy Ryan, Home Improvement TV Show, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Patricia Richardson, Raye Birk, Richard Karn, Tim Allen, Tim Taylor, Tom Verica, Tool Time

A Battle of Wheels

September 12, 2017 by Grunt Work Leave a Comment

A Battle of Wheels (1992) | Home Improvement

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On This Episode of Home Improvement…

Not wanting to spend her time in the dank basement, Jill has moved her pottery wheel into the garage, in order to better channel her creative energy. This comes to the chagrin of Tim who claims the garage to be his domain – the man’s domain. The argument quickly arises over who’s time and interests are more important, and Jill attempts to schedule blocks of time for each of them to occupy the garage.

Meanwhile, on Tool Time, Al has become disgruntled over Tim’s constant joking and making fun of him on the air, and claims that anyone can do what Tim does. Tim, wounded by this, poses that on the next episode they switch positions: Al hosts while Tim assists.

On This Episode of Grunt Work…

Truman and Landen discuss locational gender divide within the household, take a surprising stance with Team Tim, and bask in the glory that is the role reversal on Tool Time.

Filed Under: Podcast Episode, Season One Tagged With: Al Borland, Home Improvement TV Show, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Patricia Richardson, Richard Karn, Tim Allen, Tim Taylor, Tool Time

Birds of a Feather Flock to Taylor

September 5, 2017 by Grunt Work Leave a Comment

Birds of a Feather Flock to Taylor (1992) | Home Improvement

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On This Episode of Home Improvement…

Jill and Tim butt heads over whether or not she informed him of Saturday plans to attend a fundraiser for the opera. He claims she didn’t, she claims she did. Tim takes this battle to Tool Time where two auto-assembly retirees Hick and Eddie (Jack Elam and Ernest Borgnine) come down from the audience to divulge their ‘expertise’. Meanwhile, Jill talks to Wilson about the situation, and comes to realize she might have been too hard on Tim. Ultimately, they decide to compromise and spend half of Saturday night at the fundraiser, and the other half drinking with Hick and Eddie.

On This Episode of Grunt Work…

Truman and Landen fondly remember the careers of Jack Elam and Ernest Borgnine, and really dig deep into the state of the editing transitions.

Filed Under: Podcast Episode, Season One Tagged With: Al Borland, Ernest Borgnine, Home Improvement TV Show, Jack Elam, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Patricia Richardson, Richard Karn, Tim Allen, Tim Taylor, Tool Time

Unchained Malady

August 29, 2017 by Grunt Work Leave a Comment

Unchained Malady (1992) | Home Improvement

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On This Episode of Home Improvement…

Tim receives a chain letter in the mail that says if he doesn’t forward it to ten people something bad will happen. Thinking it silly, Tim discards the letter against the advice of everyone around him, and bad luck begins to emerge. His car battery dies. He dyes his hands green. He gets punched in the face by Jill.

Meanwhile, on Tool Time, Tim and Al have special guest George Forman to help them build some stairs, and at home Randy crashes his brand new bike and is afraid to tell his parents.

On a Theory-Heavy Episode of Grunt Work…

Truman and Landen explore more the idea that Tim might be cursed, whether or not Wilson existed in the time of vampires and werewolves, and if the cast of Home Improvement were cars, which cars would they be.

Filed Under: Podcast Episode, Season One Tagged With: Al Borland, George Foreman, Home Improvement TV Show, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Patricia Richardson, Richard Karn, Tim Allen, Tim Taylor, Tool Time

Jill Taylor’s ‘Hillbilly Hot Chocolate’ Recipe

August 24, 2017 by Grunt Work Leave a Comment

This is the perfect camping treat should your husband have lost the car with all of the food in it, and all you have on hand is your children’s stash of candy.

Brings a smile to any disgruntled family member!

  1. Bring 5 Handfuls of Snow to a Boil
  2. Add 1 Milk Chocolate Candy Bar
  3. For a Minty Finish, add 1 dab of Toothpaste*
  4. Stir Occasionally Until Smooth and Silky

*Toothpaste is not actually consuamble, Do not add toothpaste. Don’t do it.

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Al Borland, Home Improvement TV Show, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Patricia Richardson, Richard Karn, Tim Allen, Tim Taylor, Tool Time

Theory: Could Wilson Be the Father of Jason Voorhees?

August 22, 2017 by Grunt Work Leave a Comment

Anyone who listens to our show is no stranger to our penchant for fan theories. (Is Al Borland a secret Russian spy? Is Randy a psychotic sociopath?)

Well, we discovered a theory this weekend that ties Home Improvement to one of the most prolific horror franchises in history. But before we go into the evidence, let’s take a look at one of our longest running theories:

Is Wilson God?

Almost since the inception of the show, we have speculated whether or not Wilson is, in fact, God. His worldly wisdom seems endless. His constitution infinitely empathetic. And that fence eerily resembles a confessional.

But let’s break this down a little more:

Wilson’s wisdom seems to emanate more from nostalgia than reverence. If he is God, he would be omnipotent, and would be able to see and know all things at all times. However, we also speculate that if he is God, and has taken a human form, that he might also be immortal, and has lived to experience firsthand the wisdom of the people he so often quotes.

Wilson is also notorious for never showing his face, which is typically obscured by the fence that separates the Taylor’s yard from Wilson’s. A loose translation from Exodus 33:20 states, “‘But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.’”

He is a man of nature over science. In one episode, he’s seen inhaling willow bark to remedy a headache instead of taking aspirin. He’s mentioned that he does not own a television. He often speculates about the expansive nature of the universe, and even gazes out at the stars through a telescope.

He is often seen tinkering with “God’s Creations”, i.e. animals. Showing benevolence to those he captures, but also having a plan for those who’s time it was to perish (mostly using their skins for various purposes).

In one particular episode, Wilson seems to be in two places at once – both behind the fence, and also as the visage of Santa Claus, (perhaps calling into question whether Santa is Wilson’s sibling, and whether they are celestial beings, or perhaps demonstrating Wilson’s ability to be everywhere at once).

At another point, he is carving ducks (and a penguin!), which he may or may not give life to later. And during even another episode, he’s creating a scarecrow in his own image.

As one reddit user pointed out, Tim also is a Christ-like figure, a carpenter of sorts, guided by the word of his “father”.

The list goes on and on, and this is only from season one. We will be continuing to develop this theory more as the series continues.

Now, let’s pause to take a look at…

 

A Brief History of Friday the 13th *SPOILERS*

Fans of the horror franchise might already see where this is heading, but let’s examine the history of Friday the 13th a little bit.

The first film, which takes place on Friday, June 13th, 1979, depicts the first murder spree of camp counselors at Camp Crystal Lake. Poised as a gruesome murder mystery, the killer is revealed to be Pamela Voorhees, the mother of Jason Voorhees, a disfigured child who drowned in the lake on Friday, June 13th, 1958.

Aside from the final jump scare in the original film, it’s not until the second film that we are introduced to who would become the titular character, Jason Voorhees.

As the series of films progresses, we learn quite a lot about Jason. He, at least initially, dishes out penance to sinners who commit any of the seven deadly sins. He is consistently murdered and resurrected by supernatural, or perhaps “divine”, forces. And, he certainly likes to keep his face concealed.

Fans of Friday the 13th are also well aware that there is never any mention of Jason’s father throughout the entire franchise. This could be because Jason’s father was a monster who forced himself upon Ms. Voorhees, resulting in Jason’s birth, though there is no direct evidence to support that one way or another, so it could easily be speculated that Jason was an immaculate conception.

However, even if Pamela was impregnated by a flesh-and-blood person (mortal or otherwise), speculation exists at the outset of Jason Lives that someone from Jason’s family paid to have Jason interred in a graveyard, and to keep it continually cleaned and guarded. (In fact, an unused plot line actually brought Jason’s father into the mix, but it was scrapped.)

As far as the franchise is concerned, there is a lot of room for theories of all sorts regarding Jason’s biological father.

Now, let’s start to mix these two elements together and see what we come up with…

Is Wilson Jason Voorhees’ Father?

Let’s look at a moment from the episode Baby, It’s Cold Outside, from season one:

It’s Valentine’s Day, and Tim is tasked with going camping to demonstrate the new Binford line of camping gear. However, he had also booked reservations for him and Jill at an exclusive lodge. Torn, Tim conjures up the plan to do a quick pitstop at a camping ground on the way to the lodge.

Where does he learn of this campground? From Wilson.

What is this campground called? Crystal Lake.

In Baby It’s Cold Outside, Wilson claims that he visits Crystal Lake every Valentine’s Day.

In 1992, Valentine’s fell on a Friday.

While in the Friday franchise, the location of Crystal Lake is widely debated, it’s more than likely located in New Jersey (with some reports in Connecticut), and the Taylors live in Detroit. It might be a bit of a stretch, but not completely implausible that they would take a nine-hour road trip to the East Coast.

Wilson, being the consummate outdoorsman, would certainly have cause to be wandering around an outdoor camp in 1945-1946, the year that Pamela Voorhees conceived, and gave birth to Jason. (And if Wilson is, in fact, God or immortal, his age and timeline wouldn’t be a consideration.)

Both Jason and Wilson love using outdoor tools to do their work. Both are extremely isolated figures. Wilson was 6’2” while Jason’s height has varied from 6’3” to 6’5”, not a far genetic deviation.

If Wilson is God or immortal, could he have passed his powers onto Jason? Could Wilson be Jason’s father? What do you think? We’ll be updating this theory as the evidence rolls in.

Filed Under: Theories Tagged With: Al Borland, Home Improvement TV Show, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Patricia Richardson, Richard Karn, Tim Allen, Tim Taylor, Tool Time

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About Grunt Work
Grunt Work is a comedy podcast where each week we cover an episode of the TV show ‘Home Improvement’.

But it’s so much more than that; it’s an examination of masculinity, a time capsule, and “metaphor for how we live[d] in the 90s”. Often, it’s a descent into madness.

Is Grunt Work for You?
We recommend our show for listeners who enjoy comedic takes on pop culture, often veering into the obscure and highfalutin; the perfect blend of stupidity and wit.

You may enjoy Grunt Work if you enjoy:

  • Mystery Science Theater 3000
  • The Flop House
  • Judge John Hodgeman
  • The Golden Guys
  • The Greatest Generation
  • Frasier and/or Cheers
  • Making Flippy Floppy
  • Birdemic: Shock and Terror
  • Perfect Dark (N64)
  • The Ultimate Warrior

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