Today's subject on Tool Time is sawhorses, but of course, leave it to Tim to go a step further and have one that's not only ridable, but motorized. Yeah, he's a big, lovable goof, but he means well and his family stands behind him no matter what. Right? Well, the loyalty of one family member is brought into serious consideration on the day Tim installs an intercom system in the house. As he bungles around with it, Randy and his pal Jeremy come in. Randy has a few laughs at his dad's expense and it all seems to be in good fun, until he and Jeremy get upstairs. The intercom miraculously starts working and Tim overhears a conversation between the boys. Randy calls him a total goofball and says they should rename his show to Fool Time. Meanwhile, in his latest effort to impress his girlfriend, Brad has decided to read David Copperfield, thinking the book was about the magician and not the "tragic waif." He's in way over his head, but then some guys will do anything to impress a girl. So while he struggles through the introduction, Tim confronts Randy on his conversation. Not only isn't he remorseful for what he said, he went on to state he feels Tool Time was nothing more than a joke. In response, Tim grounds him a week. When talking about it with Jill, she relates a similar story from her childhood, wherein she really let her mother have it after calling her a funny nickname in front of all her friends: Jilly Dilly. Wow.
Apparently Tim still took Randy's words to heart, because the next day on Tool Time, he tried to play it straight. No stupid middle name for Al and going with a manual digger instead of the more powerful one for the project. All the while, Al can't shake that Tim has some kind of ulterior motive, and when he presents a doorbell for the clubhouse, Al is sure something is up and he keeps goading Tim into doing his usual schtick and it escalates right up to Al unloading his feelings about his mother right on television. After that, Tim has one of his world famous talks with Wilson, who puts it into perspective: Randy is going through adolescence and is no longer able to see his father as infallible. What really seemed to hurt in all this was that Randy is the same age Tim was when his father died, so he never got to be a wise-ass to his old man. So as Tim heads upstairs to talk with his middle son, his eldest has had his first break-up. Brad decided to ditch David Copperfield and want Jennifer to like him for who he is, but apparently she doesn't. Women. So Tim and Randy have a heart-to-heart, father understands son's lashing out, and makes him promise not to joke about Tool Time or any stupid things he does from here on out. Just joke about mom. Now that that's settled, Tim gathers the boys into the room, he's got a dirty little secret about Jill he wants to divulge. Fortunately for her, he forgot the intercom was on. Al had come over to fix it.
I think we can all agree that Randy was out of line for what he said to Tim, but I think if anybody was ever going to say it, it would be him. I guess somebody had to be brutally honest with Tim and what he does, and sometimes a little brutal honesty is healthy. Regardless, Randy deserved what he got. The intercom is used sparingly for the remainder of the series, and Brad will find other loves as the show progresses. The highlight of the episode has to be when Al inadvertently calls his mother a big, fat cow on the air. So if this is a story you can relate to, either having an obnoxious little brat or being one yourself, or you like the show, I definitely recommend this one.
Apparently Tim still took Randy's words to heart, because the next day on Tool Time, he tried to play it straight. No stupid middle name for Al and going with a manual digger instead of the more powerful one for the project. All the while, Al can't shake that Tim has some kind of ulterior motive, and when he presents a doorbell for the clubhouse, Al is sure something is up and he keeps goading Tim into doing his usual schtick and it escalates right up to Al unloading his feelings about his mother right on television. After that, Tim has one of his world famous talks with Wilson, who puts it into perspective: Randy is going through adolescence and is no longer able to see his father as infallible. What really seemed to hurt in all this was that Randy is the same age Tim was when his father died, so he never got to be a wise-ass to his old man. So as Tim heads upstairs to talk with his middle son, his eldest has had his first break-up. Brad decided to ditch David Copperfield and want Jennifer to like him for who he is, but apparently she doesn't. Women. So Tim and Randy have a heart-to-heart, father understands son's lashing out, and makes him promise not to joke about Tool Time or any stupid things he does from here on out. Just joke about mom. Now that that's settled, Tim gathers the boys into the room, he's got a dirty little secret about Jill he wants to divulge. Fortunately for her, he forgot the intercom was on. Al had come over to fix it.
I think we can all agree that Randy was out of line for what he said to Tim, but I think if anybody was ever going to say it, it would be him. I guess somebody had to be brutally honest with Tim and what he does, and sometimes a little brutal honesty is healthy. Regardless, Randy deserved what he got. The intercom is used sparingly for the remainder of the series, and Brad will find other loves as the show progresses. The highlight of the episode has to be when Al inadvertently calls his mother a big, fat cow on the air. So if this is a story you can relate to, either having an obnoxious little brat or being one yourself, or you like the show, I definitely recommend this one.
