Release Date: 8/7/07

The Show

Argh! Argh! Argh! Who didn’t make those ridiculous grunt sounds when Home Improvement was in its prime back in the mid-90’s? I know I did, and maybe, just maybe, if you catch me on a bender, you might find me still making those historic cave man grunts. What exactly does all that nonsense mean? Well, for starters, it means the series had a lasting effect on viewers, even if it was just a few knuckle-headed noises. The Complete Seventh Season offered more of what watchers grew to love from the series with the kids growing up to be quite older than they were in the first season and Tim screwing up a little more, pondering the end of Tool Time.

Yes, it’s all very formulaic, but boy, was it fun. The series focused primarily on Tim Taylor, a husband, a husband, and a home improvement television show host. Life isn’t always as easy as he’d like, and when trouble happens, he tries his best to manage the wacky situations he gets into. Of course, his family gets into the act, cracking jokes at the buffoonish father at every chance. He’s got a lovely wife, who’s caring and has a bit of the venom tongue when Tim messes up. His three kids take after their mother, quick to drop a clever line. Like I said, it’s not groundbreaking, but sometimes, fun doesn’t always have to mean earth shattering content.

The set includes all 25 episodes from the seventh season with a Play All option found on each disc.
Disc 1
1. Quest for Fire
2. Clash of the Taylors
3. Room at the Top
4. Pump You Up
5. A Night to Dismember
6. The Niece
7. Jill’s Passion
8. Losing My Religion
Disc 2
1. Thanksgiving
2. The Dating Game
3. Bright Christmas
4. The Old College Try
5. An Older Woman
6. Tim “The Landlord” Taylor
7. Say Goodnight, Gracie
8. What a Drag
9. Taking Jill for Granite
Disc 3
1. Futile Attraction
2. Desperately Seeking Willow
3. The Write Stuff
4. The Son Also Mooches
5. Believe it or Not
6. Rebel Without Night Driving Privileges
7. Tool-Thousand-One: A Space Odyssey
8. From Top to Bottom

The DVD

The main menu offered comes with animated backgrounds with the show’s theme song playing throughout. Submenus contain static backgrounds and the only disappointment is the lack of creative transitions the actual series itself used in the menu system.

The video transfer is offered in 1.33:1 Fullscreen Format. The picture looks great and considerably better than what’s seen in syndication. The colors are solid and bright while the detail level is adequate. Overall, I have no complaints at all.

The audio is offered in English Dolby Digital 2.0. The sound does the job just fine with clear and audible audio. It’s not really a dynamic soundtrack, but you don’t need that at all for this show. English subtitles are offered on the disc as well.

The Extras

Now this is a space saving set. The 3-discs come in a single standard Amaray case with 2 discs housed on the right side and another disc on the left side. Unfortunately, for all that space saving, you can only access the episode guide if you lift up the 2 discs on the right. As for bonus options, all you’re getting is a season seven blooper reel.

Final Thoughts

Home Improvement – The Complete Seventh Season is still a fun and entertaining series after all these years. If you’re a Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor fan, you’ll want to pick this set up. However, those familiar with the show also realized that by this season, things got quite dicey with the aging children and sitcom-y plots.

- Morris Tang