Friday, July 11, 2014

DVD Review - Last Man Standing: The Complete First & Second Seasons

Available on DVD from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment through Amazon's manufacture on demand (MOD) is Last Man Standing: The Complete First Season and Last Man Standing: The Complete Second Season.

Tim Allen returned to television with the family-sitcom Last Man Standing in 2011. He plays Mike Baxter, the marketing director for the sporting goods store, Outdoor Man, which is owned by  Edward "Ed" Alzate (played by Héctor Elizondo). After spending several years traveling around the world promoting the store and working on the yearly calender, Mike decides to change the store's marketing tactics by vlogging. This also gives him more free time to spend his with wife, Vanessa (played by Nancy Travis) and their three daughters - Kristin, Mandy and Eve. The eldest daughter, Kristen, has a son, Boyd.

Despite premiering to over twelve-million viewers on Tuesday nights, the ratings dropped to half that by the end of the season. The series managed to get picked up for a second season, but with many changes, including the change in showrunner and the move to Friday nights.  Actress Alexandra Krosney, who plays Kristin, was replaced with actress Amanda Fuller. The grandson, Boyd, magically aged three years, now played by Flynn Morrison. Jordan Masterson takes over the role of Boyd's father, Ryan Vogelson. Another major change was the added political tone, in which Mike would bunt heads with Ryan over politics.

The series has maintained decent ratings since moving to Friday nights and will begin its fourth season in the fall. Typically, television shows are released on DVD a few months after a season ends, but for some reason Last Man Standing never received traditional DVD releases, but instead seasons one and two were released through the Amazon's manufacture on demand (MOD).

The episodes featured on the sets are:

 First Season
Pilot/Last Baby Proofing Standing
 Grandparents Day
Last Halloween Standing
Co-Ed Stoftball
Good Cop, Bad Cop
Home Security
House Rules
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Last Christmas Standing
The Passion of the Mandy
Moon Over Kenya
Take Your Daughter to Work
Odd Couple Out
Tree of Strife
House of Spirits
Adrenaline
Baxter & Sons
Ding Dong Ditch
Animal Wrongs
Wherefore Art Thou, Mike Baxter
The Bud's For You
The Spotlight
Found Money
Second Season
"Voting "
 Dodgeball Club
High Expectations
Ed's Twice Ex-Wife
Mother Fracker
Circle of Life
Putting a Hit on Christmas
Bullying
Attractive Architect
The Help
Mike's Pole
Quarterback Boyfriend
What's in a Name?
Buffalo Bill Day
Breaking Curfew
Private Coach
The Fight
College Girl





I grew up watching Home Improvement in the 90s, so I naturally tuned into Tim Allen's newest vehicle Last Man Standing. Yes, some of the political jokes are unnecessary and the Ryan character is horrible, but the series isn't that bad. The cast has great chemistry together, though it takes awhile to get use to Amanda Fuller as the new Kristin. I have never purchased or reviewed any of the Amazon 's MOD titles, but I don't see much difference between it and normal DVD releases, except for the fact that there are no extras on the sets, not even deleted scenes or commentaries. The picture quality is good on all the episodes. Overall, the episodes on the Last Man Standing: The Complete First Season and the Last Man Standing: The Complete Second Season DVD sets are funny with moral values that the whole family can enjoy watching together.


*Disclaimer - I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.


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