Tim Allen: New sitcom ‘Last Man Standing’ features Michigan, Ohio State rivarly

Posted on August 27, 2011 by admin

Mike Baxter won’t be outdone by Tim (the Tool Man) Taylor.

The character Tim Allen plays on his new sitcom, “Last Man Standing,” will display his Michigan colors just like Taylor, the character Allen played for years on his sitcom hit “Home Improvement.”

Allen, 58, told the Free Press on Friday that the “Last Man Standing” production team had just received clearance to use the University of Michigan’s maize-and-blue color scheme in the new show, which debuts in October. There’s just one problem: Baxter’s geologist wife, played by Nancy Travis will be a graduate of U-M’s hated rival, Ohio State University.

“This time we’re setting the show in my second home of Denver, where I was born, but we just found out today that I’m a Wolverine,” Allen said. “We’re going to have this Michigan-Ohio State competition going on.”

Allen, who grew up in Birmingham and graduated from Western Michigan University, frequently referenced Detroit during the 1991-99 run of “Home Improvement” by cheering on the home teams and wearing Lions and Tigers gear.

“I love that I’m constantly going to pay homage to the old days and where I come from by being a University of Michigan graduate,” he said.

Still, his new character will be rooting for the Denver Broncos instead of the Detroit Lions.

“After 40 or so years, I know better than to get excited about the Lions,” Allen said about the local NFL team. “I think the Lions owe it to us fans to show us that they’re a real football team. When they do, then I’ll get excited.”

“Last Man Standing,” which kicks off with a special one-hour episode at 8 p.m. Oct. 11, has Allen playing a manly-man bigwig at a sporting goods company whose home life is ruled by a wife and three daughters.

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