Clash of the Taylors (30 Sep. 1997)

Tim is upset when Randy becomes critical of Binford's environmental record.

Director:

Andrew Tsao

Writers:

Jennifer Celotta, Adam England,

Stars:

Tim Allen, Patricia Richardson, Earl Hindman

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Tim Allen	...	Tim Taylor
Patricia Richardson	...	Jill Taylor
Earl Hindman	...	Wilson Wilson Jr.
Richard Karn	...	Al Borland
Debbe Dunning	...	Heidi Keppert
Zachery Ty Bryan	...	Brad Taylor
Taran Noah Smith	...	Mark Taylor (as Taran Smith)
Jonathan Taylor Thomas	...	Randy Taylor
Charles Robinson	...	Bud Harper (as Charlie Robinson)
Peter Siragusa	...	Ralph
Shelley Morrison	...	Gail
Kaylan Romero	...	Ronny
James DuMont	...	Gus
Paul Keith	...	Lou Hanson

Storyline

Tim is upset when Randy becomes critical of Binford's environmental record.

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Plot Keywords:

dog collar | potato | environmentalism | interview | marriage counseling | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 1997 (USA)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Jill: I'm Jill Taylor, I'm a counseling intern.
Lou Hanson: Nice to meet you.
Jill: Well, before we begin, I'd like to talk a little bit about my methodology. I am an avid proponent of emotionally focused couples therapy, which is founded on the belief that couples hide their primary emotions and instead exhibit secondary reactive emotions which result in negative interactions which is pursue/distance or blame/withdraw, serving as a defense against a more vulnerable, primary emotions. Any questions?
Lou Hanson: Are you the only ...

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Connections

References Clash of the Titans (1981)

User Reviews

Stop the Presses.

The Taylors are finding numerous ways of staying productive these days. For example, Tim invents an electric potato peeler, Jill will be a therapist intern where she will be counseling families, Mark continues his Goth transformation by finding a new friend, Ronnie, who hardly says a word, and Randy is preparing to write his column on what big companies are doing to save the environment. At Tim's insistence, Randy decides to write about Binford. So while he does some research, Jill has her first session with her first family. In short, she sucks at it. Big shock. Oh, and her hair 'do looks like hell. At home, Tim has upgraded his electric potato peeler to a pneumatic that will transform a full size potato to a tater tot in 2.5 seconds. Randy had looked up Binford on the internet, and apparently it's on the top 10 list of the biggest polluters in Detroit. Tim is quick to deny the claim, saying Binford can do no wrong, but suggests setting up an interview with Bud Harper, the head honcho. Get the bare facts. So the next day, Tim and Randy meet with Bud, as he attempts to B.S. his way through the interview. But then Randy lays on some blunt questions about Binford being a top polluter and asks what they intend to do about it. Bud says they're in the early stages of reducing emissions, and that each and every plant fully complies with regulations. This doesn't satisfy Randy as he goes on to question whether or not Binford buys "pollution credits." In other words, they've found an excuse to pollute more than necessary, and their emission reduction wouldn't take effect for ten years, citing the endangerment of jobs. Randy however thinks the environment is far more important and accuses Bud, as well as the whole company of being greedy and careless. Naturally, Tim is furious at Randy, who turns it around on him and calls him a sell out.

Tim gets home ahead of Randy, who took the bus out of rebellion, and tries to forbid him from writing his article until he "gets his facts straight." Regardless, the article was written, and published, and Tim and Al would have to bare the brunt of it on Tool Time the next day. They pause for a round of Q&A from the audience, and after a few serious questions, the ones regarding Binford and its pollution history. One guy calls their bluff by pointing out another company who could reduce emissions immediately without any layoffs. It becomes a witch hunt as the audience becomes more and more riled up, even going so far as to insinuate Al and Tim are in on it and are frauds. In a fury, Al clears out the audience. Of course, things at home calm down after a talk with Wilson. Tim is reminded of a time when he was Randy's age, when his high school wanted to eliminate auto shop, and he passionately fought for it. He shares his experience with Randy, who saw the error of his ways, by making it look like he wanted to destroy Binford in order to save the environment. So from then on, everything was fine. Oh, and Jill goes back to counsel another family, and shock of all shocks, it's Ronnie's parents. They're having trouble communicating with their son.

This is a good one. It has plenty of humor, and it conveys a good message. It's also performed very well, as once again, the Taylors look and act like a real family. We also get an insight into Randy's passion and how it often blinds him. And Tim talking about auto shop sort of rings true with me as well, though I'm not a passionate gear-head, but I do know the auto shop at my high school closed a few years after I graduated. The thing is that now adays with newer cars, there isn't much to look at under the hood and work on. Now all you do is whip out the AAA club and your cell phone and they come change your tire for you. But anyway, those of you with a passion will really enjoy this episode.