We begin with Tool Time, as Al sweeps up a mess that Tim obviously made, and then the Tool Man introduces Angus McLeod to talk about the upcoming Detroit Scottish Highland Games. Tim promptly makes fun of his kilt, and then Al mentions he and Tim will be participating in the caber toss. At home, he presents two tickets to the big monster truck rally this Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! He gives the other ticket to Brad and it looks as though it's going to be a great time...until Brad's principal calls. Apparently young Mr. Taylor put a dissected frog from biology class into a sandwich, and the principal discovered it when she cut in line. In response to this, Tim and Jill ground him for the weekend. But what about the truck rally? Jill says it's out, but Tim manages to convince her otherwise. You know, boys will be boys and such. Besides, Jill used to pull similar pranks in her youth, so she lightens up and agrees to let him go to the rally, but he's still grounded for the weekend. So, perhaps Brad has learned his lesson from all this and will straighten up from here on out.
The following night, Brad is brought home by a cop. It seems he and some "friends" were throwing bricks at a greenhouse, but they ran when the police arrived and Brad was the only one they caught. Needless to say, Brad was in an even bigger world of crap, and forbidden to go to the truck rally. Tim had gone to bat for his son and this was how he repaid him. Instead of remorse, the boy decided to be a smart-ass and was sent to bed. Tim says he'll give the Fordzilla tickets to someone else, prompting Mark to appear out of nowhere, scaring the bejesus out of Jill, asking to bring Billy. Next day, Tim comes downstairs wearing a kilt, preparing for the Scottish festival, while outside, Brad is raking leaves and Randy is teasing him, but when it gets to the point of him saying he can't outrun a girl, they get into a fight. Tim manages to break them up, so Randy makes fun of his kilt and goes inside. Tim attempts to make peace with his son and offers to let him help with the hot rod. Brad tells him off and runs away, thus receiving an extra two days on his punishment. Thankfully Wilson happened to be in his yard, so he and Tim talk about the woes of adolescence. According to Wilson, there used to be tribal customs to welcome a young male into adulthood, but today they are no more, and that Tim will have to find his own way to initiate Brad. So while he ponders this, he heads with Al to the games in his cherry station wagon. Time for the caber toss, and in case you don't know what that is: it's basically tossing a big log. It's much harder than it looks, which Tim learns the hard way, and now Al no longer has to worry about that pesky back window in his car. At home, Tim prepares to score the tail pipe for the hot rod, but he injures his finger on the vice. Brad asks if he could do the work, and at first Tim refuses, until he realizes that it would be a man's job, and thus grants Brad the use of his blow torch. He cuts like a pro! To celebrate, Tim tries to anoint the "man child" with motor oil, and the two really bond. A newfound respect for each other. And as for Fordzilla, he's still the reigning monster truck rally champ. Jill took Randy and Mark and she came home dirty and temporarily deaf, so I'd say a good time was had by all.
So, Brad enters manhood. A very well executed episode. I really believed the characters I was seeing, I didn't just see them as actors pretending to be other people. So if any of you have a little smart-ass...er, a troublesome child who acts out and misbehaves, perhaps this is the answer: entering adolescence. Wilson's advice is very true even to this day, since we no longer have rituals to initiate a male into manhood, adolescence is pushed beyond the biological boundaries, and today it's even worse. The messages that this episode conveys are crystal clear and I hope parents take the words to heart. It's a good one to see if you can relate to Brad or Tim, if you like the show, or if you've ever wanted to see Tim Allen in a kilt.
The following night, Brad is brought home by a cop. It seems he and some "friends" were throwing bricks at a greenhouse, but they ran when the police arrived and Brad was the only one they caught. Needless to say, Brad was in an even bigger world of crap, and forbidden to go to the truck rally. Tim had gone to bat for his son and this was how he repaid him. Instead of remorse, the boy decided to be a smart-ass and was sent to bed. Tim says he'll give the Fordzilla tickets to someone else, prompting Mark to appear out of nowhere, scaring the bejesus out of Jill, asking to bring Billy. Next day, Tim comes downstairs wearing a kilt, preparing for the Scottish festival, while outside, Brad is raking leaves and Randy is teasing him, but when it gets to the point of him saying he can't outrun a girl, they get into a fight. Tim manages to break them up, so Randy makes fun of his kilt and goes inside. Tim attempts to make peace with his son and offers to let him help with the hot rod. Brad tells him off and runs away, thus receiving an extra two days on his punishment. Thankfully Wilson happened to be in his yard, so he and Tim talk about the woes of adolescence. According to Wilson, there used to be tribal customs to welcome a young male into adulthood, but today they are no more, and that Tim will have to find his own way to initiate Brad. So while he ponders this, he heads with Al to the games in his cherry station wagon. Time for the caber toss, and in case you don't know what that is: it's basically tossing a big log. It's much harder than it looks, which Tim learns the hard way, and now Al no longer has to worry about that pesky back window in his car. At home, Tim prepares to score the tail pipe for the hot rod, but he injures his finger on the vice. Brad asks if he could do the work, and at first Tim refuses, until he realizes that it would be a man's job, and thus grants Brad the use of his blow torch. He cuts like a pro! To celebrate, Tim tries to anoint the "man child" with motor oil, and the two really bond. A newfound respect for each other. And as for Fordzilla, he's still the reigning monster truck rally champ. Jill took Randy and Mark and she came home dirty and temporarily deaf, so I'd say a good time was had by all.
So, Brad enters manhood. A very well executed episode. I really believed the characters I was seeing, I didn't just see them as actors pretending to be other people. So if any of you have a little smart-ass...er, a troublesome child who acts out and misbehaves, perhaps this is the answer: entering adolescence. Wilson's advice is very true even to this day, since we no longer have rituals to initiate a male into manhood, adolescence is pushed beyond the biological boundaries, and today it's even worse. The messages that this episode conveys are crystal clear and I hope parents take the words to heart. It's a good one to see if you can relate to Brad or Tim, if you like the show, or if you've ever wanted to see Tim Allen in a kilt.
