I'm sorry we had to lose the former Mandy. I'm sure the new actress will find her niche but I wish they could bring back the former.
489 Reviews
Different Mandy just not cutting it
tessravenhurst12 January 2019
Great show... until..,
barnsleylad49498 June 2019
This is a great show but Season 7 and the switch to Fox changed things. I don't mind the new Mandy although Molly Ephraim was far better. The addition of Jen is annoying as hell. She's an absolutely terrible actress cut from the typical Nickelodeon mold. The writers try too hard to make her a replacement for Eve. It just doesn't work. I hope they write her out for season 8.
8 season I understand why
carlodegraaff6 September 2021
Was A 10 Before The Cast Change
dskaff28 February 2020
I loved this show before it was foolishly cancelled. Now with the show back on, the casting director must have lost their mind.
1. New Mandy is horrible and more so doesn't fit the show at all. Old Mandy (Molly) is a fantastic actress and they should try to get her back.
2. The Asian girl...WHY? She is a terrible actress, adds nothing to the show, and just doesn't fit the continuity of the program.
3. Ok I understand the boy had to grow up a little but couldn't they have replaced him with someone that appears to be the same kid, only older?
It's sad that when a show hits that sweet spot of perfection they have this need to try to push it past that point instead of just enjoying and honing it as it is. Continually bringing in useless actresses and actors just send down cancelled road.
New actors for Mandy and son are not
jmlanzone14 June 2019
Loved, loved this show.... except the new season's Mandy completely changes the family dynamics. She just does not have the spark and feistiness needed to create some of the funny tension that used to exist. Better if the character had been written out of the show than to try this replacement.
in freefall
cmaj-505748 February 2020
I'm not sure what happened with the new FOX version of what was once a very fun show. The 'laugh track' is nothing short of annoying and way too much laughter for seriously unfunny gags. The exchange student Jen is grating and a poor fit for the show. They have turned (the new) Mandy and Kyle into a clown show and the once wise and proud Mr. Azate in now a dottering old man and Chuck, the former MARINE a total wimp. WHAT HAPPENED TO WRITERS, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE. This show is circling the drain.
Love This Show
zombiemockingbird28 August 2019
I have watched it from the beginning and loved it. It's funny without being crude and stupid (like a lot of sit-coms these days), and all of the actors are great. Except this last season with the new Mandy. It's not just that I don't like change, because when they changed Kristen after Season 1 it was a great improvement. The first girl wasn't bad, Amanda Fuller is just 100 times better. This poor girl that replaced Molly Ephraim just isn't a good actress, and she and Kyle (Christoph Sanders) have absolutely no chemistry whatsoever; it's painful to watch.
Edit: I took off two stars, I have been re-watching this recently on Hulu, and although I still enjoy it overall, binge-watching it makes me realize how annoying Vanessa is. She's supposed to have a PhD, yet 90% of what she says and does is ridiculously stupid. She drinks like Dean Martin, is completely socially awkward, sounds brainless, pouts when she doesn't get her way, tries to control what everyone does, is painfully superficial and narcissistic, cries constantly over nothing and stalks her kids; she's a HORRIBLE mother. She's a psychopath, and it's painful and embarrassing to watch and listen to her. I find it hard to believe someone like Mike would actually be married to someone this ridiculous. She belongs in a Looney Tunes cartoon. The best characters in this show are Kyle, Ryan and Chuck.
Second Edit: Skip Season 9. The stories just get more tedious, boring and pointless with each episode. Mandy seems to have become the main focal point of the show and unfortunately her character is not and never has been all that great. Kyle was the only thing that made Mandy interesting and now she overshadows him completely. Also, I'm sure Molly McCook is a lovely person, but she just isn't a very good actress.
Edit: I took off two stars, I have been re-watching this recently on Hulu, and although I still enjoy it overall, binge-watching it makes me realize how annoying Vanessa is. She's supposed to have a PhD, yet 90% of what she says and does is ridiculously stupid. She drinks like Dean Martin, is completely socially awkward, sounds brainless, pouts when she doesn't get her way, tries to control what everyone does, is painfully superficial and narcissistic, cries constantly over nothing and stalks her kids; she's a HORRIBLE mother. She's a psychopath, and it's painful and embarrassing to watch and listen to her. I find it hard to believe someone like Mike would actually be married to someone this ridiculous. She belongs in a Looney Tunes cartoon. The best characters in this show are Kyle, Ryan and Chuck.
Second Edit: Skip Season 9. The stories just get more tedious, boring and pointless with each episode. Mandy seems to have become the main focal point of the show and unfortunately her character is not and never has been all that great. Kyle was the only thing that made Mandy interesting and now she overshadows him completely. Also, I'm sure Molly McCook is a lovely person, but she just isn't a very good actress.
I miss old Kristin
midnightcub13 May 2019
Everyone talks about the new Mandy. Yes I liked the old Mandy too. But the new Mandy is pretty great as well. No one talks about the old season 1 Kristen Alexandra Krosney. Her replacement was extremely unlikable and has only barely gotten better with time.
Jen needs to go
nicetryjan1 May 2020
Love this show, so how can they.....
ktrawick10 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I love the original show with great, quirky characters. I want to know why on God's green earth are they replacing short, dark haired Mandy with a 5'10" blonde? Makes absolutely no sense! A 9" height difference is no small thing.
Bring back Molly Ephraim
jessica-combs110 November 2018
Mandy or no Mandy
eno696 January 2021
It's been a few years now and I've tried to accept it but, the "new" Mandy is NO were near the old Mandy!! Not nearly as funny and just doesn't have the right personality!!!!
Whatever you did for Molly "Ephraim" not to come back was a HUGE mistake!!!!!
For me. Dropped my rated from 8 to 5!!
Tim's No Tool This Time
alan_holloway_217 October 2011
I didn't expect much from this, although I did enjoy "Home Improvement" when I was younger. This isn't a great leap forward from that, but works pretty well as a comedy that doesn't require too much thought and provides plenty of giggles.
Tim is a "Man's man" who decides to take more of a hand in the raising of his 3 daughters (and 1 small grandson). Needless to say, his world view is at odds with theirs and hilarity ensues.
Allen does play pretty much the same character as in "Home Improvement", but the family dynamics are well handled, with the daughters each getting their own personalities out of the handbook of family comedy clichés and running with them.
Cookie cutter comedy, sure, but sometimes that's all you need for twenty or so minutes of smiles. I'll be tuning in regularly.
Tim is a "Man's man" who decides to take more of a hand in the raising of his 3 daughters (and 1 small grandson). Needless to say, his world view is at odds with theirs and hilarity ensues.
Allen does play pretty much the same character as in "Home Improvement", but the family dynamics are well handled, with the daughters each getting their own personalities out of the handbook of family comedy clichés and running with them.
Cookie cutter comedy, sure, but sometimes that's all you need for twenty or so minutes of smiles. I'll be tuning in regularly.
Please remove Jen and Bring back the other Mandy
algerbryan16 March 2020
Great show, I love it. When it got canceled I was totally bummed. Obviously when I heard it was coming back I was stoked! However, Jen is just terrible and the new Mandy is absolutely annoying.
Use the other characters and ditch Jen and new Many, please!!!
Use the other characters and ditch Jen and new Many, please!!!
Almost perfect show!
Harlequin-Rose7 June 2020
This was a great find during quarantine. TiVo recorded two episodes a day so I had at least one great hour during lockdown weekdays.
I loved how the three sisters banter with one another. It seems far more realistic than the other TV shows where the siblings do nothing but fight or are cheesingly best friends.
I also love how the emphasis is on keeping the relationships going, as opposed to having the girls swap and change boyfriends every few episodes. Makes a difference from other annoying modern shows.
However... The new Mandy has wrecked it all.
The old Mandy is without a doubt one of the best characters ever written. She is quirky, funny, confident, sweet, loyal, and most important happy! She was a ray of sunshine, and made every scene better. Although her character was slightly egotistical, she was never condescending. She was well aware of her flaws and just ran with it. The actress turned the ditsy fool into the sweetest family member.
The new actress has taken this well defined character and turned her into a caricature. She is a self-serving, awfully condescending, and flat out mean brat with absolutely no relationship with the other characters. The marriage between Mandy and Kyle is no longer a relationship, it's barely even a friendship. Every scene with Mandy is now horribly uncomfortable. And frankly it has turned me off the show. Tim Allen's great lines don't even make up for it. The family has been ruined, and every scene I watch I now remember with sadness all the scenes that came before. I wish they'd simply written Mandy out of the show, and let the original actress come back whenever she could.
So my 8 stars are for the first 6 seasons.
0 stars from that point onwards.
I'm a liberal and this is funny.
wyattlewis-844385 July 2019
The new Mandy ruined the show
abower129117 April 2020
Why is Jen still here?
louisalewis246825 May 2020
Can't stand the new Mandy
mdbrief197717 November 2018
New Mandy is awful
nicole_egalli8 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I have watched this show since it began. I was fine with the replacement for Kristin after the first season, but this new Mandy is awful. Why would they go with a giant blonde?! The actress cast really doesn't give the same performance or bring the same feel to the character. I hope I can get past it to continue watching the show as I'm happy it's returned.
Everyone loves Mandy
evans-154755 November 2022
This reminds me a lot of Everyone loves Raymond, a vehicle for the leading man but actually all the real comedy comes from the supporting cast in Everyone loves Raymond it was Robert here it's original Mandy and Eve,Molly Ephraim is outstanding as the bimbo she steals every scene she is in and so superior to penny in the Big Bang theory but Eve played by Kaitlyn Dever holds her own as the opposite sister and it is no surprise that both of them have gone onto bigger things they bounce off each other so well. I can take or leave Mikes rant's to camera and the show would certainly be no worse without them.
Rating is the average of all season's.
dgeorge_c30 January 2021
Just started watching season 9 because it had restarted and I didn't know it. It is everything but funny. 9 years is a long time for a show like this and this is no exception. The new Mandy doesn't fit but they have "undumbed" her a little for this season. Allen, Elizondo and Jonathan Adams are good. Haven't seen Leno this season but he was awful. If you are just finding this show, watch. Its solid for at least 5 seasons.
the change worked
SnoopyStyle10 May 2017
Mike Baxter (Tim Allen) is a conservative man of the people in Denver, Colorado. He is the face brand for Outdoor Man, a chain of outdoors gear stores owned by Ed Alzate (Héctor Elizondo). Mike and geologist wife Vanessa (Nancy Travis) have three daughters. Kristin (Alexandra Krosney, Amanda Fuller) is the oldest and a teen mom to Boyd. Mandy (Molly Ephraim) is the flighty middle child. The youngest Eve (Kaitlyn Dever) is a tomboy. Kyle Anderson (Christoph Sanders) is the clueless worker in Outdoor Man who dates Kristin in the first season and eventually marries Mandy. Ryan Vogelson is Boyd's socialist Canadian father. Chuck Larabee is the black neighbor who becomes Mike's friend.
The first year is traditional network sitcom and I like it. It's easy work for Tim Allen and the three girls have great chemistry. From the outside, one is never sure why recasting happens. Despite Krosney being younger than Ephraim, their age switch up is not noticeable. They fit the roles quite well. Fuller takes over the role in the second season and starts off poorly. It takes awhile for her to find a nice personality. There is also an adjustment in the political tone and Mike becomes more conservative. The changes are a little jarring at first but there is no denying their success. The comedic standouts are Ephraim and Sanders. They could be a wacky loving couple in their own show.
The first year is traditional network sitcom and I like it. It's easy work for Tim Allen and the three girls have great chemistry. From the outside, one is never sure why recasting happens. Despite Krosney being younger than Ephraim, their age switch up is not noticeable. They fit the roles quite well. Fuller takes over the role in the second season and starts off poorly. It takes awhile for her to find a nice personality. There is also an adjustment in the political tone and Mike becomes more conservative. The changes are a little jarring at first but there is no denying their success. The comedic standouts are Ephraim and Sanders. They could be a wacky loving couple in their own show.
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