Life couldn't better for Jill, as she completed her term with straight A's, and now she can spend all of next week relaxing. That's when the phone conveniently rang. It was the Colonel, he and the Missus wanted to come for a weekend, but Jill feigned illness to keep them away. Just a harmless, little white lie, right? I mean, it's not like her folks couldn't visit some other time. So, one afternoon while Jill was out shopping, and Al and Heidi were perusing Wilson's yard sale, Tim received a call from Lillian. Sadly, the Colonel had passed away unexpectedly. Without wasting a moment, Tim booked Jill a flight to Texas just as she came home after having a fantastic day. She heard the news and, of course, she was broken up, not just that her father was gone, but the last thing she said to him was a lie. So, Jill heads to Texas as Tim and the boys back. They each had their own way of grieving, and Randy's included making jokes. Brad, on the other hand, was somewhat grateful that the Colonel wasn't sleeping in his room when it happened.
Word of Jill's "illness" spread to the rest of the family as well. But how could Jill come clean in light of recent events? Though she tried admitting to her sisters she wasn't sick, but naturally they didn't believe her. The salt in the open wound came when Lillian remarked how much the Colonel had been looking forward to going out for a visit. But of course he understood when he heard Jill was sick. Thankfully, Tim and the boys arrived and kept the mood light at the funeral the next day. All the Colonel's friends, relatives and army buddies were there. Tim regaled them all with the tale of when he first met his future father in-law. While that happened, Jill finally found the courage to confess to her mother that she lied, knowing how stubborn and controlling her father was. Unfortunately, the truth didn't entirely set her free, as Jill has finally allowed herself to grieve, and Tim was right by her side. He had been the perfect husband in this scenario, saying all the right things and taking immediate action when needed. It may not last, however, so enjoy it while you can.
This episode was extremely well done. From beginning to end, it is fantastic. For the most part, it was a serious, dramatic episode, with some added humor, but only when appropriate. I'm so glad they decided to play it straight, the characters all acted like real people, they were so believable, the emotion was all there. When I first heard about this episode, I thought they were going to play it for laughs, I mean we just came off several wacky episodes, so why would that change with this scenario? Just some more death jokes. I'm happy to report I was wrong. Sometimes sitcoms will do an episode where somebody dies, usually a distant relative who we've never seen nor are expected to care about, and either it's played for laughs, or it's for one of the characters to have a revelation and take a good look at their own mortality. The problem there is that if we don't know the character who died, we don't care. At least Home Improvement gave us two opportunities to know the Colonel, played brilliantly by M. Emmet Walsh. Anyway, he was a much more established character than Mr. Binford, who only appeared twice in the first season, albeit briefly, and then he was killed off in Season 3. We hardly knew him. We knew the Colonel alright, I'm sure we all have somebody like that in our lives. I think most of us can sympathize with Jill here, those who have lost a family member and have gone through what she does. Great message, great episode, brilliantly executed! Well acted! One of the series' best, but saddest, episodes.
Word of Jill's "illness" spread to the rest of the family as well. But how could Jill come clean in light of recent events? Though she tried admitting to her sisters she wasn't sick, but naturally they didn't believe her. The salt in the open wound came when Lillian remarked how much the Colonel had been looking forward to going out for a visit. But of course he understood when he heard Jill was sick. Thankfully, Tim and the boys arrived and kept the mood light at the funeral the next day. All the Colonel's friends, relatives and army buddies were there. Tim regaled them all with the tale of when he first met his future father in-law. While that happened, Jill finally found the courage to confess to her mother that she lied, knowing how stubborn and controlling her father was. Unfortunately, the truth didn't entirely set her free, as Jill has finally allowed herself to grieve, and Tim was right by her side. He had been the perfect husband in this scenario, saying all the right things and taking immediate action when needed. It may not last, however, so enjoy it while you can.
This episode was extremely well done. From beginning to end, it is fantastic. For the most part, it was a serious, dramatic episode, with some added humor, but only when appropriate. I'm so glad they decided to play it straight, the characters all acted like real people, they were so believable, the emotion was all there. When I first heard about this episode, I thought they were going to play it for laughs, I mean we just came off several wacky episodes, so why would that change with this scenario? Just some more death jokes. I'm happy to report I was wrong. Sometimes sitcoms will do an episode where somebody dies, usually a distant relative who we've never seen nor are expected to care about, and either it's played for laughs, or it's for one of the characters to have a revelation and take a good look at their own mortality. The problem there is that if we don't know the character who died, we don't care. At least Home Improvement gave us two opportunities to know the Colonel, played brilliantly by M. Emmet Walsh. Anyway, he was a much more established character than Mr. Binford, who only appeared twice in the first season, albeit briefly, and then he was killed off in Season 3. We hardly knew him. We knew the Colonel alright, I'm sure we all have somebody like that in our lives. I think most of us can sympathize with Jill here, those who have lost a family member and have gone through what she does. Great message, great episode, brilliantly executed! Well acted! One of the series' best, but saddest, episodes.
