On May 10, ABC announced that it was cancelling the television series Last Man Standing after six seasons, despite the fact that the show had high ratings. Such a decision has resulted in an outcry from fans of the show (including Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker), some of whom have called for a boycott of ABC, while others have urged other networks to pick up the show.
Clearly, politics has played a role in the decision, since the show stars Tim Allen (a conservative actor), portraying Mike Baxter, a conservative marketing director of a fictional outdoor sporting goods store Outdoor Man in Denver, who tries to hold on to his manliness in a world dominated by woman, due to the fact that Mike is married and has three daughters. Two of his daughters get married, and one of them has a son. At times, Mike clashes with his sons-in-law due to their liberal beliefs.
He also has an occasional argument with his wife or daughters on various topics, even bringing politics into the argument even if the topic is not political. In addition, he will post a video on the store’s blog, even including tidbits on politics and manhood. Sometimes his ranting brings him into conflict with the owner of Outdoor Man, Ed Alzate (portrayed by Hector Elizondo), despite Ed also having a conservative viewpoint on various topics.
I wrote about Last Man Standing back in September 2013 just prior to the premiere of the third season. That episode had a couple of special guests on the show — Willie Robertson and Si Robertson of Duck Dynasty. Last Man Standing also had various Home Improvement stars make guest appearances, as well as appearances by Reba McIntire, Bill Engvall, and Jay Leno.
Topics mentioned on Last Man Standing consist of (but are not limited to) the following: family values/raising a family, manliness, patriotism, LGBT, feminism, the Second Amendment, work ethic, sports, hunting, big government, lawsuits, animals rights, elections, race relations, environmentalism, life and death, education, holidays, bullying, illegal immigration, ham radio (a.k.a. amateur radio), bilingualism, union versus management, political correctness, ADHD, sex, drugs, violent movies, violent video games, religion, survival skills, capitalism, socialism, career choices, school choices, past and present relationships, weddings, and vaccinations.
Needless to say, Last Man Standing is a show worth saving. So contact the executives at ABC and tell them to reverse their decision on cancelling the show, even if it means a threat to boycott the network. In addition, you can encourage other networks to pick up the show.
Image: Fair Use: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33460439
