Yes, poor Mike Baxter-- he's got three daughters but five actresses have played them (two Kristens, two Mandys, and so far [thank goodness] we still have the original Eve . . . though from what I've read she [Eve] will not be appearing on the show regularly).

I thought this was a decent comeback episode, but I do think they overdid it a bit by addressing "the elephant in the room", as you put it, so often. The writers are going to have to be not quite so smug and self-referential if they want to keep the show going.

As for the new Mandy, I actually thought they did a good job of matching her personality and even her mannerisms with the original character; give it some time, and I think people will get used to the new actress like they did with the new Kristen.

I was so excited to see this show coming back, but I'm watching it right now (recorded it last night) and I am so not happy. Replacing the original Kristin was bad enough, but I was totally blindsided by this new Mandy. Why is Molly Ephraim not back to reprise the role!? This new Mandy is terrible. Lookwise and soundwise. Lookwise, she looks way too much like Lecy Goransan from Roseanne (OK, minus about ten years, but) to the point that at first I thought it was her. And so I went to IMDB to check out the cast list to find that they've replaced Boyd, too??? Have they replaced Eve as well? I couldn't find that out from IMDB. I'm honestly not sure I can continue watching. Way too many changes for no reason I can discern for my taste. Thank god I have Murphy Brown back. THOSE are changes which make sense and I can deal with.

OK, I must be really affected by the Mandy change because she just walked in the room and started speaking, and my resulting feeling was feeling a sudden need to vomit. I REALLY do NOT like her!

Hello there, Satai.

I haven't looked this up, so if someone else finds contradicting information, they can feel free to correct me, but my impression was Molly Ephraim left the show simply because too much time had passed between the show's original cancellation around June of 2017 and the decision to revive it around June of 2018 . . . in the interim, I'm thinking she simply wanted to explore other opportunities . . . I say this because I heard nothing bad about Ephraim, and her contract had expired in the summer of 2017 anyway (as everyone else's had, too . . . they were lucky to get most of the original cast back after such a relatively long stretch). This is different from what happened with the original Kristen, who left for "creative differences" (read: she/the rest of the cast were not getting along with each other). I really can't blame Ephraim for looking for other work.

As far as the new Mandy, I take your point about Lecy Goranson and thought the same thing . . . the two actresses look a lot alike. But I really do think, acting-wise, from the speech patterns to the mannerisms, the replacement for Mandy is doing a decent job . . . I think you should give it some time. I do think it would've helped, for the sake of continuity, if they had had the new actress dye her hair black.

Also, given that he was such a little kid, I also can't blame the parents of the actor who played Boyd for wanting to maybe have the kid not be tied to the time commitment of a TV show while he was still so young; many child actors have been royally messed-up by such commitments, and maybe his parents wanted him to take a break? (Just a guess on my part). I don't know if you saw the first episode of this season, but the new Boyd, at least to me, looks like he could pass for an older version of the original actor; I think it was a good casting decision.

As for Eve, no she has not been replaced; Kaitlyn Dever remains as the only original actress of Mike Baxter's three daughters; she appeared on the show last week-- HOWEVER, I have read that she will be on the show only occasionally (I'm sure you noticed her absence in the second episode). She has started doing film work (see her performance in 2017's "Detroit", for example), and I presume she wants to concentrate more on that as opposed to television . . . again, I can't blame her for wanting to try something different.

Personally, I thought this second episode of the season was better than the first, and I'm glad Robert Forster returned for a guest appearance (presumably his last, since they killed off his character in Season 6). I also really liked the heart-to-heart between Mike and his daughter Kristen; there was some genuine emotion displayed.

Give it some time, Satai; I think this show's still got some life left in it . . . really, if all they do is use this season as a "wrap-up" season to finish the show's story, I'll be satisfied . . . we were lucky to get it back at all.

I read that Molly Ephraim had commitments to other things. One of them being a movie. I'm hoping when she's less busy, they'll bring her back. The new girl still isn't growing on me. The new Boyd doesn't bother me. I was never a fan of that character anyways.

@northcoast said:

Hello there, Satai.

I haven't looked this up, so if someone else finds contradicting information, they can feel free to correct me, but my impression was Molly Ephraim left the show simply because too much time had passed between the show's original cancellation around June of 2017 and the decision to revive it around June of 2018 . . . in the interim, I'm thinking she simply wanted to explore other opportunities . . . I say this because I heard nothing bad about Ephraim, and her contract had expired in the summer of 2017 anyway (as everyone else's had, too . . . they were lucky to get most of the original cast back after such a relatively long stretch). This is different from what happened with the original Kristen, who left for "creative differences" (read: she/the rest of the cast were not getting along with each other). I really can't blame Ephraim for looking for other work.

As far as the new Mandy, I take your point about Lecy Goranson and thought the same thing . . . the two actresses look a lot alike. But I really do think, acting-wise, from the speech patterns to the mannerisms, the replacement for Mandy is doing a decent job . . . I think you should give it some time. I do think it would've helped, for the sake of continuity, if they had had the new actress dye her hair black.

Also, given that he was such a little kid, I also can't blame the parents of the actor who played Boyd for wanting to maybe have the kid not be tied to the time commitment of a TV show while he was still so young; many child actors have been royally messed-up by such commitments, and maybe his parents wanted him to take a break? (Just a guess on my part). I don't know if you saw the first episode of this season, but the new Boyd, at least to me, looks like he could pass for an older version of the original actor; I think it was a good casting decision.

As for Eve, no she has not been replaced; Kaitlyn Dever remains as the only original actress of Mike Baxter's three daughters; she appeared on the show last week-- HOWEVER, I have read that she will be on the show only occasionally (I'm sure you noticed her absence in the second episode). She has started doing film work (see her performance in 2017's "Detroit", for example), and I presume she wants to concentrate more on that as opposed to television . . . again, I can't blame her for wanting to try something different.

Personally, I thought this second episode of the season was better than the first, and I'm glad Robert Forster returned for a guest appearance (presumably his last, since they killed off his character in Season 6). I also really liked the heart-to-heart between Mike and his daughter Kristen; there was some genuine emotion displayed.

Give it some time, Satai; I think this show's still got some life left in it . . . really, if all they do is use this season as a "wrap-up" season to finish the show's story, I'll be satisfied . . . we were lucky to get it back at all.

Thanks, Northcoast. I understand all that you've said, but I really do not like this Mandy. I don't laugh at her scenes. And she comes across as more intelligent than Molly Ephraim did. While normally in most shows this would be a good thing, for this character, for me, it's not. I know that technically the original Mandy wasn't exactly stupid, she was just ignorant but in a fun, charming way if that's possible and had moments where she could see the bigger picture and wanted to be a better person, but still wanted to continue to be herself which was making everything about her. But it wasn't always in an insulting way. I don't know. I just know I liked her so much more as Mandy. Maybe it's the way this new one is saying the lines, I don't know, but for me there is something sorely missing. And as for "dying" her hair black? All she has to do is let her hair grow out and stop dying it blond. Whomever thought blonde hair with severely black roots was a good look failed at fashion. And I'm the LAST person who keeps up with fashion, but it's just a horrible look.

No, unfortunately I didn't see the first episode. I saw NO advertising for the airing of the first episode, so I was lucky to find out that it was back on the air already and only managed to catch last week's (and now this week's) episode. So I have not seen the new Boyd. And no, I don't blame Molly Ephraim for wanting to do other things. I am just not someone who deals well with change, ESPECIALLY in a show (I tried watching Doctor Who as a very young child and not only was confused by the constant change in the main actor, but didn't like it at all and stopped watching). I am trying to give it a chance, but her scenes are just painful to watch. I am glad that the lady who plays Eve is still on the show. Unfortunately, this change up of Mandy may seriously drive me away.

Satai:

I think you've made some good points about Mandy. I didn't realize she is a natural brunette; in that case, I have no idea why they deliberately would have her color her hair blonde, when the original actress had dark hair. And yes, Mandy, though definitely not a very bright girl, always struck me as more naïve than stupid. There was a heart-wrenching scene earlier in the series (like Season 2 or 3), where, after she's been stood up by a man who was just using her, she looks at her Dad and says to him, tearfully, "I'm an idiot, Daddy." (Mike then holds her and comforts her).

Mandy does know that she does not understand many things, but, as you said, she tries to do better, and when she is passionate about something-- like her fashion business --she can be quite good at it. Like you, I have a hard time dealing with cast changes in a television show-- I have this whole theory, which I have written about here on TMDB, that a good TV show should only have around three to six seasons (maybe seven or eight, if the show is exceptionally good), with a maximum episode count of 100 (and sometimes much less, say 45 - 60), to prevent things such as cast turnover and the inevitable decline in writing. But I have tried to be more flexible with Last Man Standing, since the approximately 1.5-year hiatus was bound to do some damage and shows which this happens to (because of a cancellation) almost never come back.

And I like your comment about Dr. Who. I, too, am a fan of the original actor (the guy with all the curly hair) and abandoned the show after he left. I could never get used to the new Dr. Who's.

As for Last Man Standing, like I said, I'm still going to stick it out; I really would like to see how the story ends. I don't think the show will go on much longer anyway, I'm guessing just this season, and MAYBE one more, before Tim Allen calls it quits. We'll see.