History Trivia / LastManStanding2011

* DoingItForTheArt: Mike Baxter is an amateur radio operator, which prompted Creator/TimAllen to get his own ham radio license.
** Mike’s ham radio setup is a functional rig with antennas placed on the roof of the studio and radios loaned to the production by Icom for product placement. Most of the crew members are licensed hams and have used the studio rig to host amateur radio events.

* ShownTheirWork: As mentioned above, a lot of detail went into Mike’s amateur radio hobby. All of the character’s call signs have “zero” in the middle, which would be accurate for a ham radio license issued for Colorado. Also in one episode, Ed uses his radio to talk from the Amazon, and adds the suffix “PY8” after his call sign, indicating that he’s an American ham operating out of Brazil. Producer John Amodeo is a licensed ham, and has spoken about how the series has brought an otherwise niche hobby into the mainstream.

* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: Zig-Zag: Creator/RobertForster--Mike's father Bud--is revealed to have passed away from a heart attack in a Season 7 episode and over a year later in 2019, Forster himself lost his life to Brain Cancer.

* AbilityOverAppearance: The creative team has said that they knew full well that Creator/MollyMcCook bears little resemblance to Creator/MollyEphraim, her predecessor, being tall and blonde rather than short and dark-haired. But they were not interested in a Creator/MollyEphraim imitation and loved the actress, and so cast her on the idea of reinventing the character.

** Creator/MollyEphraim was 24 when the series started and her character, Mandy, was supposed to be 16. This is taken advantage of in that Mandy is frequently shown in [[{{Fanservice}} fanservice-y clothing]] that would raise complaints if she was actually a minor. Amusingly, she was older than Creator/AlexandraKrosney, who played her older sister in the first season.

* AbilityOverAppearance: The creative team has said that they knew full well that Creator/MollyMcCook bears little resemblance to Molly Ephraim, her predecessor, being tall and blonde rather than short and dark haired. But they were not interested in a Molly Ephraim imitation and loved the actress, and so cast her on the idea of reinventing the character.
* ActingForTwo: In the episode "Dual Time", Tim Allen not only plays Mike, but also appears as [[Series/HomeImprovement Tim Taylor]].
* ActorSharedBackground: Ed comes from a long line of people from the Basque country in Spain, just like Hector Elizondo.

** "Eve's Band" is basically an excuse to let Kaitlyn Dever show off her singing and guitar playing.
** Similar to "[[ShowWithinAShow Tool Time]]" on ''Series/HomeImprovement'', the VLOG concept is allowing Tim Allen to channel his [[StandUpComedy stand-up routine]].
* ChannelHop: After six seasons on ABC, Fox picked it up a year after the former network canceled the show. Then Fox canceled it not long after [[AllForNothing ABC parent Disney bought the studio]].

* TheDanza: Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Jon.

** Molly Ephraim was 24 when the series started and her character, Mandy, was supposed to be 16. This is taken advantage of in that Mandy is frequently shown in [[{{Fanservice}} fanservice-y clothing]] that would raise complaints if she was actually a minor. Amusingly, she was older than Alexandra Krosney, who played her older sister in the first season.
** Kaitlyn Dever as Eve is an aversion, and coinciding with her growth spurt it's noted that Eve gained some height over Mandy.
** Exchange student Jen, age 17, is played by Krista Marie Yu, age 29.
* DoingItForTheArt: Mike Baxter is an amateur radio operator, which prompted Tim Allen to get his own ham radio license.
* FridayNightDeathSlot: One of the most notable aversions in recent memory. In 2012, ABC tried to revive a family sitcom block on Friday nights, so they moved the show there for its second season to combo with ''Series/MalibuCountry''. The ratings for ''LMS'' actually improved and the show aired for four more seasons.[[note]] On the other hand, ''Malibu Country'', along with every show that has been placed in the time slot after LMS, has gotten cancelled.[[/note]]
* IronyAsSheIsCast: Molly Ephraim, who plays the BookDumb [[TheDitz ditz]] Mandy, is a Princeton graduate.

*** Alexandra Krosney was replaced as Kristin with Amanda Fuller.
*** The decision was made to [[SoapOperaRapidAgingSyndrome age advance Boyd to a five year old]], so [[MakingUseOfTheTwin the twin actors Luke and Evan Kruntchev]], who played Boyd in the first season, were replaced by Flynn Morrison.
*** Music/NickJonas played Ryan, the baby daddy, in the Season 1 ChristmasEpisode. When he became a semi-regular character trying to get in good with the family, Jordan Masterson took on the role.
** With the move to Fox, Boyd was recast with Jet Jurgensmeyer to focus on more teenager stories[[note]]Flynn Morrison had also retired from acting so a change would've been needed anyway[[/note]], while Molly Ephraim stepped away and so Mandy was recast with Molly [=McCook=].
* NetworkToTheRescue: After ABC cancelled the show after season six, Fox decided to pick up the show for its seventh season to air in 2018-19. It was canceled again two seasons later.
* RealitySubtext: In the pilot, Mike's first lines include "I'm back!" and "It's good to be home" -- referencing Tim Allen's return to TV network ABC over ten years after ''Home Improvement'' ended and even the same time slot said series occupied.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Despite being one of ABC's highest rated shows and regularly coming in first in its time slot, the show was unceremoniously cancelled after season six. ABC claimed that it was not renewed because of "scheduling issues", namely that they decided to get rid of the Friday comedy block and they couldn't fit it in the schedule, and due to the contract between 20th Century Fox Television and ABC for the show, in which 20th Century Fox Television covered the cost of production, expiring after six seasons, meaning that had the series been renewed for a seventh season, ABC would have been required to pick up the show's production costs (not least of which was Tim Allen's high salary), which the network was unwilling to do. However, due to some rather contentious political controversy going on at the time, fans are decidedly unconvinced by this explanation.

* SeparatedAtBirthCasting: Especially when Alexandra Krosney played Kristin, it was uncanny how all three sisters looked alike. In the season six Halloween episode, as part of the theme Mandy and Eve dressed like each other. You almost forget the actors switched roles.

* YouLookFamiliar: Jonathan Taylor Thomas plays Kristin's boss Jon in seasons two and three, then cameos as Helen Potts' son Randy in season four.

* AbilityOverAppearance: The creative team has said that they knew full well that Molly [=McCook=] bears little resemblance to Molly Ephraim, her predecessor, being tall and blonde rather than short and dark haired. But they were not interested in a Molly Ephraim imitation and loved the actress, and so cast her on the idea of reinventing the character.

* RoleReprisal: Season 9 featured Tim Allen reprising his role as Tim "The Tool Man Taylor" for the first time since ''Series/HomeImprovement'' ended.