If you’ve been in amateur radio and NOT under a rock, you’ve probably heard of this show called Last Man Standing.  The show stars Tim Allen as Mike Baxter KA0XTT, who lives with his wife and three daughters and works at Outdoor Man, which is quite similar to a Bass Pro Shop.

I watch the show.  For enjoyment, not because of KA0XTT.

I also saw some of the comments on Facebook after the show.  The comments can be put into two groups: “Tim Allen should get his license” and “it was an inaccurate portrayal of amateur radio because…”

First off, on the “Tim Allen should get his license”.  While I think we’d all love to have him as an amateur radio op (including me), he very well may not be interested.  There’s no ‘should’ about it.  If he doesn’t want to, so be it.  I wouldn’t fault him for having personal interests that don’t include amateur radio.

On the “It was an inaccurate portrayal of amateur radio because…”… well, no shit!  It’s Hollywood!  They don’t care about making their show technically accurate (and they NEVER HAVE AND NEVER WILL).  They don’t care that Mandy didn’t have a control operator present or that nobody identified, they care about making something entertaining.  The point was to entertain millions of Americans that don’t know nor care about the rules.  The show hasn’t, nor is it the show’s point, to feature amateur radio in any sort of technically correct light.  If you want proof of Hollywood screwing this up, take a look at every movie, show, and commercial that has included amateur radio – start with that liquid gold commercial (that featured a CB radio while talking about amateur radio operators).

And on that last point, it doesn’t stop with amateur radio.

End rant.

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