True confession: I never watched “Matlock.” Yet that series comes to mind as I try to wrap my head around the final episode of “Last Man Standing” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG). Both “Matlock” and “Last Man” featured stars (Andy Griffith and Tim Allen) of an earlier, signature hit series (“The Andy Griffith Show” and “Home Improvement,” respectively). Curiously, both “Matlock” and “Last” were dropped by their first network before airing successfully on a second.
Having not watched the show, I can’t say for certain if Andy Griffith turned the series finale of “Matlock” into a petulant anti-network tirade about getting canceled and “canceled.” Somehow, I can’t imagine the old Sheriff Andy doing that.
Not to give too much away, but in the finale of “Last Man Standing,” somebody steals Mike’s lovingly restored truck. The writers turn this into a “wink-wink” metaphor for their sitcom being “stolen” from them. Then Mike goes on a rant about “makers and takers,” and how the people who took his truck “want something for nothing” before citing a Ronald Reagan speech about being bloodied but unbowed.
Gee whiz, Mike, I mean Tim, between “Home Improvement” and “Last Man,” you got to spend the better part of 15 years creating nearly 400 episodes of two popular sitcoms. That makes you a lucky guy. Where’s the gratitude?
“Last Man” has always been a rather conservative show. And I’m not talking about its manly trappings — the sporting goods store, the guns and the bootstrap bromides offered in Mike’s valedictory Vlogs. It was an old-fashioned three-camera scripted show that succeeded at a time when many critics (including this one) felt that punchline-driven scripts were a thing of the past, replaced by the single-camera mockumentary style of “The Office.” Audiences proved us wrong, and “Last Man” had a good long run.
But nothing lasts forever. It’s curious that Mike’s obsession is not a new creation but a restoration of a 1956 Ford Pickup, a 65-year-old piece of Detroit metal. Mike sees this not as a relic, but as a symbol of what Rush Limbaugh used to describe as “the way things ought to be.”
In the end, Tim/Mike can’t be happy for what he has, or had, but has to carp as if changing times and tastes (not to mention his advancing years) are a personal affront, a criminal violation. He has become the very snowflake his show was supposed to lampoon.
— A court-ordered therapist (Emily Watson) falls under the spell of the psychopath (Denise Gough) in her care in the three-part drama “Too Close,” streaming on AMC+.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Ben draws attention on “Manifest” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— Ben confronts his own health problems on “Station 19” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
— A juvenile offender goes free on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— Tough times for an expectant mother’s grandpa on “Grey’s Anatomy” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
— Political puppets on “Let’s Be Real” (8:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— The FBI confronts a crackpot militia on “Clarice” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
— A former sales rep might testify against his old company on “Rebel” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
— A Big Sur free spirit (Liz Taylor) woos a buttoned-down principal (Richard Burton) away from his wife (Eva Marie Saint) in the 1965 melodrama “The Sandpiper” (9:30 p.m., TCM), directed by Vincente Minnelli.
SERIES NOTES
Social orientation on “Young Sheldon” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … The family recalls Emily’s passing on “Walker” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … Dating options dwindle on “United States of Al” (8:30 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … Brian becomes an iconoclast on “Family Guy” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14).
Bonnie throws a slumber party on “Mom” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … Alaric seeks new perspectives on “Legacies” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14) … A glance ahead on “B Positive” (9:30 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … Richie gets comfortable with the family business on “Law & Order: Organized Crime” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Bill Burr is booked on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS) … John Krasinski and Yo-Yo Ma are booked on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Dayglow on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Ryan Seacrest, Yvonne Orji and Counting Crows appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (11:35 p.m., ABC).
Rob McElhenney, Ryan O’Connell and Brian Frasier-Moore visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Sara Bareilles appears on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
