Another day, another failed Tool Time. This time around Tim overcharged a battery and baked it like a potato. After the show, Heidi brings a copy of Detroit life to Tim and Al's attention. Guess who was voted one of the ten sexiest bachelors in the city? I'll give you a hint: he has a beard and wears flannel. That's right, Al came in at #9. He's a hot item sought after by practically all the single women in Detroit, who were all perched in the audience on the next day's Tool Time. The project was supposed to be French doors, but all the women wanted to focus on was Al. As a result, their project came to a crashing halt. Literally. But with all this feminine attention and being a sex symbol to all the ladies of Detroit, I'm sure Al Borland will remain humble and not let all this go to his head. Most of all, he hopefully won't forget about his girlfriend Ilene. What does she think of all this extra attention her man is getting? As displayed the following night when they went out to dinner with Tim and Jill for their fifteen month anniversary--Yes, some people actually celebrate that--she isn't too happy about it. Especially when the waitress flat out flirts with Al right in front of everybody. Then another woman comes up to the table and flirts with him. Who'd have thought Al was such a chick magnet?
As Ilene tells the gang about a riveting time she had at an orthodontia symposium, a woman at the table across the way waves to Al. Feeling she can take no more, Ilene retreats to the ladies' room to powder the ol' schnoz, with Jill right behind her. Tim tries to tell Al that what he's doing is rude, ignoring Ilene to return waves to "his public." The pep talk is cut short when a tall, voluptuous brunette, Christine, walks up and asks if Al can repair her broken heel. And boy did it get awkward when Ilene and Jill returned and saw a strange woman's leg in Al's lap. Practically at a loss for words, he accidentally flips Christine out of her chair and introduces Ilene as his "friend." She promptly bails. Does Al go after her? No, as he didn't much care for her attitude. As he plops down back at the table, Jill tries to tell him to man up, as he will risk losing Ilene, the best thing that has ever happened to him, and she yearns for Tim to back her up. But the Tool Man doesn't seem to think Al did anything wrong, and the two proceed to bicker over what Al should do about the choices he's made...right in front of him. Meanwhile, we have a B plot in which Mark has to write a paper about the most interesting guy he knows, who of course is Wilson. He tells Mark about the time he ate dinner with Albert Einstein himself. Unfortunately, physics didn't interest Mark and so Wilson suggests he write about someone interesting with whom he has something in common, and so he writes about Tim instead. Next day, Al was an hour late to work, as it seems some twins were waiting outside his apartment building to greet Detroit's Sexiest Bachelor. Tim tries once again to snap Al back into reality, this time pointing out a little something the flannel man overlooked: the magazine embellished his annual income. Those women were all gold-diggers. Despite this discrepancy, Tim tells Al he's still got what counts as well as a woman who loves him for who he is. So, Al races to Ilene's office to set things right. He humbles himself, he apologizes for acting like a dweeb and ignoring her and all that. She forgives the big lug and they have themselves a big smooch. That's when Tim calls on Al's cellular phone (yeah, remember when they used to call them cellular phones?) looking for Al. Tool Time and such. So he sweeps his fair lady off her feet with a final smooch and heads off, having saved his love life, he will now most likely have to try and save Tim's life.
This was a very good episode. It had plenty of funny moments, such as Al flipping Christine out of her chair, "Hi, I'm Al Magnet", the ending scene where Tim tries to help Mark with his math homework and gets taken to the cleaners. There's also plenty of heartfelt moments, such as when Al makes up with Ilene, and they will be together for two more seasons, so I'd say he's got it made. There is another episode where Al becomes the center of attention by way of a popular publication in Season 8: "Mr. Likable", only there he's voted more likable than Tim on Tool Time. That one was good, but I think Bachelor of the Year was better. If you like Al and you want to see how this humble tool sidekick can become a romantic egomaniac, I recommend Bachelor of the Year!
As Ilene tells the gang about a riveting time she had at an orthodontia symposium, a woman at the table across the way waves to Al. Feeling she can take no more, Ilene retreats to the ladies' room to powder the ol' schnoz, with Jill right behind her. Tim tries to tell Al that what he's doing is rude, ignoring Ilene to return waves to "his public." The pep talk is cut short when a tall, voluptuous brunette, Christine, walks up and asks if Al can repair her broken heel. And boy did it get awkward when Ilene and Jill returned and saw a strange woman's leg in Al's lap. Practically at a loss for words, he accidentally flips Christine out of her chair and introduces Ilene as his "friend." She promptly bails. Does Al go after her? No, as he didn't much care for her attitude. As he plops down back at the table, Jill tries to tell him to man up, as he will risk losing Ilene, the best thing that has ever happened to him, and she yearns for Tim to back her up. But the Tool Man doesn't seem to think Al did anything wrong, and the two proceed to bicker over what Al should do about the choices he's made...right in front of him. Meanwhile, we have a B plot in which Mark has to write a paper about the most interesting guy he knows, who of course is Wilson. He tells Mark about the time he ate dinner with Albert Einstein himself. Unfortunately, physics didn't interest Mark and so Wilson suggests he write about someone interesting with whom he has something in common, and so he writes about Tim instead. Next day, Al was an hour late to work, as it seems some twins were waiting outside his apartment building to greet Detroit's Sexiest Bachelor. Tim tries once again to snap Al back into reality, this time pointing out a little something the flannel man overlooked: the magazine embellished his annual income. Those women were all gold-diggers. Despite this discrepancy, Tim tells Al he's still got what counts as well as a woman who loves him for who he is. So, Al races to Ilene's office to set things right. He humbles himself, he apologizes for acting like a dweeb and ignoring her and all that. She forgives the big lug and they have themselves a big smooch. That's when Tim calls on Al's cellular phone (yeah, remember when they used to call them cellular phones?) looking for Al. Tool Time and such. So he sweeps his fair lady off her feet with a final smooch and heads off, having saved his love life, he will now most likely have to try and save Tim's life.
This was a very good episode. It had plenty of funny moments, such as Al flipping Christine out of her chair, "Hi, I'm Al Magnet", the ending scene where Tim tries to help Mark with his math homework and gets taken to the cleaners. There's also plenty of heartfelt moments, such as when Al makes up with Ilene, and they will be together for two more seasons, so I'd say he's got it made. There is another episode where Al becomes the center of attention by way of a popular publication in Season 8: "Mr. Likable", only there he's voted more likable than Tim on Tool Time. That one was good, but I think Bachelor of the Year was better. If you like Al and you want to see how this humble tool sidekick can become a romantic egomaniac, I recommend Bachelor of the Year!
