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Eulogizing “Home Improvement” as the last bastion of family values is like lamenting the loss of Dennis Rodman as a bastion of tasteful fashion (“What Happened to Family Togetherness?” by Brian Lowry, May 9).

“Home Improvement” provided America with McDonald’s-quality treatment of contemporary family issues. Tim, the supposed ‘90s patriarch, is a lousy father and husband who puts his childish fantasies ahead of his family and thinks he can make up for it with silly gifts (Lowry’s praise of Tim’s ballet video as a meaningful gesture amazes me--Tim was heartless that whole episode).

Jill comes across as an irrational hag half the time and putty in Tim’s manipulative hands the rest of the time. The boys were hyped into walking models and lost any ability to reach out to kids with their characters. Al’s imbalanced friendship with Tim sends confusing messages, and while the Taylors’ sage neighbor was a welcome voice of sapience in such mindless surroundings, he was constantly cheapened by Tim.

If this was the best television had to offer families this decade, then television is in greater peril than even Lowry can imagine.

NATHAN BIERMA

Grand Rapids, Mich.

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I enjoyed Lowry’s cover piece about the demise of family sitcoms. I for one am happy to see them go.

I miss offbeat, demented half-hour shows like “Police Squad,” “Sledge Hammer” and “Bakersfield P.D.”! I’m also tired of all these prime-time cartoons.

Maybe situation comedies can start being something they haven’t been in quite a while: funny.

CARL JENKINS

Los Angeles

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“Home Improvement,” Lowry writes, “represents an increasingly rare commodity: a family sitcom that plays broadly to parents and their kids, rather than catering to narrow audience niches.”

How many niches can the entertainment industry survive? Many have seen the Internet, satellite, cable and fiber optics as a panacea for an unending variety of entertainment and information. However, the expense of production necessitates a large, broad audience that, because of the hoped-for limitless options, will become increasingly divided and therefore ever smaller.

What I see is a downward spiral that will either collapse the industry or a forced retrenchment toward a mass market that will leave few viewers satisfied.

DEBRA L. WILEY

Inglewood