September 16 - Handy Manny

On this day, in 2006, Handy Manny made his debut as part of Playhouse Disney on the Disney Channel.

 Of all the shows my kids subjected me to... I mean, watched... when they were little, Handy Manny was easily my favorite. Set in the town of Sheetrock Hills, somewhere in... well, somewhere warm and coastal, the show centered around the town fix-it guy, Manuel Estevez Garcia III, and his trusty set of tools. Manny himself was voiced by Wilmer Valderrama who was best known for the character Fez on That 70's Show. The show featured a lot of characters that spoke both Spanish and English.

Just as in real life, something somewhere in Sheetrock Hills is always breaking and everyone knows that Manny is just the person to call when that happens. Occasionally, someone just needs something assembled but usually it's a repair. Even though Manny is constantly out on service calls, he apparently doesn't need a receptionist to answer the phone and he never seems to miss out on a job. Sheetrock Hills is a very accommodating place.

The only thing that Manny ever takes with him on a job are his tools. They include all the basics: a wrench, a saw, a hammer, pliers, two kinds of screwdriver and a tape measure; each tool, of course, has its own personality. When they get to the repair site, they put their heads together to figure out what needs to be done and whether or not they need some kind of part. They almost always need a part, which gives them the chance to go to the hardware store. They get their part, fix the problem, and learn something in the process just in time for the end of the episode.

I actually enjoyed many aspects of Handy Manny. One was the fact that it dealt with all kinds of personalities having all kinds of problems but it never seemed to get smarmy about it. It was predictable, as all children's shows are, but never cloying or in your face about stuff. I also loved the character of the Mr. Lopart, the man who owned the candy store next to Manny's repair shop. The sight gags they did with Mr. Lopart's fly-away comb over and his cat, who also had a comb over, were marvelous. The best part for me, though, was the hardware store. It was owned by a woman named Kelly and the innuendos between her and Manny were priceless. More than one character declared that Kelly had "everything Manny needs." The two would finally kiss, but only in the context of a play, so did it really count? The awkwardly romantic moments between them gave my wife and me the giggles pretty much every episode.

One interesting factoid about Handy Manny is that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group Los Lobos did the theme song, something that I'm sure was lost entirely on most viewers. After 113 episodes, spanning three official seasons broadcast over six and a half years, Manny and his tools said "Hasta luego" for the last time in February 2013.