7.4/10672 votes#1 - Pilot
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 10/11/2011
Mike plays Cupid for Mandy by setting her up on a blind-date with Kyle, one of his employees who he thinks would be the perfect guy for her. But Mike's set-up gets off track when Kyle accidentally meets Kristin. Meanwhile at work, Mike's long-time boss and friend, Ed, announces that he's grounding Mike from their catalogue's international photo shoots and putting him in charge of the company's webpage. In this new role, Mike discovers that the Internet might actually provide him just the outlet he needs, a platform that gives him a voice to appeal to those who agree that manliness is under assault, and a pulpit for his opinions about feeling like the last real man in a woman's world.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Jack Burditt
7.3/10535 votes#2 - Last Baby Proofing Standing
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 10/11/2011
Mike is outnumbered by his wife and daughters when they all agree that baby proofing the house is a good idea. But soon Vanessa has second thoughts when she finds herself home by herself babysitting Boyd and can't release the toilet seat's complicated childproof latch. Meanwhile, Mike thinks it's time for Mandy to earn her own money and gets her a job delivering pizzas -- without first consulting Vanessa.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Linda Videtti Figueiredo
7.3/10515 votes#3 - Grandparents Day
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/18/2011
When Vanessa forces a reluctant Mike to attend Grandparents Day at their grandson Boyd's preschool, Mike manages to insult the daycare teacher and Boyd gets kicked out of school. Boyd's mom, Kristin, tells Mike that he now has to look after him, so Mike takes the two-year-old to work with him. Meanwhile, after an elderly looking grandmother at the Grandparents Day event thinks she and Vanessa are the same age, Vanessa goes out of her way to look more youthful hoping no one sees her buying clothes from a boutique her 17 year old daughter.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Liz Astrof
7.7/10517 votes#4 - Last Halloween Standing
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/25/2011
Mike feels let down when his daughters aren't into celebrating Halloween with him the way they used to. He decides that his two-year-old grandson, Boyd, can be his perfect trick or treat partner. But Kristin, Boyd's mother, adamantly tells him that she doesn't want her son to go out on Halloween. Mike sneaks him out -- with a plan to get the child home before Kristin gets back from work. When Mike, dressed as John Wayne from "The Green Berets," gets to Ed's house with Boyd, they are greeted at the door by Ed's lady friend, Elvira.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Marsh McCall
7.5/10469 votes#5 - Co-Ed Softball
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 11/1/2011
The Outdoor Man's softball team holds a vote to decide if they will go coed; Kristin thinks about her own future as she helps Mandy fill out college applications.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Kevin Hench
7.2/10439 votes#6 - Good Cop, Bad Cop
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 11/8/2011
Vanessa asks Mike to be the one who says "no" to Mandy when she wants to try out for a modeling show, since he usually says "yes" to his daughters for everything.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Eben Russell
7.2/10436 votes#7 - Home Security
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/15/2011
After a neighbor's home is broken into, Vanessa puts together a neighborhood watch program; Mike finds himself in trouble after getting caught up in some gossip.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Eben Russell
7.6/10437 votes#8 - House Rules
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/22/2011
Mike establishes new, strict house rules after Kyle accidentally falls asleep in Kristin's room.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Andy Gordon
7.7/10472 votes#9 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/29/2011
Mike is surprised to learn he shares similar interests with a new neighbor; Mandy plots revenge after catching her boyfriend in a lie.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Kevin Hench
7.6/10452 votes#10 - Last Christmas Standing
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 12/6/2011
Mike's Christmas spirit gets dampened when Ryan, the father of Kristen's baby, unexpectedly comes back to town after a long absence. Meanwhile, Ed hires Mandy as an elf at Outdoor Man, where she tries to unionize the other elves to get better perks.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Jack Burditt
7.5/10414 votes#11 - The Passion of the Mandy
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 12/13/2011
Mike, amazed that Mandy might finally have found a passion for something, takes her under his wing at work when she offers to start an Internet campaign to keep Ed's favorite barber shop hangout from closing. Also, an exhausted Vanessa insists that she can still take care of the household despite her hectic work schedule, until she falls asleep during her own business presentation.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Marsh McCall
7.2/10432 votes#12 - Moon Over Kenya
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 1/3/2012
A visit from a rising star on the professional fishing circuit leaves Vanessa wondering if Mike feels tied down; Eve and Kristin assume Mandy's decision to become a vegan is a passing phase.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Steve Baldikoski, Bryan Behar
7.3/10399 votes#13 - Take Your Daughter to Work
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 1/10/2012
Mike is taken aback when he finds out that Ed, who has been an absentee dad, has hired his daughter, Gabriella, to replace him as the new marketing consultant of Outdoor Man. When Ed agrees with Mike that her youth-oriented proposals to re-brand the retail stores aren't the way to go, she plays the Daddy card for all its worth. Also, Mike and Eve bring home a stray dog that Mandy thinks she's allergic to.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Joe Port, Joe Wiseman
7.5/10411 votes#14 - Odd Couple Out
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 1/17/2012
Vanessa blames Mike when she finds out they were not invited to a neighbor's party; Eve accidentally damages Mandy's car.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Linda Videtti Figueiredo, Liz Astrof
7.3/10387 votes#15 - House of Spirits
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 2/7/2012
When a history of Mike and Vanessa's house reveals a previous occupant died there, the family starts blaming things on a ghost; Ed keeps borrowing money from Kyle because he doesn't carry cash.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Linda Videtti Figueiredo, Liz Astrof
7.1/10415 votes#16 - Tree of Strife
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 2/7/2012
Mandy gets to meet Kim Kardashian; when the city orders Mike to cut down a tree on his property, he decides to organize a protest.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Kevin Hench
7.2/10394 votes#17 - Adrenaline
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 2/14/2012
When Mike gets NASCAR driver Tony Stewart and his racecar in the store, he realizes how much he misses the adrenaline rush he used to get from his adventures on the road; Vanessa thinks about how she used to take more chances before she was a mom.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Andy Gordon
7.4/10416 votes#18 - Baxter & Sons
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 2/21/2012
When Mike's younger brother and father visit, a sibling rivalry ensues; Eve, Mandy and Kristin try to help Bud find a girlfriend.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Kim Flagg, Marsh McCall
7.4/10389 votes#19 - Ding Dong Ditch
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 2/28/2012
A teenage prankster gets hurt on the Baxter's property, and the Baxters get a bill for his injuries. Meanwhile, Kristin's busy schedule gets more challenging when she begins taking college courses.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Jon Haller
7.4/10377 votes#20 - Animal Wrongs
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 3/20/2012
Mandy worries when Mike doesn't like her new boyfriend, Terrence, who is an animal rights activist. Kyle discovers that Ed is Basque, like him.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Marsh McCall
7.5/10365 votes#21 - Wherefore Art Thou, Mike Baxter
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 4/10/2012
Ed and Mike second-guess their decision to have Kyle on their team in an annual sports competition. Vanessa is caught saying she doesn't want to attend Eve's soccer game and Mandy's school play.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Kevin Hench
7.2/10367 votes#22 - This Bud's for You
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 4/17/2012
When Mike's dad, Bud, moves to town to be the builder on the new Outdoor Man store, Vanessa is concerned that some of Bud's well-intentioned ways might elevate Mike's high blood pressure.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Steve Baldikoski, Bryan Behar
7.6/10371 votes#23 - The Spotlight
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 5/1/2012
When Mike realizes he unintentionally upstaged Vanessa's announcement about being nominated as the top volunteer school parent, his efforts to make it up to her might cause more harm than good. Meanwhile, Eve is afraid she won't fit in at high school; and Ed wants to release an Outdoor Man action figure inspired by Mike.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Eben Russell
7.3/10380 votes#24 - Found Money
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 5/8/2012
When Vanessa's sweet but flighty sister, April, comes to visit, Mike knows she's only coming to ask for yet another loan. Mike would rather use any extra money they have to buy a tank so that he and Ed can take it to a junkyard to run over old cars and boats. Meanwhile, when Kristen and Kyle decide to break up, Kyle is more concerned with what Mike will think.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: Andy Gordon
The Best Episodes of Last Man Standing Season 1
Every episode of Last Man Standing Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Last Man Standing Season 1!
A married father of three tries to maintain his manliness in a world increasingly dominated by women.
Genre:Comedy
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Pilot" is the best rated episode of "Last Man Standing" season 1. It scored 7.4/10 based on 672 votes. Directed by John Pasquin and written by Jack Burditt, it aired on 10/11/2011. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Last Baby Proofing Standing".