Home Improvement

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Home Improvement is an American television sitcom starring actor/comedian Tim Allen, which ran from 1991 to 1999. The show was created by Matt Williams, Carmen Finestra, who both produced The Cosby Show, and David MacFadzean.

Plot details and storylines

Set in Royal Oak, Michigan (a suburb of Detroit), the series centered on the antics of the Taylor family, which, along with Tim, included his pedantic wife Jill (Patricia Richardson) and their three mischievous sons: the popular and athletic Brad (Zachery Ty Bryan), comedian and intellectual Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), and the socially awkward youngest son, Mark (Taran Noah Smith),

Early seasons

In early seasons, sons Brad and Randy would torment their youngest brother Mark (and each other) in ways that consistently presented a challenge to Tim and Jill. Mark always believed what his siblings told him (for example, that the whole family but Mark were aliens and that Mark was not Tim and Jill's natural son), until Jill explained all.

Mark was initially presented as slightly naive and in constant admiration of his father. Brad was presented as a character who often engaged fist before brain, a tendency which regularly landed him in trouble. Randy was the comedian of the pack-- the quick-thinking, sarcastic son who had more common sense than Brad but wasn't immune to trouble.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas' departure

As the series progressed, however, Mark grew into a teenage outcast who dressed in dark goth clothing, while Brad became interested in cars like his father and took up soccer. Randy joined the school newspaper, before leaving for Costa Rica in Season 8. This was done since Jonathan Taylor Thomas, wanted to take time off to focus on academics. He attended Harvard University. His last appearance on Home Improvement was the 1998 Christmas episode, with Thomas either unable or unwilling to return to the show for the series finale.

''Tool Time'' the show

Focus was also given to Tim's job as a television personality on his own home improvement show, called Tool Time. Tim was the host of this show-within-a-show, originally called Hammer Time, but Tim and the producers felt that name would be confused with MC Hammer (TVography: Home Improvement). Tim was joined by his friend and mild-mannered assistant Al Borland (Richard Karn), and a "Tool Time girl" — first Lisa (Pamela Anderson) and later Heidi (Debbe Dunning) — who assisted the pair by bringing them tools, for example. Although an excellent salesman and TV personality, Tim was spectacularly accident-prone as a handyman, often causing hilarious disasters on and off the set to the consternation of his co-workers and family. Many of Tim's accidents were caused by his devices designed in application of his mantra, "More power!"

The relationship between Tim and Al

Though ultimately good friends, there was a tense relationship between Taylor and Borland. Borland was portrayed as a slightly geeky character, usually having more knowledge, skill, and audience popularity than Taylor. His catchphrase, as an opposition to Taylor's jokes, was "I don't think so, Tim." He also came up with many puns and giggles and snorts when a joke is made at Taylor's expense. The cautious, insecure, brighter Borland always bore the brunt of Tim Taylor's jokes and constant put-downs. Al is frequently mocked by Tim because of his weight, beard, in Tim's eye bland personality, poor sense of humor and his preference of flannel shirts. Tim typically uses his television show to vent about numerous problems he is having in his personal life, and Al is usually very annoyed by this. A running joke for Taylor was commenting on Al's overweight mother, who was often referred to but was never seen throughout the series (although in the Season 8 episode "Dead Weight", she died, and the characters were shown paying their respects at her extra-wide coffin which showed her body but not her face).

Special guests and cameos

Many "special guests" made "cameo" appearances on Tool Time. These guests included race car drivers Johnny Rutherford, Robby Gordon, Michael Andretti, and Mario Andretti, actress and model Jenny McCarthy, country artist Alan Jackson, golfer Payne Stewart, and The Beach Boys. Numerous NASA astronauts appeared on the series, the most notable being Ken Bowersox, who made three separate appearances. Former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway, then Detroit Pistons star Grant Hill, former boxers Evander Holyfield and George Foreman (the season 1 episode "Unchained Malady"), and former President Jimmy Carter all appeared on the series. Carter made an appearance during an episode which focused on Habitat for Humanity, which was the season three episode "Eve of Construction." Jay Leno appears with his car collection in the episode "Brother, Can You Spare a Hot Rod?" He plays a mechanic who is cleaning Papa Mia (the Detroit pizza magnate)'s cars. Bob Vila also appeared on several episodes, with Tim seeing him as a rival.

Character honors

Starting in Season 4, Jill studied to become a psychologist. In "Is There A Doctor in the House?" from Season 5, Tim also received an honorary Ph.D. from his alma mater, Western Michigan University. Tim also received an award for "Safety" in one episode from the second season despite his accident record on Tool Time. (The reason was that the people giving the award mistakenly believed that he staged all his accidents and Tim, to keep his reputation, let them.)

Running gags

Scene Transitions - During scene changes, clever transitions were used to comically remove the current image from the screen. For example, the current scene could shatter like glass, fall over like a piece of wood, or deflate like a balloon. These transitions usually (though not always) included something shown or mentioned in the scene before.

Basement Pipe - Tim banged his head on a large metal pipe every time he was walking down the basement steps. We first see this gag in Season 1, Episode 5, "Wild Kingdom." This never happened to any other character. In one episode, he banged his head on a pipe while walking down the steps of a battleship, and also banged his head walking down the basement steps in Benny's aunt's house.

Binford 6100 - From Season 3 onwards, every new power tool introduced by Tim on Tool Time was called the Binford 6100. Prior to this, each tool had a unique model number.

Opera - Nearly every time the word Opera was mentioned in the Taylor household, either Tim or the boys would scream.

Nanna - Tim's constant jokes of "Nanna", Jill's mother. Jokes from her weight to her driving were included.

Address Card - In the show's early years, Tim would often make remarks (usually involving women) that would cause offense to certain sections of the Tool Time viewership. Al would hold up the address card for viewers to write in and complain. Sometimes Tim would ask Al to destroy the card, but he would always have more. This was first seen in Season 1, on the episode, "Reach Out And Teach Someone".

Salute to... - From the outset of Season 2, Tim and Al would make a theme of a particular home improvement project or item on Tool Time by hosting a week long "salute" to it. This would usually be evident with a banner that said "Salute to ____" or Tim or Al would say "...a salute" followed by a hand salute, thrusting the hand forward, having a sound effect that resembled the particular item being saluted (e.g., if it was a salute to lawn care, the sound effect would be of a mower), finishing with Tim and/or Al saying the particular item being saluted.

The Man's... - Similar to the salutes, "Tool Time" often featured "The Man's ____ (Bathroom, Kitchen, etc.)." These skits are the embodiment of Manliness according to Tim.
Wilson's Advice - The character Wilson (Earl Hindman), the Taylor family's sage advice-giving neighbor with many historical, philosophical, and literary works to quote. Tim always confusingly misquoted and re-worded Wilson's advice when speaking to Jill or his sons, often prompting them to say, "Please don't explain" or "I don't want to know".

Wilson's Face - Perhaps the show's most well-known gimmick. Since Wilson was partly inspired by a neighbor that Tim Allen had when he was very little and was too short to see over his neighbor's fence (and therefore unable to see his neighbor), the bottom half of Wilson's face was almost never seen on the show, unless he was playing another role. Instead, it was almost constantly hidden and sometimes blocked by various props, such as fences, grills, masks, planets, or scarfs. In one episode, Mark was papier-macheing his face leaving the bottom half of his face revealed. Also on one Halloween episode, Wilson was seen at a costume party dressed as the Phantom of the Opera, the mask covering the top half of his face and leaving his mouth revealed. On one occasion his entire face was visible, although hidden behind Halloween makeup.) On another occasion his face was covered with clown makeup. On yet another occasion his face was covered with a beard. His face was fully shown following the series finale episode while taking his final bow. During the show, Wilson is usually working on an unusual project of some sort in his backyard. One of his projects included a self portrait, and when Tim asked to see it, Wilson showed it to him, but only the upper half of Wilson's face was completed.

Jill's Childhood Stories - Jill often told stories about an experience she had when she was a little girl. Tim and the boys always hated those stories and would plead her not to tell them, walk away in the middle of the story, or both. Jill would often try to disguise these stories either by launching straight into it when the boys were off-guard (or willing to listen), or convert them from "when I was a little girl" stories to "when I was a little person" stories. Many times, though, the boys saw straight through this as they matured. One of the most notable examples was when while Jill tried to explain to Randy that older siblings (in Randy's case, Brad) get to do more things earlier, she lamented about how growing up her older sister got to wear a bra while Jill had to wear a "dorky undershirt". Randy replied by saying he understood, and asked Jill "Gee, when do I get to wear a bra, mom?"

Disney Gags - Some jokes stemmed from Jonathan Taylor Thomas' and Tim Allen's respective roles in other Disney productions. In a Halloween episode, Cooper Karn (Richard's real son) is seen dressed as Lion King character Simba and another child is dressed as Toy Storys Buzz Lightyear. Randy gives two pieces of candy to Buzz and seven pieces to Simba. (Jonathan provided the voice of young Simba in The Lion King). In another episode when Randy's Uncle Marty's daughters visit, a stuffed Simba toy is displayed, and Thomas makes a comment about it. A similar joke is made by Tim, in one episode, when he is playing with a Buzz Lightyear doll (the character he played in Disney film Toy Story). In addition, there is a scene in the Toy Story film with a toolbox labeled "Binford", referencing the fictional hardware company from the show.

K&B Construction - Throughout the show's tenure, the K&B Construction men would make periodic visits on Tool Time, often providing feminine counters to Tim's macho positioning.

Double Entendres - One infrequent gag was to have Tim (and in one occasion Al) perform or say something with a homosexual double entendre accidentally in front of a recurring extra named Milt, who would reply with, "Hey, I don't go for that sort of thing!" For example, Tim covered Delores' 12-hour diner shift. When he serves two meals to two men, he says, "You're the pancakes, and you must be the fruit."

Al is the Star - Tool Time viewers often had the misconception that Al was the star of the show, probably due to him being more skillful and intelligent than Tim. Tim usually takes these comments with barely restrained annoyance and reminds the viewers that Al is his assistant and not the reverse. A related running gag is a fan of the show telling Tim "I'm a big fan of Tool Time. I love Al", to which Tim would always reply with a sarcastic, "We all love Al.". In later seasons, when Tim introduces Al to the Tool Time crowd, he would get an applause from the audience.

Whenever Tim made a joke like "You think they'd call it..." Al would say "I don't think so Tim".

When something would go wrong Tim would say "Oh no".

When Al would say something sarcastic to something Tim said Tim would hiss at him.

Al's Mother - Tim frequently cracks jokes about Al's mother usually about her weight.

Power - Tim saying something needed "More power", which was then followed by his trademark "Simian Grunt" Later, characters would suggest that Tim make "the power [blank]" when he expressed dissatisfaction with something's capabilities.

Show background

Based on the stand-up comedy of Tim Allen, Home Improvement made its debut on ABC on September 17, 1991, and was one of the highest-rated sitcoms for almost the entire decade. Midway throughout the show's run, it was also competed against another highly-rated sitcom, Frasier, which slightly dropped the ratings, though it stayed in the top 10. The final episode aired on May 25, 1999 with a 90-minute, three-part episode entitled "The Long and Winding Road," which was its most watched series finale ever, behind M*A*S*H, Cheers, Married... with Children, Seinfeld and Mad About You. It was also the highest-rated finale before Sex and the City, Friends, Frasier, Everybody Loves Raymond, Will & Grace and The King of Queens. Since 1995, due to its popularity, reruns began airing on The Disney Channel and Channel 4 and ABC1 in the UK. At the present time, old episodes are currently on national syndication and on cable television network such as TBS and Superstation WGN in the U.S., the Seven Network and FOX Classics in Australia, and can be seen on digital channel ABC1 in the UK. In America, it will begin airing on Nick at Nite in Fall 2007 ^[1]. In Germany, Home Improvement was shown on ARD, RTL, VOX, and reruns are currently shown on the private channel RTL 2. It was also shown on M-Net on South African television, and reruns are showing throughout 2007 on the M-Net_Series channel, available to DStv users

Characters

Taylor family

Tim Taylor

Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor (played by Tim Allen) — Tim Taylor (the character has a birth date of October 1954) is the father of the family. He believes he has an incredibly wide knowledge of tools, electronics and general mechanics. In reality, he is highly accident-prone. He actually does have a significant amount of skill as a general handyman, but can be overly confident. He often forgets a crucial step, ignores instructions, or comes to inaccurate conclusions. Taylor's "arch enemy", so to speak, was the real-life home improvement specialist, Bob Vila. Tim hosts a home improvement show called "Tool Time" with his close friend, Albert Borland. While Al is his co-host, Al constantly must remind Tim of safety regulations and practices. Tim often ignores Al's advice, and this frequently results in an accident. While it is constantly mentioned that Tool Time is a limited local home improvement show that sits very high on the channel dial, Tool Time seems to have a very wide audience in the Detroit area. Tim often boasts at his popularity for hosting the show, but very many people like Al better. In later seasons it is learned that Tim actually has a higher fan base than Al, the characters just don't mention it to keep the show funny. Because of the numerous accidents he is involved in both on his TV show and at home, it is a recurring joke that Tim is on a first name basis with the hospital staff, and it is often suggested that Tim has special offers available to him for being a repeat customer. However, many of Tim's modified inventions work but are often too powerful, like his new ice cube dispenser in season 2.

While Tim has a very good relationship with his wife, he is quick to admit defeat in any conflict they become engaged in. He also has a very healthy relationship with his three sons, but his wife often seems annoyed at the idea that Tim's mental age is closer to his sons than she would like.

Tim also seems to have a chauvinistic attitude, usually putting women down or sometimes seeing them as inferior. Tim is an avid fan of all the local sports teams; the Detroit Lions, the Detroit Pistons, the Detroit Red Wings, and the Detroit Tigers. He is also a big fan of boxing, the Indy Racing League, and tractor pulls. Many scenes take place in the garage during his favorite hobby, working on his hot rod which he built from the ground up.

While there is often word that Tim may quit, Tim remains the main host of Tool Time for the entire running of Home Improvement. It is often mentioned that before he was cast on Tool Time, he worked as an out-of-town tool salesman. Tim barely graduated college, but later receives an honorary Doctorate from Western Michigan University. Tim is most famous for his ever-popular noise that he refers to as a "Simian Grunt."

Jill Taylor

Jillian "Jill" Patterson Taylor (played by Patricia Richardson) — Jill (born November 1956, but this varies from season to season) is Tim's first and only wife and the mother of all three boys. Jill is always portrayed as very intelligent and spends a good amount of time on the show working towards her Master's Degree in psychology. While she is an overall domestic character, she is apparently a very bad cook, as Tim and the three boys often make remarks about her cooking. Jill comes from a strong military family, and sometimes uses her upbringing to solve several family squabbles. She often appears overwhelmed at the fact that she is the only female in a family with three sons and no daughter, but never gets too bothered by it. She appears closest to her youngest son, Mark, as she remarks a few times that Mark is the only one who still has the ability to be open-minded to accept the things that Jill likes as opposed to being the typical "boy." During most of the series, Jill is a psychology student, though she had an unstable journalism career in the early seasons. However, there are several shows that depict Jill as an enthusiastic humanitarian and volunteer of numerous benefits and banquets. Jill is a big fan of the opera and the ballet, and while she tries to be interested in sports and tools in several episodes, her attempts to relate to her husband this way usually end up fruitless.

Brad Taylor

Bradley Michael "Brad" Taylor (played by Zachery Ty Bryan) — Brad (born January 1981) is the oldest and the most athletic of the three boys. While all three boys are portrayed as troublemakers at one point or another, he is the only one to have a run-in with the police (after throwing rocks at windows in an abandoned greenhouse) and also, in one episode, the only one to be discovered smoking cannabis. On the other hand, Brad was the only Taylor son to co-host an episode of Tool Time, and the only one to be seen physically working on Tim's Hot Rod. He has extraordinary athletic ability, especially in the game of soccer. Throughout the series, he has been offered numerous opportunities to make a career out of soccer, including the offer to play for a professional team in England (the fictitious Birmingham Chubs). This was rejected when his parents refused to allow him to give up college to play professional soccer. Later in the series, despite a knee injury that would plague his potential for a long time, he earned a college scholarship. Brad has a prominent attraction to women, including his mild infatuation with Tool Time 's Heidi Keppert. Bradley's love of soccer may have stemmed from Bryan's own love of the sport.

Randy Taylor

Randall William "Randy" Taylor (played by Jonathan Taylor Thomas) — Randy (born September 1981) is the middle brother, the jokester of the family, and the most malicious troublemaker. He is also the shortest Taylor boy. Whenever Tim was in trouble with Jill, Randy was always there with a quick remark that would almost always get him in trouble. Throughout adolescence, Randy became very conscious about the environment and civil rights. He also became very skeptical of the intentions of organized religion, especially Christian denominations. When he joined the school newspaper in Season 7, one of his early works was to criticize Binford for its pollution record, which didn't go well in his father's eyes. Randy had many disagreements with Tim over various things, but they were always able to work it out. In Season 8, Randy participated in an environmental program that landed him in Costa Rica for one year.

Mark Taylor

Marcus Jason "Mark" Taylor (played by Taran Noah Smith) — Mark (born March 1985) is the youngest of the three boys (though turned out to be the tallest by the last season). He never really had the same interests as his brothers, and in the early seasons was often the victim (due to his naiveté) of some cruel joke that Brad and Randy had thought up on the spot for him. During adolescence, Mark began to adopt a more "goth" look and an anti-establishment kind of attitude. For a short time, he was learning to be a pilot. While Mark's darkening demeanor worried Tim and Jill on several occasions, it never turned into anything extremely destructive--they even became more confident in themselves as parents, as they were never really shocked by anything he did. Mark also grew a fondness in the areas of film production and music, and became a proficient cook.

Marty Taylor

Martin "Marty" Taylor (played by William O'Leary) — Marty (born in 1964) is Tim's younger brother by ten years. It's been mentioned that, growing up, since their father died when Tim was 11 and Marty was 1, Tim was just as much of a father to him as a brother. He is often seen bouncing from job to job, unable to hold a steady career. In his earliest appearance, Marty was married to a woman named Nancy, and they had twin baby girls, Gracie and Claire. Much later in the series, Nancy divorced Marty, and he and the girls moved in with Tim's family.

Jeff Taylor

Jeffrey "Jeff" Taylor (played by Thom Sharp) — Jeff is Tim's older brother (exact age unspecified). He suffers from male-pattern baldness, making him a frequent target of jokes by Tim. Like Marty, Jeff hasn't been shown with a steady job. It is mentioned that he has made a number of bad business ventures (such as a drive-thru pet store).

Friends of the family

Al Borland (played by Richard Karn) — Al (born February 7, 1956) is Tim's assistant and unlikely best friend. His personality is an exact opposite of Tim's — he is reserved, quiet, does not show much enthusiasm and has a wide array of professional knowledge concerning tools. Al made frequent suggestions that he should be the host of Tool Time instead of Tim. Al could be characterized as a "mama's boy"; he spent a great deal of time attempting to please his mother Alma — who was severely overweight (though she was never seen) she died near the end of the series. His father was 60 when Al was born. Al was engaged to an orthodontist named Ilene for a time, but they ended up calling off the wedding. He also dated Greta Post who appeared a few times in the series. In a later season, Al met a wealthy exterminator named Trudy. They hit it off and were married in the show's final episode. Al might have been based on Norm Abram of This Old House because of the resemblance in flannel shirts, beard, pudgy, etc. Al has a brother named Cal who is a physicist, and unlike some other siblings across the world, they had never gotten into a physical fight. Instead, they usually settled their disputes over a cup of tea (until they have a disagreement over which tea tastes best, when they did indeed fight on-air during a shooting of Tool Time).

Wilson W. Wilson Jr. (played by Earl Hindman) - Tim's neighbor and confidant, Wilson (born in March of an undetermined year). He has traveled the globe, learned much from virtually every culture in existence, and his house contains a veritable treasure trove of artifacts, along with a pet parrot named Mozart who appeared infrequently. Wilson was married at one point, but his wife, Cathrine, died before the series began. When it came into question whether "Wilson" was the character's first name or last, he explained that his full name was actually Wilson Wilson, Jr., his father's name having been Wilson Wilson, Sr. In Season 6, it would also be revealed that his cousins were a more famous family of Wilsons, namely those of The Beach Boys (However, Carl was the only Wilson brother to appear with the band.) He also has a niece named Willow. His usual greetings are "Hi-de-ho..." or "Hi ho" "neighbor" or "good neighbor" when greeting Tim, "neighborette" when greeting Jill, and "Taylor lad(s)" when greeting the Taylor boys. Many feel that Wilson represented a sort of "God figure" in the show, always doling out advice to the Taylor family, and seemingly knowing just what to say to solve a problem.

Lisa (played by Pamela Anderson) — Binford's first "Tool Girl." A secondary cast member on Tool Time, Lisa's job was to introduce Tim and Al or to hand them any tool they requested. When Pamela Anderson chose to leave Home Improvement to pursue a role on the syndicated series Baywatch, she was written out of the series after Season 2, and it was stated that she was training to be a paramedic. She returned for a guest appearance several years later, having become fully qualified.

Heidi Keppert (played by Debbe Dunning) — The second "Tool Girl" (beginning in Season 3), Heidi became a more well-rounded character than Lisa. Her personal life crossed paths with Tim on a number of occasions, giving birth to a daughter and suffering marital problems during the show's run.

Harry (played by Blake Clark) — Owner of "Harry's Hardware", where Tim spent a great deal of his time (and money) and in which Al eventually became part owner. He is married — unhappily — to Delores, and the couple bad-mouths one another behind their respective backs on every occasion. Also has a son with whom he has a somewhat rocky relationship.

Benny (played by Jim Labriola) - One of Tim's buddies who hangs out at the hardware store. Benny is a bit of a slacker. When Tim and his family are moving furniture back into Benny's house in one episode, Benny, rather than help out, lies back on a lawnchair to watch the others do the work. He also does things that don't pleasantly surprise Tim. For example, he hands out sweets at the funeral of Al's mother. In another episode, he is seen getting soup at a soup kitchen for the homeless. Tim and Randy think Benny must be going destitute, and Tim, feeling guilty, invites Benny over for Thanksgiving dinner. But they find out during dinner that Benny only gets soup there because "he likes the soup". Al berates Benny for stealing food from the needy. Benny protests, saying he pays for the soup with his tax dollars. Tim grumbles "What tax dollars? You haven't had a job in years!" Benny becomes upset and storms out of the Taylors' house. At first Tim is glad to see Benny go, but then he realizes how the holiday season is about helping people, no matter what they've done. He invites Benny back in for dinner and persuades him to take a job as a server at the soup kitchen.

Series ending plot details

The series ended in a three-part episode with Tim being displeased at how Tool Time had been changed into something resembling a corporate-sponsored Jerry Springer-like show, and Jill getting a new job offer. The personal conflict revolved around the job being in Bloomington, Indiana, a change that Tim strongly resisted initially.

Of course, after talking to Wilson, he agreed to leave Detroit. Tim ended his Tool Time appearances with a final show that garnered huge ratings. However, Jill realized that they would be moving out of the house the family grew up in. The conclusion was somewhat ambiguous, although Jill seemed adamant about them not moving. The last shot was Tim imagining (a thought balloon was used for emphasis) putting the whole house on a flatbed truck and then on a tugboat, leaving the viewer to decide if they moved or stayed in Detroit.

Awards and Nominations

Home Improvement received numerous awards and nominations in its 8 season run. Notable awards and nominations include:

Golden Globe Awards

1993
- Nominated- Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy (Tim Allen)
1994
- Nominated- Best Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
- Nominated- Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy (Patricia Richardson)
- Nominated- Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy (Tim Allen)
1995
- Nominated- Best Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
- Nominated- Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy (Patricia Richardson)
- Win- Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy (Tim Allen)
1996
- Nominated- Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy (Tim Allen)
1997
- Nominated- Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy (Tim Allen)

Primetime Emmy Awards

1993
- Nominated- Outstanding Comedy Series
- Nominated- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Tim Allen)
1994
- Nominated- Outstanding Comedy Series
- Nominated- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Patricia Richardson)
1996
- Nominated- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Patricia Richardson)
1997
- Nominated- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Patricia Richardson)
1998
- Nominated- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Patricia Richardson)

DVD Releases

DVD notes

The Region 1 DVDs are on three discs, whereas the Region 2 DVDs are presented across four discs. The Region 2 packaging and programme menus for Season 1 vary compared to the Region 1 releases. The Season 3 menus in Region 1 are in widescreen, but 4:3 in Region 2. The Region 1 releases of Seasons 2 and 3 consist of (deliberate) "holes" in the outer packaging - these do not exist in the Region 2 releases; in fact, the Season 3 outer packaging is physically printed where the hole would be in the Region 1 packaging.

It has been mentioned on review sites about the lack of episode commentaries and bonus features on the DVDs. In an interview on about.com^[3], Tim said that it was a done deal that the DVDs would not contain interviews or episode commentaries. Whether this was before or after somebody at Disney ordered the three commentaries available on the Season 1 DVDs is unknown.

Buena Vista Home Entertainment will no longer release the show in Region 2 or 4 due to poor sales. This was also the case with The Golden Girls.

Trivia

While Brad skips the Pre-SATs in one episode, Michigan (where the show is based) more commonly uses the ACT testing standard, making it unlikely that he would be taking the SATs.

Zachery Ty Bryan, who played the oldest brother Brad, is actually slightly younger than Jonathan Taylor Thomas who played his younger brother Randy in the television series.

Ashley Judd auditioned for and won the role of Lisa the Tool Girl. However, her agent urged her to pursue movies instead of a television career, and she pulled out days before the original pilot was to be taped, resulting in the casting of Pamela Anderson. The last-minute change necessitated alterations to the original script, in which Lisa was a major character; she was a college student majoring in psychology who acted as a stand-in for Jill on the Tool Time set.

A then-unknown Dave Chappelle and Jim Breuer guest-starred in the Season 4 episode, "Talk to Me", as two of the men Tim gives advice to and almost destroying their relationships with their respective girlfriends.

Both Zachery Ty Bryan and Jonathan Taylor Thomas have had guest appearances on Smallville and Veronica Mars, debuting in seperate episodes of Smallville.

The three-part series finale was taped twice, once with Wilson's face revealed and another with it hidden. ABC was to decide which version would air in May 1999. Ultimately, they aired the version with Wilson's face hidden, as in the other 200 episodes. This version was released later that fall on VHS, titled Home Improvement: The Series Finale.

In the episode "Let's Go To The Videotape" at the hardware store, Tim says Jill's speech was "so boring". But later, when Jill was watching the videotape of Tim making fun of her, he says Jill's speech was "so dull".

In the episode commentaries featured on the Season 1 DVD Set, the executive producers reveal that "Cal" was a fan from Texas who sent his photo in a fan letter. Upon seeing his resemblance to Al, the producers brought him in to be Al's brother, Cal.

The original name for Al was supposed to be 'Glenn' as said in the season 1 DVD of the show.

Someone else was supposed to play the character 'Wilson'. When he found out that his whole face would never be shown, he refused to do it. The creators of the show held auditions again, and Earl Hindman got the role of Wilson.

The name, 'K&B Construction' was created by Tim Allen. K and B were just two letters Tim Allen thought of randomly.

When the final season was broadcast on The Disney Channel in the U. K., Jonathan Taylor Thomas was still credited, even though he had left the series. He would appear after Zachery Ty Bryan and Taran Smith, and would be credited as "And Jonathan Taylor Thomas". When the show moved to ABC1, the credits were altered for episodes where Jonathan Taylor Thomas had left. In the altered credits (which appear on TBS in the U. S.), Zachery Ty Bryan is credited as "With Zachery Ty Bryan", and Richard Karn appears at the end of the credits as "And Richard Karn".

Taran Noah Smith was credited as "Taran Smith" in the final seasons.

'''Nielsen Ratings'''

1991-1992 Season: #4 (tied with Cheers)

1992-1993 Season: #3

1993-1994 Season: #2

1994-1995 Season: #3

1995-1996 Season: #7

1996-1997 Season: #9

1997-1998 Season: #10 (tied with Frasier)

1998-1999 Season: #10

External links

Citations

[1] http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=117588
[2] http://www.northerngames.com/
[3] http://movies.about.com/od/skippingchristmas/a/kranksta111904_4.htm

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