Home Improvement

Home Improvement was an American television sitcom starring actor/comedian Tim Allen, and loosely based on his stand-up comedy routine. It ran for eight seasons on ABC from September 1991 to May 1999. Reruns are currently on national syndication and on cable television stations such as TBS and WGN-TV in the US, Network 7 in Australia, and can be seen on digital channels ABC1 and the Disney Channel in the UK. It will begin airing on Nick at Nite in Fall 2007.

Premise

Set in Royal Oak, Michigan (a suburb of Detroit), the series centers 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 Bradley Michael "Brad" (Zachery Ty Bryan), comedian and intellectual Randall William "Randy" (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), and the youngest, Mark Jason, (Taran Noah Smith), whose fictitious middle name was not mentioned in the series, but in a post-finale interview.

Additional focus was given to Tim's job as a television personality on his very own 'home improvement' show, called Tool Time. On this show-within-a-show, Tim was joined by his friend and mild-mannered assistant Al Borland (played by Richard Karn) Tim would often comment on Als mother's weight, although she was never seen beyond an obscured arm, and the friendly nature of this ribbing took a serious turn when, in the final season, Al's mother died at a restaurant (when Al told her he would marry his girlfriend Trudy). Tim, excellent as a salesman and TV personality but spectacularly accident-prone as a handyman, often caused hilarious disasters on and off the set, to the consternation of his co-workers and family. Many of Tim's accidents were caused by the application of his mantra, "More power!" to do-it-yourself situations.

History

In the first few 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 ended up believing what his siblings were telling him (examples including 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 being a character who regularly put action before thought which regularly landed him in trouble. Randy was the comedian of the pack, the quick-thinker but wasn't immune to getting caught out being up to no good.

As the series progressed, however, Mark grew up to be somewhat of a teenage outcast who dressed in dark goth clothing, while Brad became as heavily into cars as his father. In Season 8, Randy was written out of the script by mentioning that he was in Costa Rica (done so to accommodate the then-budding film career of Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who became a teen icon during his years on the show).

Some time was spent dealing with the sometimes tense relationship between coworkers Tim and Al. Al was portrayed as a slightly geeky character, preferring to wear mostly flannel shirts, and whose catchphrase was "I don't think so, Tim." He also came up with many puns and giggles and snorts when a joke is made at Tim's expense. Taylor was always arrogant and prone to accidents and his "archenemy", so to speak, is the real-life home improvement specialist Bob Vila. His projects on Tool Time usually go awry — such as using an oversized and overpowered Binford gadget. The cautious, insecure, and brighter Borland always bore the brunt of Tim Taylor's jokes and constant put-downs. A running joke was Tim's references to Al's overweight mother, who is usually referred to but is never seen throughout the series — although in one episode, she dies and the characters are at her funeral. Al has a "twin" brother named Cal who is a physicist, and unlike other siblings across the world, they have never gotten into a physical fight; instead, they settle their disputes over a cup of tea.

Many "special guests" made a "cameo" appearance on Tool Time. These guests included race car drivers Johnny Rutherford, Robby Gordon, Michael Andretti, and Mario Andretti, country artist Alan Jackson, rapper L.L. Cool J, golfer Payne Stewart, former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway, and boxer Evander Holyfield. Numerous NASA astronauts appeared on the series, the most notable being Ken Bowersox, who made three separate appearances.

Throughout the series, Jill studied to become a psychologist. In one episode, Tim also received an honorary Ph.D. from his alma mater. Ironically enough, Tim received an award for "Safety" in one episode despite his accident record on Tool Time.

Running gags

The show featured a few unique gimmicks. During scene changes clever "wipes" 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 "wipes" usually (though not always) included something shown or mentioned in the scene before.

Another gag included Tim banging his head on a large metal pipe every time he was walking down the basement steps. This never happened to any other character.

From season three 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.

In the show's early years, Tim would often make remarks that would cause offence to certain sections of the Tool Time viewership. Al would hold up the address card for viewers to write in and complain. This was first seen in season one, on the episode, Reach Out And Teach Someone.

On Tool Time, Tim and Al would make a theme of a particular home improvement project or item 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 (I.E. if it was a salute to lawncare, the sound effect would be of a mower), finishing with Tim or Al saying the particular item being saluted.

Perhaps the show's most well-known gimmick was the character of Wilson (Earl Hindman), the Taylor family's sage, advice-giving neighbor with many historical, philosophical, and literary works to quote. Tim often confusingly misquotes and re-words Wilson's advice when speaking to Jill or his sons. Since Wilson was partly inspired by a neighbor that Tim Allen had when he was very little, half of Wilson's face was never seen on the show, and was instead constantly — and sometimes humorously — blocked by various props, such as fences, masks, trees, and unusual costumes. His face was fully revealed following the series finale episode while taking his final bow. 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 the sixth season of the series, 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). 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 and only the upper half of Wilson's face was completed. His usual catchphrase is "Well! Hidy-ho neighbor" when greeting Tim and "Hidy-ho neighborette" when greeting Jill. Such devices further fueled the show's reputation for involving sometimes-simplistic humor.

Yet another gag was whenever Jill told a story 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. One that comes to mind is the "Wallaby Story."

Another gag, though not as evident, stems from Jonathan Taylor Thomas' role in another Disney production. A Halloween episode sees a child dressed as Lion King character Simba, to which Randy makes a pleasing comment (Jonathan provided the voice of young Simba in The Lion King). In another episode when his 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.

Throughout the show's tenure, the K&B Construction men would make periodic visits on Tool Time. One such appearance was when the K&B men demonstrated how they created a musical band using only tools. Another appearance that fueled demonstration, was when the K&B construction site men came and illustrated how they cook food using only tools.

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 black extra, who would reply with "Hey, I don't go for that sort of thing!" - Example: One case involves Tim covering 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," and then recieves the usual reply.

Characters

Taylor Family

Tim (The Toolman) Taylor (played by Tim Allen) - Tim is father of the family. While he has an incredibly wide knowledge of tools, electronics and general mechanics, he is highly accident prone in practice. In the show, he hosts a home improvement show called "Tool Time" with his close friend Albert Borland. While Al is his co-host, Tim is constantly being advised by Al of numerous safety concerns and safer and more efficient ways to go about the daily project. Tim often ignores Al's advice, and this frequently results in Tim being involved in some sort of 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 fans that are familiar with the show often cite Al as the host. This usually follows with Tim exclaiming, "Al is my ASSISTANT. He assists ME." Because of the numerous accidents he is involved in both on his TV show and at his private home, it is a reoccurring 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 (in one episode, he exclaimed that if he has one more head injury, he wins a trip to Hawaii). 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. While he has a very good relationship with his wife, he is easy 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 is an avid fan of the Detroit Lions, the Detroit Pistons and the Detroit Red Wings. 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 ground-up. While there is often word that Tim may quit, Tim remains the main host of Tool Time for the entire running of the show. In was suggested at many times that before he was casted on Tool Time, he worked as an out-of-town tool salesman. Tim barely graduated college, but later received 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 (played by Patricia Richardson) - Jill 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 for her Master's Degree in psychology. While she is an overall decent domestic character, she is apparently a very bad cook, as Tim and the three boys often make slanderous remarks at her cooking. 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 younger 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.' Jill has never had a regular job on the show outside of her being a psychiatrist towards the end of the series. 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 usually end up fruitless at the end of the road.

Bradley "Brad" Michael Taylor (played by Zachery Ty Bryan) - Brad is the oldest and the more athletic of the three boys. While all three boys are portrayed as troublemakers at one point or another, Brad is the most malicious. He is the only one to have a run-in with the police (after throwing rocks at windows in an abandon warehouse). Brad has extraordinary athletic ability, especially in the game of soccer, and is portrayed as a jock through most of the series. 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. This offer was rejected when his parents refused to allow him to give up college to play professional soccer. Later in the series, however, 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 affatuation with Tool Time's Heidi Keppert.

Randall "Randy" William Taylor (played by Johnathan Taylor Thomas) - Randy is the middle brother and the jokester of the family. Whenever Tim was in trouble with Jill, Randy was always there with a quick remark that would always almost get him in trouble. Throughout adolescence, Randy became very counsious about the environment and civil rights. He also became very suspicious of the intentions of established religion, especially the Christian Church. In the 8th season, Randy participated in an environmental program that landed him in Costa Rica for one year.

Mark Jason Taylor (played by Taran Noah Smith) - Mark is the youngest of the three boys. He never really had the same interests as his brothers, and was often the victim of some cruel joke that Brad and Randy had lined up for him (in one episode, Brad and Randy convinced him to eat a tadpole as some sort of initiation into a non-existent club). During adolescense, Mark began to adapt a more gothic look and a more anti-establishment kind of attitude. While Mark's dark demeanor worried Tim and Jill on several occasions, it never turned into anything extremely destructive. Mark also grew a fondness in the area of film production.

Marty Taylor (played by William O'Leary) - Marty is Tim's younger brother (there is a ten-year age difference between them.) 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, Grace and Clare. Much later in the series, Nancy divorced Marty and he & the girls moved in with Tim's family.

Jeff Taylor (played by Thom Sharp) - Jeff is Tim's older brother (exact age unspecified). 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-through pet store).

Friends of the Family

Albert Borland (played by Richard Karn) - Al 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 enthuseasm 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 is frequently mocked by Tim because of his bland personality, poor sense of humor and the excessive amounts of flannel in his wardrobe. 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 and another target of Tim's jokes- until she died near the end of the series. Al was engaged to an orthodontist named Ielene for a time, but they ended up calling off the wedding. 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 also has a brother, Cal, who appears in a number of episodes.

Wilson Wilson Wilson (played by Earl Hindman) - Tim's neighbor and confidant, Wilson is essentially an unseen character. He frequently gives advice to all members of the Taylor household, often reciting famous quotes for Tim (which Tim would always mess up when trying to repeat them moments later). He has traveled the globe, learned much from virtually every culture in existance, 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 passed away before the series began.

Lisa (played by Pamela Anderson), Binford's first "Tool Girl." A secondary cast member on "Tool Time," her job was to introduce Tim & Al or to hand them any tool they requested. She was written out of the show after a few seasons, and it was stated that she was training to be a paramedic.

Heidi Keppert (played by Debbe Dunning) - The second "Tool Girl," Heidi became a much 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 which Al eventually became part owner of. He is married-unhappilly- 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.

Mistakes

A very large number of mistakes made their way to the final tapings, one of the most notable being in the season two episode, "Shooting Three to Make Tutu", in which Tim Allen slurs his speech and says "basballway" instead of "basketball game".

The "Tool Time Girls"

The sitcom launched the career of former Playboy model Pamela Anderson, who would later star in the internationally syndicated television show Baywatch. Anderson played the announcer and "toolgirl" Lisa in the character Tim Taylor's Tool Time show for the first two seasons (1991-1993). As Anderson gained stardom, she was replaced by another actress. On Tool Time, Lisa was replaced by Heidi (Debbe Dunning), who stayed on the show for the remainder of the series (1993-1999). Anderson made a guest appearance as Lisa in the season six finale episode, wherein Heidi becomes jealous when Tim invites Lisa to be "guest" tool girl, making her fear for her job.

Ending

The series ended in a three-part episode involving Tim being displeased at how Tool Time had been changed into something resembling The Jerry Springer Show, and Jill getting a new job. The personal conflict revolved around the job being in Indiana, a change which Tim strongly resisted initially.

Of course, after talking to his neighbor, 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 a superfast tugboat, leaving the viewer to decide for him or herself if they moved or stayed in Detroit.

Cast notes

Zachery Ty Bryan and Jonathan Taylor Thomas have both made appearances on the TV shows Smallville and Veronica Mars.

Frances Fisher who played Rose's mom in the hit movie Titanic, was supposed to play the part of Jill. However, due to lack of chemistry between Allen and Fisher, Patricia Richardson was brought in to play the part because she and Allen had great chemistry.

Megan Cavanagh, who plays Al Borland's fiancee (and later his wife) in the eighth season, also starred with Tim Allen in For Richer or Poorer. She played Levinia Yoder.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas was written out of the series in the final season to pursue an education. However, it is common belief that he and Allen had a bad off-screen relationship due to the fact that Thomas went on to make movies instead of finishing Home Improvement.

Betsy Randle, who played Jill's friend Karen during the first two seasons, was also originally considered to play Jill, but obviously didn't get the part. Her absence from the series after 1993 was due to the fact that she went on to portray Amy Matthews, Corey's mom on the sitcom Boy Meets World.

Tudi Roche, who played Jill's sister, is Richard Karn's wife in real life.

Culture notes

Many references are made to the "tri-cities" region of Michigan. This region includes the cities of Saginaw, Bay City, and Midland. The "K&B Construction" crew is also portrayed as from Bay City. What "K&B" actually stood for was never established - as late as January 2005 Tim Allen wrote on his official website forum that he had "no idea" what K&B actually stood for.

In one episode, Tim and Al are diverted to Alpena on their way to the Kinross airport. Kinross is a township, and the airport is used mainly as the closest airport to the city of Sault Ste. Marie.

In one episode, Tim and Al go fishing on the Saginaw Bay.

Allen commonly wore sweatshirts with the name and logo of Michigan universities on them.

Related products

A Super NES game of the same name was based on the series. It had no manual; its splash screen explained, “Real men don’t need instructions.”

Continuity errors

Initially, Tim was said to be the oldest brother, with younger brothers Steve and Danny. In later episodes, it is established that Tim is actually the middle brother, with older brother Jeff and younger brother Marty.

DVD releases

DVD Name	Release dates
DVD Name	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
The Complete 1^st Season	November 23, 2004	June 27, 2005	June 28, 2005
The Complete 2^nd Season	June 7, 2005	August 1, 2005	July 20, 2005
The Complete 3^rd Season	November 22, 2005	January 9, 2006	January 16 2006
Complete Seasons 1-3 Deluxe Edition	N/A	N/A	September 13 2006
The Complete 4^th Season	June 6 2006	N/A	N/A
The Complete 5^th Season	N/A	N/A	N/A
The Complete 6^th Season	N/A	N/A	N/A
The Complete 7^th Season	N/A	N/A	N/A
The Complete 8^th Season	N/A	N/A	N/A

Trivia

A flashback episode shows Tim Taylor looking at an old video of the premiere of "Tool Time" with notable differences:
- Tim Taylor has a beard
- Al Borland has no beard
- The "Tool Time" set is very sparse-in contrast to the elaborate later set versions.
- "Mrs. Binford" is seen for the only time in the series. Tim refers to her as "Mrs. Been-in-the-Sauce"
- The audience consists only of two older men, one who is asleep and another who says "Tool Time" in a very bored manner
- The episode also shows why Al began saying "I don't think so, Tim" whenever he's asked to help with something
Al Borland was a US Navy Seabee-in Nevada
One memorable episode is when Al Borland invents the "Tool Time" Game-complete with a figure of "Tim Taylor in a body cast".

External links

Hör mal, wer da hämmert | Papa bricole

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