Home Improvement
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Template:Cleanup-date {{Infobox_television
| show_name = Home Improvement | image = Image:Home improvement 250.jpg | caption = The Taylor family | format = Sitcom | runtime = 22 Minutes | creator = Matt Williams
Carmen Finestra
David MacFadzean | starring = Tim Allen
Patricia Richardson
Earl Hindman
Richard Karn
Debbe Dunning
Zachery Ty Bryan
Taran Noah Smith
Jonathan Taylor Thomas | country = USA | rating= Template:TV-G | network = ABC | first_aired = September 1, 1991 | last_aired = May 25, 1999 | num_episodes = 204
|}} Home Improvement was an American television sitcom starring actor/comedian Tim Allen, and loosely based on his stand-up comedy routine that ran on ABC for eight seasons from September 1991 to May 1999. It is currently on national syndication and on cable television stations such as TBS and WGN in the US, and can be seen on digital channels ABC1 and the Disney Channel in the UK.
Contents |
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, 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 was initially presented as slightly naive and in constant admiration of his father. As the series progressed, however, Mark grew up to be somewhat of a teenage outcast who dressed in dark goth clothing. By this time, 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, prefering 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, golfer Payne Stewart 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 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.
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. During the show, Wilson is usually working on an unusual project of some sort in his backyard. 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.
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. 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. Anderson made a guest appearance as Lisa in a later episode, wherein Heidi becomes jealous when Lisa gets more attention and begins to 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 problem was that the job was in Indiana, and Tim didn't want to move at first.
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.
Selected list of recurring characters
- Karen (Betsy Randle)
- Lisa (Pamela Anderson) (was never part of credited cast)
- Ilene Markham, DDS (Sherry Hursey)
- Marie Morton (Mariangela Pino)
- Joe Morton (Robert Picardo)
- Jennifer Sudarsky (Jessica Wesson)
- Ashley (Leigh Ann Orsi)
- Lauren (Courtney Peldon)
- Lillian Patterson (Polly Holliday)
- Harry (Blake Clark)
- Delores (Shirley Prestia)
- Marty (William O'Leary)
- John Binford (Noble Willingham)
- Trudy (Megan Cavanagh)
- Felix Myman (Al Fann)
- Rock (Casey Sander)
- Dwayne (Gary McGurk)
- Pete (Mickey Jones)
Cast notes
Home Improvement is one of only a handful of TV shows not to recast the children once they were too old to be "cute" on screen. Zachery Ty Bryan, Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Taran Noah Smith therefore all grew up on the set of Home Improvement. The only other high-profile show to do this was The Brady Bunch.
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.
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.
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.
List of episodes
For a list of the Home Improvement episodes, see:
DVD releases
DVD Name | Release dates
| ||
Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4
| |
| The Complete 1st Season | November 23 2004 | June 27 2005 | N/A |
| The Complete 2nd Season | June 7 2005 | August 1 2005 | N/A |
| The Complete 3rd Season | November 22 2005 | January 9 2006 | N/A |
| The Complete 4th Season | June 6 2006 | N/A | N/A |