Home Improvement

Tim Taylor (Tim Allen), Jill Taylor (Patricia Richardson), Al Borland (Richard Karn), Wilson W. Wilson (Earl Hindman), Randy Taylor (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), Mark Taylor (Taran Noah Smith), Brad Taylor (Zachery Ty Bryan), and Heidi Keppert (Debbe Dunning), and Lisa (Pamela Anderson)

This show is not deep nor did it change television like All In The Family or Seinfeld…but it was fun. A lot of fun with Tim, Jill, Al, Wilson, and the kids. Before I started working in IT I had different jobs. When this show was on I was a supervisor in a woodworking shop. Needless to say this was very popular with everyone there. The show ran from 1991 – 1999 with 204 episodes. To my surprise Home Improvement beat Seinfeld in ratings for a few years.

The shows followed a formula…someone, usually Tim, would do something stupid or say the wrong thing. An argument would ensue and then they would go to their neighbor Wilson and he would give them a quote or a story that would go over Tim’s head. The problem would more or less be solved after that.

The formula was an open secret and the writers would often poke fun at it and themselves.

Tim is what some people would call a modern Neanderthal but he had a heart and learned…but not always too well. More power, more power and Tim would blow something up. He was the host of “Tool Time” a fictional cable show about home improvement and tools. Tim would then get into trouble by adding power to the simplest thing (lawn mower which ran at 60 mph, dish washer with a motor that cranked, a vacuum cleaner that sucked up the drapes) and ended up electrocuting himself, gluing himself to a board, falling through a port a potty, and etc.

Home Improvement': Behind-the-Scenes Facts Not Even Superfans Know ...

If Tool Time would have been a real show…I would have watched just to see what trouble Tim would get into next.

Jill was the typical “straight man” character to her goofy husband. She often gave advice to her boys about girls that exemplified how gentlemen should act. She had a sophistication that was totally opposite of her husband. The more she pushed theater and ballet the more Tim would push a Monster truck rally. She was my favorite 90s sitcom mom hands down. She grounded the show and to me was the most important member. She kept it real and believable.

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Tim’s ever suffering Tool Time partner was Al Borland who actually had knowledge and knew what he was doing. A bonafide unhip square but a lovable one, who only wanted the best for everyone. He had a much softer side than Tim and talked about his feelings which horrified Tim. He always wore flannel and Tim always made jokes about that and Al’s very large mother. Al was extremely popular with the fictional viewers of Tool Time.

Home Improvement - Albert E. "Al" Borland is a master plumber and ...

Wilson was a peculiar neighbor with very odd habits but was a wise one. The poor guy couldn’t go outside without solving the Taylor’s problems…even the kids came to him for advice. The show played on the gimmick of only showing Wilson from his nose up…or they covered his face entirely if he wasn’t in front of the fence.

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There were two tool time girls… Heidi and Lisa

Heidi, the lovely assistant from Tool Time on Home Improvement ...Lisa | Home Improvement Wiki | Fandom

All in all I still enjoy watching the show. It still makes me laugh and the show highlighted the problems most couples have…it was Disney so you will not see them face too many serious topics …just everyday problems that we all have…minus some guy blowing things up.

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

61 thoughts on “Home Improvement”

    1. Yes I like it. I’ve been binge watching it lately along with All in the Fmaily…two completely different shows.

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      2. Yes he was funny…I loved Edith also. Home Improvement is just a lot of fun without thinking.

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      4. She was so honest yet she kept Archie in line… Mike was really just as bad as Archie in the opposite way.

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  3. One of our family go-tos and the last show that gave conservatives a heart. I’m not going to get political here, I promise, but I think this show demonstrates the potential of middle class, right-leaning principles. Those are long gone these days. Tim Allen was (mostly) good at modeling and not preaching. If anything, your post conjures wonderful audible memories of this noises and grunt noises he used to make 🙂

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    1. The key is it was not extreme and yea it’s gone today. Everything today is extreme in one way or another. I’ve been watching it lately and I did forget how funny it was…it was pretty nice to revisit Heidi!

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      2. Some of the one liners were great. Some people who didn’t like the show thought it was all about Tim blowing up things…no…it’s some great comedy writing there…

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      7. Allen has said he and the other actors of Home Improvement wanted to make a one hour movie and not a series return…so a reunion show might happen.

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      11. I thought I’d hate the show because I love the movie too much, but it has an odd grasp on dark humor that makes keep coming for more. The best part: It’s tough to decide which season was better – 1, 2, or 3!

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      17. I haven’t watched it much…. I can’t help it….you can’t top his HI wife Patricia Richardson…plus…no Heidi.

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      19. Pam Anderson never did do a thing for me…now Heidi…Debbe Dunning…different story…plus…I will admit…even in my twenties I had some kind of crush on Patricia…as odd as that is.

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      2. All in the Family changed television…that show is more relevant today than it was back in the seventies…the world is filled with Archies and Mikes now.
        lol…shh…I do also!

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  8. This was a great show. Always loved the interaction with Wilson. “What are you up to, Wilson?” “Building a sweat lodge, Tim.” I saw Tim Allen just before he started with “Home Improvement” doing standup. He was really hilarious.

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    1. Thanks for reading John…I never know if people just want to hear about music. I always liked the show but now I’m more of a fan after re-watching it. It has a lot of real laugh out loud moments. Wilson was great and one of the more interesting tv characters.

      I do remember some specials with Tim before this show. That is cool that you got to see him.

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      1. I have spent a lot of time thinking about what a stroke of genius it was to never show Wilson’s face. Almost like avant-garde of absurdist kinda stuff. Samuel Beckett stuff. And the best/worst break for that actor! All those seasons on a huge sitcom and no one knows what he looks like!

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      2. From what I read…others who they wanted to play the part turned it down when they found out they would not be seen behind the fence…he was very good at the part.

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    1. That surprises me Lisa…the only reason it does is because it took place in Michigan…well that is where it was based. Not that you are required to watch everything Michigan lol.

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      1. For some reason I didn’t like Tim Allen, but I have no problem with him now. I think one of his brothers lived in my town for awhile. I remember when “Tool Time!” was a common expression….

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      2. It took a while for me to warm up to the show…but then I saw what they were doing…to really show that men…DO think like Tim did in certain situations but we never say it a loud…plus Patricia Richardson was a great model of a mom. Not perfect and very realistic. She made the show for me.

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  10. One of those shows I didn’t switch on but would watch if it was on…I think my Mom liked it for awhile. I liked the Wilson bit a lot…did we ever see his whole face? I’d pick it over Tim’s newer one, Last man Standing…similar but the 90s was a bit more subtle & cleverly written than newer one.

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    1. No you never see his whole face… it was a good gimmick. Oh yea his new one is a bit watered down compared to this one.
      I liked the show but after re-watching…I appreciate it a whole lot more.

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  11. I love Tim Allen and love both of his shows. I thoroughly enjoyed the cross-overs with Patricia Richardson and Bill Engvall (did you ever watch the Bill Engvall show with a young Jennifer Lawrence?). I’m also a big Nancy Travis fan.

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      1. Much like enjoying both Patricia & Nancy, I love Tim & Bill. All of them make me laugh. I’ve seen Bill in stand-up but, never got to see Tim in stand-up.

        Another TV mom I enjoyed is Reba. She is hysterical, too.

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      2. I do remember that show of Reba’s… We can’t seem to get on WordPress at the same time! lol…

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      6. Yes….last week the owner wanted a video conference with like 60 people with closeups of him and it to be seamless…well since we only have a laptop to work with that is impossible…
        Vic you and I are in the wrong business…quotes to run video conferences started at 15-25 grand…it’s crazy.
        I found the video guy who worked with us earlier to do it…he just took it up…it ended up really good.

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      8. No…they weren’t wearing masks…all of the calllers were alone…it was all the franchisees calling in..,

        I hear ya!

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