Home Improvement is an American television sitcom starring Tim Allen, which aired 1991 to 1999. The show was created by Matt Williams, Carmen Finestra and David MacFadzean. In the 1990s, it was one of the most watched sitcoms, winning many awards. The series launched Tim Allen's acting career and also was the start of the television career of Pamela Anderson, who was part of the cast for the first two seasons.
The show's title is a pun: it refers to physical improvement of houses, as well as to improving life with family, friends, work, and school.
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. It went to #1 in the ratings during the 1993-1994 season; that year, Allen also had the #1 book ( Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man ) and movie ( The Santa Clause ). Midway throughout the show's run, it was competing against another highly-rated sitcom, Frasier , which slightly dropped the ratings. It did, however, remain a Top 10 show. The final episode aired on May 25, 1999 with a 90-minute, three-part episode entitled "The Long and Winding Road," which was the fourth highest rated comedy series finale of the 1990s, behind Cheers , The Cosby Show and Seinfeld .
Since 1995, due to its popularity, reruns began airing on The Disney Channel, 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 in the U.S., the Seven Network and 111 Hits in Australia, Sab Tv & Disney Channel in India and although it stopped airing in the UK due to ABC1 ceasing transmission on September 26, on July 28, 2008 it restarted from the pilot episode on Virgin 1. In America, it has begun airing on Nick at Nite in 2007 . In Canada, it has began airing on CMT and YTV. In Germany, Home Improvement was shown on ARD, RTL, VOX, and reruns are currently shown on the private channels RTL 2 and Super RTL. 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.
In 2007, with the DVD release of Tim Allen's two stand-up specials, he said that Home Improvement was supposed to be a parody of This Old House , where the host does almost nothing and the co-host (Al in this case, Norm on This Old House ) does all the work.
Plot details and storylines
Taylor family
The series centered on the Taylor family, which consists of father Tim (Tim Allen), his spouse Jill (Patricia Richardson) and their three children: the oldest, Brad (Zachery Ty Bryan), the middle child Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) and youngest, Mark (Taran Noah Smith). The Taylors live in suburban Detroit, Michigan and have a neighbor named Wilson (Earl Hindman) who is often the go-to guy for solving Tim and Jill's problems.
Tim is a stereotypical American male, who loves power tools, cars and sports. He is a former salesman for the fictional Binford Tool company, and is very much an overconfident know-it-all. Witty but flippant, Tim jokes around a lot, even at inopportune times. Family life was boisterous, with the two oldest children, Brad and Randy, tormenting the much younger, Mark, while continually testing and pestering each other. This rough by-play happened especially throughout the first four seasons, and was revisited occasionally until Jonathan Taylor Thomas left at the beginning of the eighth season.
Brad, popular and athletic, was often the moving factor, who engaged before thinking, a tendency which regularly landed him in trouble. Randy, a year younger, was the comedian of the pack—the quick-thinking, sarcastic kid who had more common sense than Brad but wasn't immune to trouble. Mark was somewhat of a mama's boy, though later in the series (in the seventh season) he grew into a teenage outcast who dressed in black clothing (a goth). Meanwhile, Brad became interested in cars like his father and took up soccer. Randy joined the school newspaper; in the eighth season, he left for Costa Rica.
Tool Time
Each episode included Tim's own home improvement show, called Tool Time , a "meta-program," or show-within-a-show. Originally slated to be called Hammer Time , the show's name was changed to Tool Time because Tim and the producers felt that name would be confused with MC Hammer. In hosting this show, 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) — whose main duty was to introduce the pair at the beginning of the show with the line "Does everybody know what time it is?" They would also assist Tim and Al during the show by bringing them tools.
Although revealed to be an excellent salesman and TV personality, Tim Taylor was spectacularly accident-prone as a handyman, often causing massive disasters on and off the set to the consternation of his co-workers and family. Many Tool Time viewers assume that the accidents on the show are done on purpose, to demonstrate how not to use tools. Many of Tim's accidents were caused by his devices being used in an unauthorized manner, designed in application of his mantra, "More power!"
The Tool Time studio audience is the actual studio audience of Home Improvement . Scenes with Tim and Al without the audience are pre-taped, usually for a cold opening.
The relationship between Tim and Al
Though ultimately they were best friends, there was sometimes a tense problematic relationship between Tim and Al.
Al was reserved, though had much more knowledge, skill, and audience popularity than Tim. His catchphrase, as an opposition to Tim's ill-advised ideas or jokes, was "I don't think so, Tim." He also came up with many puns and would giggle and snort when a joke was made at Tim's expense.
Al, being cautious, insecure, and brighter, bears the brunt of Tim's jokes and constant put-downs. Whenever Tim would make a remark likely to put off some Tool Time viewers, Al would quickly pull out a large sign with the show's address for those viewers to write to Tim and complain. Al is frequently taunted by Tim because of his beard, weight, bland personality (in Tim's eye), poor sense of humor, his overbearing mother, and his preference of flannel shirts (and often other flannel items such as an oversized pair of flannel briefs in the episode "Room Without A View"; Tim shows the briefs again in the episode "A Funny Valentine"). In one of the episodes it was revealed why Al wears flannel and that reason is that his father used to wrap him in his flannel shirts when Al would get cold helping him in his workshop . Tim typically uses his television show to vent about various problems he is having in his personal life. Al is usually very annoyed by this. In the end there was a respect between Tim and Al.
An early episode shows a flashback to the premiere of Tool Time , in which Tim has a full-blooded beard, and introduces Al, who for the only time in the whole series is clean-shaven.
The relationship between Tim and Wilson
Wilson and Tim are next-door neighbors and best friends. Every time that Tim would screw up in his everyday life, he would go to Wilson for advice. As always, Wilson had the answer, often using a philospohical or historical quotation to make his point. Tim would repeat what Wilson said to his wife, Jill, or the viewers of Tool Time , but he would often explain his revelation by misquoting Wilson, using Wilson's long words incorrectly, or mistaking the name of the person or work quoted. Wilson and Tim really trust each other, and that is why they are close as friends and neighbors.
Awards and nominations
Main article: Home improvement awardsHome Improvement received numerous awards and nominations in its 8 season run. Notable awards and nominations include: Golden Globe Awards, Kids' Choice Awards, YoungStar Awards, ASCAP Award and many others.
Production
Development and early recasts
Home Improvement had been in the works between Tim Allen and the writing/producing team of Carmen Finestra, David McFadzean and Matt Williams since the summer of 1990. Originally, the project's proposed title was Hammer Time , both a play on the catchphrase made popular by artist MC Hammer and the name of the fictional fix-it show within the series, which was also called Hammer Time . By the time ABC committed to the project in early 1991, Allen and his team had already changed the title to Home Improvement , although the show hosted by Tim Taylor in the scripts was still called Hammer Time at this point. The catalyst for the series' name change was to represent the aspect of fixing problems within the family and homelife, as well as the use of mechanics and tools. Once the second phase of the pilot was produced, with all the actors that made the final cut into the series, Tim Taylor's Hammer Time became Tool Time .
The first filmed pilot was produced in April 1991, in which Frances Fisher played Jill Taylor. Fisher, primarily known as a dramatic actress, was well qualified for the co-starring role but was viewed by the studio audience as not being comedic enough, and too serious in her line delivery. The producers tried to work with Fisher on adapting