Home Improvement is an American sitcom television series starring Tim Allen, originally airing on ABC from September 17, 1991, to May 25, 1999, with a total of 204 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The series is set in suburban Detroit. It was created by Carmen Finestra, David McFadzean, and Matt Williams and was one of the most-watched sitcoms in the United States during the 1990s, winning many awards and being ABC's number-one sitcom for most of its run. The series also launched stand-up comedian Allen's acting career and grossed more than $500 million in syndication revenue by 1996.
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 No. 2 in the ratings during the 1993–1994 season, the same year Allen had the No. 1 book (Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man) and film (The Santa Clause).
Beginning in season 2, Home Improvement began each episode with a cold open, which features the show's logo during the teaser. From season 4 until the end of the series in 1999, an anthropomorphic version of the logo was used in different types of animation.
Episodes
Plot details and storylines
Taylor family The series centers on the Taylor family, which consists of Tim (Tim Allen), his wife Jill (Patricia Richardson) and their three sons: Brad (Zachery Ty Bryan), Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), and Mark (Taran Noah Smith). The Taylors live in suburban Detroit, and they have a neighbor named Wilson.
Tool Time Each episode includes Tim's own Binford-sponsored home improvement show, called Tool Time, a show-within-a-show. In hosting this show, Tim is joined by his friend and mild-mannered co-host Al Borland (Richard Karn), and a "Tool Time girl" — first Lisa (Pamela Anderson) and later Heidi (Debbe Dunning) — whose main duty is to introduce the pair at the beginning of the show with the line "Does everybody know what time it is?" In reply, the audience yells, "TOOL TIME!" The Tool Time girl also assists Tim and Al during the show by bringing them tools.
Tool Time was conceived as a parody of the PBS home-improvement show This Old House. Tim and Al are caricatures of the two principal cast members of This Old House, host Bob Vila and master carpenter Norm Abram. Al has a beard and always wears plaid flannel shirts when taping an episode, reflecting Norm Abram's appearance on This Old House. Bob Vila appeared as a guest star on several episodes of Home Improvement, while Tim Allen and Pamela Anderson both appeared on Bob Vila's show Home Again.
Wilson A running gag on the show concerned Tim's neighbor, Wilson W. Wilson Jr (played by actor Earl Hindman). Tim (and sometimes other family members) would chat with Wilson over the backyard fence that separated their two properties, meaning that Wilson was only seen mostly from his eyes (and sometimes his nose) upward, with the rest obscured by the wooden fence. In later episodes, as Wilson was also seen in other environments, part of his face would always be obscured — he would be wearing a mask for a costume party, or a balaclava in fierce snowy weather, or standing in such a way that the view of his face was partially blocked by something in the room. In the entire run of the show, Wilson is never once seen full-face, with the exception of the final episode.
Characters
Main Characters Actor/Actress Episodes Seasons Tim Taylor Tim Allen (204 episodes, 1991–1999) starring seasons 1–8 Jill Taylor (née-Patterson) Patricia Richardson (204 episodes,1991–1999) starring seasons 1–8 Wilson Wilson Jr. Earl Hindman (202 episodes, 1991–1999) starring seasons 1–8 Mark Taylor Taran Noah Smith (201 episodes, 1991–1999) starring seasons 1–8 Randall William "Randy" Taylor Jonathan Taylor Thomas (179 episodes, 1991–1998) starring seasons 1–8 (until episode 178, guest star thereafter) Bradley Michael "Brad" Taylor Zachery Ty Bryan (202 episodes, 1991–1999) starring seasons 1–8 Albert "Al" Borland Richard Karn (201 episodes, 1991–1999) recurring season 1; starring seasons 2–8 Heidi Keppert Debbe Dunning (148 episodes, 1993–1999) recurring seasons 3–6; starring seasons 7–8
Recurring Characters Actor/Actress Episodes Seasons Marty Taylor William O'Leary (30 episodes, 1994–1999) 4–8 Harry Turner Blake Clark (24 episodes, 1994–1999) 4–8 Lisa Pamela Anderson (23 episodes, 1991–1993, 1997) 1–2 and 6 Benny Baroni Jimmy Labriola (16 episodes, 1994–1999) 3–8 Ilene Markham Sherry Hursey (16 episodes, 1993–1997) 3–6 Pete Bilker Mickey Jones (13 episodes, 1991–1999) 1–8 Dwayne Hoover Gary McGurk (11 episodes, 1991–1999) 1–8 Rock Flanagan Casey Sander (10 episodes, 1991–1999) 1–8 Trudy McHale Megan Cavanagh (5 episodes, 1998–1999) 7–8
Production
The series ended after eight seasons in 1999. Richardson was offered $25 million to do a ninth season; Allen was offered $50 million. The two declined the offer, and the series came to an end as a result.
Michigan college and university apparel Throughout the show, Tim Taylor would often wear sweatshirts or T-shirts from various Michigan-based colleges and universities. These were usually sent by the schools to the show for him to wear during an episode. Because Allen considered Michigan his home state, the rule was that only Michigan schools would get the free advertising. There were two notable exceptions. During the episode "Workshop 'Til You Drop" Tim wears a Wofford College (South Carolina) sweatshirt. And in "The Wood, the Bad and the Hungry" he is seen wearing an Owens Community College (Ohio) sweatshirt.
College or university City (of main campus) Episode Season Albion College Albion My Dinner with Wilson 4 Alpena Community College Alpena Engine and a Haircut, Two Fights 5 Aquinas College Grand Rapids Crazy For You 3 Baker College Flint Township No Place Like Home 6 Bay College Escanaba Her Cheatin' Mind 5 Calvin College Grand Rapids Eve of Construction 3 Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant Blow-Up 3 Cleary University Howell You're Driving Me Crazy; You're Driving Me Nuts 2 Cornerstone University Grand Rapids Talk to Me 4 Davenport University Grand Rapids Room Without a View 5Eastern Michigan UniversityYpsilanti To Build or Not to Build 2 Let Them Eat Cake 5 Believe It or Not 7 Ferris State University Big Rapids Be True to Your Tool 3 Grand Valley State University Allendale What You See is What You Get 3 Henry Ford Community College Dearborn A House Divided 4 Hillsdale College Hillsdale The Naked Truth 4Hope CollegeHolland Talk to Me 4 Shopping Around 5 Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo When Harry Kept Delores 5Kellogg Community CollegeBattle Creek Future Shock 6 Jill and Her Sisters 6 Lake Michigan College Benton Township Eye on Tim 5 Lake Superior State University Sault Sainte Marie Brother, Can You Spare a Hot Rod 4 Lawrence Tech Southfield High School Confidential 5 Madonna University Livonia Oh, Brother 5 Marygrove College Detroit The Route of All Evil 4Michigan State UniversityEast Lansing Frozen Moments 3 It Was the Best of Tims, It Was the Worst of Tims 3 Michigan Tech Houghton A Hardware Habit to Break 8 Mott Community College Flint Wilson's World 6 Northwood University Midland A Sew, Sew Evening 3 Northern Michigan University Marquette Swing Time 3 Northwestern Michigan College Traverse City Chicago Hope 5 Oakland University Auburn Hills Slip Slidin' Away 3 Owens Community College Toledo, Ohio The Wood, the Bad and the Hungry 6 Saginaw Valley State University University Center The Eyes Don't Have It 4University of MichiganAnn Arbor Borland Ambition 4 Super Bowl Fever 4 A Marked Man 4 Advise and Repent 5 The Vasectomy One 5 Family Un-Ties 6 An Older Woman 7 Room at the Top 7 Walsh College Troy Dollars and Sense 3Wayne StateDetroit Olde Shoppe Teacher 4 Burnin' Love 6Western Michigan UniversityKalamazoo May the Best Man Win 2 It Was the Best of Tims, It Was the Worst of Tims 3 That's My Momma 5 Future Shock 6 A Night to Dismember 7 Taylor Got Game 8Wofford College Spartanburg, South Carolina Workshop 'Til You Drop 6
Syndication In the United States, Home Improvement began airing in broadcast syndication in September 1995, distributed via Buena Vista Television (now Disney–ABC Domestic Television) and continued to be syndicated until 2007, in a manner similar to Seinfeld and The Simpsons after they began airing in broadcast syndication. Episodes of Home Improvement were not aired in order of their production code number or original airdate. On cable, the series started airing in 2002 on superstations TBS and WGN America. It later ran on Nick at Nite, and its sister network TV Land and eventually the Hallmark Channel in 2013. The show's creators brought a lawsuit against Disney in 2013 alleging that Disney sold the syndication rights for the show at "well below market value" including offering the syndication rights in New York for "no monetary compensation". The lawsuit was settled in 2019. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Since 2019, the series is currently airing on Laff.
Home media
Buena Vista Home Entertainment has released all eight seasons on DVD in Regions 1, 2, and 4. Season 8 has the "Backstage Pass" (which immediately followed "The Long and Winding Road, Part III")
On May 10, 2011, Walt Disney Studios released a complete series box set entitled Home Improvement: 20th Anniversary Complete Collection on DVD in Region 1 and in Region 2 on February 1, 2016 entitled Home Improvement: The Complete Collection. The 25-disc collection features all 204 episodes of the series as well as all special features contained on the previously released season sets; it is encased in special collectible packaging, a Home Improvement toolbox with a Binford "All-In-One Tool" tape measure.
The series became available on Netflix on February 1, 2025.
DVD name Ep# Release dates Region 1 Region 2 Region 4 The Complete First Season 24 November 23, 2004 July 14, 2005 June 28, 2005 The Complete Second Season 25 June 7, 2005 October 13, 2005 July 20, 2005 The Complete Third Season 25 November 22, 2005 January 12, 2006 January 16, 2006 The Complete Fourth Season 26 June 6, 2006 December 6, 2007 December 5, 2007 The Complete Fifth Season 26 November 14, 2006 March 6, 2008 April 2, 2008 The Complete Sixth Season 25 May 15, 2007 November 13, 2008 December 3, 2008 The Complete Seventh Season 25 August 7, 2007 April 2, 2009 March 18, 2009 The Complete Eighth Season 28 June 10, 2008 August 13, 2009 December 2, 2009 20th Anniversary Complete Collection 204 May 10, 2011 N/A N/A The Complete Collection 204 N/A February 1, 2016 N/A
Awards and nominations
Post-series events
Tim Allen, Richard Karn, Casey Sander and Debbe Dunning had a reunion in a television special named Tim Allen Presents: A User's Guide to Home Improvement in 2003 (a terminally ill Earl Hindman did voice-overs, befitting his never-seen persona of Wilson; Hindman died shortly after the special aired). Allen presented his own favorite clips from the show, insider's tips, personal reflections and a question and answer session with the live audience.
On August 3, 2011, in Pacific Palisades, California, the surviving main cast members reunited for Entertainment Weekly magazine, including Jonathan Taylor Thomas, whom the cast had not seen since 1998.
Karn guest starred in two episodes of Tim Allen's 2010s ABC/Fox sitcom Last Man Standing in 2013. Thomas has also appeared on Last Man Standing,Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Tim Allen Reunite on Last Man Standing Retrieved March 20, 2013 and has directed episodes of the series.
In 2015, Patricia Richardson guest starred on Last Man Standing in the episode "Helen Potts", playing the episode's titular character. Thomas made a cameo in the episode, playing Richardson's son.