Series Description

The Home Improvement TV show was a 30 minute comedy series on ABC about a guy (Tim Taylor) who hosts a TV show about tools at a Detroit, Michigan television station. Unfortunately, he's about the least adept person when it came to using tools, although his intentions were always good. His wife and kids just hoped that he'd stick to talking about tools on TV rather than doing anything with them. Tim loved his family, was a great friend, and had a lot of fun with life despite the occasional problem.

Home Improvement Cast

Tim Allen .... Tim Taylor
Patricia Richardson .... Jill Taylor
Richard Karn .... Al Borland
Zachery Ty Bryan .... Bradley "Brad" Michael Taylor
Jonathan Taylor Thomas .... Randall "Randy" Timothy Taylor (1991-1998)
Taran Noah Smith .... Mark Taylor
Earl Hindman .... Wilson Wilson Wilson, Jr.
Debbe Dunning .... Heidi Keppert (1993-1999)
Pamela Anderson .... Lisa (1991-1993)

Home Improvement Trivia

The first choice for the series title was "Hammer Time". Tim Taylor's tool show would also have been called "Hammer Time". There was some concern that viewers might think the show was starring "M.C. Hammer" and the wrong audience would tune in. So the names were changed to "Tool Time". Then, the concern became that audiences might be confused by the series and the show "inside" the series having the same name, so the series title became, "Home Improvement".

One novel aspect of the Home Improvement TV show was that the studio audience was also the audience you saw during the "Tool Time" segments!

Patricia Richardson came from a military family. Her father was a jet fighter pilot and a test pilot for the Navy! Her father's father was an Admiral in the Navy and her mother's father was a Marine Corps General! Patricia was born at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland and grew up at her father's many assignments all over the world! She was nominated for 2 Golden Globe Awards and 4 Emmys for her role as Jill Taylor on Home Improvement. There were a few slow years for Patricia after the series ended and then she landed the role of "Dr. Andy Campbell" on the series, "Strong Medicine"! At the time of this writing (2008), she's filming a movie titled, "Lost Dream".

Tim Allen would often wear t-shirts and sweaters with college logos on them when colleges from Michigan would send them to him.

Remember Wilson on Home Improvement? Tim's neighbor whose face was never shown? Tim Allen based that character on one of his childhood neighbors. You see, Tim was so short at that time that he couldn't see over the fence between his yard and the neighbor's house. Wilson was portrayed by Earl Hindman. Comically, Hindman would come out with the rest of the Home Improvement cast for curtain calls, but he'd hold a miniature picket fence in front of his face! Actually, audiences did finally get to see Wilson's face during the curtain call on the very last episode.

Did you realize that Richard Karn's wife, Tudi Roche, appeared on five episodes of the Home Improvement TV show? She played the role of Jill's sister Carrie. The episodes she appeared in (below) were #98, 104, 134, 150, and 179.

Anytime a corporate logo was seen on Home Improvement, it was covered over with the letters "WLS" which is ABC's affiliate station in Chicago, Illinois.

In episode #151, "The Kiss & the Kiss-Off", Pamela Anderson returned to Home Improvement to reprise her role as Lisa! Tim re-hired her as the Tool Time Girl without even mentioning it to Heidi, the current Tool Time Girl!

Tim Allen performed stand-up comedy for the first time at the Comedy Castle in Detroit, Michigan when a buddy dared him! His early routines mostly centered around the "Men are from Mars ... Women from Venus" type jokes and that was still evident in his role on Home Improvement.

The Tim Taylor character came in at #20 in the June 20, 2004 issue of TV Guide's, "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" list!

Lisa the tool girl was originally meant to have been a major character on Home Improvement. Ashley Judd was originally awarded the role, but changed her mind after her agent convinced her that she had a shot at a career in the movies and did so mere days before the pilot was to have been filmed! The script was quickly re-written with Pamela Anderson ("Baywatch", "V.I.P.", "Stacked") starring in the diminished role.

During the series run, it was revealed that Tim had five brothers. Their names were Jeff, John, Marty, Rick, and Steve. Jill had four sisters named Carrie, Linda, Robin, and Tracy.

Episodes List With Original Air Dates

Season 1

1... Pilot (9/17/1991)
2... Mow Better Blues (9/26/1991)
3... Off Sides (10/1/1991)
4... Satellite On A Hot Tim's Roof (10/8/1991)
5... Wild Kingdom (10/15/1991)
6... Adventures In Fine Dining (10/22/1991)
7... Nothing More Than Feelings (10/29/1991)
8... Flying Sauces (11/5/1991)
9... Bubble, Bubble, Toil And Trouble (11/19/1991)
10. Reach Out And Teach Someone (11/26/1991)
11. Look Who's Not Talking (12/10/1991)
12. Yule Better Watch Out (12/17/1991)
13. Up Your Alley (1/7/1992)
14. For Whom The Belch Tolls (1/14/1992)
15. Forever Jung (1/21/1992)
16. Jill's Birthday (2/4/1992)
17. What About Bob? (2/11/1992)
18. Baby, It's Cold Outside (2/18/1992)
19. Unchained Malady (2/25/1992)
20. Birds Of A Feather Flock To Taylor (3/3/1992)
21. A Battle Of Wheels (3/17/1992)
22. Luck Be A Taylor Tonight (4/7/1992)
23. Al's Fair In Love And War (4/28/1992)
24. Stereo-Typical (5/5/1992)

Season 2

25. Read My Hips (9/16/1992)
26. Rites & Wrongs Of Passage (9/23/1992)
27. Overactive Glance (9/30/1992)
28. Groin Pains (10/7/1992)
29. Heavy Meddle (10/14/1992)
30. The Haunting Of Taylor House (10/28/1992)
31. Roomie For Improvement (11/4/1992)
32. May The Best Man Win (11/11/1992)
33. Where There's A Will, There's A Way (11/18/1992)
34. Let's Did Lunch (11/25/1992)
35. Abandoned Family (12/2/1992)
36. I'm Scheming Of A White Christmas (12/16/1992)
37. Bell Bottom Blues (1/6/1993)
38. Howard's End (1/13/1993)
39. Love Is A Many Splintered Thing (1/20/1993)
40. Dances With Tools (2/3/1993)
41. You're Driving Me Crazy, You're Driving Me Nuts (2/10/1993)
42. Bye, Bye Birdie (2/17/1993)
43. Karate Or Not, Here I Come (2/24/1993)
44. Shooting Three To Make Tutu (3/3/1993)
45. Much Ado About Nana (3/17/1993)
46. Ex Marks The Spot (4/14/1993)
47. To Build Or Not To Build (5/5/1993)
48. Birth Of A Hot Rod (5/12/1993)
49. The Great Race (5/19/1993)

Season 3

50. Maybe, Baby (9/15/1993)
51. Aisle See You In My Dreams (9/22/1993)
52. This Joke's For You (9/29/1993)
53. A Sew, Sew Evening (10/6/1993)
54. Arrivederci, Binford (10/13/1993)
55. Crazy For You (10/27/1993)
56. Blow Up (11/3/1993)
57. Be True To Your Tool (11/10/1993)
58. Dollars And Sense (11/17/1993)
59. A Frozen Moment (11/24/1993)
60. Feud For Thought (12/1/1993)
61. 'Twas The Blight Before Christmas (12/15/1993)
62. Slip Sleddin' Away (1/5/1994)
63. Dream On (1/12/1994)
64. Reel Men (1/26/1994)
65. The Colonel (2/9/1994)
66. Too Many Cooks (2/23/1994)
67. Room For Change (3/2/1994)
68. The Eve Of Construction (3/9/1994)
69. Too Many Cooks (3/16/1994)
70. Fifth Anniversary (4/6/1994)
71. Swing Time (5/4/1994)
72. What You See Is What You Get (5/11/1994)
73. Reality Bytes (5/18/1994)
74. The Great Race II (5/25/1994)

Season 4

75. Back In The Saddle Shoes Again (9/20/1994)
76. Don't Tell Momma (9/27/1994)
77. Death Begins At Forty (10/4/1994)
78. The Eyes Don't Have It (10/11/1994)
79. He Ain't Heavy, He's Just Irresponsible (10/18/1994)
80. Borland Ambition (10/25/1994)
81. Ye Olde Shoppe Teacher (11/1/1994)
82. Let's Go To The Videotape (11/8/1994)
83. Quibbling Siblings (11/15/1994)
84. My Dinner With Wilson (11/22/1994)
85. Ye Olde Shoppe Teacher (11/29/1994)
86. Some Like It Hot Rod (12/6/1994)
87. 'Twas The Night Before Chaos (12/13/1994)
88. The Route Of All Evil (1/3/1995)
89. Brother, Can You Spare A Hot Rod? (1/10/1995)
90. Super Bowl Fever (1/31/1995)
91. Bachelor Of The Year (2/7/1995)
92. It's My Party (2/14/1995)
93. A House Divided (2/21/1995)
94. The Naked Truth (2/28/1995)
95. Talk To Me (3/14/1995)
96. No, No, Godot (3/21/1995)
97. Tool Time After Dark (4/11/1995)
98. Sisters And Brothers (5/2/1995)
99. A Marked Man (5/9/1995)
100. Wilson's Girlfriend (5/23/1995)

Season 5

101. A Taylor Runs Through It (9/19/1995)
102. The First Temptation Of Tim (9/26/1995)
103. Her Cheatin' Mind (10/3/1995)
104. Jill's Surprise Party (10/17/1995)
105. Advise And Repent (10/24/1995)
106. Let Them Eat Cake (10/31/1995)
107. The Look (11/7/1995)
108. Room Without A View (11/14/1995)
109. Chicago Hope (11/21/1995)
110. Doctor In The House (11/28/1995)
111. That's My Momma (12/5/1995)
112. 'Twas The Flight Before Christmas (12/12/1995)
113. Oh, Brother (1/9/1996)
114. High School Confidential (1/16/1996)
115. Tanks For The Memories (1/30/1996)
116. The Vasectomy One (2/6/1996)
117. Fear Of Flying (2/13/1996)
118. When Harry Kept Delores (2/20/1996)
119. Eye On Tim (2/27/1996)
120. The Bud Bowl (3/5/1996)
121. Engine And A Haircut, Two Fights (3/12/1996)
122. The Longest Day (4/2/1996)
123. Mr. Wilson's Opus (4/30/1996)
124. Shopping Around (5/7/1996)
125. Alarmed By Burglars (5/14/1996)
126. Games, Flames & Automobiles (5/21/1996)

Season 6

127. At Sea (9/17/1996)
128. Future Shock (9/24/1996)
129. Workshop 'Til You Drop (10/1/1996)
130. Burnin' Love (10/8/1996)
131. Al's Video (10/15/1996)
132. Whose Car Is It Anyway? (10/22/1996)
133. I Was A Teenage Taylor (10/29/1996)
134. Jill And Her Sisters (11/12/1996)
135. The Tool Man Delivers (11/19/1996)
136. The Wood, The Bad And The Hungry (11/26/1996)
137. Workin' Man Blues (12/9/1996)
138. No Place Like Home (12/17/1996)
139. The Flirting Game (1/7/1997)
140. The Karate Kid Returns (1/14/1997)
141. Totally Tool Time (1/28/1997)
142. A Funny Valentine (2/11/1997)
143. Wilson's World (2/18/1997)
144. Something Old, Someone Blue (2/25/1997)
145. Communication Breakdown (3/11/1997)
146. My Son, The Driver (4/1/1997)
147. Insult To Injury (4/15/1997)
148. Family Unties (4/29/1997)
149. The Feminine Mistake (5/6/1997)
150. Taps (5/13/1997)
151. The Kiss & the Kiss-Off (5/21/1997)

Season 7

152. Quest For Fire (9/23/1997)
153. Clash Of The Taylors (9/30/1997)
154. Room At The Top (10/7/1997)
155. Pump You Up (10/14/1997)
156. A Night To Dismember (10/28/1997)
157. The Niece (11/4/1997)
158. Jill's Passion (11/11/1997)
159. Losing My Religion (11/18/1997)
160. Thanksgiving (11/25/1997)
161. The Dating Game (12/9/1997)
162. Bright Christmas (12/16/1997)
163. The Old College Try (1/6/1998)
164. An Older Woman (1/20/1998)
165. Tim "The Landlord" Taylor (2/3/1998)
166. Say Goodnight Gracie (2/10/1998)
167. What A Drag (2/24/1998)
168. Taking Jill For Granite (3/3/1998)
169. Futile Attraction (3/10/1998)
170. Desperately Seeking Willow (3/17/1998)
171. The Write Stuff (3/31/1998)
172. The Son Also Mooches (4/21/1998)
173. Believe It Or Not (4/28/1998)
174. Rebel Without Night Driving Priveleges (5/5/1998)
175. Tool Thousand One: A Space Odyssey (5/12/1998)
176. From Top To Bottom (5/19/1998)

Season 8

177. Whitewater (9/22/1998)
178. Adios (9/29/1998)
179. All In The Family (10/6/1998)
180. Taylor Got Game (10/13/1998)
181. Al's Fair Lady (10/20/1998)
182. Bewitched (10/27/1998)
183. Not-So-Great Scott (11/3/1998)
184. Tim's First Car (11/10/1998)
185. Mr. Likable (11/17/1998)
186. Thanks, But No Thanks (11/24/1998)
187. Home For The Holidays (12/8/1998)
188. Ploys For Tots (12/15/1998)
189. Chop Shop 'Til You Drop (1/5/1999)
190. Home Alone (1/19/1999)
191. Knee Deep (2/2/1999)
192. Mark's Big Break (2/9/1999)
193. Young At Heart (2/16/1999)
194. Love's Labor Lost - Part 1 (2/23/1999)
195. Love's Labor Lost - Part 2 (3/2/1999)
196. Neighbors (3/16/1999)
197. A Hardware Habit To Break (3/30/1999)
198. Loose Lips And Freudian Slips (5/4/1999)
199. Trouble-A-Bruin (5/11/1999)
200. Dead Weight (5/18/1999)
201. The Long And Winding Road - Part 1 (5/18/1999)
202. The Long And Winding Road - Part 2 (5/25/1999)