91 Fun Facts About Home Improvement

Home Improvement is set in the suburbs of which US city?

Detroit is home for the Taylors, and colleges across Michigan mailed Tim sweatshirts to wear on air, which he did; Tim Allen himself grew up in Birmingham, Michigan.

Tim Taylor's show-within-a-show, Tool Time, was sponsored by which fictional tool company?

Binford, the fictional toolmaker, sponsored Tool Time and meddled in it too: in season two its owner installs his own daughter, Maureen, as Tim's producer.

Who plays Al Borland, Tim's bearded, flannel-wearing Tool Time co-host?

Richard Karn plays Al Borland; he heard about the part from an agent he sat beside in traffic school, after Stephen Tobolowsky, originally cast, proved busy with a film.

Which future Baywatch star played Lisa, the original Tool Time girl, in Home Improvement's first two seasons?

Pamela Anderson played Lisa, the first Tool Time girl, in seasons one and two before leaving for Baywatch; Debbe Dunning's Heidi took over from season three.

What usually hides the lower half of neighbour Wilson's face on Home Improvement?

The backyard fence hides everything below Wilson's eyes; away from it the writers kept the gag going with a costume mask, a balaclava or something in the room that blocked the view.

Which of the three Taylor boys did Jonathan Taylor Thomas play?

Jonathan Taylor Thomas played middle son Randy until 1998, when he left to concentrate on his studies; he turns up in only three episodes of the final season.

What is the full name of Wilson, the Taylors' sage neighbour on Home Improvement?

Wilson W. Wilson Jr. has the same first and last name; in season four Jill plays matchmaker and sets him up with one of her professors, his first date in 20 years.

Home Improvement ran for eight seasons, from 1991 to 1999, on which US network?

ABC got the series after Tim Allen turned down Disney's offers to star in TV versions of Turner & Hooch and Dead Poets Society, holding out for a sitcom of his own.

Home Improvement co-creator Matt Williams had created which other hit sitcom in 1988?

Roseanne made Williams's name, but its star clashed with him and the network fired him during the first season; he kept only his 'created by' credit.

Which real home-improvement host, the model for Tim's persona, guested on Tool Time and later raced Tim?

Bob Vila first guested in season one's 'What About Bob?', where Tim cheated in a 'Stump the Toolman' quiz against him, then came back to race him in seasons two and three.

Tool Time was conceived as a parody of which PBS series?

This Old House, PBS's renovation series, was the target: Tool Time's accident-prone host and his capable bearded sidekick caricature its real presenter and master carpenter.

In Home Improvement's 'Forever Jung', what does Tim accidentally glue to a table?

His forehead ends up stuck to a table on Tool Time after a stressful visit from Jill's feminist friend Karen leaves him rattled.

Which boxing legend guest-starred as himself on Tool Time in Home Improvement's 'Unchained Malady'?

George Foreman appeared as himself as a Tool Time guest in 'Unchained Malady', a season-one episode in which Tim's superstitions over a chain letter run wild.

In season three, why does Lisa leave Tool Time, making way for Heidi?

She goes to college, the show's way of writing Lisa out; she drops back in for a visit at the end of season six, by then a paramedic.

What kills Tim's boss, the founder of Tool Time's sponsor, in season three of Home Improvement?

A heart attack kills Tim's boss and close friend; Tim can't bring himself to cry, and Brad concludes that men aren't allowed to.

Al proposes on Tool Time to which woman, whom Jill set him up with for his 35th birthday?

Ilene Markham gets a hasty on-air proposal soon after Jill fixes them up; years later, on the eve of their season-six wedding, both admit to doubts.

In Home Improvement's fourth season, Jill goes back to college for a master's in which subject?

Psychology becomes Jill's new path after she is laid off from her job; Tim scoffs at the plan until a talk with Wilson brings him round.

What does Tim drop on Jill's vintage Chevrolet Nomad during a Tool Time shoot in a construction yard?

A three-ton steel beam flattens the car; Tim keeps quiet, and Jill finds out at the body shop, along with the news that he had blamed the damage on her.

In Home Improvement's final season, an English team owner says Brad is good enough to turn professional in which sport?

Soccer nearly lures Brad to Europe instead of university: Wilson's visiting friend owns an English club and tells Tim the boy could play for a living.

In Home Improvement's 'No, No, Godot', Tim and Al are arrested trying to do what before a night at the theatre?

Scalp hockey tickets: the buyer turns out to be an undercover cop, and Jill has to bail the pair out before anyone gets to see Waiting for Godot.

Which country singer makes a guest appearance on Tool Time in the episode 'When Harry Kept Delores'?

Alan Jackson drops in as himself while Tim's advice to Harry about standing up to his wife Delores backfires and puts their marriage in jeopardy.

In Home Improvement's 'The Longest Day', the Taylors await test results after Randy's doctor finds swelling where?

Around his neck: the swelling points to a thyroid problem, with cancer a possibility, and the family spends a tense 24 hours waiting on Randy's tests.

Al risks his life savings in season five marketing what product, which turns out to have a wiring defect?

A Tool Time board game whose wiring fault starts a fire; its builder turns out to be in jail, so Tim, Jill, Wilson, Heidi and friends repair every unit before it ships.

Tim invites his brother and twin nieces to move in after learning the brother has been sleeping where?

At the hardware store is where Marty has been sleeping since separating from his wife, so Tim takes in his brother and the six-year-old twins without asking the family first.

In 'Adios', Randy leaves for a yearlong environmental-study programme in which country?

Costa Rica takes Randy away for a year in 'Adios', the episode that wrote him out as a regular; he comes home unexpectedly for Christmas a few episodes later.

The real astronauts who guested on Home Improvement's Tool Time in 1994 had just flown a shuttle mission to repair what?

The Hubble telescope's repair crew showed off tools they had used in orbit, and their commander gave the cast a framed flag and mission patch during the closing credits.

For a charity race against a rival TV host, Home Improvement's Tim fits a helicopter's jet engine to what?

A lawnmower gets the jet engine in season two's 'The Great Race', Tim's usual answer to the fear of losing: more power.

Which model and actress plays Alex, Tim's new mechanic, in Home Improvement's 'Young at Heart'?

Jenny McCarthy plays Alex, Tim's new mechanic, in 'Young at Heart'; a traffic camera catches Tim in a compromising pose with her, derailing his anniversary plans with Jill.

Mark's hot rod video becomes a whole-cast dance number set to a song from which musical?

Grease supplies 'Greased Lightnin'': when Tim dislikes Mark's first cut, Mark restages the video as a dance number starring the whole gang, Wilson included.

In Home Improvement's finale, Jill's professor offers her a prestigious job in which state?

Indiana is far enough away that taking the job means giving up the house Tim has spent years rebuilding; having just quit Tool Time over a new producer's stunts, he is free to go.

Whose wedding do Tim and Jill host in their backyard in the Home Improvement finale?

Al and Trudy marry in the Taylors' backyard, with the barrier to Wilson's yard taken down so the party can spread across both gardens.

Home Improvement's three-part 1999 finale shares its title with a song by which band?

The Beatles' 'The Long and Winding Road' names the finale, in which Tim quits Tool Time after a new producer stages a tabloid-style brawl on air, then turns down more money to stay.

What did the 'Backstage Pass' special after Home Improvement's finale show, along with outtakes and interviews?

Earl Hindman's entire face appeared after eight seasons of a half-hidden Wilson; in a 2003 reunion special the actor, by then gravely ill, was again heard but not seen.

Which actress, later Rose's mother in Titanic, played Jill Taylor in Home Improvement's unaired pilot before being recast?

Frances Fisher shot the pilot but did not test well with audiences; her replacement, hired three months after giving birth to twins, re-shot it.

Which Tim Allen book topped the bestseller list in November 1994?

Allen's memoir Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man topped the New York Times bestseller list in November 1994, the week The Santa Clause led the box office and Home Improvement led the ratings.

Which award named Tim Allen best actor in a TV comedy in 1995 for playing Tim Taylor?

A Golden Globe went to Allen in 1995 for a character built from his own stand-up act, the grunting 'men are pigs' routine he had toured for years before television.

The actor who played Al Borland went on to host which game show from 2002 to 2006?

Family Feud hired him in 2002 to replace Louie Anderson, and that year he even hosted a mock edition of the show in The Strokes' video for 'Someday'.

In January 2021, Tim Allen reprised Tim Taylor in an episode of which of his later sitcoms?

Last Man Standing brought Tim Taylor back in 'Dual Time', where he meets his lookalike Mike Baxter while in town on tool-company business.

Which streaming service added Home Improvement on 1 February 2025 under a licensing deal with Disney?

Netflix got the sitcom as one of 14 shows Disney agreed to license to its streaming rival, a non-exclusive deal that left Home Improvement on Hulu as well.

Which young Disney hero did Home Improvement's Jonathan Taylor Thomas voice during the sitcom's run?

Simba's speaking voice as a cub was Thomas, but not the songs: Jason Weaver sang 'I Just Can't Wait to Be King' and 'Hakuna Matata' for the character.

Al Borland's beard and flannel shirts were modelled on which real-life TV master carpenter?

Norm Abram, public television's bearded, plaid-shirted carpenter, was the model; his own later woodworking series was taped in a workshop he had built for his producer in 1979.

Which Toy Story character did Tim Allen first voice in 1995, midway through Home Improvement's run?

Buzz Lightyear went to Allen after the director took him the part while he was still taping the sitcom. The role later won him an Annie Award.

Which band visits Home Improvement as Wilson's cousins, having never used any of his song ideas?

The Beach Boys were founded by three brothers named Wilson, which made them ideal on-screen relatives for the Taylors' neighbour. He still resents them for ignoring his songwriting.

Which comedian's Tool Time guest spot with Jim Breuer earned him the short-lived spin-off Buddies?

Dave Chappelle and his real-life friend played pals asking Tim for advice about their girlfriends. Breuer was replaced before the new sitcom aired, and it was pulled after four episodes.

Which appliance does Tim wreck in Home Improvement's pilot after Jill tells him to leave it alone?

The dishwasher dies while Jill is out at a job interview she doesn't land. Tim gets an electric shock, then apologises to her through his next Tool Time broadcast.

Which holiday do the Taylors of Home Improvement mark most years with a running battle of pranks?

Halloween became a family prank war, and Jill sprang the ultimate one in the last season by convincing Tim that Wilson had vanished and died.

Which item of clothing did colleges mail to Home Improvement for Tim Taylor to wear on air?

Sweatshirts arrived from schools hoping for free advertising, and the rule was that only colleges in Tim Allen's home state got it. Two out-of-state schools still slipped through.

Which sport brings Brad Taylor a scholarship chance and a UCLA scout's interest on Home Improvement?

Soccer looks so promising that a visiting English club owner tells Tim that Brad could turn professional. A knee injury on a Tool Time shoot then puts the plan in doubt.

Jill outshines Tim Taylor at handling which vehicle on a military base, making him a sore loser?

A tank brought out the worst in Tim: Jill beat him on both knowledge and driving in a competition he had only reluctantly let her attend.

Which animal in the Taylors' basement exposes a huge fear of Tim's in Home Improvement's first season?

A snake is suspected only after Randy finds a shed skin downstairs. Jill makes Tim deal with it because Mark's Cub Scout troop is due to visit.

Which network aired all eight seasons of Home Improvement, its number-one sitcom for most of them?

ABC premiered the comedy in September 1991, and by 1996 the reruns alone had earned more than $500 million in syndication.

Jill's anniversary gift to Tim is a steering wheel from the race car of which Tool Time guest?

Mario Andretti had appeared with his son Michael earlier in season two. Tim bribes Mark to reveal the present, then counters with dance lessons that put the teacher in hospital.

Which bird moves in on Home Improvement's Taylor house and drives Tim crazy trying to get rid of it?

A woodpecker sends the tool expert into a frenzy. Indoors, Tim and Jill end up tutoring a lovesick Brad, who has flunked a maths test.

Mark's school troubles in Home Improvement's fourth season turn out to be because he needs what?

Glasses fix the problem Jill had blamed on a lack of attention at home. Brad and Randy even agree to stand up for their little brother if anyone teases him.

Where do Home Improvement's Tim and Jill deliver Heidi's baby on the way to a car awards night?

At a gas station, the couple deliver the baby by following instructions phoned in by Wilson, who is already at the ceremony with Al.

Mark Taylor fights off Randy's attacker at the mall thanks to lessons in what, begun in season two?

Karate was Tim and Jill's idea for building Mark's confidence when his brothers kept shutting him out. Years later the rescue gets Randy teased at school.

Which actor played eldest Taylor son Brad while a month younger than his on-screen kid brother?

Zachery Ty Bryan was born in October 1981, a month after the actor playing middle brother Randy, who simply looked much younger.

Tim Taylor fights dinosaurs and mummies in a 1994 Home Improvement video game for which console?

Super Nintendo owners got Power Tool Pursuit, a platform game so odd that it later made lists of the weirdest video games ever. A Sega Genesis version was planned but never released.

Which flying role does Randy win in a school play, leaving Tim Taylor to rig the missing machinery?

Peter Pan has to fly, but the school lacks the machine to lift him, so Tim comes up with an elaborate idea of his own. He does it while nursing a groin muscle pulled showing off to Jill.

On a Habitat for Humanity build, Tim Taylor tries to beat Al and Jill's team with a crew of what?

All-star athletes filled Tim's side because he insisted married couples shouldn't work together, so Jill signed on with Al instead.

Tim quits Tool Time when a new producer stages a brawl in the style of which talk-show host?

Jerry Springer's brawling format was the newcomer's idea for livening up the tool programme. Al and Heidi walk out right behind Tim.

Which brother of Tim Taylor, a regular visitor from season four, is the father of twin girls?

Marty, played by William O'Leary, arrives in that season thinking of leaving his wife and newborn daughters. Tim's harsh advice turns his brother against him.

Which figure from Tim Taylor's school days ends up dating his mother in season five?

His shop teacher, Art Leonard, is someone Tim's mother can talk to, unlike a son who never takes her seriously. Tim later shoots the man with a nail gun by accident on Tool Time.

Tim begs Jill to lose at which game after learning the boss's last conqueror was sent to Pakistan?

Bowling with new owner Bud and his wife turns tense when Jill starts rolling a great game. Bud's wife warns Tim that the last winner was transferred abroad.

What kind of pet is Al Borland's Scooter, which Tim accidentally drops into concrete?

A turtle named Scooter meets the cement in the episode where Jill, flushed with an A on a college paper, hands out advice that strains another couple's marriage.

Brad and Randy's secrecy test has Mark hold which live creature in his mouth until he swallows it?

A tadpole was meant to stay put for three seconds as the price of playing with his older brothers. Mark gulps it down by accident.

What rank does Jill Taylor's army father hold, a man who asks her honest opinion of his boring book?

Colonel is his rank, and Jill cannot bring herself to tell him the truth about the manuscript. Tim meanwhile builds a hockey-puck shooter to sharpen Randy's game.

Tim Taylor's refusal to ask directions on the way to a wedding lands him and Jill in which state?

Ohio is where the couple end up instead of at the wedding of Jill's cousin. Back home, the boys cheat their babysitter Karen at go fish.

To which state does Harry Turner move with his wife Delores in Home Improvement's final season?

Arizona lures Harry away, and Tim throws a fundraising party to tempt buyers for his friend's business, only to be pressured into buying it himself.

When Lisa, the first Tool Time girl, returns for a visit in season six, what has she become?

A paramedic by then, Lisa is told she can come back whenever she likes. Her successor Heidi, who was never consulted, quits until Tim talks her round.

Which neighbour is Tim Taylor's long-standing rival in the annual Christmas lighting contest?

Doc Johnson even gets inside information one year, when Randy's crush on the rival's granddaughter leads him to leak his dad's plans.

Home Improvement drew much of its material from which earlier career of its star, Tim Allen?

Stand-up comedy gave the sitcom its hero: much of the show came from Allen's stage act, and the series in turn launched him as an actor.

Which 1994 Christmas film made Tim Allen a box-office star while Home Improvement led the ratings?

The Santa Clause was the highest-grossing film in cinemas in the same week of November that Allen also had the top-rated television series.

Home Improvement was voted Favorite TV Show four years running from 1994 at which channel's awards?

Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards gave the sitcom four straight wins, and its young voters also named Tim Allen their favourite television actor in each of those years.

Home Improvement's creators sued which company in 2013 for selling reruns far below market value?

Disney was accused of handing over the New York syndication rights for no money at all. The two sides settled in 2019 on undisclosed terms.

Which comedian visits Home Improvement as Mike Weber, the priest he played on the sitcom Soul Man?

Dan Aykroyd crossed over from a neighbouring comedy on the same network, in an episode where Randy volunteers at a hospice and begins to question his religion.

What must Tim Taylor attend with Jill for a whole year if he fails to teach the boys some manners?

The opera for an entire year is the forfeit Jill names after the boys are kicked out of a pizza parlour. Tim is horrified enough to try his best.

The 2011 complete-series DVD set of Home Improvement comes packaged inside what?

A toolbox holds all 25 discs, and it comes with a tape measure branded as the all-in-one tool of Tim's fictional sponsor.

Which actress played Heidi, Home Improvement's Tool Time girl from season three until the finale?

Debbe Dunning had already guest-starred in season two as a different character before taking over. She was promoted to the main cast for the last two seasons.

Tool Time's salute to engines takes Tim, Al and Heidi aboard which kind of Navy vessel?

An aircraft carrier, the USS Constellation, hosted the location shoot. At home, Jill pushes a reluctant Tim to have the safe-sex talk with Brad.

After forgetting to enlarge a nice picture of Jill for a dinner honouring her, Tim uses which one?

Her driver's licence photo was the only picture Tim could find at the last minute, and seeing it enlarged in front of the guests completely humiliates her.

Wilson falls out with Tim Taylor after Tim tells everyone about Wilson's encounter with what?

An alien encounter was a secret Wilson would rather his neighbour had kept to himself, and Tim's blabbing leaves the man who usually hands out the advice upset with him.

The actor who played Al Borland learned of Home Improvement's casting from an agent he met where?

At traffic school, where a citation had sent him, he happened to sit beside the agent. He joined the pilot as a guest star and became a regular once the series was picked up.

Which comedian drops into the Taylors' luxury box at the Lions game where Tim blacks out the stadium?

Rodney Dangerfield lightens the mood for Jill and the boys, who had been stuck in the box with an obnoxious Hollywood producer while Tim was away on a private tour.

Which Pistons star drops by Tool Time for its Men's Convenience Week in season seven?

Grant Hill's team is one of Tim's passions. In an earlier season he walks out of a ballet after thirty minutes to watch them from courtside seats.

Eating too much of which cuisine leaves Tim Taylor awake all night watching old Tool Time tapes?

Polish food, eaten against Jill's advice, upsets Tim's stomach and sets up a two-part episode built around his old recordings.

Which character actor was first cast as Al Borland but was busy with a film when taping began?

Stephen Tobolowsky had the part until a film clash forced a recast. His replacement was only a guest star in the pilot before becoming a regular.

Al Borland's local popularity win over Tim earns him a TV-movie role opposite which actress?

Morgan Fairchild co-stars after Al hires a manager on the strength of his numbers, while Tim struggles to convince anyone that he is happy for his sidekick.

What does Al spill on the engine of Brad's first car, a stain that identifies it after it is stolen?

Boysenberry jelly lands on the manifold during a Tool Time segment. When the car is stolen and stripped for parts, Tim and Al go undercover and find it by the berry stain.

Finding marijuana in the yard leads Jill Taylor to admit a scary drug experience at whose concert?

Led Zeppelin provided the soundtrack to the bad trip Jill owns up to, after Tim falls through the gazebo and finds a small bag taped under the swing.

Which future Star Trek: Voyager doctor plays Joe Morton, Tim Taylor's irritating new neighbour?

Robert Picardo's character dents the grille of Tim's prized car, and Tim tries to shake him off by inventing lies about Jill.