home improvement

''Home Improvement'' was an American television sitcom series that starred Tim Allen as Tim Taylor (fictional character)Tim Taylor. The show started in 1991 and ran for eight seasons on American Broadcasting CompanyABC, with 204 episodes. It is currently in national syndication on cable television stations such as TBS (TV network)TBS.Set in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan (with many references to the Royal Oak, MichiganRoyal Oak region), the series centers around the antics of the Taylor family, which, along with Tim, included his pedantic wife Jill (Patricia Richardson), and their three mischievous sons, the popular and athletic Brad (Bradley Michael) (Zachery Ty Bryan), brainy and environmentalist Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) and the youngest Mark (Taran Noah Smith). In the first few seasons, Brad and Randy would torment their youngest brother and each other as well. As the series progressed and matured, Brad and Mark would eventually get along. Turning from a small, innocent boy, Mark also dresses mainly in dark goth clothing in later episodes.The other important side of the show — and explanation of the series' name — comes from ''Tool Time'', the fictional handyman show-within-a-show hosted by Taylor and his mild-mannered assistant Al Borland (played by Richard Karn) who prefers to wear flannel shirts, and whose catchphrase was "I don't think so, Tim." He also came up with many puns and giggles and snorts when a joke is made at Tim's expense. Taylor was always arrogant and prone to accidents and his "archenemy", so to speak, is the real-life home improvement specialist Bob Vila. His projects on ''Tool Time'' usually go awry — such as using an oversized and overpowered Binford gadget. The cautious, insecure, and brighter Borland always bore the brunt of Tim Taylor's jokes and constant put-downs. A running gagrunning joke was Tim's references to Al's overweight mother, who is usually referred to but is never seen throughout the series — although in one episode, she dies and the characters are at her funeral. Al has a "twin" brother named Cal who is a physicist, and unlike other siblings across the world, they have never gotten into a physical fight; instead, they settle their disputes over a cup of tea. Throughout the series, Jill studied to become a psychologist. In later seasons, Randy was written out of the script by mentioning that he was in Costa Rica. In one episode, Tim also received a Doctor of PhilosophyPh.D. from his alma mater. The show featured a few unique gimmicks. During scene changes clever "wipes" were used to comically remove the current image from the screen. For example, the current scene could shatter like glass, fall over like a piece of wood, or deflate like a balloon. The other gimmick was the character of Wilson (Earl Hindman), the Taylor family's sage, advice-giving neighbor with many historical, philosophical, and literary works to quote. Tim often confusingly misquotes and re-words Wilson's advice when speaking to Jill or his sons. Since Wilson was partly inspired by a neighbor that Tim had when he was very little, half of Wilson's face was never seen on the show, and was instead constantly — and sometimes humorously — blocked by various props, such as fences, masks, trees, and unusual costumes. In the series finale episode his face was fully exposed. When it came into question whether "Wilson" was the character's first name or last, he explained that his full name was actually Wilson Wilson, Jr.; his father's name having been Wilson Wilson, Sr. During the show, Wilson is usually working on an unusual project of some sort in his backyard. His usual catchphrase is "Well! Heidi-ho neighbor" when greeting Tim. The show also has a reputation for involving extremely clever humor.The sitcom launched the career of former Playboy model Pamela Anderson, who would later star in the internationally syndicated television show ''Baywatch''. Anderson played the announcer and "showgirl" Lisa in the character Tim Taylor's ''Tool Time'' show. As Anderson gained stardom, she was replaced by another actress. On ''Tool Time'', Lisa was replaced by Heidi (Debbe Dunning), who stayed on the show for the remainder of the series. Anderson made a guest appearance as Lisa in a later episode, and in the show, Heidi becomes jealous when Lisa gets more attention.spoiler The series ended in a two-part episode involving Tim being displeased at how ''Tool Time'' had been changed into something resembling ''The Jerry Springer Show'', and Jill getting a new job. The problem was that the job was in Indiana, and Tim didn't want to move at first.Of course, after talking to his neighbor, he agreed to leave Detroit. Tim ended his ''Tool Time'' appearances with a final show that garnered huge ratings. However, Jill realized that they would be moving out of the house the family grew up in. So they put it on a ship and took it with them to Indiana. (It is unclear whether the moving of the house was Tim's dream sequence or a reality.)

''Home Improvement'' and the Men's Movement - The central theme of ''Home Improvement'' was inspired by the men's movement. The show made its debut in 1991, a year after the publication of Robert Bly's book Iron John: A Book About Men, and the same year as Sam Keen's book Fire in the Belly. The story arc of a typical episode looked like this:# Tim offends Jill in some way. He doesn't understand what he did wrong, and she can't explain it in a way he can understand.# Tim goes out into the back yard, where he happens to see Wilson. He complains to Wilson about the misunderstanding with Jill.# Wilson tells Tim that misunderstandings are only to be expected because men and women are very different. He often cites some authority in support of his views.# Tim returns to Jill and apologizes, giving her a garbled version of Wilson's theories as he does so.#Jill forgives Tim.In this way, the stereotypical stupid husband and father of the American sitcom was made more palatable to a society that had grown more sensitive.

External links -

tvplex.go.com - Official Homepage of ''Home Improvement''

hiarchive.co.uk - The Home Improvement Archive

servicemagic.com - Home Improvement Resources

toolmedia.de - Home Improvement Pictures and Sounds

0101120title=Home Improvement tvseries-stub Category:ABC network !showsCategory:SitcomsCategory: 1990s? TV shows in the United Statesde:Hör mal wer da hämmert

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