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Anone Mouse Jr Home Improvement Part 2
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This sandbox is my second based on Home Improvement; the first is gathering tropes for the individual recap pages, while this is for the main work page (I had to split it off because of length). I've gathered effectively every wick, and am sorting the entries between the main page and the recaps.

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     Entries with details to identify (3) 

  • Contractual Gag: Wilson's un-shown lower face became this. Originally, he just stood behind a fence on stage. As the show progressed, Wilson was shown out of the house more and set designers went to town finding ways to keep the portion of his face hidden with props. In all these cases, he was never shown, being obscured by at least three props in the scene as he moved around the set. When the cast would take their bows at the end of filming, Earl Hindman would hold a miniature section of fence made of tongue depressors in front of the lower part of his face. Other variants of the hidden face include:
    • In "No, No, Godot", the lower half of his face was shown, only for the upper half to be covered by a mask Mark was making.
    • In (), Wilson appears without any props in front of his face... but it's a Halloween episode and his face is covered in skeleton makeup, to the point where Tim didn't realize it was him until he'd already walked out of the scene.

  • French Cuisine Is Haughty: When the characters want fine dining, they tend to go to a local restaurant whose waiter always insults them. In one episode, when one of the boys takes a girl there for a dinner date, they end up just ordering salads because they can't afford anything else.

  • Nail 'Em: Tim, naturally, tends to have some accidents involving shooting people with nail guns, such as "Adventures in Fine Dining" (where he accidentally nails his own foot to the floor), "Dances with Tools" (where he accidentally shoots a crew member in the thigh), "Arrivederci, Binford" (where his 21 nail gun salute goes haywire), "Shopping Around" (where he accidentally shoots his shop teacher in the behind) and "?(nail gun on dartboard with Bob Vila's face)".

    A-L 

  • 555:
    • Tool Time's call-in number, 555-TOOL. One season 4 episode includes the full version of the number, with area code 810, which was the actual area code for Royal Oak, Michigan, at the time of said episode's writing. 810 is still used as the area code for Flint and parts of Livingston County and the Thumb, but Royal Oak is now in area code 248, which came into existence around the time season 7 premiered.
    • The Taylor family's address in Royal Oak is 510 Glenview Road. There is a street named Glenview in Royal Oak, but it is an Avenue, and its addresses only go as low as the 2200 range (the 500 range is at Park Avenue or Pingree Boulevard heading north from the baseline at 11 Mile Road and at 5th Street heading south, and Glenview Avenue intersects neither)
  • Achilles' Heel: Tim's carelessness and compulsion to overpower things, resulting in the operation of said things going haywire. When those are in check, he can do some fairly incredible things (the reason his hot rods were successful is likely because he had too much respect for them to rewire them or fail to take great care with them). But even his crazy Tim Taylor Technology belies his skill.
  • Actor Allusion: The later seasons had a handful of references to The Lion King and Toy Story 1. Young Simba and Buzz Lightyear were voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Tim Allen, respectively.
  • Actually Pretty Funny: Brad and Randy were big practical jokers in the early seasons. Jill would usually take a very disciplinary stance on said pranks, but it would often be undercut by Tim, who could barely conceal the fact that he found their pranks hilarious. That's because, Like Father, Like Son, Tim was an infamous prankster, something that's especially shown in Halloween Episodes.
  • Actually, That's My Assistant: Tim is usually mistaken for the Comedy Relief Bumbling Sidekick to Al. This is because Tim is remarkably accident prone, whereas Al is the model of careful professionalism. In fact, most viewers think that Tim's accidents are All Part of the Show. The misunderstanding is common enough that Tim's declarations of "Al is my assistant. He assists me," is practically a catchphrase.
  • Adam Westing: Early seasons depicted Tim and Bob Vila being rivals, with Vila making occasional guest appearances to compete with Tim in different challenges, such as a lawnmower race. In a memorable moment in "What About Bob?", Tim accidentally knocks Vila unconscious with a door beam.
  • Advanced Tech 2000: The In-Universe "Binford 6100" line of products.
  • An Aesop: Usually delivered by Wilson, although they were frequently more directed at the characters than at the audience.
  • Aesop Amnesia: Very few characters on the show learned their lessons outright, though many of them (very) gradually softened the behaviors that got them in trouble repeatedly.
    • Tim Taylor learns that constantly being a male chauvinist is going to cost him, but it never quite sinks in.
    • Tim also constantly learns that showing off or using something ridiculously overpowered for the job he's trying to do is going to end badly. Except when he doesn't, which is why he's on a first name basis with the doctors and nurses at the emergency room.
    • On the opposite end, Jill also learned several times that Tim's feelings weren't meaningless or baseless just because they were based in masculine behavior, and that she should try to be more understanding. Semi-separate of Tim, she also learned (repeatedly) not to try and psychoanalyze people with her still-amateur psychiatric abilities because she didn't have the experience and complete knowledge necessary to do so (and that she probably shouldn't analyze people she hadn't met yet). Or that she shouldn't meddle in peoples' relationships because she was as likely to cause a breakup as heal any difficulties. None of these stuck.
  • All-American Face: Brad is a typical blonde haired, big smile athlete, although without the intense patriotism associated with the trope. The story goes that Zachary Ty Bryan originally auditioned for Randy, the middle child (and was in fact about the same age as Jonathan Taylor Thomas who got the part), but the casting director felt he had more of an All-American face. To their relief, he proceeded to grow into that role really well, eventually getting taller than Tim Allen.
  • Alliterative Name: Tim "The Toolman" Taylor. Don't forget Wilson W. Wilson.
  • All Part of the Show: Most Tool Time viewers believe that all of Tim's mishaps on the show are staged and serve as an example of what not to do. "Dances with Tools" even has a safety organization give Tim an award under this assumption. Tim, not wanting to risk his reputation, lets them.
  • The All-Solving Hammer: Tim Taylor's typical suggested answer to every issue is that it needs "More Power! Hrah hrah hrah hrah hrah hrah..!"
  • All There in the Manual: Ultimate aversion: the SNES game only had a slip of paper insisting that real men didn't need manuals.
  • Alphabetical Theme Naming: Al's brother is named Cal and his mother is named Alma. Also, Wilson Wilson's niece is named Willow Wilson and it is once mentioned that his relatives include Wilbur, Wilhemina, Wilford, Willard, Wilma, and Brian.
  • Always Someone Better: Tim's one-sided rivalry with recurring Guest Star and real-life TV carpenter Bob Vila, formerly of This Old House, which is the root cause for Tim to treat the latter as an Unknown Rival. Not only is Vila a more capable handyman than Tim (probably because Vila doesn't produce Tim Taylor Technology), Vila is also a much more successful show host. Given that even Al is more competent (when Tim isn't actually toning himself down though), it borders on a parody of this trope.
  • Amusing Injuries: Tim suffered these almost Once an Episode — if not considerably more — mostly due to his lack of caution when repairing things. His medical record at the local hospital is the size of a phone book (and that's just this year's). They also keep a coffee mug for him.
  • And Starring:
    • "Starring Tim Allen" for the entire run.
    • The seventh season's cast roll ends with "and Jonathan Taylor Thomas". It was his final as a regular, and the first year for the "And" in the series.
    • For the eighth season, the cast roll ends "with Zachary Ty Bryan and Richard Karn".
  • Artistic License – Film Production: Tool Time is a local cable show where Tim is the host, and takes a few liberties with how such a show would be run and is inconsistent on if it is filmed live, delayed or edited and aired a few days later. They have a Studio Audience most of the time but also do some remote episodes. The show doesn't seem to have a director or writers, and while they sometimes spitball ideas for future episodes off set it doesn't appear that they have a dress rehearsal. Tim will sometimes mention crew members by name when he wants a particular camera shot or sound effect, and in general seems that he, Al and even Heidi are just winging the entire episode with nothing more than an outline. An outline they often discard due to pranks or Amusing Injuries. Tim deals with various Binford executives throughout the show but they are explicitly the chief sponsor and not especially involved with the production of the show. There's only one episode (season 6's "Totally Tool Time") where we meet an on-set producer who's in charge of actually organizing things behind the scenes, something that's otherwise never brought up.
  • Artistic License – Geography:
    • The show itself is set in Detroit, which in the series is depicted as astoundingly white, nothing like real life. There are, however, hints and mentions that it actually takes place in the suburb of Royal Oak. This is confirmed by a closeup of Brad Taylor's driver's license in the scene transition from The Teaser in the season 6 episode "Workin' Man Blues", where it is also revealed that the Taylor family's address is 510 Glenview Road. There is a street named Glenview in Royal Oak, but it is an Avenue, and its addresses only go as low as the 2200 range (the 500 range is at Park Avenue or Pingree Boulevard heading north from the baseline at 11 Mile Road and at 5th Street heading south, and Glenview Avenue intersects neither).
    • Even then, it's extremely obvious that it was filmed in Los Angeles, as noted by distant mountains in multiple outdoor shots, as well as occasional appearances of California architectural styles that were nonexistent in Michigan.
    • In "Jill's Surprise Party", Tim invites one of Jill's former coworkers to her birthday and finds out later that the two weren't exactly friends anymore, but the coworker still calls up to get directions to the house. Tim intentionally sends her "on 94 west" to "10, and go 12 exits", as doing so would make her end up in Canada. Getting from the I-94/M-10 interchange in Detroit to the Canadian border only involves passing seven exits along southbound M-10 before the freeway ends at a traffic light at Jefferson Avenue and Griswold Street, and then from there, passing two additional traffic lights, making a right turn at the second, does indeed take you into Canada (via the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel).
  • Ascended Extra:
    • Tool Girl Heidi, at first solely used to introduce Tim and Al and provide Fanservice (the reason Pam Anderson, who played original Tool Girl Lisa, left the show for a full-time gig on Baywatch), eventually got a bigger role on Tool Time and a few storylines herself (about her pregnancy and her husband cheating on her, for example), as well as a Promotion to Opening Titles in season 7.
    • Al. Originally, another character (Glen) was to be Tim's assistant, but actor Stephen Tobolowsky was busy with another project. To give him time to finish, producers hired Richard Karn for the pilot. When the series was picked up, Karn stayed on as a recurring guest star as Tobolowsky was still busy elsewhere. Soon enough, all parties agreed that between Tobolowsky's busy workload and Karn and Tim Allen's playing off each other so well, it was best to simply retain Al. For this reason Al is a relatively minor character for most of the first season, then Karn was added to the main cast by Season 2.
  • As Himself: Done with George Foreman, Michael and Mario Andretti, Bob Vila, The Beach Boys, and the crews of the space shuttles Columbia and Endeavour (astronaut Ken Bowersox showed up with both crews), among others.
  • Back to School: Jill, after she was laid off from her journalistic employment in "Back in the Saddle Shoes Again". Her education lasted till the series' end.
  • Bad Boss: Tim is cursed with with them over the series, with various levels of bad.
    • John Binford is amiable enough, but all of his appearances involve him manipulating or forcing Tim into doing something he doesn't want, like testing camping equipment on his anniversary or doing a a show with the dreaded Bob Vila. He eventually abandons the show entirely so he can go frolic with a new (much younger) wife.
    • Binford's daughter Maureen takes over as producer and immediately starts trying to remake the show to match her interests, completely ignoring Tim's objections. Luckily she only lasted a couple episodes before getting the Chuck Cunningham treatment.
    • Wes Davison takes over the company after Binford's death, and still holds animosity towards Tim after their days as tool salesmen. He slashes the Tool Time budget and, in "Be True to Your Tool", tries forcing Tim to promote a poorly designed tool.
    • Bud Harper is the most genial Binford owner who fires Davison and wants to take the show national... but also wants Tim to fire Al, and reduces the show's new markets when he refuses. He also has a habit of making unfair demands of Tim, and eventually leaves Binford altogether without even telling him while Tool Time is revamped by Morgan Wandell.
    • Wandell himself proves such a nightmare to work for that Tim, Al, and Heidi end up quitting altogether, ending the show, in the series finale (though Last Man Standing (2011) reveals that Tim still works for Binford, albeit as a high level executive now).
  • Big Brother Bully: Brad and Randy (especially the latter) to Mark, mainly in the earlier episodes when they're too young to really know better.
  • Big Little Brother: middle child Randy turns out to be much shorter than his older brother Brad and younger brother Mark, which happened incidentally as the actors grew up. In "Slip Sleddin' Away", when he complains about that to his mom all she can say is that he can't obsess over it because you don't know where life will take you and Randy may have just had a delayed growth spurt (he never did become taller, though).
  • Boring, but Practical: This is Al's main schtick. While Tim comes up with wild and flashy projects that are just as spectacular when they fail as when they work, Al uses straightforward handyman techniques and good general craftsmanship that work every time.
  • Brand X:
    • All of the tools shown off in Tool Time are from Binford Tools, which is also a sponsor of Tool Time. Oddly, using this trope turns Tim's "home improvement" show into a glorified infomercial. This actually became a plot point in the last season when the higher ups at Binford began confiscating all of the non-Binford tools and mandate he only use Binford products.
    • The show also does this with some non-tool products in the background, such as "Nickers" and "Runch" candy bars or signs in the shape and coloring of Coors Light simply saying "Light Beer".
    • This was actually averted once when Tim named dropped V8, so he could make a car pun of course.
  • Brick Joke: Often happens with the tools and gags introduced on Tool Time, where you'd see the tool, then see Tim using it later.
  • Bumbling Dad: One guess. Though unlike most bumbling dads, Tim is actually very competent at his job... or would be, if it weren't for his almost mental-illness-level compulsion to "improve" things. When he isn't creating things like outdoor grills that can achieve geosynchronous orbit, he's actually a very skilled handyman, being far more "No concern for safety or moderation" than "Doesn't know what he's doing". Meanwhile, as far as his family goes, Tim is a little closer to the standard for this trope, usually not always understanding how he should act in various circumstances because, having effectively raised himself after his dad died, he's not clear how a family works. This conversely means that in any episode where someone dies, Tim ends up being much more competent and capable.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer:
    • As mentioned above, Tim may be insane, but he's an awesome mechanic when it comes down to it.
    • Heidi and Lisa as well. They may be Best Known for the Fanservice, but both were in-universe expert mechanics, welders and The Medic. Lisa in fact went on to become a paramedic (in fact, when she got a job at the local hospital in season 6, they said three years working for Tim was like ten years in the emergency room).
  • Buxom Beauty Standard: Both of the Tool Time Girls, Lisa and Heidi, are quite busty.
  • Call-Back:
    • This happens throughout the series. Every so often someone will make a reference to something that happened in a previous episode, though most of the time it's done to refer back to something notorious Tim did in the past ("Don't Tell Momma", where he dropped a beam on Jill's car, and "Dollars and Sense", where he fell into the port-a-potty, get brought up a lot).
    • In "Back in the Saddle Shoes Again", after Jill decides to go back to school, one of the suggestions Tim offers as an alternative to Jill to become a turret lathe operator, stating they make good money. Years later in "From Top to Bottom", while Jill is on a local talk show telling the host about Tim, she tells her that Tim said she should've become a turret lathe operator, while Tim is watching from the hardware store. He yells at the TV that they make good money.
    • In the first season, one of Jill's friends asks Tim whether he or Jill would be the one to take a dream job and move the family to a new location if it meant the other had to sacrifice their matching opportunity. In the series finale we found out: Jill gets her dream job.
  • Captain Obvious: Happens whenever Tim does an Enforced Plug on his Show Within a Show — "If it doesn't say Binford on it... someone else makes it."
  • Catchphrase:
    • Tim's "More power", familiar grunt and "Oh no!" with the grunt — usually after some kind of accident.
      • "How do you spell that?" whenever Wilson (or sometimes someone else) says a word that Tim is not familiar with.
      • "Al is my assistant! He assists me!"
      • Various random people often tell Tim that they like Tool Time and that they really love Al. Tim's usual response is, "We all love Al."
      • "Back the x truck up" whenever someone says something to which Tim takes serious exception.
    • Al's "I don't think so, Tim" whenever Tim Taylor Technology is invoked. Also "You can address those complaint letters to Tim Taylor, care of Tool Time, at-"
      • Al even keeps a sign with the address ready at all time, making the sign itself part of this catch phrase.
    • Wilson: "Well hidey-ho good neighbor!", "Mm-hm mm-hm mm-hm." "Well, Tim, I'm reminded of..." "Oh no no no no..."
    • Jill: "Oh really?"
      • Jill also had "You are so pathetic", which she would utter whenever she was particularly exasperated with someone's behavior (usually Tim's).
    • Lisa and then Heidi, oh and Mrs. Binford: "Does everybody know what time it is?"
      • TOOL TIME!
      • Heidi: "That's right! Binford Tools is proud to present... Tim the Tool Maaaaaan Taylor!! Woohoo!!" Said the exact same way every single time.
    • Tim often uses his confused, Scooby-Doo-style grunt from the opening credits. (Note, the grunt is from Tim Allen's standup and is supposed to be the sound of a baboon).
  • Characterization Marches On: In the earlier episodes Al was a more aloof, sarcastic guy with the show emphasizing him as a Beleaguered Assistant. It makes sense knowing that Al, and by extension Richard Karn, was a placeholder for a different character named Glenn to be played by character actor Stephen Tobolowsky. By the second season Al was modified to have more of an Odd Couple rapport with Tim, being more of direct Foil to all of his personality traits.
  • Children Are Innocent: Mark, in the early seasons. And especially gullible.
  • Christmas Episode: One every year, with most of them centering around Tim trying to win the annual neighborhood lighting contest with his outlandish displays, challenging a local retired proctologist. He even gets his father-in-law, an army veteran, in on it in "'Twas the Night Before Chaos" by pointing out that Doc Johnson used to be in the Navy.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome:
    • During the first two seasons Jill had a friend named Karen, an outspoken feminist who enjoyed antagonizing Tim. She vanished without a trace after her actress, Betsy Randle, landed the role of Cory's mom on Boy Meets World. The role of Jill's best friend was taken over by a new neighbour character named Marie... who herself disappeared a few seasons later.
    • Starting in "May the Best Man Win", Tim's show is taken over by John Binford's daughter Maureen, who starts introducing a lot of changes that Tim can't stand. She only appears three times before vanishing without explanation, her antagonistic role taken over in season 3's "Be True To Your Tool" by Binford's president Wes Davidson (who himself only made a few appearances before being fired by incoming boss Bud Harper in season 5 and never showing up again).
  • Classical Music Is Boring: Jill's love of Opera is brought up in more than one episode, as is Tim and her sons finding it boring at best. The only time Tim likes it is in "Stereo-Typical", when he gives their stereo "more power!"
  • Continuity Nod: In "Some Like it Hot Rod", to demonstrate a power washer he souped up, Tim writes "Al's a gal" into a wall on the outside of the studio building. However, the power washer is so powerful that it carves the words into the side of the wall instead of washing them away. It's there every time they shoot outside at that location from then on.
  • Contractual Gag: Wilson's un-shown lower face became this. Originally, he just stood behind a fence on stage. As the show progressed, Wilson was shown out of the house more and set designers went to town finding ways to keep the portion of his face hidden with props. In all these cases, he was never shown, being obscured by at least three props in the scene as he moved around the set. When the cast would take their bows at the end of filming, Earl Hindman would hold a miniature section of fence made of tongue depressors in front of the lower part of his face. One time the lower half of his face was shown, only for the upper half to be covered by a mask Mark was making. There was one time, in (), where Wilson appeared without any props in front of his face... but it was a Halloween episode and his face was covered in skeleton makeup, to the point where Tim didn't realize it was him until he'd already walked out of the scene.
  • Cool, but Stupid: Many of Tim Taylor's "improvements" on Tool Time... such as the rocket-powered riding lawn mower from "The Great Race", which Tim thinks is awesome but proves uncontrollable at higher speeds.
  • Cool Car: Tim builds a hot rod from the floor up in the first half of the series, and rebuilds another in the second half. There's also Jill's Nomad station wagon and Austin-Healey.
  • Counter Zany: Earlier seasons often have Tim and Jill pulling these in response to their children's antics in order to teach them a lesson.
  • Cousin Oliver Syndrome: The final season of the show features a story arc where Tim's brother Marty has gotten divorced and is forced to move in with Tim and Jill with his two twin girls. The girls are pretty much just set dressing (and the worst actors ever), so while they didn't kill the show they didn't exactly help it.
  • Credits Gag: Tool Time always opens with Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor coming out and introducing himself (complete with his nickname), and then introduce his assistant Al "(Embarrassing Nickname)" Borland.
  • Crossover: Tim Allen reprises the role of Tim Taylor in a crossover episode of the final season of his later sitcom Last Man Standing (2011).
  • Dad the Veteran: Jill Taylor's father is a gruff war veteran who fought in World War II and the Korean War.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Jill and Randy most prominently. Tim's sense of humor alternates between goofy and snarky depending on the situation, and Al starts out as one but becomes less of one over time. Mark becomes one in the last few seasons, especially after Randy leaves in season eight.
  • A Degree in Useless: The book Wilson wrotenote  is called "The Psycho-Physiological Indices of Amorous Connections Among Termites of the Southwest". He mentions in a few episodes that it sold only four copies, and one was to himself.
  • Denser and Wackier: The Slapstick and Doom It Yourself accidents go from being at best a little outrageous to outright defying physics. In the first episode Tim souped up the dishwasher that blew a plate out the back, after the fourth season or so Tim would do stunts like using rocket fuel to light a BBQ grill and put it into orbit.
  • Depending on the Writer: Whether or not Al was more popular than Tim with the Tool Time audience wasn't totally consistent. Generally there were jokes or references to Al having more fans, or receiving more fan letters than Tim, however occasionally, there were moments implying that Al wasn't popular, and was considered The Scrappy of Tool Time. In Season 5's "The First Temptation of Tim", Al's lack of a fanbase is even a plot point, when Tim's boss orders him to fire Al due to lack of popularity.
  • Description Porn: Done anytime Tim talks about a car, tool, etc. He usually ends the description by grunting approvingly.
  • Destructive Savior: Tim and Jill. Both try to fix things and then they blow up in their faces. Tim, it's literal. Jill, it's metaphorical.
  • Disappeared Dad: Tim's dad died when he was younger. It is used as a plot point now and then, such as when Tim refuses to work out a will because he's the same age his father was. Notably, Tim's dad was quite the toolman himself and he looked up to him, thus explaining his path in life. Binford Tools founder (and Tim's surrogate father) John Binford later became this as well, dying of a heart attack in season 3's "Arrivederci, Binford".
  • D.I.Y. Disaster: Although Tim's tinkering and tweaking usually ends in things shorting out, crashing, or exploding, he has his moments of this trope, too. For example, in "What You See is What You Get", during one of his hot rod builds, he tells Mark to cover his ears when he tests out the freshly-installed horn. However, the horn button actually turns on the high-beam headlights, blinding Mark instead of deafening him.
  • Doom It Yourself: Practically Tim's whole shtick is that he loves to tinker and modify things ranging from tools to household appliances, which is where Tim Taylor Technology comes into play as often the device works but not thinking about collateral damage. His issue is a tendency to rush things without a clear plan involved. This is more evident on Tool Time, as when he's not playing it up for the camera he can be quite effective at fixing things. Most subversions come when his builds do work, usually because he stopped assuming he was doing it right and did things like double-check measurements and read the manual.)
  • Doorstopper: Tim's been injured so frequently that his medical records for each month fill up an extra large binder.
  • Double Entendre: All over the place. Became a Running Gag for Tim and Jill to look at each other and clarify them.
  • Double-Meaning Title: Home Improvement refers to both the physical improvement of houses and the improvement of one's family life.
  • Dream Sequence: Several over the course of the show. A couple even utilized claymation.
  • Drunk with Power: It doesn't show too often, but Tim at least privately sees himself as the dictator of Tool Time. Showcased by his constantly threatening to fire Al, his reactions anytime Binford sticks him with any kind of producer, and most evident in the final season episode "Mark's Big Break" when he lets Mark create a segment to show off his finished hotrod — "But there's ground rules. Three of them. Big ones. My show, my show, my show."
  • Dumbass Teenage Son: Although he's smarter than most of those listed here, Brad had his moments during the show's run.
  • Dysfunctional Family: The Taylors, as a whole.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness:
    • In the first several episodes, Jill's cooking is actually good. Tim even remarks on how good the chili is in "For Whom the Belch Tolls". It wasn't until later that Jill's reputation as a Lethal Chef became a running gag.
    • In the first season, Tim on Tool Time would make jokes about how overweight his mother-in-law is. After the character starts appearing and is skinny, Tim spends the rest of the show's run making fun of how fat Al's mom is instead.
    • In the first season, Lisa the Tool Girl is practically an extra and Al also doesn't appear outside of the Tool Time set.
    • Production-wise, the first season used very 1991-dated block letter credits, a slightly different opening theme and a different opening title sequence that doesn't include Richard Karn.note  The ending sequence often showed a repeat or elaboration of a prominent gag featured on the episode, set to different closing theme that was only used in the first season, rather than showing bloopers/outtakes.
    • Done intentionally in-universe in "Fifth Anniversary" when Tim shares the Tool Time pilot episode with his audience for an anniversary. Tim has a beard, Al doesn't, and the intro is played on piano by Ms. Binford, who has to prompt the audience to respond to 'Do you know what time it is?'. Oh, and Al trusts Tim's skill with a hammer.
  • Edited for Syndication: As noted above, syndicated Season 1 episodes use Season 2's opening sequence that includes Richard Karn.
  • Escalating War: More than one of the Christmas episodes state that Tim is in competition with a retired proctologist to win the Christmas decoration contest. At one point the roof is so lit up that an airplane starts circling it.
  • Ensemble Dark Horse: In-show, Al is implied to be this for the fans of Tool Time.
    Any fan upon meeting Tim, repeatedly: We like your show, Tim. We really love Al.
    • Often to the point that many viewers think Al is the host.
    Tim: Al is my assistant. HE assists ME.
  • Episode Code Number:
    • #5100 = Pilot
    • #A301-#A323 = Season 1
    • #A324-#A348 = Season 2
    • #A349-#A373 = Season 3
    • #A501-#A526 = Season 4
    • #A527-#A551/#A392 = Season 5 (For some reason, "Tanks for the Memories" was labeled #A392.)
    • #A552-#A576 = Season 6
    • #A601-#A625 = Season 7
    • #A626-#A653 = Season 8
  • Everybody Has Lots of Sex: The show never shied away from implying (or even blatantly saying) that Tim and Jill had a healthy and active sex life. It only became more active after Tim had a vasectomy in "The Vasectomy One", which features a running gag of the two having sex at the drop of a hat, and when they decide to do it once more, they're shown thinking about trying it somewhere they hadn't in a while, before they both said "bedroom" and dashed off.
  • Everything Is an Instrument: The K&B boys, who are recurring guest stars on Tool Time, form a Trash-Can Band in "Stereo-Typical" and make music using tools (such as circular sawblades for cymbals) after being inspired by guest-star Janeen Rae Heller, who plays the musical saw. They perform again in the series finale.
  • Evolving Credits: The series started out with a cardboard cutout style for its intro, which was updated slightly in season 2, notably by changing the text to a darker shade of blue and by adding Richard Karn. The entire sequence was changed in season 4 into a completely different, abstract style, which included the Taylor family kids being shown in a pixelated video game style. Season 7 brought about yet another complete sequence style change, one which also began crediting Debbe Dunning.
  • Expansion Pack Past: Wilson W. Wilson speaks multiple languages, has been to dozens of countries, has studied several esoteric religions and philosophies, has met with many famous people, and engages in such myriad hobbies as wine-tasting, ant farming, and fire walking. He is revealed in-universe to be a retired intelligence operative, which would make for an eclectic past.
  • Executive Meddling: Featured In-Universe, where Binford Tools executives repeatedly meddle with Tool Time, the Show Within a Show. Among examples are an executive threatening to fire Tim if he didn't promote an inferior power tool on Tool Time, another exec trying to make Tim fire Al in favor of someone Younger and Hipper (he didn't want to fire Al himself since his grandmother was an Al fan), to make Al change his look, allowing only Binford tools to be used on the show and confiscating all non-Binford tools, then making the cast wear tacky yellow jumpsuits with the Binford logo on them (except Heidi, who got a yellow bikini), and in the series finale, trying to Trash the Set for a Grand Finale of Tool Time by staging an accident. (Ironically, the last idea was overturned, but Tim ended up accidentally starting a fire on the set, nearly trashing it except the firefighters were on hand.)
  • Explosive Overclocking: Most examples of Tim Taylor Technology actually made by Tim Taylor have this result in one way or another — in a large part because one of his favorite phrases is "More power".
  • Expy Coexistence: Tim with his TV show, Tool Time was written as a parody of Bob Vila and This Old House. Vila occasionally appears on the show as Tim's rival.
  • The Faceless:
    • A recurring gag is that the audience only sees half of Wilson's face. Sometimes the top half, sometimes the bottom, other times just obscured (at times, the fence is only partly blocking the lower half, and in the credits for "'Twas the Blight Before Christmas", an antler on a Rudolph decoration partly blocks his face, but the corner of his mouth can be seen). Tim Allen recalled the whole character came from his memory of his Dad talking to a neighbor over a fence and he could only see part of his face.
    • Al's Mom was like this as well, although she only appeared in a few episodes. She was apparently so large actually seeing her wouldn't do it justice and the only time we see her is an arm holding a loaf of French bread and we only hear her speak in mumbles and groans (plus an audible "Oh no!" in "Something Old, Someone Blue").
  • Fake Guest Star: Richard Karn didn't get promoted to the main cast until season 2, despite appearing in every season 1 episode (and being credited at the end). This may be partly due to the fact that Al, his character, was meant to be a temporary replacement for the intended Tool Time assistant during the original actor's unavailability, and managed to stick around instead. (Interestingly, Earl Hindman's credit is the only one in the season 1 opener not to portray the actor, perhaps in keeping with Wilson's "invisible" status. He showed up starting in season 2.)
  • Final Season Casting: In the final season Randy is written out of the show by having him spend a year in Latin America. He isn't replaced with anyone, but other characters are given increased roles and/or new dynamics to fill the absence.
  • Flanderization: Al started off as just more low-key, reserved, and competent than Tim, and these traits grew into him being an oversensitive momma's boy who was practically the opposite of Tim in every way. Probably for the best, as the original version of Al was not a lot of fun and pretty much a Jerkass.
  • Fleeting Passionate Hobbies: Tim's neighbor Wilson is always involved in some strange new activity just before he gives Tim some advice.
  • Foolish Husband, Responsible Wife: The early seasons play the trope straight, following a strict formula: Tim's dumb decisions anger Jill, Tim gets advice from Wilson (usually mangling it when he tries repeating), Tim apologizes and they make up. It's zigzagged in later seasons after Jill starts studying for her psych degree: Jill often finds she's not as smart as she thinks she is and causes problems on her own, while Tim is sometimes able to resolve problems with his own wits.
  • Foreign Queasine: Wilson makes all sorts of strange foods from foreign cultures, like eel pies, tadpole soup, and kung pao crickets.
  • Forgot to Mind Their Head: One Running Gag is that whenever Tim goes to the basement, he always forgets the pipe above the staircase and bonks his head on it.
  • Former Child Star: An unusual real life example, as Taran Noah Smith dropped off the radar almost instantly once the show ended. He was quoted as explaining that he was just kind of thrown into the business and had no real desire to keep acting.
  • Fourth-Wall Mail Slot: Tool Time has a segment called the "Male Bag" for (fictional) viewer mail.
  • Freeze-Frame Bonus: The intro for seasons 7 and 8 had "Watch Tool Time" flash quickly several times when the cast members were shown on screen.
  • French Cuisine Is Haughty: When the characters want fine dining, they tend to go to a local restaurant whose waiter always insults them. In one episode, when one of the boys takes a girl there for a dinner date, they end up just ordering salads because they can't afford anything else.
  • Freudian Excuse: Kind of. Tim's dad died when he was young, and he had to teach himself how to be a man. He only figures out that he wasn't necessarily right when he starts raising his own boys.
  • Full-Name Ultimatum: All the kids got this at one point. Also interesting is that each of their first are shortened versions of their full first names, Bradley, Randall and Marcus.
  • Fully Absorbed Finale: Tim Allen's later show Last Man Standing (2011) eventually had a full crossover episode where Tim Taylor meets Mike Baxter, both played by Allen. It appeared that Tim had progressed to become upper management of Binford Tools, while Mike checks YouTube clips of Tool Time and suggests he revive Tool Time if he was still passionate about it.
  • Generation Xerox: Marty mentions on a few occasions that Tim and Jeff used to pull pranks on him just like Brad and Randy pull them on Mark.
  • Genius Ditz: He may be clueless about a lot of things but Tim did build an entire car in his garage and his "Man's . . . " projects were inspired.
  • The Ghost:
    • Al's Mom. They built up her weight so long that there was no way they'd actually get anybody to play her. There'd need to be unimaginable amounts of padding. After she dies, we get to see her casket, which is the size of a station wagon and requires no fewer than seventeen pallbearers.
    • Throughout the series, it's mentioned that Tim has four brothers. However, we only ever meet two of them, Marty and Jeff.
  • Giftedly Bad: Tim Taylor is a Giftedly Bad handyman; when he messes up his carpentry projects, they're practically a work of art to witness. His problem lies in his never keeping things simple; everything he does has to be "improved". There's a reason Tim Taylor Technology was named after him. His show Tool Time consists mostly of Tim trying to soup something up and failing spectacularly (while his Hyper-Competent Sidekick Al provides actual useful repair tips). Not only does Tim think he's a home improvement genius, he thinks he's more popular than Real Life well-known handyman Bob Vila. It's established that Tim is capable of repairing things properly; he just doesn't want to. He's also got a couple of remarkable accidental achievements this way, like launching a barbecue grill into geosynchronous orbit in "Quest for Fire".
  • Good Parents: Tim and Jill are this in the end, raising three sons and loving them no matter what they do, despite occasionally making mistakes.
  • Goth: Mark, the youngest son, adopted a goth look during the seventh season, complete with all black clothes, a spiky haircut and (briefly) wearing black nail polish and lipstick. This was eventually done away with during the eighth and final season, however.
  • Halloween Enthusiast: Tim LOVES Halloween, befitting his Manchild sensibilities, and always spends the season indulging in ghoulish costumes and pranks. Jill downplays it, but always enjoys dressing to accommodate him and likes throwing lavish Halloween parties.
  • Halloween Episode: Several, often involving the Taylors throwing a Halloween party, Tim inventing new extra-spooky Halloween decorations, impromptu scary prank competitions, etc.
  • Handy Man:
    • Tim "The Toolman" Taylor is the host of the Show Within a Show Tool Time, where he gives tips and advice for audiences on various repair projects, from plumbing to electrical, and from carpentry to engine repair. However, both on and off the show his confidence far outreaches his abilities, which is why he has a whole different trope named after him.
    • Al Borland is Tim's co-host for the Show Within a Show Tool Time, where he's usually the "Good Idea" counterpart to Tim's "Bad Idea" demonstration. It is notable that when he is the host of a cooking show in "Too Many Cooks", with Tim as his co-host, the roles reverse because Tim quickly figures out that he doesn't know how to cook and studies up, while Al remains (over)-confident in his own abilities.
  • Happily Married:
    • Tim and Jill may get into fights every so often, especially due to Tim's macho behavior and obsession for more power, but despite all the shenanigans Tim gets up to and all the disagreements they've had, no one ever doubts that Tim and Jill are still as in love with each other as the day they got married.
    • Wilson describes his marriage to his late wife the same way in "My Dinner With Wilson".
  • Harmless Electrocution: Happens on many episodes, where Tim, Al or rarely other people get badly shocked, but other than a scream of pain and having to shake it off, there's no lasting effects.
  • Hero Insurance: For being a small-budget show, Tim is quite reckless with all the mishaps on the set, but never faces repercussions for all the broken equipment, etc. Averted in "Fifth Anniversary" though, when Tim wants to have Tool Time's fifth anniversary shot on-location at the Indy 500, only to be informed that his "Man's Kitchen" blew the show's budget.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: Tim and Al. Though Tim states in "Dream On" that he treats Al like he treats his brothers.
  • He Who Must Not Be Seen:
    • Female example with Al's mother, presumably because the constant stream of jokes about her girth would humiliate any actress that actually played her. She was heard off-camera in "Something Old, Someone Blue" during Al's aborted wedding to Ilene (her only words are "Oh no!"). That episode however does reveal that she really is that fat. When she faints upon hearing the wedding is canceled the entire church shakes. The amount of padding necessary for any actress to play her would be astounding.
    • You sort of see her in the funeral episode — there's a glimpse of her arm, plus her coffin, the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, which takes more than ten pallbearers and, as Jill says, "looks like someone polished a barn".
    • Jill's mom was also supposedly enormous, which made for a joke when she first appeared in "Much Ado About Nana" that she'd lost a lot of weight and was played by a waif thin actress.
  • Hey, You!: Jill's father tends to address Tim this way, much to Tim's annoyance. He even does it when speaking about Tim while Tim isn't in the room:
    Jill's Father: No, it wasn't you... it was Hey You.
  • Hidden Depths: Tim Taylor is usually a Bumbling Dad prone to insensitivity, but he's often able to say the right thing at the right time when someone needs him. Also, whenever Tim stops obsessing over MORE POWER and just builds/fixes something, it turns out he is very good with his hands. Interestingly, one time that Jill encouraged him to go up to eleven, when she wanted him to build an ultra high-tech security system for the house, he managed to do it with none of his usual screw ups.
  • High-School Hustler: Brad's friend Jason, who's always up to some scheme or another.
  • Hilarious Outtakes: Frequently shown during the closing credits.
  • History with Celebrity: Tim has a rivalry with Bob Vila that resulted in Bob making multiple appearances on the show.
  • Hollywood Pudgy: Al is a male pseudo-example and the poster child for the idea that the camera adds 30 lbs. He's only moderately overweight by real world standards, having a moderately stocky frame but not even the suggestion of a gut, but in the show people talk about him as if he were morbidly obese, with all the behaviors that would go with it. The teasing mostly just comes from Tim, but the show also utilizes prop gags at his weight's expense. For example, in "Room Without a View", Tim has invented a reverse laundry chute and sends a pair of Al's boxers up it to Jill, who unfolds them and finds they're big enough to fit a sumo. Cue the laughtrack.
  • Home and Garden: It has a Show Within a Show called Tool Time that is of this kind.
  • Hyper-Competent Sidekick:
    • Al, but only on the Show Within a Show Tool Time. Tim really is a mechanical genius, but lets his reach exceed his grasp in the same way that the speed of light exceeds a highway speed limit. Tim's inventions usually fail because they are too powerful, causing them to either explode or work too well, such as a vacuum cleaner that doesn't so much clean the dirt out of the carpet as much as it cleans the carpet out of the room. Whereas Tim embodies Awesome, but Impractical, Al embodies Boring, but Practical.
    • This is reversed when the two guest-host a cooking show together. Al is the far superior cook, but Tim's inferiority complex at being upstaged by Al's abilities causes him to study hard and learn how to cook decently. Al, for his part, does not like being corrected by Tim and makes similar mistakes to the ones Tim usually makes.
  • The Klutz: Usually, Tim's screw-ups are due to his signature brand of overclocking. However, there are sometimes when he gets into trouble out of just plain klutziness, especially on Tool Time. Outside of that, he can never avoid banging his head into a pipe when he goes into the basement.
  • Laborious Laziness: When he isn't trying to add his trademark "MORE POWER" to common tools, Tim is usually trying to come up with some convoluted gadget to make easy, mundane tasks even easier, which usually causes him more trouble than it's worth. We say usually, because one of his few successes came from this: in "Abandoned Family", he builds his wife an all-in-one washer/dryer machine that works completely automatically, even adding in detergent and softener in the correct amounts. Said washer/dryer remains a fixture of the Taylor household until the end of the series.
  • Lame Pun Reaction: Tim, being the Pungeon Master that he is, generates these regularly from most of the other characters. Al, especially, was known for the wide range of responses to Tim's wisecracks, from stunned silence, to a better joke of his own, to simply holding up a sign with the address to send letters to the producers.
  • Laugh Track: Quite a lot of it. The series not only uses a live studio audience's laughter, but they also get their extras from audience volunteers. For "Tool Time" the studio audience is the actual studio audience, and you can see how people are laughing at the gags on the show as though they were at a sitcom taping.
  • Lethal Chef: Poor Jill suffers from this reputation. Even she acknowledges it herself one time in "Love's Labor Lost" (Part 2) when talking to her mother about exchanging recipes: "I can't do that. Nobody wants mine."
  • Lethal Chef:
    • Jill Taylor suffers from this reputation, though half of this is via Informed Inability (Tim and other people's comments); she's shown to be at least decent more than once. She acknowledges her reputation as such one time in "Love's Labor Lost" (Part 2) when talking to her mother about exchanging recipes: "I can't do that. Nobody wants mine."
    • In "Oh, Brother", Tim tried to cook fish in the dishwasher (It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time). He ended up with 'liquid fish'. (It would have worked had he done it on the dry cycle as he was told to do, rather than 'pot scrubber'.) Other times, his attempts to cook have fallen victim to Tim Taylor Technology and Oven Logic (usually at the same time, resulting in something like a grill that resembles a house fire when switched on and instantly turns whatever is placed on it into ash). However, he's been shown to actually be a good cook when he can be made to actually focus on the dish and not try to get creative.
  • Let's Get Dangerous!: Non-combat example — whenever Tim is forced to take things seriously, he does remarkably well.
    • Whenever there is a death in the family, Tim is probably the most helpful person, in no small part due to dealing with his father's death early in his life.
    • Seeing classic cars as perfect, he saw no need to try to improve upon them, and thus built them by the book. He successfully builds two over the course of the series (and has a third rebuilt offscreen... after dropping a beam on it).
    • When he and Al were filling in for a cooking show on the same network, Tim actually takes the time to study up on what they're cooking, with the end result being that Tim and Al's roles are reversed, with Al screwing up and Tim getting everything right.
    • Whenever he manages to screw something up with his family, he will go to fairly large lengths to make up for it, and demonstrate that he really is a loving father and husband.
    • When there's a problem with Al's board game, Tim is able to quickly identify the problem with the wiring, find the fastest way to fix it, and then recruit and teach people with little mechanical experience to make the same fixes.
    • The implication is that Tim's failures are a result primarily of his own enthusiasm and a desire to make things more interesting (usually by adding MORE POWER). When he actually just wants to get something done, and not do it just to have fun, Tim reveals remarkable competence.
  • Limited Wardrobe:
    • Al always wears flannel, and apparently does so because his father always did.
    • On Tool Time, Tim almost always wears a dress shirt and blazer.
  • Local Hangout: Harry's Hardware Store for Tim and his friends, and Mike's bar to a lesser extent.
  • Lost in Character: Home Improvement was actually Tim Allen's first real exposure to character acting, years after the show ended he shared a story about his struggles learning how to act while being the star of the show. He said Patricia Richardson did such a good performance while their characters were arguing that he actually broke character worried that she was really upset. In a response to him sharing that story Richardson said she remembers it differently, where Allen started crying during the scene and THAT caught him by surprise, which is what led to him breaking character worried about her.
  • Lovely Assistant: Tool Time has Lisa in the first two seasons and her replacement Heidi for the rest of the show.

    M-W 

  • Mad Scientist: A handyman example with Tim.
  • Made of Iron: Accident prone Tim has been to the emergency room so often they know him by name. AND he has his own coffee mug. When Tim starts worrying about his own mortality after Harry has a heart attack in "Death Begins at Forty", Jill listed off some of the accidents he has been in and declared him practically Nigh-Invulnerable.
  • Mars and Venus Gender Contrast: Tim loves to partake in manly stuff like grilling, cars, and sports, feeling that Men Are Uncultured is both something men are and should be proud of, which greatly contrasts what Jill likes.
  • Matchmaker Failure: In "Heavy Meddle", Jill decides to play matchmaker for her friend Karen with Tim's friend Dave. Several episodes later in "Let's Did Lunch", Tim gets dragged into it when Dave cheats on Karen. They end up splitting for good.
  • Meat Versus Veggies: Tim, as part of his all-things-manly shtick, is a firm believer in the idea that Real Men Eat Meat while his wife Jill is not a vegetarian but does try to push eating more vegetables. Even their three teenage boys occasionally complain about Tim's tendency to serve nothing but meat when he's put in charge of cooking.
  • Medium Blending: While the show itself is live-action, the Home Improvement logo is done in stop-motion during the cold open.
  • Men Are Uncultured: Especially Tim Taylor, who takes pride in such most of the time. Subverted with Wilson who is quite worldly.
  • Metaphorgotten: This was done almost Once an Episode on with Tim trying to repeat Wilson's metaphorical advice from memory, and... failing.
  • Middle Child Syndrome
  • Randy Taylor is the middle child, which leads to his deadpan humor.
    • His father Tim Taylor was also a middle child (though not the only one in the Taylor family) which may partially explain his constant attempts to impress others with MORE POWER. Because of this, "Quibbling Siblings" features Tim and Randy having a talk where Tim acknowledges their similar personalities and reactions to things, as opposed to Tim and Brad's having similar interests.
  • Military Brat: Jill. Her dad was retired Army and she spent much of her life in Army bases. In "Tanks for the Memories" she and Tim got to race in tanks, after Jill saying she always wanted to drive one, and she soundly beat him.
  • Momma's Boy: Al. In "To Build or Not to Build", he even makes a song for his mother and performs it on Tool Time.
  • Monochrome Casting: The series ostensibly takes place in Detroit, which is only about 14% white in the city proper. However, the main cast is entirely white, and there are very few minorities visible. Given that Tim seems to live in an upper-middle-class suburb of Detroit, this is somewhat less unrealistic, as white flight has made the suburbs much more white than downtown. For example, Ann Arbor is 67% white. Even if the show remained entirely in the suburbs, however, the region should be around 1/4 black.
  • Motor Mouth:
    • Brad's girlfriend Angela, in season 5, tends to ramble on and on.
    • As shown in "Games, Flames and Automobiles", Wilson starts speaking very fast after coffee. And he's not much better after eating chocolate.
  • Ms. Fanservice: In-universe, this trope is the purpose of Pamela Anderson's Lisa (in her breakout role) and later Debbe Dunning's Heidi. Not nearly as suggestive as in most shows — they're merely just hot, busty women in tight clothing. Lisa was never a big part of the show (having more to do in her return appearance than she ever did during the show) and Heidi would only occasionally have a story. Heidi, especially on location builds, would also occasionally be shown to actually be working the build, and would explain what she was doing to viewers the same as Al and Tim. Her skill seems to be an Informed Attribute in-universe because most shows don't have her doing a lot of the actual on-air work, as Tim points out to the Tool Time audience that Heidi is a master electrician.
  • Mundane Utility: Tim makes most of his extremely powerful devices with the intention of using them for mundane household tasks, though they rarely actually work. When they do, however, they play this trope straight. For example, season 2's "Abandoned Family" sees Tim apologize to Jill by rigging a setup on the washing machine that makes adding the detergents automatic. The modified washing machine remains for the rest of the series.
    • Jill is gobsmacked when she sees it:
    Jill: It worked; it actually worked...
  • Muse Abuse: In the Show Within a Show Tool Time, Tim Taylor occasionally jokes about his wife, which at least one time has gotten him into trouble with her (getting caught up in one-upping other guys about annoying habits of wives, while still on-air, will do that). But in another episode he says he's figured out a system; he saves all his wife jokes until she's already mad at him for something.
  • My Beloved Smother: Al's Mom is said to be one.
  • Nail 'Em: Tim, naturally, tends to have some accidents involving shooting people with nail guns, such as "Dances with Tools", "Arrivederci, Binford", "Shopping Around" and "?(nail gun on dartboard with Bob Vila's face)".
  • Never Trust a Trailer: During its last few seasons, the show was notoriously misleading with its advertisements.
    • In the season 6 premiere, Jill catches her oldest son, Brad, in a compromising position with his girlfriend Angela. The advert for the episode shows the pair getting caught in the act and Jill asking, "What if Angela gets pregnant?", followed by a glimpse of Brad's serious expression and a shocked look from his mother (heavily implying that a Teen Pregnancy plot is about to unfold). The reality? Brad and Angela never actually have sex, Jill's statement about pregnancy is actually spoken to her husband (to convince him to have "the talk" with Brad), and her "shocked reaction" is in response to Brad yelling at her and storming out of the room.
    • In season 7's "Taking Jill For Granite", Jill hires a professional (played by Tom Wopat) to install granite countertops, only to find that he's the same man who once flirted with her at the gym and tried to ask her out. Nothing happens between them, and Jill actually fires the guy because his behavior makes her so uncomfortable. The advertisement, on the other hand, shows the two of them kissing passionately (which actually happened during a Dream Sequence in a previous episode), Jill tearfully confessing "He kissed me!" (which he does — without her consent, right before she fires him), and Tim opening the front door and coming face to face with the flirtatious handyman (who just returns to the house to get his tools, at the very end of the episode).
  • New Job as the Plot Demands: Subverted — Tom Poston plays triplet brothers Fred, Ned and Ted, each of whom meet Tim in a different city and cause trouble for him, and each of whom claims to be the nice one.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: This was practically Tim's forte, as he accidentally causes problems on a regular basis and has to fix them.
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: Tim and Al's characters were based partially off of Bob Vila and Norm Abram from This Old House, in that Bob was the charismatic host while Norm was the more competent sidekick, exaggerated for the purposes of the show. Both Norm and Al were the Ensemble Dark Horse of their respective shows. Also, guess who Tim's Sitcom Arch-Nemesis was?
  • Non Sequitur, *Thud*: Whenever Tim gets hit on the head, he tends to dizzily say "We'll be right back after these messages from Binford" (or some mangling thereof) right before passing out or when awakened, even when not on the set of Tool Time. Possibly justified, as any debilitating accident on the show immediately calls for a cut to commercial, and Tim has been conditioned to get these words out as soon as possible.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Most viewers of Tool Time believe this to be the case with Tim. They often think that his accidents are staged, both as a "This is what not to do," as well as simply part of the (intentional) comedy of the show. The final episode seems to suggest that at least some of the incidents on the show were indeed staged for humor.
  • Obnoxious In-Laws: Jill's father rarely calls Tim by his name, usually just "Hey you!" In the early seasons Tim also took a lot of pot-shots at Jill's mother for being overweight, only for her first appearance on the show (in "Much Ado About Nana") to reveal she had slimmed down considerably. Jill also mentions most of her family did not want her to marry him, and he avoids being around her sisters for any considerable amount of time.
  • Odd Couple: Manly Man Tim and Sensitive Guy Al. They are genuine friends, united in their fondness for tools and craftsmanship.
  • Oh, Crap!: Tim's "Oh no" and "uh-oh" grunts.
    Randy: "Not a word you want to hear in this house!"
    • The rest of the family has one when Jill accidentally leaves Tim's Hot Rod out in a snowstorm without a protective cover.
  • Once Done, Never Forgotten:
  • Once per Episode: Episodes often had Wilson imparting some words of wisdom to Tim (or occasionally one of the other Taylors), who then tries to repeat it to another character but mangles it into complete nonsense in the process. Some later episodes would have the other character respond along the lines of, "You've been talking to Wilson, haven't you?" This gets inverted in a few episodes where, due to role reversal, Wilson goes to one of the family members for advice.
  • One-Neighbor Neighborhood: Wilson is the only regularly featured neighbor. Season 1 tried to have some of the other neighbors as recurring characters, but they were quickly written out of the show. Later series implied Tim had alienated the neighborhood with his Tim Taylor Technology (the spaghetti landing in a neighbor's house stood out).
  • One of the Kids: Subverted. Tim is immature and enjoys sports activities with his boys, but he is a fully capable adult and knows how to be serious when the time comes.
    • In "Abandoned Family", Tim promised Jill he could take care of the house and kids while she took longer hours at work. When she comes home there were a few accidents and she is upset thinking she couldn't trust Tim to handle things. He turns the conversation around by listing off that everyone got to school and other appointments on time and back home safe (not to mention Tim is accident prone regardless).
  • One-Neighbor Neighborhood: Wilson is the wise next-door neighbor to the Taylors, and is the only one who appears regularly throughout the series. Doc Johnson across the street never appears onscreen and is only mentioned in Christmas episodes when he's competing with Tim over the lighting contest. A handful of episodes feature Joe and Marie moving in down the street, but once Joe leaves her Marie departs the show shortly after, and no one else besides Wilson is featured again. Others are mentioned occasionally, but never appear — season 5's "Alarmed by Burglars" has several of them signing a petition to have Tim turn down his alarm system because they're fed up by the noise.
  • Only One Name, and it's a Repetitive Name, too: Wilson W. Wilson, Jr. At least it's not "the Third".
  • Only Sane Man: Al thinks he is. Whether or not he's right varies from one episode to the next. There are a couple of other recurring contractors used for certain builds, and they typically fill the role of The Comically Serious next to Tim's accidents.
  • Our Slogan Is Terrible: Tool Time has a couple of these with Tim plugging Binford Tools on his Show Within a Show:
    "If it doesn't say Binford on it, somebody else makes it."
    "If your tool says 'Binford' — GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! TOOLS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO TALK TO YA!"
  • Out-of-Character Moment: Done in several instances, the most notable one being in "Taps", where Jill's father dies. Tim's taken care of everything (plane tickets, etc) before Jill even returns home to learn the news, and he's uncharacteristically supportive and sensitive to her situation. Jill even comments "Look at you, you're saying all the right things." and Tim explained that he pretty much went into another frame of mind to help her and that it wouldn't last.
    • Fridge Brilliance kicks in when you realize Tim knows exactly what to do and what to say in that situation because he lost his father too (albeit when he was much younger) and knows how it feels and what needs to be done in that situation. In fact any time death is brought up (especially that of a parent) Tim is often the most comforting and sensitive of the two. Tim's own mother admitted that when her husband passed away Tim and his brothers took care of most of the arrangements.
  • Over-the-Top Christmas Decorations: Tim will go to any lengths to win the neighborhood lighting contest. His desire to add MORE POWER to his already over-the-top decorations once ended up creating such a blindingly bright light that an airplane was able to locate the runway in the middle of a snow storm thanks to him.
  • Parental Favoritism: Played with — Tim Taylor is a good and loving father to all his sons. But it's often mentioned that he favors Brad over Randy and Mark because he and Brad have more common interests. This leads to Tim spending more time with Brad and allowing him special treatment, like standing in for Al on Tool Time (as seen in "Quibbling Siblings"). Somewhat subverted in that Tim is aware that he favors Brad and feels genuinely bad about it. Enter Wilson...
  • Parental Substitute: Tim's father was killed by a drunk driver when he was just 11. As he got older, he met John Binford, founder of Binford Tools. Binford hired Tim right out of college as a traveling tool salesman and loaned him and Jill the money for their first house. He also gave Tim the Tool Time hosting job. Both Al and Jill even mention that John was like a father to Tim. Jill even says that he was the first person besides the two of them there when the boys were born.
  • Parenting the Husband: Tim can be rather childish at times, leading Jill to help him get to her level so they can be more effective parents. Sometimes this is flipped around as Tim has to talk Jill down from getting involved, letting the kids handle their own problems.
  • Periphery Demographic: In-Universe, the Show Within a Show "Tool Time" that Tim hosts on local access TV, a DIY show also serving as advertisement for their sponsor Binford Tools. This serves as both Leaning on the Fourth Wall regarding the main show as well as discussing this trope several times over.
    • The banter between Tim and his assistant Al along with regular Doom It Yourself disasters earned the show a following among people who normally don't watch home repair shows, with a Running Gag that anyone who recognizes Tim from the show really like Al. Tim also sometimes overhypes on who, exactly, is watching the show and was concerned his teenage sons were getting bothered at school by peers asking questions about recent special event projects.
    • This is a plot point in "The First Temptation of Tim", where Tim is hoping to go into Syndication in different regions. However, his new boss says that Al's popularity actually skews towards older women and not the target audience more likely to buy their tools. Consequently, Tim has to fight to keep Al because their dynamic makes the show work overall. Meanwhile, Heidi, the Ms. Fanservice Tool Girl, scored higher than Santa Claus.
    • "Totally Tool Time" focuses on Tim creating a special episode to sell the show to a Swedish channel that expressed interest, creating their first foreign language dub. As it turns out, Slapstick was surprisingly universal.
  • Personality Swap: Happens a few times, usually when Tim shifts character positions with someone else as they act more impulsive like Tim would normally.
    • In "My Dinner with Wilson", when Wilson is thinking of moving back to where he used to live with his (now deceased) wife because her memory was fading, they actually swap sides of the fence as Tim gives him advice on how to remember departed loved ones.
    • In "Wilson's World", when Wilson felt alienated from the rest of the guys because of his constant hoity-toity intellectualizing, Tim again has to be the one to dispense wisdom.
    • In "Too Many Cooks", when Al serves as a guest host for a cooking show and Tim takes up as a dedicated assistant, Al ends up being arrogant and refuses the practical advice Tim would give.
    • In "Some Like It Hot Rod", Jill is the one who ruined something of Tim's, rather than vice-versa, and has to find a way to make it right by the end of the episode.
  • The Philosopher: Wilson (though he was also sometimes a Cloudcuckoolander), who tends to give out advice with stories and quotes, much to the confusion of Tim Allen's character. However, even though the show was a comedy, he was almost never the Butt-Monkey.
  • Phrase Catcher: It started with Al responding to Tim's puns on Tool Time, but at one point or another, every major character in the show (and a few minor or one-shot characters) has given him a sarcastic "I don't think so, Tim/Dad." Tim has used the line himself from time to time.
  • Plank Gag: Happened with some regularity, usually with Al on the receiving end.
  • Product Placement: In-Universe, Tim's Show Within a Show Tool Time is sponsored by the fictional tool company Binford Tools, and whenever Tim uses a tool, he announces that it's a Binford. However, this causes Tool Time to come across within the world of the show as a trumped-up infomercial for Binford rather than an honest, educational home improvement program.
  • Promoted to Opening Credits:
    • Richard Karn in Season 2.
    • Debbe Dunning in Season 7.
  • Pun-Based Title: A lot of the episodes have this type of title. Many of them are Epunymous Titles, such as "It Was the Best of Tims, It Was the Worst of Tims" and "Al's Fair in Love and War".
  • Pungeon Master:
    • Tim makes incredibly lame puns all the time, esp. on Tool Time. For instance, in "Too Many Cooks", he introduces Al as "Al 'This Land Is' Borland".
    • In "Where There's a Will, There's a Way", there's this exchange:
      Al: No thanks, Tim, I'd rather [chop a tree] the way my forefathers did it!
      Tim: But Al, three out of four fathers recommend this!
    • Al might not be as prolific as Tim in this department, but he makes his share of puns too, such as in "Brother, Can You Spare a Hot Rod", where he tells the Tool Time audience about a roofing product that's guaranteed to work "every shingle time."
    • In "Birth of a Hot Rod", Tim tells Jill he got to ride a cow at work, and Jill asks, "Why, was the pig in the shop?" She goes on to suggest that the pig was in the shop to have his "porking brake fixed."
  • Put on a Bus:
  • Quote-to-Quote Combat: Happens occasionally, generally between Wilson and whichever Taylor has come to him to discuss their problem in a particular episode.
  • Rated M for Manly: How Tim and his target audience perceive his show: As a manly program for manly men making manly things WITH manly things! Outside of Tool Time, Tim's manliness results in Testosterone Poisoning, causing more destruction and havoc than is strictly necessary. Usually from his desire for his tools to have more power.
  • Real Men Hate Affection: More than one episode had a plotline centering around this idea; though it should be noted that while Tim isn't the touchy-feely type he doesn't actively try to avoid showing affection. Al, of course, is an aversion.
  • Read the Freaking Manual: Tim Taylor could be the poster boy for Did Not Read the Manual. In particular, in "Stereo-Typical", Tim doesn't think he needs to read the instructions for his new entertainment system because "this is just the manufacturer's opinion of how to put this together." Hilarity ensues.
  • Real Men Hate Affection: Addressed more than once, as it tackles a lot of "man stuff".
    • In general, Al and Tim are a Sensitive Guy and Manly Man, and Tim is occasionally put off by Al's shows of affection. For instance, after he sticks up for Al and keeps him from being fired:
      Tim: Oohhh, you're getting that "I'm going to hug you" look; I don't like that, Al!
      Al: Just a little one!
      Tim: No, Al, I— [Al glomps him] AAAA! You're fired!
      Al: I am not, you big friend, you!
    • Tim isn't afraid of showing some affection himself. "Bell Bottom Blues" is driven by the fact that his son Brad is embarrassed by Tim telling him "I love you" in front of his friends. It turns out Brad is actually okay with affection, it's just the presentation that's problematic. The aesop in this episode is about showing affection in a way people are comfortable with... for Brad, it involves his father spending time with him, as well as things like play-fighting and catch. They ultimately agree to use "How 'bout the Lions?" as a code-phrase to use in public.
    • In "Arrivederci, Binford", Tim's boss and friend Mr. Binford dies. Both Al and Tim's wife Jill get on his case for not mourning openly, while Tim wonders why it's a big deal if he doesn't turn on the waterworks like they do.note  At the same time, Tim is disturbed to hear Brad complimenting him for taking the loss "like a real man" and not crying:
      Brad: You don't let stuff get to you.
      Tim: Stuff gets to me!
      Brad: Well, the great part about it is, no one can tell.
  • Recast as a Regular: Debbe Dunning played a one-off role in the season two episode "Overactive Glance" before she started playing Heidi in season three.
  • Relationship Upgrade: Randy and Lauren at the end of season 6, and they lasted throughout the rest of the series.
  • Right Way/Wrong Way Pair: Tim Taylor, on Tool Time, is considered to be doing this deliberately. He has gotten a few rewards for what they consider deliberately doing the wrong thing in contrast to his assistant Al, and showing what happens. Subverted on the Show Within a Show as they're both talented, but Tim is really just accident prone.

  • Running Gag: All over the place.
    • Any time Tim goes down into a basement, you can count on him banging his head on a pipe on the way down the stairs. (Averted once... only for him to bang his head on the way up.) He even does it in a house not his own.
    • Most episodes have Wilson give Tim some advice to deal with his dilemma of the week, which Tim usually misinterprets and then totally garbles when trying to recount the advice to someone else.
    • Related to that, in the first couple seasons, when Wilson gave Tim advice, he'd ask Wilson "how do you spell that?" to which Wilson would respond by using a much simpler phrase that Tim could understand. As an example, in "Off Sides":
      Wilson: Well, Tim it seems you crave catharsis.
      Tim: How do spell that?
      Wilson: Let's just say emotional release.
    • Tim going out into the backyard and finding Wilson doing some bizarre thing, and then misunderstanding Wilson's answer when he asks him what he's doing. For example, in "Don't Tell Momma":
    Wilson: [making strange throaty noises]
    Tim: Wilson? Did you swallow a pigeon?
    Wilson: No Tim, I'm ululating.
    Tim: Huh. I didn't know men could do that.
    • Tim making fun of Al's mother's weight.
    • This exchange:
    Tim: Hey, Al. Do you suppose [silly pun or play on words]?
    Al: I don't think so, Tim.
    • Tim introducing Al on Tool Time:
    "And you all know my assistant, Al [humorous overly-long nickname] Borland!"
    • "Hey! I don't go in for that sort of thing!"
    • Whenever Tim says something particularly insensitive on Tool Time, Al displays the show's mailing address so people can write in with complaints.
    • Every Binford product mentioned is model 6100, from innovative power tools to generic doorknobs.
    • Tool Time has several recurring segments, such as "Gadget Corner", and most famously, "The Man's ______."
    • Whenever Tim tells the boys he's doing something nice with Jill, one of them (usually Randy) will ask "What did you do this time?"
    • Tim often has machine mishaps that result in his shirt getting ripped off.
    • Tim causing some kind of major accident on Tool Time and then saying he did it on purpose to show the viewers what not to do while working with tools.
  • Sanity Has Advantages: When not giving in to his desires for MORE POWER, Tim is usually quite successful.
  • Scenery Censor: A Running Gag in is that Wilson's face is always half-obscured. This started out with only the top half of his face being seen over the fence to add a mysterious feel to the character, then it turned into a Running Gag as the show started putting other objects to obscure the bottom half of Wilson's face in increasingly silly manners. On one occasion, this was inverted and the top half of his face was covered while showing the bottom half.
  • School Play: This comes up in "Groin Pains" and "Mr. Wilson's Opus", with Randy participating in theatre.
  • Screw the Electric Bill: In Christmas Episodes, Tim is always shown to be competing to have the best light display in the neighborhood. This usually results in him using so many lights that his house becomes a navigation hazard to passing airplanes. And while his wife may sometimes criticize him about getting overzealous, the electric bill is never brought up. (Then again, the writers glossed over a lot of other questions about money, so at least they're being consistent.)
  • Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Tim is a tool-loving manly-grunting man while Al is the sensitive and overly emotional type (though still very burly and masculine-looking). Being a real man is one of the show's main themes and Al's sissy-ness is the butt of many jokes but Al is shown to be much smarter than Tim. In addition, they're united as an Odd Couple by their mutual love of craftsmanship. Tim is also contrasted with his neighbor Wilson, an introspective Renaissance Man. Tim himself embraces Testosterone Poisoning to the degree that every other man on the show looks like the sensitive guy in comparison.
  • Series Continuity Error: The number and names of Tim and Jill's siblings were inconsistent. Tim's mother says that she raised five boys in her first episode, yet the names of seven brothers are given over the course of the show (Marty, Jeff, Steve, Rick, John, Danny, Brian). Jill mentions two sisters named Carol and Katie in earlier episodes, yet when all of her sisters appear in season 6, there are none with those names (they're Carrie, Robin, Tracy and Linda).
    • They tried to fix the inconsistent number of Tim's siblings later in the series, for an episode where Brad and Randy are having a spat, and Tim tries to explain to them that this could potentially cause a bad rift between the two, then mentions that several of his siblings had bad fights and arguments in the past resulting in them not speaking, or really acknowledging each other.
  • Sequel Episode: In "Jill's Passion", Jill meets a man at the gym that she becomes attracted to and starts dreaming about, causing her to worry about her relationship with Tim. Though the issue is seemingly resolved in that episode, it's brought up again a few episodes later in "Taking Jill for Granite" when the same guy comes to work on the Taylor's kitchen and ends up kissing Jill.
  • "Shaggy Frog" Story: Tim's attempts to retell Wilson's stories to Jill inevitably end up like this. He understood the meaning when Wilson tells the story, but trying to repeat the story he mixes up names and the order of events.
  • Short Teens, Tall Adults: Generally averted, as the boys all grew up to at least equal their parents in height — Brad and Mark grew so tall that an eventual gag in the show's opening was to have them stand in front, with their parents having to shuffle around to see past them. Played straight by middle child Randy, played by Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who stood at five foot four and was utterly dwarfed by his younger and older brothers, as well as both parents.
  • Show Stopper: Every time a funny is made, the Reaction Shot of (usually) a confused Tim lasts for several seconds before the laughter dies down.
  • Show Within a Show: Main character Tim Taylor hosts a home improvement show called Tool Time.
  • Signature Laugh: Tim's grunting "ohOhOH!"
  • Sit Comic: Tim Allen was a popular comedian in the late 80s and it led to him getting his own show.
  • Sitcom Arch-Nemesis:
    • Tim's most hated rival is Bob Vila, though the rivalry is not mutual — Bob is actually quite friendly to both Al and him. The rivalry only comes from Tim's jealousy of Bob being the more well recognized tool host. So much so that it really affects Tim's ego whenever they meet (i.e: souping up his lawnmower in trying to beat him in a charity race in "The Great Race", nearly risking his custom built hot rod in a drag race in "The Great Race II" (though he actually shows a surprising bit of maturity afterward when he reveals to his wife that he could have won but let Bob win as to do so would have been at extreme risk of destroying the car — Bob had bought his car and would just get a new one, but Tim built his over the course of a year and wasn't going to throw all that work away just to prove a point). He even escaped from a hospital while recovering with a broken arm in "Insult to Injury", just to beat Villa's record in TV appearances. Which resulted in him getting hurt further and being unable to take Mark to an air show. Though he did make up for that one.)
    • Tim also hated the nearby but never seen Doctor Johnson, an 80 year old proctologist who won the Christmas lighting competition every year.
  • Slapstick: Most of the handyman segments. Tim's Amusing Injuries from Doom It Yourself modifications always resulted in chaos, but was said In-Universe to be a big appeal of Tim's cable show Tool Time. Some examples include a high powered vacuum or wood lathe ripping shirts off the hosts, or making a 21-Gun Salute using nail guns but also putting it on a turntable.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: Tim has both massive self-confidence and a massive tendency to screw up everything he does. When he manages to overcome his own ego and did things like check the manual though, he's a genuinely talented handyman. (The modified washing machine he made in season 2's "Abandoned Family" is seen in use throughout the whole series, and he builds two hot rods in his garage almost single-handedly over a period of about ten years.) It also seemed that whenever Tim would focus on the actual build and not trying to add "More power!!" things would work out just fine.
    • Part of Tim's backstory is that he was a traveling salesman for Binford Tools. It also states that he was the best salesman in the entire company. Ego justified, and also helpful as studies show that people with more confidence are better at selling product.
    • Al suffers from this in "Too Many Cooks" when he takes over a cooking show as a favor and Tim is reduced to playing second banana. As a result, they essentially swap schticks, Al being the goofy one while Tim is the quieter, competent, Deadpan Snarker sidekick. Perhaps Fridge Brilliance, as Jill's famously bad cooking means that Tim might have learned cookery in self-defense. He was shown studying up for the complicated specialty dish Al wanted to prepare with Jill.
    • Happens again in "Games, Flames and Automobiles", where Al invests his life savings into a Tool Time board game. When it's revealed that the game is defective and Al stands to lose his entire life savings, Al flees to his cabin before he has to sell it. Tim, however, fixes the game while timing himself to find the most efficient method, and then recruits and teaches his friends and co-workers to do the same thing.
  • Small Reference Pools: The well-traveled and learned Wilson exists to subvert this, as he constantly references the ideas of various philosophers and thinkers, both famous and obscure, and takes interest in the odd traditions of obscure cultures. A lot of the humor is derived from Tim, who exemplifies Men Are Uncultured, reacting to and being confused by Wilson's knowledge.
  • Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome: Tim's nieces were babies in season 4, but about eight years old when they appeared in the final season.
  • Special Guest:
    • Many celebrities appeared as themselves as guests on Tool Time, including Bob Vila, Penn & Teller, George Foreman, Michael and Mario Andretti, and Evander Holyfield. This actually gets lampshaded in "Knee Deep", after Penn & Teller guest on Tool Time and Tim is called out on this, being told by fans that his show is relying too much on Stunt Casting.
    • A few celebrities appeared as themselves outside of Tool Time, including The Beach Boys (Wilson is related to the 'blood relation' Beach Boys including Mike Love, as his mother was Emily Wilson) and Rodney Dangerfield.
  • Standardized Sitcom Housing: The layout of the floor plan subverts a lot of the standard features. It still uses The Couch to have them staring back at the audience when watching TV, but the front door is upstage with a wall blocking most of the foyer and the stairs from easy audience view, and later in the show's run a piano is put into that hidden corner. The sides of the stage lead to the garage on the left and the side lawn on the right, where Tim gets advice from Wilson. This layout is rather humorously lampshaded when Tim talks about Jill always giving him important advice when she leaves the room, as that wall muffles her voice to where he can't understand what she says.
  • The Stinger: Aired over the credits, and generally featured bloopers.
  • Straight Man: Al Borland (Richard Karn) would play the straight man to Tim Taylor (Tim Allen) in particularly during the Show Within a Show, "Tool Time" where Tim was terribly accident prone. Often, when Tim would ask Al to do something dangerous, he replied with the line "I don't think so Tim," which became his Catchphrase.
  • Straight Man and Wise Guy: Al and Tim usually seem to pull off this dynamic in Tool Time, with Tim as the bumbling-but-wisecracking Wise Guy and Al as his competent-but-long-suffering Straight Man sidekick, but at one point they switch roles accidentally and have Tim play the straight man when they do a cooking show.
  • Strange Minds Think Alike: Al is prone to this.
  • Straw Feminist: Jill's friend Karen was a mild, but still unbearably smug version. She was dropped after the first season when Betsy Randall was cast in Boy Meets World.
  • Strictly Formula: The show obeys a strict formula: Tim makes fun of Al on Tool Time and later does something stupid to upset Jill, who is dealing with the latest parenting issue; Tim goes to Wilson (who doesn't show his face in a new and clever way) for advice, parrots back a mangled apology to Jill, and all is well.
  • Studio Audience: Tool Time has one watching, who take part in the series' intro — "Does everybody know what time it is?" "TOOL TIME!" This was actually filmed using volunteers from Home Improvement's own audience each time, not extras. This practice hilariously led to one outtake where the audience volunteers completely forgot to respond.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: When Pamela Anderson left the show, her "Tool Time Hot Girl" role was taken by Debbe Dunning as "Heidi", a different character with the same purpose. Heidi eventually had some Character Development and was portrayed as a competent handyperson in her own right.
  • Swapped Roles: On a few occasions, Tim and Wilson would switch roles, with Wilson struggling with some problem and Tim giving him some much-needed advice on how to handle it. At least once, they'd swapped what side of the fence they were standing on (with Wilson's face still being obscured).
  • Take Our Word for It: Two of these are used as running gags. The first is Al's mother, who is reported to be very obese and is yet never seen on camera. The other is Tim's eccentric neighbor Wilson, whose face is always partially obscured by props and scenery (generally the fence between the two yards, but when he is in a different scene the length that the set designers go to to obscure his face is very funny). One such incident involved Wilson showing Tim an unfinished self-portrait that lacked any marks beneath the nose.
  • The Teaser: The series started using cold opens in season 2.
  • Television Geography: Set in Detroit, yet the only filming done in Michigan was for two episodes where the Taylor family vacations to the Traverse City area. Otherwise, it is quite blatant that it was filmed in Los Angeles, from distant mountains in some outdoor shots to the weather always being sunny even when snow is on the ground. "Jill's Surprise Party" has one of Jill's former coworkers intentionally sent by Tim south on the M-10 freeway rather than to his house, and he notes that it has 12 exits between the I-94 interchange and Canada — there's only seven exits on this stretch, and even counting the three traffic lights past the freeway's end only adds up to ten.
  • Testosterone Poisoning: URR URR URR! MORE POWER! The uber-macho Tim is utterly incompetent seven times out of ten. He plays it up even more for his Show Within a Show.
  • Through-the-Years Credits: The last two seasons use opening shots from previous years as a background. The older video is transformed for a Deliberately Monochrome effect.
  • Tim Taylor Technology: Trope Namer, a Running Gag of Tim trying to improve a tool or appliance by upgrading a part, which nearly always backfires (and famous enough to avoid being renamed to something more generalized). Funny enough, while many things do explode from the added stress quite a few actually work as intended but cause collateral damage.
    • The pilot episode has him question why you need to presoak dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. He installs a new water pressure motor and the back of the dishwasher explodes out into the living room.
    • Every Christmas Episode has him in competition with neighbor Doc Johnson for best holiday decorations. His idea of lighting his house for Christmas is always to add more power, a viewpoint exacerbated by the fact that he participates in a Christmas lighting competition in his neighborhood that he always loses, blowing out a fuse more than once. His crowning achievement is in "Twas the Flight Before Christmas", where he has to go out of town one Christmas, and the weather is so bad that his plane home can't land — until his kids activate the Christmas decorations he had set up, which shine a light so bright that all of a sudden the plane can see the runway through the clouds and land.
    • In "Look Who's Not Talking", he soups up a vacuum and turns the house into a wind tunnel.
    • In "Ye Olde Shoppe Teacher", Tim meets his old college professor, who is well aware of Tim's antics and still wondering if he should have given Tim a passing grade. Tim spends the whole episode recreating his final exam to impress him, and while his assignment was to build a simple birdhouse... well, "simple" just wasn't good enough.
    • In "Some Like It Hot Rod", he turns up the power of a pressure washer to remove graffiti from a wall, "Al's A Gal" he spray painted himself, it instead cut "Al's a Gal" into the plaster siding.
    • In "Alarmed by Burglars", he installs a heavy-duty stove fan hood, which sucks up the spaghetti and sends it several streets over, where it lands on a neighbor's car.
      • Zig-zagged in the same episode when Tim is inspired to buy a home security system after his neighbor Wilson is robbed. Everyone at the hardware store assumes he'll go down his normal route and speculate on the insane features Tim would add, joking that he'd have the first house with "first-strike capabilities". Tim surprises them by not wanting a particularly fancy system — at least until his wife Jill finds out and insists that he install as robust a system as he could. Tim obliges her with a system that's so enthusiastic, it makes the house unlivable.
    • In "Jill and Her Sisters", he uses a leaf vacuum to pull the leaves from the trees themselves, which also rips the outer clothes right off Al.
    • In "Quest for Fire", while trying to show how quickly he could light a barbecue grill, he put so much fuel into it that he launched it into geosynchronous orbit.
  • Trash the Set: Tim's DIY gadgets often cause collateral damage.
  • Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: In an interesting aversion, when compared against contemporary shows Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson felt like a realistically good-looking couple that finds a middle ground between a Model Couple and a sluggish man with a supermodel wife.
  • The Unfair Sex:
    • Occurs perhaps most notably in "Birds of a Feather Flock to Taylor", where Tim and Jill argue about whether or not Jill told Tim three times they were going to the opera that night, as she claims. As the episode progresses, Tim realizes that Jill did let him know, but the hints were so subtle that Tim missed them completely until that point. Jill, meanwhile, realizes that she "did everything except sit Tim down and tell him we're going to the opera-oh my God I didn't do that." At the episode's end, Tim apologizes to Jill for having missed her notes and Jill... lets him. She does nothing to apologize for what she did wrong.
    • Egregiously, used Recycled Scripts as well, using the same plot twice, only with Tim's and Jill's roles swapped around. Tim was always on the wrong side. For example, "Maybe, Baby" portrayed Tim as an unfeeling jerk because he said he did not want any more children, seeing as in a marriage, he can't decide this sort of thing alone. Then, in a later episode, Tim decided he'd like to try for a daughter, and was portrayed as foolish and insensitive because it's really his wife's decision, and she doesn't want any more children.
    • However, this trope was subverted on a number of occasions. In "Workshop 'Til You Drop", Tim and Jill go to a couples workshop. After Jill tells the group about her frustrations with Tim's inability to understand her feelings, an example given was Jill planned a romantic retreat and Tim seemed distracted all weekend. When Tim shares his side of the story it was a bed and breakfast with nothing else to do so he wasn't excited about the trip in the first place, and she dragged them there on the Indy 500 weekend. The therapist and all the other women tell her that it's ridiculous for her to think that Tim should be able to read her mind and know how she feels all the time and she's way too demanding and critical of him. Jill was furious about being talked to like that but after talking to Wilson she realized in their relationship they would both make the assumption that Tim was wrong on everything, and it was difficult to admit her own faults.
  • Unknown Rival: Bob Vila clearly doesn't know that Tim genuinely considers him a rival at all, he's just happily doing crossovers with a friendly local home improvement show. It helps that Tim's costars play it up like it's all part of Tim's "The Toolman" bit.
  • Unreveal Angle: Tim's neighbour Wilson's face is never fully exposed (outside of the final curtain call at the end of the series).
  • Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: The show almost didn't air because a special all-female test audience said they hated Tim, an apparent chauvinistic alpha male who loves to grunt and scratch. The producers had to beg the network to take a chance on the show, as Tim was supposed to be a celebration of the modern man with all his flaws, with wives nudging their husbands whenever Tim does something stupid.
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Definitely Tim, on so many levels.
  • Very Special Episode: Often slightly less Anvilicious than the average, since the focus was on the characters' reactions to the problem instead of preaching to the audience. Episodes of this type include "What a Drag" (where Brad is found to be using marijuana), "Love's Labor Lost" (where Jill undergoes an emergency hysterectomy), "Adios" (where Randy leaves to go to Costa Rica for a year) and "Dead Weight" (where Al's mother dies).
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Tim and Al. They don't seem to get along too well but under the surface it's clear that Tim genuinely appreciates Al's help and Al knows he would be a lot more lonely and have fewer friends if Tim wasn't around. In "Dream On" Al blows up at Tim for always making fun of him and Tim explains that is how he treats his friends ("And when you tease me for wearing flannel?" "I say that because you look ridiculous."). And while never stated out loud, they bonded a little bit since they both lost their fathers at a young age.
  • We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties: Tool Time would sometimes cut to these when Tim injured himself somehow. Such as the time he nailed his foot to the floor, and one of these pops up. Then we hear the sound of his co-host pulling the nail out...
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Probably one of the most benign examples ever, but Tim would always be obsessed with making simple or menial things hyper-masculine, or as he puts, giving it "more power" in order to improve it. As a Running Gag in the series, this almost always led to whatever project he's making more manly to blow up in his face (literally) but he still continues his obsession throughout the series.
  • Women Are Wiser:
    • Tim and Jill, especially in the earlier seasons. This was softened a bit as the series went on, and Jill had several of her own moments of incompetence. For example, when Al's mother passed away in "Dead Weight", Jill's advice only makes things worse while Tim is more comforting and practical.
    • "Birds of a Feather Flock to Taylor" ended with both of them realizing they were wrong. It involved Tim forgetting to do something, and the episode had both of them blaming the other for it. Jill left him a lot of clues and hints but, after talking to Wilson, realized she never actually outright told Tim to do it (and after so many years of marriage, she should know that he's not big on clues). Despite Jill realizing she was wrong, only Tim apologized; Jill played it off as if she had been right all along, and thus this trope was preserved.
  • Wrench Wench:
    • While maybe not a mechanic, Randy's girlfriend Lauren was big into cars and knowledgeable about them, which made Tim absolutely love her.
    • Second Tool Girl Heidi also fits this trope; she is seen contributing to the Tool Time renovations and shown to be competent at the work at hand.
  • You Are Fat:
    • Tim's mother-in-law Lillian used to be a big gal, and was the butt of some fat jokes. When she debuted in "Much Ado About Nana" though, she was very thin and explained that she had slimmed down due to watching Tim making jokes about her weight on Tool Time.
    • Tim subsequently started making jokes about how fat Al's mother was, both on and off Tool Time. When she died though, Tim made a touching eulogy at her funeral, where he claimed that she was actually a big fan of the show and thought the fat jokes were Actually Pretty Funny, a major contrast to Lillian's reaction.
  • You Are Grounded!: This is a common punishment Jill and Tim direct at their sons, mostly for Brad and Randy. Occasionally they discuss it but choose a different route, as in "Flying Sauces", when they turn the boys' alien prank on Mark against them by dressing up as aliens to scare them.
  • Your Mom: The show has a Running Gag about Tim's Tool Time co-host Al's mother being very large, often taking the opportunity to make "your mom" jokes to him — sometimes during the show. But she really is that large; at her funeral, they needed seventeen pallbearers (and possibly more, since Wilson was still talking at fade-out) to carry her casket.
    Tim: Your mother is so large, she has her own zip code!

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