The Home Improvement Prop You'd Never Expect Tim Allen To Own
The ninth and final season of Last Man Standing premiered on Jan. 3, 2021. But while star Tim Allen has a lot to be proud of — the show will have run for 194 episodes across seven seasons on ABC and an additional two on Fox — he also hasn't lost sight of the sitcom that made him a household name, Home Improvement. Last Man Standing is a hit in its own right, but Home Improvement was one of the iconic sitcoms of the '90s and a ratings juggernaut for ABC at a time when NBC had stalwarts like Friends and Seinfeld. With 34 Emmy nominations, nine Golden Globe nominations, and four consecutive People's Choice Awards for favorite comedy series, Allen and the Home Improvement team built something to be proud of.
Lots of actors hang onto a prop or two from their most identifiable roles. Who wouldn't? But Tim Allen kicked things up a notch in a way that would make Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor proud. In an interview with US Weekly, the longtime sitcom dad and standup comedian admitted that his garage would make any Home Improvement superfan or Tim Allen cosplayer jealous.
Tool Time lives on, in Tim Allen's garage
That's right, Tim Allen has the entire set from Home Improvement's show-within-a-show, Tool Time, in his garage. For the uninitiated, in Home Improvement, Allen starred as Tim Taylor, a husband and father of three who also had his own local access home repair show. Tim was far from a perfect family man, but the Tool Time segments revealed he wasn't exactly a master craftsman, either. Tim's ill-fated power tool demonstrations were one of Home Improvement's signatures. The Tool Time set was already made to look like a garage workshop, so it's not out of place.
The upcoming ninth and final season of Last Man Standing is a good time for Allen to reflect on his comedy legacy. Nine seasons is one more than Home Improvement completed, but the show could have gone on longer. Co-star Patricia Richardson reportedly turned down $25 million to return for season 9. Without his sitcom wife onboard, Allen turned down $50 million himself, and the show ended. While this may have caused friction between them at the time, they both felt the show was a labor of love and not worth doing just for a paycheck.
But more recently, Allen and his former co-stars have found ways to honor their legacy. Richardson and Home Improvement co-star Richard Karn have made cameos on Last Man Standing, and Allen kicked off season 9 by reprising Tim Taylor himself. It's not exactly the reboot some fans have hoped for. But the dream lives on, just like the Tool Time does.