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.
