Tim Taylor (character)

Tim Taylor
Home Improvement character
First appearance	"Pilot"
Last appearance	"The Long and Winding Road Part 3"
Created by	Tim Allen
Portrayed by	Tim Allen
Information
Nickname(s)	Tim the Tool Man Taylor
Gender	Male
Occupation	Tool Man (1989–1999) TV Show Host (1989–1999)
Family	Lucille Taylor (mother) Michael Taylor (father, deceased) Marty Taylor (brother) Jeff Taylor (brother) Rick Taylor (brother) John Taylor (brother) Danny Taylor (brother)
Spouse(s)	Jill Taylor married 1979
Children	Brad Taylor (son) Randy Taylor (son) Mark Taylor (son)

Dr. Timothy "Tim The Tool Man" Taylor is the main character on the American television sitcom Home Improvement, portrayed by Tim Allen, from which his first name and alma mater (Western Michigan University) are derived. Tim Taylor is the husband of Jill Taylor and father of Brad, Randy and Mark Taylor, and lives in the suburbs of Detroit.

Personality and interests

A hot rod enthusiast, Tim is knowledgeable on all things related to cars, and is fond of listing the different parts inside a particular car that catches his attention. Tim is also obsessed with building things. This is usually followed by his trademark grunting. He is also somewhat obsessed with modifying machines and household appliances for "more power" (a favorite catchphrase of his), because he likes doing things the "man's way". Most of the time, the rewired machines will backfire and cause some kind of accident. Nevertheless, he tries to pass these qualities to his sons. It has been shown on some occasions, most notably at the end of the episode "Ye Olde Shoppe Teacher", that if Tim pays attention and follows instructions without trying to give things more power, he can be an effective craftsman. He is also a big fan of the Detroit Lions, Detroit Tigers, Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings.

Tim's character is a strong foil to his intellectual feminist wife. Unlike Jill, who's more intellectual and enjoys literature, psychology and performing arts, Tim enjoys cars, sports, and works with his hands. Although Tim is often regarded as simple-minded, especially compared to Jill, he has, on occasion, shown moments of greater maturity and responsibility, and has occasionally been a more capable problem solver than his intellectually trained and meddlesome wife. He encouraged his youngest son, Mark, to pursue his interests in karate and flying planes. He helped Randy stand up to a bully, and was more reasonable about allowing the newly licensed Randy to drive at night. He showed more decisiveness in ending fights between his sons. He has even successfully repaired the relationship between Jill's arguing parents, between Al and Ilene, and between Harry and his son and wife.

Tool Time

Tim is a witty, caring, but hastily incompetent, accident-prone, know-it-all handyman. He hosts his own television program, Tool Time, in which he and his assistant Al Borland teach audiences about home improvement. Audiences think Tim's outrageous accidents and fiascos are done on purpose to tell the audience what not to do, a perception that actually earned Tim an award for safety. Compared to Al, who is more competent, by-the-book, and knows the correct procedures, Tim is more adventurous, inventive and innovative, often refusing to follow instructions and opting to customize machines to his satisfaction, with famously disastrous results. While Tim considers himself to be the star of the show and is a celebrity in Detroit, Al eventually becomes the more popular one with the viewers. Tim is initially concerned that Binford may switch hosts, but eventually embraces Al's popularity and his own tendency to overdo things. Tim's rival is real-life home improvement specialist Bob Vila, who made a few guest appearances on the show. A running gag is when Tim accidentally causes destruction to anything he touches-from the world's smallest car to running over golf carts-with a Marine Corps tank.

Before becoming the host of Tool Time, Tim was a traveling parts salesman for Binford Tools. When personally chosen by John Binford, CEO of Binford Tools and Tim's personal friend, to become the host of Tool Time, Tim spent much effort and determination to improve the show. In Tim's never-ending efforts to come up with the next best thing, Tool Time broadens from home improvement and covers many subjects, such as hobbies, cars, fitness and sports, and benefits from visits to many locations, on-location projects, and visits from famous guests such as astronauts and auto racing drivers. Indeed Tool Time is a great personal achievement for Tim, as he essentially brought the show from the ground up and made it a success and himself a local celebrity.

Relationship with Wilson

Living next door to the Taylors is Wilson, the man who helps Tim with his problems by quoting philosophers and historical figures. Tim, who is apparently not as intelligent as his wife Jill, has trouble understanding what Wilson tells him but eventually manages to figure it out on his own. However, he tends to mix up the words when trying to repeat Wilson's quotes, always to humorous effect. Tim, or any of the other Taylors, have a crisis ending conversation with Wilson in nearly every episode, even when traveling considerable distances. In one episode, Wilson points out that "Tim Taylor" is an anagram of "mortality" and that "Jill Taylor" is an anagram of "Jolly Trail".

Relationship with Al

Though ultimately good friends, there is a tense relationship between Tim and Al. Al is portrayed as a slightly geeky character, usually having more knowledge, skill, and audience popularity than Tim. His catchphrase, as an opposition to Tim's ill-advised ideas or jokes is, "I don't think so, Tim." He also comes up with many puns and giggles and snorts when a joke is made at Tim's expense. The cautious, insecure, brighter Al always bears the brunt of Tim's jokes and constant put-downs. Al is frequently taunted by Tim because of his weight, beard, and somewhat bland personality, his overweight mother, poor sense of humor and his preference of flannel shirts (and often other flannel items such as an oversized pair of flannel briefs in the episode "The Karate Kid Returns"); though many of these jokes seem mean spirited, Tim sees them as a form of male bonding, explaining that he jokes around the same way with his brothers. Tim typically uses his television show to vent about numerous problems he has in his personal life, and Al is usually very annoyed by this. A running joke for Tim is commenting on Al's overweight mother, who is often referred to but is never seen throughout the series although in the penultimate episode of the series, "Dead Weight", she dies, and the characters are shown paying their respects at her extra-wide coffin which shows her body but not her face. Also, prior to her death, her arm can be seen waving (with a leg of chicken in hand). Ironically, Tim's kids like Al, and look up to him.

Family

Tim's family lives in a suburb in Detroit, Michigan. His father, Michael Taylor, died when Tim was only 11 years old which had a profound impact on Tim's life, however Tim found somewhat of a father figure in John Binford, the CEO of Binford Tools but is again profoundly affected when he dies from a heart attack. His mother, Lucille Taylor is seen mostly in Christmas episodes and various others.

There has always been some disparity as to how many brothers Tim has. In earlier seasons, he is stated several times to have five brothers. In later seasons, he is stated to have four, however six have been mentioned by name - Marty and Jeff, who have each appeared on screen several times; John and Rick, who are mentioned only in the episode "Oh, Brother"; Steve, who is mentioned in "The Write Stuff" among other episodes; and Danny, who was mentioned to owe Tim money by Jill in Marty's first episode. In order from oldest to youngest is Jeff, Steve, Tim, Danny, John, Rick and Marty. There was one episode where Tim stated that he had a foreign exchange brother named Pat "the hoss" Fitzhaus, and he was going to visit him for a weekend.

Running themes/gags

• Tim's obsessive love of cars and tools.
• The simian, manly "grunt" he makes when he says, hears or sees something "manly".
• His comedic catchphrase "More power!". Usually when the audience says this line, Tim replies, "You're darn right more power!".
• Tim's frequent accidents with any tool he's modified for "more power"
• Tim's subconscious or consciousness to make destruction (i.e., blow up the dishwasher or the water heater.)
• His mangling of Wilson's advice (one variation is an episode where Tim actually gives good advice and astonishes everyone)
• Tim's frustration over people commenting that they love Tool Time for Al. Sometimes saying, "Al is my assistant, he assists me", or, sarcastically, "We all love Al."
• Whenever Tim goes in the basement, he hits his head on a beam, both on his way down the stairs and on his way back up. A variation was when Tim hits his head while going down the steps of a U.S. aircraft carrier.
• Tim's attempts to upstage Bob Vila.
• Tim's joking about Al's overweight mother.
• Tim's insensitivity toward women including his wife, and male chauvinism in general.
• Tim giving Al ridiculous middle names/nicknames when introducing him on Tool Time.