‘Last Man Standing’: Tim Allen’s ‘Home Improvement’ Return Leaves Fans Clamoring for ‘Tool Time’ Reboot

Tim Allen brought back Tim Taylor on Thursday night’s episode of Last Man Standing, bringing the Home Improvement character to life more than 20 years after the sitcom ended. While the Last Man Standing episode aired, fans hoped this was a hint at a Home Improvement revival in the future. Allen might have time for it, now that Last Man Standing is ending, and Allen has hinted at a reunion in the past.

In “Dual Time,” Vanessa (Nancy Travis) needed the food disposal fixed, and since Binford Tools owner Tim happened to be in Colorado, he answered the call to fix it. This led to Mike Baxter and Tim meeting each other and the resemblance was uncanny! The episode featured several references to Home Improvement and provided some updates on the Tool Man’s life.

Viewers also learned that Wilson, Tim’s beloved neighbor who always looked over the fence, died in the Home Improvement universe. Wilson was played by Earl Hindman, who died in 2003 from lung cancer. It was an emotional moment for fans at home and an emotional scene for Allen to play. “I adored the man and we kind of brought that up in the story,” Allen said in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight. “I started thinking about all the history I had with that TV show, how I compare it to my life on this show. It’s all about loss, is all I kept saying in that episode.”

​

Allen has discussed the possibility of reviving Home Improvement in the past. In a 2018 interview with Parade Magazine, Allen said he was still in contact with his co-stars, but it could be very difficult. “It gets a little creepy if you do it at the same time as I have another wife on another show. The timing is not good right now,” Allen said at the time.

​

In February, Allen told TVLine he would be interested in doing a reunion special of some kind. “I like the idea of doing it as a one-off, like a one-hour movie [versus a full-fledged revival series], I like the idea of doing it as a one-off, like a one-hour movie [versus a full-fledged revival series],” he said. Allen said he would be interested in catching up with Tim’s sons and seeing what Tool Time might look like in the modern world.

​

New episodes of Last Man Standing air on Fox Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. ET. The show is now in its final season. As for Home Improvement, it is not available to stream on the major streaming platforms with subscriptions. However, you can buy episodes on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes.

​

​

​