HOME IMPROVEMENT: THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD {PART 2 OF 2} {SERIES FINALE} (TV)

Summary

Part two of the series finale of this comedy series about the host of a cable television fix-it show and his wife and three sons.

Tim drives Brad and Mark to school, and on the way they reminisce about all the times they’ve shared growing up in Detroit, and about their friends and family. Tim drops them off at school and arrives at the studio to shoot the final episode of Tool Time. Al is outwardly enthusiastic but is highly anxious, more so when Tim reveals that he plans to move to Indiana with his family. Tim tries to cheer him and Heidi up; Al is excited about his wedding and Heidi reveals that she is pregnant. Morgan arrives, asking them to burn down the set with an electrical and make it seem like an accident as a big stunt for their final episode. The Tool Time hosts despise this idea, and Tim tells them that they will do the finale in their own style. Meanwhile, Jill tries to prepare the Taylor backyard for Al and Trudy’s wedding. She reveals to Wilson that she hasn’t been able to bring herself to call the doctor in Indiana offering her the job, as she harbors some trepidation about the move. She notes that she moved constantly when she was a child and that marrying Tim allowed her to “put down roots” for the first time in her life. Wilson offers her some advice, and she decides to make the call after all.

The final episode of Tool Time begins, and the Taylor family is present in the studio audience. They begin with a fake-out involving advice about surge protection, but decide to acquiesce to Morgan’s electrical fire request, albeit in their own style. They introduce an “all-tool band” to assist them in this endeavor, and they play a medley as Tim brings out more fans of the show to the stage, setting fire to a banner with a blowtorch, which is quickly put out by a pair of fire marshals. When Tim gets home he and Wilson decide to take down the fence between their yards in order to give Al and Trudy’s wedding guests enough seating room for the ceremony. Tim tell Wilson that Binford offered him an executive producer position on his show if he came back, but that he refused and still intends to move to Indiana. Tim doesn’t want Jill to find out, as he doesn’t want to influence her decision.

The guests assemble for the wedding and Morgan arrives to see Jill. He tells Jill about the company’s decision to bring Tim on as executive producer, attempting to guilt her into getting Tim to reconsider. Jill throws Morgan out of her house just before the ceremony begins. Al and Trudy are wed by Wilson and later Jill takes Tim aside to thank him for turning down the executive producer position. She is touched by Tim’s selflessness and doesn’t want to go to Indiana anymore, which is what Tim was afraid of. She feels that she could find another job in Detroit, but Tim notes that Jill’s new job is a rare opportunity that she must take. Brad and Mark arrive and join the conversation as Jill and Tim agree to reconsider the move to Indiana. During the wedding reception, Tim makes a toast on behalf of Al and Trudy, and Al thanks Tim for his support over the years and for his friendship. That night, Tim and Jill clean up after the wedding reception and reminisce about their own wedding, commenting on how their lives seemed uncertain at that point. They talk again about the move to Indiana, and Jill realizes that she doesn’t want to leave her life in Detroit and her home. Tim gets a harebrained idea and decides to transport the entire house to Indiana via tugboat. Includes commercials.

(The first of two programs on this asset, for the second, “Home Improvement: Backstage Pass,” see B:57409.)

Details

• NETWORK: ABC
• DATE: May 25, 1999 8:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 0:59:04
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: B:57408
• GENRE: Comedy
• SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy
• SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1991-1999
• COMMERCIALS:
  • TV – Commercials – Brita water filtration
  • TV – Commercials – Buick automobiles
  • TV – Commercials – Coppertone sunscreen
  • TV – Commercials – Home Depot home improvement stores
  • TV – Commercials – Johnson’s baby shampoo
  • TV – Commercials – Lays potato chips
  • TV – Commercials – M&M’s candy
  • TV – Commercials – MCI phone service
  • TV – Commercials – McDonald’s restaurants
  • TV – Commercials – Nasonex nasal spray
  • TV – Commercials – Olive Garden restaurants
  • TV – Commercials – Saturn automobiles
  • TV – Commercials – Toyota automobiles
  • TV – Commercials – Vida credit cards
  • TV – Commercials – Wal-Mart department stores
  • TV – Commercials – Wendy’s restaurants
  • TV – Commercials – “Home Improvement” home video release
  • TV – Commercials – “Tarzan” motion picture
  • TV – Promos – “20/20”
  • TV – Promos – “Dharma & Greg”
  • TV – Promos – “Good Morning America”
  • TV – Promos – “Spin City”
  • TV – Promos – “The Drew Carey Show”
  • TV – Promos – “The Norm Show”
  • TV – Promos – “Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place”

CREDITS

• Laurie Gelman … Executive Producer
• Elliot Shoenman … Executive Producer
• Tim Allen … Executive Producer
• David McFadzean … Executive Producer, Created by
• Matt Williams … Executive Producer, Created by
• Carmen Finestra … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
• Bruce Ferber … Executive Producer, Writer
• Alan Padula … Producer
• Gayle S. Maffeo … Producer
• Kim Tushinsky … Producer
• Jim Praytor … Producer, Director
• Jonathan Pollack … Co-Producer
• Judy Rauh … Co-Producer
• Jeff Sarver … Associate Producer
• Marley Sims … Consulting Producer, Writer
• Lloyd Garver … Consulting Producer, Writer
• Tracy Gamble … Consulting Producer
• John Pasquin … Director
• Billy Riback … Writer
• Dan Foliart … Music by
• Tim Allen … Cast, Tim Taylor
• Patricia Richardson … Cast, Jill Taylor
• Earl Hindman … Cast, Wilson Wilson Jr.
• Richard Karn … Cast, Al Borland
• Debbe Dunning … Cast, Heidi Keppert
• Zachery Ty Bryan … Cast, Brad Taylor
• Taran Smith … Cast, Mark Taylor
• Jonathan Taylor Thomas … Cast, Randy Taylor
• Mario Andretti … Cast, Himself
• Megan Cavanaugh … Cast, Trudy McHale
• Blake Clark … Cast, Harry
• Pat Cronin … Cast, Sparky
• Al Fann … Cast, Felix
• Janeen Rae Heller … Cast, Janeen
• Mickey Jones … Cast, Pete
• Jim Labrioca … Cast, Benny
• Tom LaGrua … Cast, Eddie
• Keith Lehman … Cast, Cal
• John "Juke" Logan … Cast, Juke
• Gary McGurk … Cast, Dwayne
• William O'Leary … Cast, Marty
• Shirley Prestia … Cast, Dolores
• Casey Sander … Cast, Rock
• Thom Sharp … Cast, Jeff
• Danny Zorn … Cast, Morgan