For eight years Home Improvement chronicled the trials and tribulations of the accident-prone host of a local home-improvement cable show, Tool Time, as well as those of his independent wife and their trio of growing boys. Based on the stand-up comedy routines of lead actor Tim Allen, the sitcom gently poked fun at manly men via patriarch Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor, whose grunts for "more power" were typically followed with calls to the local Detroit fire department. Tim's cohorts on Tool Time included Al Borland, who calmly withstood Tim's wisecracks, and Heidi The "Tool Time Girl," who always opened the show-within-a-show with the question 'Does everybody know what time it is?'

In May 1999, Home Improvement went off the air. During its run, it received nearly 40 awards, including Emmys, a Golden Globe, People's Choice Awards and honors at the TV Land Awards, where the cast reunited to accept the Fan Favorite Award.