Hear who's hammering

Television series
German title	Hear who's hammering
Original title	Home improvement
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Year (s)	1991-1999
length	22 minutes
Episodes	204 in 8 seasons ( list )
genre	Sitcom
idea	Andy Cadiff
music	Dan Foliart
First broadcast	September 17, 1991 (USA) on ABC
German-language ; first broadcast	March 15, 1993 on Das Erste
occupation
	Tim Allen Timothy "Tim" Taylor Patricia Richardson Jillian "Jill" Taylor , b. Patterson Zachery Ty Bryan Bradley Michael "Brad" Taylor Jonathan Taylor Thomas Randall William "Randy" Taylor (Seasons 1-7) Taran Noah Smith Marcus Jason "Mark" Taylor Earl Hindman Wilson wilson jr. Richard Karn Albert "Al" Borland Debbe Dunning Heidi Keppert (seasons 3–8)
synchronization

Listen, who hammers there (original title: Home Improvement ) is an American sitcom that ran in 204 episodes from 1991 to 1999 on ABC . The series is set in Detroit and is based on the stand-up comedy of the lead actor Tim Allen . It was developed by Matt Williams , Carmen Finestra and David McFadzean . It was one of the most successful series of the 1990s and was also the springboard for Tim Allen's and Pamela Anderson's acting careers.

In Germany, the sitcom ran first from 1992 under the title Die Heimwerker (two episodes), in 1993 as Der Dünnbrettbohrer and again in 1994 as Der Heimwerker in First . From 1996, the series was broadcast in a new dubbed version as Listen, who hammers there on RTL .

The series is about the everyday life of Tim Taylor ( Tim Allen ), the host of the home improvement program Tool Time , Tim's wife Jill ( Patricia Richardson ), sons Brad, Randy and Mark ( Zachery Ty Bryan , Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Taran Noah Smith ) and the neighbor Wilson ( Earl Hindman ) and Tim's assistant Al Borland ( Richard Karn ). The basic motifs of the individual episodes are problems in the family environment and DIY tasks that Tim tries to cope with with excessive technical means, which usually ends in accidents.

action

Binford company logo

Tim Taylor, the self-proclaimed "DIY King " (in the original Tim "The Toolman" Taylor ), is the quick-witted moderator of the DIY program Tool Time , which is sponsored by the fictional tool manufacturer Binford Tools ("Binford Tools"). He lives with his family in Detroit, Michigan. His assistant is the single carpenter Al Borland, whose sedate manner is the target of Tim's jokes. Tim subordinates everything to his motto “More Power!” And tries to cope with manual tasks often by modifying the tools used to increase performance, which usually ends in the destruction of the tool or the object to be processed, sometimes with a visit Tims of the local hospital emergency room. While Tim is generally very clumsy and appears to be both know-it-all and incompetent, in the naive, down-to-earth Al, he has a knowledgeable and dexterous partner who is critical of Tim's way of working.

Tim is married to the good-natured but determined Jill Taylor, who always tries to prevent her husband from repairing something in the house or improving the performance of a device, since this usually ends in destruction and accidents. She also struggles with her husband's obsession with cars: Tim spends large parts of his free time and savings tinkering with hot rods . She has no weakness for technology herself and studies psychology in later seasons. Despite all the friction, the couple keeps getting together. The Taylor sons are Brad, Mark and Randy. Brad is the oldest, a good athlete, and popular in school. The middle one, Randy, is a spell knocker and has the best school grades of the three. Mark is the youngest and constant victim of pranks and jokes by his older brothers.

If there is any problem, Tim is always on hand to advise his neighbor Wilson. He is an experienced man of the world who talks to Tim over the garden fence in his back yard. To help Tim, Wilson quotes philosophers or uses analogies, which Tim always misunderstands, whereupon Wilson has to explain the underlying message to him, which proves to be helpful in each case. More rarely, Jill or the three sons seek advice from Wilson.

The development of the series structure at the beginning of the third season is also striking: From then on, the classic sitcom concept of completely independent episodes was broken in favor of a multi-episode plot. This was also accompanied by other changes: Tool Time got a new tool girl , Heidi, instead of Lisa , who from then on was no longer a supporting role. Various recurring elements, such as Brad and Randy's annoyance at Mark, were suddenly deleted less or completely; at the same time something new was established. Plots such as Jill, who is re-studying, or complete supporting characters and locations such as "Harry's hardware store" around Harry Turner, were newly introduced. More emphasis was now also placed on continuity, although this sometimes resulted in contradictions with the first two seasons (Jill's birthday changes the season). The families of Tim and Jill also made their first appearance here, regardless of the family circumstances described above.

characters

main characters

Tim Taylor

Timothy "Tim" Taylor is happily married to Jill and has three sons: Brad, Randy and Mark. When Tim was eleven years old he lost his father Michael, whom he admired very much; a traumatic experience for him that he doesn't like to talk about. He and his brothers grew up with his mother Lucille and later still has problems seeing them with a man other than his father.

Tim hosts the do-it-yourself program Tool Time together with his assistant and good friend Al Borland, as he has been interested in tools, machines and vehicles since he was a young boy. He considers all of these things to be specifically male and although he believes he is a specialist in these areas, he regularly makes gross mistakes due to carelessness and overconfidence - he neither reads the instructions for use nor listened to the advice of his assistant - and mostly heed it lead to spectacular mishaps and occasionally even end in hospital. Before Tim moderated with Al Tool Time , he worked as a tool representative before the series began.

One of his leisure activities is to provide old cars (hot rods) and other equipment with "more power". His particular ambition is to be more successful with Tool Time than competitor and real home improvement show host Bob Vila and his neighbors, retired proctologist Doc Johnson, in the annual Christmas lights competition. He is also interested in "men's" sports such as ice hockey, football, basketball and motor sports.

He also has problems understanding the world of women. This is sometimes accompanied by inadvertently chauvinistic but never malicious comments. He also often defends himself against emotions and considers them "unmanly", although he allows them sporadically (and often unintentionally). With his numerous problems, he regularly turns to his neighbor and good friend Wilson, who is at his side with advice and often helps to see more clearly.

In episode 110 The Honorary Doctor , he receives an honorary doctorate from Western Michigan University .

Jill Taylor

Jillian Taylor, called Jill, is the wife of Tim and the mother of Brad, Randy and Mark. She comes from a strict, tightly organized military family. Her father is Colonel Fred Patterson; her mother Lilian took care of her and her four sisters. The family had to move often and emotions were not the top priority, which Jill found stressful.

Jill studies from the fourth season (episode 75: Complex ) psychology after she worked as a journalist for a while and lost her job. Nevertheless, she mostly runs the household by herself and lovingly looks after the children. However, cooking is not one of her strengths. Jill is very interested in culture, she enjoys reading and also enjoys operas and ballet performances, which her family (with the initial exception of Mark) does not meet with much enthusiasm. At least this preference is shared by her neighbor Wilson, who also has great cultural knowledge. She is also involved in charitable causes such as fundraising banquets and also supports the local library at the beginning of the series. She constantly tries to treat her fellow human beings in a pedagogically sensible way and sometimes works as a psychologist at home.

Brad Taylor

Bradley Michael Taylor, called "Brad," is the eldest son of the Taylor family. He comes closest to his father. So he shares his interest in sport and is also active himself. He shows particular talent in football, which is why he is even offered a contract for a professional team in England at the end of the series. In episode 191, the fate of an athlete , he suffers a meniscus tear , but this does not prevent him from playing football. Like his father, he is also enthusiastic about tools, machines and cars. He actively helps him build the various hot rods and is the only son who moderated Tool Time with his father . Brad also shows an early interest in the opposite sex and is a crush. Occasionally he has his problems at school.

While Brad played innumerable pranks at the beginning of the series, especially with Randy on the younger, at the time still quite naive brother Mark, he developed a more relaxed relationship with Mark from the middle of the series. This peaked after Randy's departure for Costa Rica. After Tim's brother Marty moves in with the Taylors in episode 186 Two Daughters for Tim during Randy's absence , Brad even has to move into Randy's room in the basement with Mark. Brad initially shared a room with Randy, but due to disputes and since he is the eldest son, in episode 66 The Room Change he was given the room Mark previously lived in.

Randy Taylor

Randall William Taylor, nicknamed "Randy," is the middle son of the Taylor family. From the middle of the series he often suffers from the fact that he is the smallest of the siblings; even his little brother Mark overtakes him in terms of size as the series progresses. Randy is the smartest of the kids for that. He is known for his witty remarks, most of which are ironic or sarcastic in nature. Tim himself claims that he is most similar to him in terms of his personality. Randy has no problems at school, on the contrary, he often takes over Brad's homework for a little counter-service.

He also sees through the adult world at an early age. Since he is a kind of esthete , he is also sensitive and therefore has a good feel for his fellow men. Randy often doubts and questions, is not whiny or squeamish, and gets on quite well with his brother Brad, especially in the early episodes when they together make fun of their youngest brother Mark. Later he is committed to civil rights, justice in general and the environment, especially in his work for the local school newspaper. So he sued the Binford company for environmental pollution (episode 153 In the Name of Truth ) and criticized the church. Randy also works for charitable purposes, such as B. in an old people's home (episode 159, The Unbelieving Son ). In episode 178 The Refugee , Randy goes to Costa Rica with his girlfriend Lauren as part of an environmental program and only returns once for Christmas.

Mark Taylor

Marcus Jason "Mark" Taylor is the youngest of the three brothers (7 years old at the start of the series) and is regularly teased by his older brothers, especially in the first few seasons. He offers a good target for this, as he is very naive and gullible at the beginning, whereupon his parents, mostly Jill, advise him not to believe everything Brad and Randy tell him. Little Mark admires his father and willingly learn everything about tools and cars. Otherwise he does not share the interests of his brothers. Mark is the closest thing to Jill, he's also open to operas and ballet shows, although Tim prefers to take him to exercise. In contrast to his mother, he has a pronounced talent for cooking and baking, which he developed early on when he was allowed to help Jill with the kitchen work. Later in the series, Mark changes from a naive child to a certain, self-confident boy who first wants to become a pilot, to the alarm of his mother, and then later dresses in black to stand out from the crowd. His best friend becomes the bizarre, taciturn and also black-clad Ronnie. He also developed a penchant for making and editing films.

Wilson wilson jr.

Wilson wilson jr. is the Taylor's neighbor. The lower part of his face is always hidden from the viewer, mostly behind the garden fence. He is always at the side of the Taylor family - especially Tim - with words and deeds. He often quotes words from famous personalities, which Tim always twists when reproducing them. In addition, Wilson often uses words that Tim is unfamiliar with and that Wilson spells for him. Wilson is a highly intelligent, well-traveled and therefore cosmopolitan intellectual who is familiar with a large number of cultures and whose sometimes bizarre-looking traditions and rituals are often celebrated in his own garden. He also has an exceptional collection of foreign cult objects and other artifacts . Wilson was married, but his wife Catherine died before the series began; only his mother, his niece Willow and in a guest appearance the Beach Boys as his cousins appear in the series, although Wilson himself often talks about his family. With the exception of the Beach Boys and Bob, the family's black sheep , all of the Wilson's first names begin with “Wil”.

Al Borland

Albert Borland, known as Al, is Tim's assistant in Tool Time and his best friend, although his personality is the exact opposite of his. Al is sensitive, calm, and level-headed. He has a very good knowledge of tools and technology and thinks carefully about what he is doing - unlike Tim. Most of the time he is skeptical of the devices that Tim has modified and warns him before he even handles such an object (such as a hot rod drill), whereupon Tim always replies that he knows what he is doing. Al is more of an introvert, has a sense of humor Tim does not have, and is awkward with women. He also invented a board game called The Tool Time Game , with which Al temporarily had greater commercial success in season 5 (episode 26).

He worships his mother Alma, whose obesity, like Countless flannel shirts, is constantly exposed to Tim's jokes. To Tim's annoyance, Al is increasingly being admired by fans, and many people consider Al more competent. He is a loyal soul and is always there when the Taylors need him, for example for babysitting. Later on he becomes very good friends with Brad, Randy and Mark, but still doesn't care for their jokes and pranks, to which he is often at the mercy. Wilson is also one of his friends - probably thanks to Tim.

Heidi Keppert

She is the second tool girl played by Debbe Dunning, who assists Tim and Al on the show Tool Time from season three. Her character has been greatly expanded compared to the first tool girl Lisa Pamela Anderson . In some episodes, Tim and Heidi also have personal dealings with each other, e.g. B. the birth of their daughter Amy in episode 135 The Car King of the Year or her marital crisis with her husband Scott. Debbe Dunning made her first appearance on the series as a sexy restaurant guest in S02E03.

Minor characters

Minor characters in chronological order and according to weighting :

Tim's family

Tim's youngest brother Marty, played by William O'Leary . He lacks a permanent job.
Nancy, Marty's wife, played by Jensen Daggett
Your twin daughters Claire and Gracie, in episode 166 becoming a father is not difficult? , played by Kristen Hooper (as Gracie) and Kaitlyn Hooper (as Claire), then by Ashley Trefger (as Gracie) and Lindsey Trefger (as Claire). Her parents' relationship began to suffer during her birth, until she finally broke up in episode 186 Two Daughters for Tim and Marty and his daughters moved in with the Taylors for a short time.
Tim's older brother Jeff, played by Thom Sharp . He suffers from severe hair loss - an easy target for Tim's stupid jokes - and has family ties with Jill's sister Carrie from episode 179 . He has a rather unsteady professional life and has often failed with business models such as dog fashion.
Tim's mother Lucille, widow of Michael (played by Todd Glass ) since Tim was eleven, played by Bonnie Bartlett . She later enters into a relationship with Tim's former handicraft teacher Art Leonard.
Tim also has more brothers: Rick, Danny and Brian; they never appear in the series. John and Steve can be seen in a row A House Full of Memories .

Jill's family

Fred "The Colonel " Patterson, Jill's dominant father, played by M. Emmet Walsh . He doesn't like Tim, so he usually only addresses him disparagingly with “Hey you!” And dies in episode 150. A colonel resigns .
Lillian Patterson, Jill's mother, played by Polly Holliday
Jill's sisters:
- Carrie, an internationally established photographer played by Tudi Roche , who is in family ties with Tim's brother Jeff from episode 179
- Linda (played by Carlene Watkins )
- Robin (played by Amy Ryan in episode 22 Women and Poker , later Loryn Locklin )
- Tracy (played by Maryedith Burrell )

Friends

Jill's girlfriend Karen Kelly, played by Betsy Randle . She only appears in the first two seasons.
Jennifer Sudarsky, Brad's first friend, played by Jessica Wesson
Ashley, Brad's second friend, played by Leigh Ann Orsi
Angela, another friend of Brad, played by Kristin Clayton
Randy's first friend Beth, played by Anndi McAfee
Michelle Russell, Randy's friend whose parents almost split up thanks to Jill, played by Kimberly Cullum
Lauren, Randy's other friend, with whom he also flies to Costa Rica, played by Courtney Peldon
Marie, Jill's girlfriend, played by Mariangela Pino , and her husband Joe, played by Robert Picardo
Patty, a photographer and fellow student of Jill, played by Tammy Lauren
Jason, Brad's disagreeable friend, played by Jarrad Paul
Ronny, Mark's quirky friend for the last two seasons, played by Kaylan Romero
Willow Wilma Willy Wilson, Wilson's niece who later moves in with him, played by China Kantner
Judith, Jill's psychology lecturer who has a relationship with Wilson because of similar interests. She is played by Beth Dixon .

There are also some figures from Harrys Eisenwaren shop :

Harry Turner from Harrys Eisenwaren (originally: Harry's Hardware ) played by Blake Clark . The only good thing about his marriage, which he constantly portrays as a great evil, is only his sex life (thanks to his vasectomy ). He suffers a heart attack in the hardware store, but survives it. He and his wife later move to Tucson , Arizona for health reasons .
Harry's wife Delores, played by Shirley Prestia . She is the waitress at The Copper Kettle , which she was originally introduced to be. She is a strong but pessimistic, stubborn woman who stoically endures what she believes to be a botched marriage. Delores is notorious for her evil eye, which she uses again and again for reasons of discipline or will enforcement against her husband.
Wes Davidson's brother-in-law Benny Baroni, who always buzzes - mostly at Harry's hardware store - played by Jim Labriola

Tool Time

Tool girl Lisa, played by Pamela Anderson . She left the series at the end of the second season, but has another guest appearance in episode 151 Love and Jealousy .

Peter "Pete" Bilker of Bay City , Michigan , K&B Construction Company , played by Mickey Jones

Dwayne of Bay City, Michigan, K&B Construction Company, played by Gary McGurk

Rock from Bay City, Michigan, K&B Construction Company, played by Casey Sander

Mr. John Binford, played by Noble Willingham

Maureen Binford, his daughter who later runs his company (since he's on his honeymoon), played by Vicki Lewis

Wes Davidson, Binford's boss after Mr. Binford's death, played by Joel Polis

Bud Harper, Binford's boss after Wes Davidson, played by Charles Robinson

Master plumber Felix Myman played by Al Fann

George "Sparky" Henderson, Tim's vehicle saddler

Family and friends of Al Borland

Greta Post, As the first friend in the series, whom he met in a women's special from Tool Time (episode 10 The woman in the house ... ). played by Jennifer Nash
Dr. med. dent. Ilene Louise Markham, as the second cross-cutting girlfriend, played by Sherry Hursey . She is an orthodontist .
Gertrude "Trudy" McHale, as the last cross-cutting girlfriend and future wife, played by Megan Cavanagh . Her prosperity initially stood in the way of her relationship with Al.
Cal Borland, as the older and only brother, played by Keith Lehman
Alma Borland, As a never quite shown overweight mother. She dies during the eighth season.

Known

Antonio, the waiter who annoys Tim and Jill in (almost) every restaurant, played by Vasili Bogazianos
Irma, presenter of Cooking with Irma , played by Angela Paton
Art Leonard, Tim's old handicrafts teacher , played by Dick O'Neill . He later enters into a relationship with Tim's mother Lucille.
Fred, Ned and Ted, triplets who annoy Tim again and again by evasively answering all of Tim's questions without a solution. One is the manager of a football stadium (Ted, episode 160 Thanksgiving with a difference ), one is the male "girl for everything" at the airport in Alpena (Fred, episode 112 The Elves Parade ), the last one has a gas station (Ned, episode 135 The car king of the year ), all 3 played by Tom Poston
George, a criminal Tim and Al met in prison (episode 95 The Jolly Prison , 189 The Donut Detectives ), played by Mike Grief
Ian, a man Jill is very attracted to in the gym ( ep. 158 Secret Passion ), and Tim's "Granitheini" (episode 168 Scenes of a Marriage ), played by Tom Wopat

Guest appearances

Sorted by frequency and time of occurrence of a person. American athletes from various “men's sports” such as baseball or American football performed particularly frequently here . Below is a list of multiple or special guest appearances:

George Foreman as himself in episode 19 The Bad luck

Bob Vila as himself. He is Tim's archenemy because he can do everything better (episodes 17 The Guru , 48 Does He Jump?, 49 The Big Race , 74 The Big Race II )

Ernest Borgnine and Jack Elam as two retired assembly line workers at a car factory in episode 20 Typical woman

Mario Andretti and his son Michael appear a few times as themselves in Tool Time (episodes 31 The Moving , 70 Money Problems ( Michael Andretti only ), 136 A Heart of Gold , 203 Farewell to the DIY King Part 3 ( Mario Andretti only ))

Jimmy Carter in Episode 67 Team Spirit

Victoria Principal as Les Thompson (episode 71)

Lt. Cmdr. Kenneth D. Bowersox as himself (episode 73 Der Computer-Casanova , 117 Fear of flying , 175 The universe is calling )

Jay Leno as the cynical mechanic Jay (episode 88 Turning New into Old ) and as himself (episode 190 Writer's Block )

Dave Chappelle and Jim Breuer as Dave Carlisle and John Butler , which resulted in a spin-off called Buddies (episode 94 The University Exam )

Alan Jackson as himself (episode 118 Two like Pech und Schwefel ), has no role in the story, but only presents one song (Mercury Blues)

Larry Hankin as Clifford Warren , alias Tim's friend Halloween-Larry (episode 133, whoever laughs last ... )

Alan Jardine , Matt Jardine, Bruce Johnston , Mike Love and Carl Wilson ( The Beach Boys ) as themselves (Episode 140 The Karate Kid Returns ). They play cousins of Wilson and sing a song.

Cory Everson as herself in episode 155 child prodigy Brad

Dan Aykroyd in his role as Reverend Mike Webber ( crossover in episode 159 The Incredible Son ) from the sitcom A Pastor Goes Through (in the original Soul Man )

Rodney Dangerfield was different from himself in episode 160 Thanksgiving

Payne Stewart as himself in episode 169 Beauty and the Bear .

Running gags

The face of neighbor Wilson can be fully seen in only two scenes during the entire series, always being covered by something below the nose. In most cases, the fence between the two lots hid Wilson's face. As the series progresses, the means of disguising his full features become increasingly fanciful. One example of this is a scene in Das Fidele Prison (episode 95) in which Mark Taylor models his babysitter Wilson's face with paper mache as part of a school project so that only the lower half of his face can be seen. In the last episode, Backstage Pass , when all the actors finally say goodbye to the audience, Earl Hindman showed his face. However, it can be seen earlier in episodes 80 ( Money Doesn't Stink ) and 140 (The Karate Kid Returns ). In the first episode, Wilson wears a Halloween costume and make-up, but the lower half of his face is unobstructed.

All of Wilson's mostly philosophical advice is later reproduced by Tim in a consequently crosswise manner.

Another running gag is a pipe running over the stairs in the basement, which Tim hits his head every time he enters. Sometimes he does this in other cellars or in the engine room of an aircraft carrier during the filming of Tool Time .

The fact that Jill's cooking skills are miserable is consistently alluded to. Often vegetables and various casseroles are the reason for this.

There are also recurring allusions to Tim's susceptibility to injuries of all kinds. Every time he visits the hospital, he is welcomed by the staff like a good friend. This is how he is called the “best customer” and even has a mug with the label “Tim” ready. His environment has now also adapted to this and thus has bandages and emergency numbers ready.

Milton (played by Milton Canady ) also appears in all seasons . In his environment there are mostly allusions to homosexuality, which he says with the sentence “Hey, I don't go along with this mess”; commented in the original "Hey, I don't go for that sort of thing".

Furthermore, one of the running gags is that Tim gives Al a nickname in almost every Tool-Time episode, e.g. B. "Al 'the eternal assistant' Borland".

In addition, the obesity of Als Mutter and her apparently above-average dress size count as a running gag of the series. Tim often alludes to this in 'Tool Time', for example when sharpening skis ("What are your mother's toothpicks doing here, Al?") Or the joking description of a circus tent as Alma's favorite dress.

Al and Tool Time

Al is usually more popular with Tool Time audiences than Tim. When people in front of Tim reveal themselves to be fans of Al, he says, especially in earlier episodes, either “We all love Al!” Or “Al is my assistant, he assists me !” When Tim asks a technical question, Al usually answers with “ I don't think so, Tim! ”This phrase became so popular that later other characters, such as Mark disguised as Al, alluded to this sentence. Tim also often delves into the seemingly endless stock of flannel shirts .

Another recurring element are rooms that are specially designed according to “men's needs”, such as the “men's bedroom”, the “men's fitness room”, the “men's bathroom” or the “men's kitchen”. Another characteristic is the phrase "We'll get back to you right after the Binford advertisement!", Which Tim uses, for example, when something goes wrong on the show. If Tim is furious on the show and makes chauvinistic remarks , for example , Al holds up a sign with the address of the sender and says: "If you have any complaints, please contact ..."

Episode list

synchronization

The first three seasons of the series were initially edited by Studio Hamburg Synchron on behalf of ARD . The dialogues were written by Heinz Freitag and Renate Pichler directed. The episodes were shortened by several minutes.

With the channel change from Erste to RTL, the ARD versions were discarded and the series and episodes received new titles. Munich's Plaza Synchron was now responsible for the synchronization . The dialogue books of the RTL version were written by Hans-Peter Kaufmann and Klaus Pfeiffer. During the last two seasons, the dubbing was directed by Peter Woratz.

Since RTL only started broadcasting in 1996 and showed the first five seasons in a row, the speakers for the children's roles could not age at the same time as the actors; Tim Taylor's sons therefore all have multiple speakers.

role	actor	German voice actor (Das Erste)	German voice actor (RTL)
Timothy "Tim" Taylor	Tim Allen	Eberhard Haar	Fritz von Hardenberg
Jillian "Jill" Taylor	Patricia Richardson	Isabella Grothe	Dagmar Dempe
Bradley Michael "Brad" Taylor	Zachery Ty Bryan	Masha Pietruska	Florian Beba (seasons 1–2) Benedikt Gutjan (seasons 3–6) Dominik Auer (seasons 7–8)
Randall William "Randy" Taylor	Jonathan Taylor Thomas	Tim Knauer	David Lütgenhorst (seasons 1–2) Clemens Ostermann (seasons 3–5) Butz Combrinck (seasons 6–7)
Marcus Jason "Mark" Taylor	Taran Noah Smith	Jannik Endemann	Raphael Martinez (Seasons 1-2) Daniel Hose (Seasons 3-5 and 7-8) Oliver Cresswell (Season 6)
Albert "Al" Borland	Richard Karn	Douglas Welbat	Gudo Hoegel
Wilson wilson jr.	Earl Hindman	Rolf Jülich	Michael Habeck
Heidi Keppert	Debbe Dunning	Katja Seka	Solveig Duda (seasons 3–4) Veronika Neugebauer (seasons 5–8)
Lisa	Pamela Anderson	Kerstin Draeger	Claudia Lössl
Harry Turner	Blake Clark		Thomas Piper
Marty Taylor	William O'Leary		Tobias Lelle
Bud Harper	Charles Robinson		Manfred Erdmann
Benny Baroni	Jim Labriola		Ulf J. Söhmisch
Lillian Patterson	Polly Holliday		Ursula Traun
Fred "The Colonel" Patterson	M. Emmet Walsh		Hartmut Neugebauer

background

The sitcom was very successful in the 1990s. It is based on a stand-up program by Tim Allen and his book Men are Pigs, which is part of the program . Tim Allen was paid $ 1.25 million per episode for the last season.

Last season, Jonathan Taylor Thomas dropped out of the series for reasons unknown. According to one rumor, there was a behind-the-scenes argument between him and Tim Allen; others say he wanted to focus on his education. Also for the final three-part series - Farewell to the DIY King - and The Backstage Special: Listen who's hammering , he didn't return, but after he left he did three guest appearances in episodes 177 Der Raftingtrip , 178 Der Nestflüchter and 187 Ein Fest of the love? . In the series, this was explained by the fact that he and his girlfriend Lauren participate in a year-long environmental protection program in Costa Rica .

In 2003 (three years after the last episode) the Tim Allen special was presented at the Wadsworth Theater : The big special, listen to who's hammering! (Originally: Tim Allen Presents: A User's Guide to Home Improvement , in German about " Tim Allen Presents: A user guide to listen to who's hammering!") performed live. In addition to Tim Allen, Richard Karn, Debbe Dunning and Casey Sander - the latter as a DJ - were on stage. It was first broadcast in German-speaking countries by RTL on December 18, 2004.

Links to other television series

Produced by Touchstone Pictures , a Disney subsidiary, this television series contains many references to other Disney productions. So you see Tim Taylor in episode 166 Becoming a father is not difficult? play with a Buzz Lightyear action figure - this character was dubbed in the movie Toy Story by Tim Allen. In the same episode, Randy comments on a Simba plush toy - Jonathan Taylor Thomas' role in The Lion King . Similar moments run through the entire series. Furthermore, a Binford toolbox can be seen in Toy Story , a similar reference can also be found in Galaxy Quest - Planlessly Through Space .

Tim Taylor made a guest appearance as Tim Allen when roofing work on the Drew Carey Show (episode 100: The roof damage ) became necessary. The necessary information is obtained in a tool-time video.

Listen, who's got a spin-off series: The sitcom Buddies was developed around the characters Dave Carlisle and John Butler, played by the relatively unknown American stand-up comedians Dave Chappelle and Jim Breuer . They had their first appearance in the Listen-who-there-hammert episode 94 The University Exam . Due to various problems - for example, Jim Breuer was replaced by Christopher Gartin - the start of the new series was delayed by a year and the advertising effect could not be used. Finally, the series was canceled after five of 13 episodes produced and is now almost forgotten.

There was a mutual crossover between Listen, who's hammering and A pastor takes off . As Dan Aykroyd as Reverend resulted in 159 Mike Webber Doubting son the TimeTool visited, there are both Tim Taylor (Episode 2 The crooks choir ) and Al Borland (Episode 3 Jingle All the Way ) and Brad Taylor (Episode 8 Listen, whoever there preaching ) in the other series again. But even this "sitcom" was canceled after a season and a half. So far, it has been broadcast once in Germany - in 2005 on Super RTL .

In 1994 the sitcom Thunder Alley started around the older former racing driver and mechanic Gil Jones from Detroit from the same production team that also produced Listen, Who's That Hammering . In Thunder Alleys episode 14 First Date , Brad asks Taylor to rendezvous with Gil's granddaughter Claudine. After two seasons, this series was also ended; it has not yet been broadcast in Germany.

Broadcast in German-speaking countries

The series was initially broadcast on Das Erste and then switched to RTL , where it was shown in a new version. Since then ran exclusively the RTL version of the transmitters of the RTL Group ( VOX , RTL 2 , Super RTL and finally against RTL Nitro ), as in the Disney Channel and Comedy Central as well as the pay-TV transmitter TNT series .

In Austria, the series was broadcast in the RTL version on ORF 1 and ATV , in Switzerland on SRF 1 and SRF 2 .

DVD release

The series has been completely on DVD since 2009. Each season came in its own box; a complete box is now also available.

Trivia

Only Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson (Jill) appear in all episodes.

Originally, Frances Fisher provided for the role of Jill. However, the audience reacted negatively to Fisher while she was making the pilot. Observers described her portrayal as tearful and desperate. Then she was replaced by Patricia Richardson.

Tim often calls in Tool Time for an employee named Klaus (sometimes also Bill in German dubbing) when he is supposed to play a sound. It's about Klaus Landsberg, who was responsible for the sound during the filming of Listen, who's really hammering .

The Tool-Time audience is the real audience of the respective listen-who-hammers recording.

The standard also was platformers Run video game Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit for SNES published. The game was released in 1994 and was developed by Absolute Entertainment. The game is particularly known for the lack of instructions for use. Instead, the game was accompanied by a piece of paper with the inscription “ Real men don't need instructions ” (for example: “ Real men don't need instructions for use”).

There is a reference to the series in the movie Toy Story . In the scene where Buzz saves Woody by pushing the toolbox off the box, you can see that “Binford” is written on the toolbox. Tim Allen lends his voice to Buzz Lightyear in the original .

The Simpsons episode Homer the Space Hero (Deep Space Homer) (Season 5, Episode 15) features a short parody of Listen Who's Hammering . The series can be seen there on television, and Tim Taylor accidentally runs his lawnmower over his neighbor Wilson in reverse gear, which is why he is now afraid of going back to jail for it (an allusion to Tim Allen's criminal past).

Most of all Binford products from the third season onwards have "Binford 6100" in their name. At first, Binford tools had no number at all (compare the “Binford Powerband” in episode 1 Das Heimwerker-As ), but numbers established themselves shortly afterwards, especially for products newly introduced in Tool Time .

Debbe Dunning , who plays Heidi Keppert from the third season , can be seen earlier in the series. In the third episode of the second season she plays a diner named Kiki Van Fursterwallenscheinlaw , who wants to get an autograph from Tim Taylor.