MORE POWER! With that refrain, an accident-prone television host who was decent around tools would signal that he was about to get into a lot of trouble due to his penchant to put too much into his contraptions on the hit ABC sitcom, “Home Improvement.” The entire series has finally made its way onto Disney+ more than three years after the service officially launched in November 2019. The series was one of the biggest hits on the ABC network during the 1990s and is a show Disney+ users have been wanting to be added to the service since it launched.

After eight seasons on the air, this series turned its lead, Tim Allen, into a megastar. He was a lovable goof of a father and handyman who was good on tv and worked well with his flannel-wearing assistant, Al Borland, played by Richard Karn. The series would alternate between his time on a locally syndicated home improvement show and his time at home with his wife and three boys. During his time on the show, Allen would shoot to megastar status appearing in “The Santa Clause” and “Toy Story” franchises for Disney who would eventually purchase the channel that aired “Home Improvement,” ABC, during the show’s run. At one point, Allen would have the number one show on tv, “Home Improvement;” the number one film at the box office, “The Santa Clause;” and the number one book on the New York Times Best Seller list. Tim Allen still has a fruitful relationship with Disney to this day, and it all started with “Home Improvement.”

Two of the three boys on the show also experienced their own level of stardom. Zachary Ty Bryan and Jonathan Taylor Thomas who played the two older boys, Brad and Randy, became teen idols during the 1990s. They could be found in several of the teen magazines of the time. Taran Noah Smith played the youngest son, Mark, and while he didn’t become the teen heartthrob his older TV brothers did, he still had his fans.

And no mention of “Home Improvement” would be complete without a mention of the matriarch Jill Taylor, played by Patricia Richardson. She and Tim Allen had amazing chemistry as husband and wife and played off each other very well. She had to be the “straight man” to Allen’s comedic schtick, and she nailed the role.

How will this series fare on Disney+? I think it’ll be one of the more watched series on the service, at least for a little while. There will be some resistance, of course. Tim Allen is somewhat controversial due to some legal issues he experienced both before and during the show. Plus, he’s become a lightning rod for controversy during these tribalistic political times, especially in the United States. Still, he’s working with Disney on “Toy Story 5” and “The Santa Clauses,” so it’s clear both he and Disney can put aside any differences to work together.

Zachary Ty Bryan and Taran Noah Smith have also experienced their own personal struggles. Bryan is currently facing legal troubles, and Smith has faced legal troubles in the past. Jonathan Taylor Thomas has mostly avoided the legal trouble route, although there was a public disagreement between Thomas and Allen during the show’s final season when Thomas decided to leave the show.

While the comedy in this series wasn’t to everyone’s taste in the 1990s and might not connect with a 2020s crowd, it still has its place. This was one of my favorite shows growing up. I remember making sure I was in front of the television Tuesdays at 7 pm Central to see “Home Improvement.” There weren’t a lot of shows that were appointment television for me, but “Home Improvement” certainly was.

Rating: 5 stars

Are you excited “Home Improvement” is streaming on Disney+?

Jeremy Brown

Jeremy has been a big Disney fan since he was a kid growing up during the Disney Renaissance. One day he hopes to go to every Disney Park in the world.

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