Season 7 (1997/98)
- The opening credits are different this season, with the introduction of the revised theme.
- In Nick at Nite and TV Land airings, only Tim Allen (Tim Taylor), Patricia Richardson (Jill Taylor), Earl Hindman (Wilson Wilson, Jr.), Richard Karn (Al Borland) and Debbe Dunning (Heidi Keppert) are credited in the opening titles, with the video headshots of Zachery Ty Bryan (Brad Taylor), Taran Noah Smith (Mark Taylor, credited as "Taran Smith" starting with this season) and Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Randy Taylor) replaced with a still of the main title logo, and the producers and creators' names omitted from the end of the sequence.
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 152 | 1 | "Quest for Fire" | Andrew Tsao | Bruce Ferber & Lloyd Garver | September 23, 1997 (1997-09-23) | A56/701 |
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The Taylors vacation at a Lake Michigan resort. While Tim tries to give "more power!" to the BBQ concept, Randy meets with Lauren and Brad breaks up with Angela. Mark's changing, but is it for the better? Tim is seriously considering quitting Tool Time and moving permanently to this country resort, but Jill thinks he's having a mid-life crisis. First appearance of: The 1997 Wind Dancer Productions Logo |
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| 153 | 2 | "Clash of the Taylors" | Andrew Tsao | Jennifer Celotta & Adam England | September 30, 1997 (1997-09-30) | A56/702 |
| Randy and Tim face off over Binford's environmental policies when Randy writes an article for his school newspaper, and his interview with Bud leads Randy to cause a Tool Time argument. Jill gets an internship counselling families. | ||||||
| 154 | 3 | "Room at the Top" | Geoffrey Nelson | Elliot Shoenman & Marley Sims | October 7, 1997 (1997-10-07) | A56/703 |
| The family is driving Jill crazy and she is having a hard time getting any of her studies/work done and decides to let Tim build her a room all of her own... but it's not all smooth sailing as she visits a psychologist as part of her schooling and ends up changing her mind about letting Tim go ahead with the construction. | ||||||
| 155 | 4 | "Pump You Up" | Peter Bonerz | Jon Vandergriff | October 14, 1997 (1997-10-14) | A56/704 |
| After Brad gets a soccer scholarship, Tim begins to push him too hard, and in a scholarship game, the Coach kicks him off the team. Randy and Lauren want to go out on another date... but they don't particularly want to double date with a couple of friends, Jill saves the day by "offering" to come along on the date. The K&B Construction guys make an appearance on the show... and Mark rebels further by deciding to wear only dark clothes and paint his nails. Guest Star Cory Everson | ||||||
| 156 | 5 | "A Night to Dismember" | Geoffrey Nelson | Eric Horsted | October 28, 1997 (1997-10-28) | A56/705 |
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It's Halloween at the Taylor's house. Jill is worried that Mark will spend the night alone with Ronnie. She asks Brad and Randy to take them to a party they're going to, but they refuse. Mark tells his parents that he and Ronny are in a film class, and that they're going to be making a horror film. He asks the family to be in it, and they accept. When they start, Jill and Tim worry that it won't be good because it isn't scary yet. When they find his video, they decide to watch it to see how it's going. They find out that it's about a boy, Clark, who has been ignored by his family, Jim, Lil, Chad and Andy. He sees a mad scientist, Dr. Wilsonstein, to get a potion that will turn them into freaks. He then decides to kill them. This makes Jill worry because she thinks Mark really does feel ignored, and wants to kill them. When they start the next scene, he is about to chop his father's head off, and Mark holds up a real knife. Jill has had enough, and decides that they need to talk. Note: Al's name in Mark's movie (Algore) is a reference to the fictional character Igor and Al Gore, the Vice President of the United States at the time. |
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| 157 | 6 | "The Niece" | Peter Bonerz | Charlie Hauck | November 4, 1997 (1997-11-04) | A56/706 |
| Wilson's niece Willow comes to visit for his birthday, and decides to stay. Tim becomes impatient because Wilson no longer has time for him. | ||||||
| 158 | 7 | "Jill's Passion" | Peter Bonerz | Elliot Shoenman & Marley Sims | November 11, 1997 (1997-11-11) | A56/707 |
| Tim and Al use Wilson's garage to demonstrate how to make room in a garage on Tool Time. Jill meets a man named Ian (Tom Wopat) at the gym who is as much in love with classical music as she is. That night, she dreams about kissing him. The next day she ends up telling her friend Patty, and after feeling guilty all day, tells Tim about the dream. | ||||||
| 159 | 8 | "Losing My Religion" | Andrew Tsao | Bruce Ferber & Lloyd Garver | November 18, 1997 (1997-11-18) | A56/708 |
| Tim manages to break a valuable piece of church equipment during Custom Cabinet week on Tool Time. After volunteering at a hospice, Randy begins to question his religion. Randy is shocked when his patient takes a turn for the worse. Dan Aykroyd makes a guest appearance as Father Mike Weber, Aykroyd's character from the fellow ABC sitcom, Soul Man. | ||||||
| 160 | 9 | "Thanksgiving" | Peter Bonerz | Eric Horsted | November 25, 1997 (1997-11-25) | A56/709 |
| Tim and the family spend Thanksgiving watching the Detroit Lions play a Thanksgiving game from a luxury box. However, Tim takes a tour and manages to black out the entire Pontiac Silverdome. This leaves Jill and the boys to fend for themselves in the box with a Hollywood producer but are thrilled when Rodney Dangerfield drops in. | ||||||
| 161 | 10 | "The Dating Game" | Geoffrey Nelson | Laurie Gelman | December 9, 1997 (1997-12-09) | A56/710 |
| Al finds out that Ilene is engaged and begins hanging around the Taylor house too much. To help him out, Tim takes Al out to a club where they both meet up with some women... will Al get a date? | ||||||
| 162 | 11 | "Bright Christmas" | Peter Bonerz | Jon Vandergriff | December 16, 1997 (1997-12-16) | A56/711 |
| New rules for the annual Christmas Decorating contest make Tim work harder to give his display "more power!". Jill is upset when she finds out her mother is dating, so soon after her father's death. | ||||||
| 163 | 12 | "The Old College Try" | Albert Alarr | Jennifer Celotta & Adam England | January 6, 1998 (1998-01-06) | A56/712 |
| Tim starts to believe that his old friends are boring after he has the opportunity to teach an auto-shop class at a local college, so he starts hanging out with people from the class... people half his age. | ||||||
| 164 | 13 | "An Older Woman" | Peter Bonerz | Charlie Hauck | January 20, 1998 (1998-01-20) | A56/713 |
| Brad's getting married... well, maybe not after Tim and Jill get through with him. The Taylor parents try to make Brad realize that he's not ready for the commitment of marriage to Samantha Hayes (Maggie Lawson), a college girl he just recently met at a party, while Mark and Randy poke fun at how much older Brad's girlfriend is. | ||||||
| 165 | 14 | "Tim 'The Landlord' Taylor" | Peter Filsinger | Eric Horsted | February 3, 1998 (1998-02-03) | A56/714 |
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Brad and Randy occupy their time arguing over a shirt they both want, while Al becomes a nightmare tenant for Tim and Jill who have rented him a house. Note: Tim is the landlord of the house until the end of the series. |
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| 166 | 15 | "Say Goodnight, Gracie" | Andrew Tsao | Laurie Gelman | February 10, 1998 (1998-02-10) | A56/715 |
| Tim begins to want to have more children after Marty asks him to babysit one of the twins. After some discussions about his vasectomy with Jill, and some words of wisdom from Wilson, he decides that being able to return the twins after playing with them is the best idea. Mark is still wearing black, but with an added touch (of lipstick) for this episode. | ||||||
| 167 | 16 | "What a Drag" | Geoffrey Nelson | Elliot Shoenman & Marley Sims | February 24, 1998 (1998-02-24) | A56/716 |
| On Tool Time, Tim and Al show viewers how to prepare for a severe winter storm. When Tim falls through the gazebo he discovers a small bag of marijuana taped to the underside of the swing. Jill and Tim stake out their backyard from Wilson's to catch the culprit... to everyone's surprise, Brad is caught red-handed with the goods. After finding out Brad is using weed, Jill admits she was a pot head and talked to Randy and Mark about Brad's actions and punishment. | ||||||
| 168 | 17 | "Taking Jill for Granite" | Peter Bonerz | Laurie Gelman | March 3, 1998 (1998-03-03) | A56/717 |
| The Taylors do a kitchen remodel, but a surprise is in store when Tim and Jill find out who the installer is, the man Jill had a dream about in an earlier episode. | ||||||
| 169 | 18 | "Futile Attraction" | Peter Bonerz | David Maples | March 10, 1998 (1998-03-10) | A56/718 |
| Tim becomes suspicious that Heidi and Al are having a hot affair when he finds out she has separated from her husband; he sets out to find out exactly how much of an affair they are having. On Tool Time, Tim adds a little MORE POWER to his golf swing when golf-pro Payne Stewart stops by. Jill catches a cold. | ||||||
| 170 | 19 | "Desperately Seeking Willow" | Peter Bonerz | Jennifer Fisher | March 17, 1998 (1998-03-17) | A56/719 |
| When Wilson is out of town, Willow stays over at the Taylors, and Willow doesn't return home from a club one night... Jill fears the worst and sends the whole family out searching for her. It's Saint Patrick's day on Tool Time, and who better to celebrate with than the boys from K&B Construction. | ||||||
| 171 | 20 | "The Write Stuff" | Peter Bonerz | Jennifer Celotta & Adam England | March 31, 1998 (1998-03-31) | A56/720 |
| On Tool Time, Tim manages to throw himself out a window while doing renovation work. Jill tries to get Tim to help prepare for a tax audit. Brad and Randy become rivals when Brad's article "Hey Yo!" takes the spotlight away from Randy's "Genetic Mutations in the Second Half of the 20th Century". | ||||||
| 172 | 21 | "The Son Also Mooches" | Peter Filsinger | Eric Horsted | April 21, 1998 (1998-04-21) | A56/721 |
| It's Jill's turn to worry about needing glasses as she reaches middle age. Tim worries that his mother is going to lose money on another of his brother Jeff's business schemes: a 'UPS Store' like operation. | ||||||
| 173 | 22 | "Believe it or Not" | Geoffrey Nelson | Jon Vandergriff | April 28, 1998 (1998-04-28) | A56/722 |
| On Tool Time, "Men's Convenience Week" features a visit by Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons. Wilson becomes upset with Tim after he tells everyone about Wilson's encounter with an alien, something Wilson would rather Tim had kept to himself. | ||||||
| 174 | 23 | "Rebel Without Night Driving Privileges" | Andrew Tsao | Jennifer Fisher | May 5, 1998 (1998-05-05) | A56/723 |
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Randy feels slighted when his driving privileges differ from those Brad had when he first got his license. On Tool Time, "Judy's Rat" pulls cable through hard to reach spaces, and bites Tim's nose. Afterward "Judy" confesses that she's the real Judy's sister Trudy, and is impersonating her sister in order to meet Al. First appearance of: Trudy McHale (Megan Cavanagh) |
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| 175 | 24 | "Tool-Thousand-One a Space Odyssey" | Peter Bonerz | Bruce Ferber & Lloyd Garver | May 12, 1998 (1998-05-12) | A56/724 |
| Tool Time is revisited by Astronauts Ken Bowersox and Steve Hawley, who announce that a Binford tool will be used on their next shuttle mission. Will Tim or Al win the competition to be the one to use the tool in space? Back on Earth, Mark tries to impress a girl by making a dramatic change to his appearance. | ||||||
| 176 | 25 | "From Top to Bottom" | Peter Filsinger | Charlie Hauck | May 19, 1998 (1998-05-19) | A56/725 |
| On Tool Time, Tim is getting ready to pick the final colors for the Hotrod, but this soon leads to a delay in finishing the hot rod. When Jill is asked to appear on a talk show, "Women on Top"... she makes some comments that make Tim look bad. |
Read more about this topic: List Of Home Improvement Episodes
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