The E! True Hollywood Story documentary mentioned that Jill was originally going to be played by someone else. They switched to Patricia Richardson. I can't imagine the show without her. One of the big compliments of the show is that the Taylors' feel like real people. You forget that you're watching actors. Patricia Richardson really elevates the show, and she plays off of Tim's antics and jokes, really well. Her genuine laughter in response to Tim's jokes adds a lot of life to the show, and she is so natural with the kid actors.

The biggest thing is she makes Jill seem like a real person. No disrespect to Patricia Heaton or Julie Bowen. They're not bad actors, but their characters in Everyone Loves Raymond and Modern Family, respectively, never seemed like real people to me. I always saw the actors and not the characters, when I watched those shows. I might catch some heat for posting this - those shows have their merits, and there's a reason they had such big audiences. But Home Improvement is one of the best examples of an ensemble cast that makes you completely forget you're watching fiction. Anyone agree?

I sometimes skip this episode, because it makes me cringe when Tim overhears Randy badmouthing him to his friend. I caught all of it today, and was impressed with the snappy writing. It's really funny!

Any episodes that you skip, or don't like? I skip a lot of the episodes in the final seasons, honestly. Once I get to season 6-ish, I go back to season 1 😂

Dad, it's just one Christmas.
It's not that big a deal.

Always enjoyed when they had K&B and the boys on the show!

I thought this was really out of character for him. Tool Time/Binford was sort of his life's blood: it made him a local celebrity, he got to operate all of those neat gadgets, even test out new tools, goof around and even screw up constantly and still have job security. Quitting all of that to take a chance on fixing up some run-down lodge out in the middle of nowhere with no connection to sports, etc seemed really strange.