Tim Allen Pays Tribute To ‘Home Improvement’s’ Wilson On ‘Last Man Standing’

On Thursday night, fans finally got to see the “Last Man Standing” and “Home Improvement” crossover episode with Tim Allen playing both of his iconic characters of Mike Baxter and Tim “The Toolman” Taylor.

Hilarious ‘Last Man Standing’ And ‘Home Improvement’ Crossover

Tim was so excited he could barely contain himself and tweeted:

Though the episode was hilarious from beginning to end, one of the most touching moments came when Allen paid tribute to Tim’s neighbor Wilson Wilson. That character was played by Earl Hindman, who died in 2003 at the age of 61 after a battle with lung cancer.

US Magazine reported that in the episode, Mike hires a handyman to come fix his garbage disposal, and none other than Tim “The Toolman” Taylor shows up.

“The Toolman” no longer hosts his television show, and now works for Binford Tools. As the story goes, he was in Colorado for business. When he heard someone needed their garbage disposal fixed, he responded to the call himself. 

“I had this TV show for eight years called ‘Tool Time.’ They called me ‘The Toolman,’” Tim told Mike before doing his signature grunt. “It was kind of my thing.” Mike then tells him that the grunt is “a little annoying.”

Later in the episode, Mike’s wife Vanessa, who is played by Nancy Travis, talks to her husband about the conversation she had with Tim.

“It turns out he has three grown kids, only boys. He’s smart, he’s funny,” she said. “You guys are a lot alike.”

Related: An ‘Emotional’ Tim Allen Gives Candid Interview About Final Season Of ‘Last Man Standing’ – Filming It Was ‘Horrible’

Tribute To Wilson

Hilarity ensues when Tim calls for “more power,” another throwback to “Home Improvement,” and ends up blowing up Mike’s garbage disposal.

However, the most touching moment of the episode comes when Tim goes outside to apologize. There, he finds Mike standing behind a wooden door with only the top half of his face showing.

“That more power stuff worked better on my show and not so good at my house either,” Tim told Mike as he stayed behind the door. “It’s always been easier to open up when I’m just talking to the top half of another man’s face. … I did it with Wilson.”

“I shared a lot of stuff with him. He passed away,” Tim added. “I miss Wilson. I miss a lot of stuff.”

If you haven’t seen the episode yet, you might want to have some tissues handy before you get to that part!

Related: Tim Allen Reprises ‘Home Improvement’ Character On Final Season Of ‘Last Man Standing’ And It’s Got Everyone Emotional

Episode Ends On A Positive Note

The episode ended on a positive note, with Mike looking up old episodes of “Tooltime.”

“I just want you to know, I think these are great. Well produced, clever, funny,” Mike says, with Tim admitting that he misses the show. This prompts Mike to tell him that maybe they should do a reboot with “more power.”

The crossover was a huge hit, bringing fans joy at a time when many of us need it most. Here are just a few of the positive responses the show got:

“Last Man Standing” is currently in it’s ninth and final season, with new episodes premiering every Thursday at 9:30 on Fox. 

We’re sad to see this show come to an end, but who knows what the future will bring!