document_title: Hardware disease

question_text: why do you put a magnet in a cow's stomach

question_tokens: why do you put a magnet in a cow 's stomach

text: Hardware disease

text: Causes[edit]

text: Cattle commonly swallow foreign objects, because they do not use their lips to discriminate between materials and they do not completely chew their feed before swallowing. Sharp metallic objects, such as nails or wire, are the common initiators of hardware disease.[2] The object travels into the rumen and is then pushed into the reticulum along with the rest of the feed.[3] In some cases, contractions of the reticulum can push the object through part of the reticulum wall into the peritoneal cavity, where it causes severe inflammation.[3] In rare cases, the metal object penetrates the entire wall of the reticulum and can pierce the heart sac, causing pericarditis.[1] Compression by the uterus in late pregnancy, straining during parturition and mounting during estrus can increase the likelihood of the object penetrating the abdominal wall or the heart sac.[2]

text: Diagnosis[edit]

text: Diagnosis is typically based on history and clinical findings when the veterinarian examines the cow.[2] Symptoms of hardware disease vary depending on where the object penetrates.[3] The cow exhibits an arched back, a reluctance to move and a slow, careful gait. The cow may groan when lying down, getting up, defecating and urinating. The heart rate is normal or slightly elevated, and the respiration is shallow and rapid.[2] In dairy cows, there is often a decrease in milk production.[3] Laboratory tests are not always necessary, but increases in fibrinogen and total plasma protein often result from hardware disease and may be diagnosed with a blood sample.[2] Electronic metal detectors can be used, but not all heavy sharp objects will be metal[3] and it does not distinguish between penetrating and nonpenetrating bodies.[2] Radiographs are also used and are advantageous because the location of the metallic body can be identified.[2] However, if the sharp object is not metallic or dense enough the radiograph is of no use.[3] If there is inflammation in either the Peritoneal cavity or the Pericardium, it can be detected using an ultrasonograph.[2]

text: Treatment[edit]

text: If hardware disease is suspected, a magnet should be administered orally through a tube into the reticulum. Depending on the type of magnet used, inserting a second magnet could cause internal pinching which could lead to serious complications. A broad-spectrum antibiotic should also be given to control infection. The cow should be confined and movement limited in the hopes that the reticulum can repair the hole.[3] Surgery is necessary in some cases and involves rumenotomy with a physical removal of the object. In some advanced cases that don’t respond to medical or surgical therapy, slaughter should be considered from an economic perspective.[2]

text: Prevention[edit]

text: Good feed management is also important; in smaller operations, some farmers pass metal detectors or magnets over the feed.[2]

text: A cow magnet is a veterinary medical device for the treatment or prevention of hardware disease in cattle.[1] Traditionally, cow magnets were strong Alnico magnets about 1 cm by 8 cm (0.4 by 3.1 inches) in the shape of a smoothed rod, but today they are more commonly several ring-shaped ferrite magnets attached to a stainless-steel or plastic core, in the same shape as the single-piece original.[citation needed] Newer designs to help increase effectiveness include a cage design, in which the magnet holds metal objects inside a protective plastic framework. Even newer designs include a stronger array of rare-earth magnets inside a stainless steel body that resembles the original Alnico design.

text: A rancher or dairy farmer feeds a magnet to each calf at branding time; the magnet settles in the rumen or reticulum and remains there for the life of the animal.[citation needed]

text: The magnet is administered after fasting the cow for 18–24 hours. This is most effective if done to the entire herd before the age of one.

text: The cow magnet attracts such objects and prevents them from becoming lodged in the animal's tissue. While the resultant mass of iron remains in the cow's rumen as a pseudobezoar (an intentionally introduced bezoar), it does not cause the severe problems of hardware disease. Cow magnets cannot be passed through a cow's 4th bonivial meta-colon.[citation needed]

text: Cow magnets are widely available from veterinary, feed supply, and scientific supply sources.[citation needed]


document_title: Castlevania (TV series)

question_text: when does the second season of castlevania start

root

text: Castlevania (TV series)

text: Premise[edit]

text: When his wife is burned at the stake after being falsely accused of witchcraft, the vampire Count Vlad Dracula Tepes declares all the people of Wallachia will pay with their lives. He summons an army of monsters and demons which overruns the country, causing the people to live lives of fear and distrust. To combat this, the disgraced monster hunter Trevor Belmont takes up arms against Dracula's forces, aided by the magician Sypha Belnades and Dracula's dhampir son Alucard.

tag: p

text: Voice cast[edit]

text:
Richard Armitage as Trevor Belmont, the last living member of the Belmont clan, a disgraced family of monster hunters.[6]
James Callis as Adrian Tepes/Alucard, the dhampir son of Dracula and Lisa Tepes, who seeks to protect humanity from his father.[6]
Graham McTavish as Vlad Dracula Tepes, a vampire who swears vengeance on humanity for the death of his wife Lisa, summoning an army of monsters to destroy all the people of Wallachia.[6]
Alejandra Reynoso as Sypha Belnades, a Speaker and the Elder's granddaughter who wields powerful magic.[6]
Tony Amendola as The Elder, the leader of a group of Speakers aiding the people of Gresit whom Trevor befriends.[6]
Matt Frewer as The Bishop, a clergyman who orders the burning of Lisa Tepes for witchcraft, later being named the bishop of Gresit before being killed by Dracula's demons.[6]
Emily Swallow as Lisa Tepes, Dracula's beloved wife who is burned at the stake after being falsely accused of witchcraft.[6]

tag: ul

text: Production[edit]

text: In March 2007, Frederator Studios acquired the rights to produce an animated film adaption of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, intended as a direct-to-video production. Frederator brought writer Warren Ellis aboard as the screenwriter for the series. In an interview with Paste, Warren Ellis said that when he was contacted about Castlevania he had no previous knowledge of the series and discovered it was a "Japanese transposition of the Hammer Horror films I grew up with and loved".[7] Ellis explained how he worked with Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi to fit the film into the timeline of the series, including writing a new backstory, and how he was frustrated that Igarashi wanted eight full re-writes of pre-production material before giving approval.[8] Ellis noted that Frederator's Kevin Kolde, who was slated to produce the work, did not want the film to be aimed at children, allowing Ellis to use gruesome imagery and scenes as necessary to tell the story he wanted to write, something that Ellis had found restrictive in working with normal television animation.[9]

text: In adapting the game for the film, Ellis did not want to make a point-for-point adaption, but instead provide some material to flesh out the game's world and elements behind it. At this stage, the film was anticipated to be only 80 minutes long, which Ellis knew would not be enough to tell the full story he wanted, so was able to break apart his script into a trilogy of works, each part having a self-contained three-act structure; the first part would be to introduce the characters of Dracula, Trevor, Sypha, and Alucard and with a meaningful narrative resolution. In this manner, Ellis noted that if the other two parts were never greenlit, the first work "doesn’t demand the presence of the other two parts for it to work as its own thing".[9] Due to the limited time, Ellis opted to drop Grant Danasty, a pirate character in the game; Ellis noted that besides "the stupid name", he felt the pirate was misplaced in the setting and that the limited run time would not allow him to develop the character fully.[9]

text: Sometime around 2008, work on the production stalled, and entered development hell.[1] Ellis had completed his script in June 2008, and the show's production blog had said in August 2008 that they were shopping around the idea as a theatrical release, but no further updates followed before the blog was quietly deleted.[9]

text: Around 2012, Adi Shankar was approached to direct a live-action version of Ellis' script. Shankar, who at the time had just finished work as executive producer of Dredd, said that the party was looking to make a film in the style of the Underworld films with a similar budget, representative of a small studio with large independent backing. Shankar turned the opportunity down, saying it felt "250 percent wrong", as he had deep respect for the original game and felt the live-action version would not treat it well.[10] Following this, Shankar stepped back from Hollywood to pursue more self-published works, stating that "the major studios were blatantly disrespecting fandom" as a reason he turned down the offer.[10]

text: The show was revitalized when Powerhouse Animation Studios's Sam Deats was able to negotiate a deal with Netflix for the production, using the existing scripts that had been written nearly a decade prior. Powerhouse reached out to Frederator to help with the show's production.[1] According to Ellis, Netflix was very positive about his original scripts that he wrote in 2007, and so he had to only make a few changes to fit the Netflix format while staying true to the version of the script Konami had accepted.[7] Shankar was approached with the opportunity to produce the work, which he took as neither Powerhouse or Frederator sought to restrict his creative vision from Ellis' scripts.[10][11][12][13] Fred Seibert and Kevin Kolde of Frederator Studios also co-produce.[11] The series was animated by Frederator Studios and Powerhouse Animation Studios and directed by Sam Deats.[14][15][16] Trevor Morris composed the show's music.[7]

text: The show's art style was heavily influenced by the work Ayami Kojima did for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.[1] They also took ideas from director Satoshi Kon's works for character expressions and series such as Cowboy Bebop and Berserk for inserting humor among the more serious elements.[1] The show is produced using 2D hand-drawn animation, taking cues from Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D,[17] with staff members that previously worked on Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.[18] The manga series Berserk and Blade of the Immortal were also cited as inspiration, with one of the show's animation directors having previously worked on the Berserk films.[2] The production works closely with Konami, the holders of the Castlevania franchise, who helped to identify small continuity issues but were otherwise very receptive towards the work.[1]

text: Two seasons of the show have been planned, with the first season of four 30-minute episodes released on July 7, 2017. This season represents the first part of the trilogy that Ellis has laid out in 2007.[7] The second season will be eight episodes long and is planned for release on October 26, 2018.[19][20][4] Ellis said that the second season, completing the trilogy, is where he had been able to deviate somewhat from the game, and has been better anticipate the show's release on Netflix in terms of scenes and episode lengths.[7] Shankar believes that there is an opportunity for more stories to be told borrowing from other games in the series, noting that overall he sees the series as "a story about a family and multiple generations of this family" with many tales to draw from.[10] The production team for the second season will include staff members who worked on Madhouse productions such as Death Parade.[2]

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Season 1 (2017)[edit]

text:
No.TitleOriginal release date1"Witchbottle"July 7, 2017 (2017-07-07)
In Wallachia in 1455, a young woman named Lisa who wishes to be a doctor seeks out Vlad Dracula Tepes, a vampire with advanced scientific knowledge. Intrigued by her courage and ambition, Dracula agrees to teach her, while she in turn offers to help him reconnect with humanity. The two eventually fall in love and marry. Twenty years later (1475), in the town of Târgoviște, Lisa is burned at the stake after a Bishop discovers scientific equipment in her home and accuses her of witchcraft. Dracula is devastated and furious upon learning of his wife’s death and declares the people have one year to make their peace, after which every human in Wallachia will die by his hand. His son Alucard tells him to instead go after the man responsible instead of all of humanity, but Dracula refuses to listen and attacks him. One year later, the Archbishop hosts a celebration in defiance of Dracula. As promised, Dracula kills the Archbishop, destroys the church and orders his demon army to kill every person left in Wallachia. As the army spreads across the land, the people place the blame on the kingdom's noble families, including the Belmonts.
2"Necropolis"July 7, 2017 (2017-07-07)
Following an altercation at a pub, Trevor Belmont seeks food and respite in the city of Gresit, which has been besieged by Dracula's forces every night. As he passes through town, he learns that the townspeople blame a group of magic users known as the Speakers for Dracula's assault. He saves their Elder from a pair of corrupt priests, who brings him back to his home to meet his fellow Speakers. Trevor insists they leave the city for their own safety, but the Elder refuses, as his grandchild has gone missing after venturing into the catacombs below the city in search of the "sleeping soldier", a legendary hero who they believe can defeat Dracula. Begrudgingly, Trevor agrees to retrieve the missing grandchild.
3"Labyrinth"July 7, 2017 (2017-07-07)
Exploring the catacombs, Trevor realizes that they have been unusually constructed and contain devices matching old family descriptions of devices within Dracula's castle. Finding a stone statue in the visage of a Speaker, Trevor is attacked by a giant Cyclops. He defeats the creature, releasing its curse, and rescues the Elder's grandchild, Sypha Belnades. After returning Sypha to her grandfather, Trevor is summoned to the church by the local Bishop, revealed to be the same Bishop who ordered Lisa's execution. The Bishop orders Trevor to leave Gresit before sundown, as they plan to lead a mob to kill the Speakers, offering to spare Trevor and restore his family name in exchange. With the Speakers refusing to retreat, Trevor has them hidden in the Cyclops' chamber and takes on the priests leading the mob before escaping into the city.
4"Monument"July 7, 2017 (2017-07-07)
Night falls as Dracula's army descends upon Gresit, killing the Bishop. As Trevor continues his escape, Sypha appears to aid him, revealing herself as a powerful magic user. Trevor exposes the clergy's actions as the true reason for Dracula's invasion and assists the people in mounting a defense against the demons. During the battle, the floor crumbles beneath Trevor and Sypha and they fall deep into the submerged catacombs of the city. Making their way in deeper, they find the "sleeping soldier", revealed to be Alucard, who has spent a year healing from his last fight with Dracula. Trevor and Alucard engage in battle, but after seeing his and Sypha's resolve, Alucard relents and offers his aid, and the three prepare to challenge Dracula and end the conflict for good.

tag: table

text: Season 2[edit]

text: Season 2 is expected to have eight episodes and will broadcast on October 26, 2018.[21]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Audience viewership[edit]

text: According to Parrot Analytics, Castlevania was the most popular digital original series in the United States during July 6–19, 2017, with the show generating 23,175,616 "demand expressions" on average.[22] According to Parrot Analytics, "demand expressions" indicate the "total audience demand being expressed for a title, within a country,"[23] measured by video streams and downloads as well as social media.[24]

text: It remained the 7th most in-demand digital original show in the United States through October 11, 2017.[24] By the end of 2017, Castlevania was the year's 15th most in-demand digital original series in the United States, averaging 18,137,196 demand expressions throughout the year. It was also one of the year's top 20 most in-demand digital original series in the United Kingdom (20th), Japan (4th), Brazil (10th), Mexico (11th), France (13th), Canada (14th), Germany (19th) and Australia (20th).[25]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a rating of 86%, based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 7.39/10 and a critical consensus that reads "Castlevania offers spectacular visuals and a compelling adaptation in its all-too-short first season".[26] It is the first video game adaptation in the site's history to receive a "Fresh" rating.[27] Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, reported that there were "generally favorable reviews" for the first season, with an average score of 71 based on 4 reviews.[28]

text: The Verge gave a mixed review, noting that the gore did little to create a sense of danger and felt "intentionally flashy". It concluded that "Castlevania is ripe with potential, but also burdened with cliches."[29] Dave Trumbore of Collider gave the series four stars out of five, praising the chemistry between the cast and comparing the violence with anime such as Ninja Scroll.[30] IGN also wrote glowingly of Warren Ellis's script, but felt some of his humor was a little jarring.[31] In a review for Paste Magazine, Dave Raposo wrote that Castlevania channeled the cutaway gag formula that is seen in Family Guy. He dismissed the "absurd" attempts at humanizing Dracula and called it a "milquetoast imitation of Game of Thrones", noting that the ambitions of the script "fly in the face of the simple ideals that unify the best entries in the Castlevania series".[32] Several reviews lauded the voice cast, particularly Graham McTavish as Dracula and Richard Armitage as Trevor Belmont.[31] Screen Rant's Sarah Moran drew attention to the "sarcastic edge" that Armitage brought to the character.[33] Destructoid also wrote positively of Trevor Belmont as a protagonist, but criticized the animation and added that the character designs were "flat".[34] Dan Seitz at Uproxx left a negative review, writing that it tried too hard to find profundity in the story of the Castlevania series. He also cited issues with the pacing.[35]


document_title: Genius (U.S. TV series)

question_text: who played albert einstein in the series genius

text: Genius (U.S. TV series)

text: Synopsis[edit]

text: The first season chronicles two different periods of theoretical physicist Albert Einstein's life: the first as a patent clerk struggling to gain a teaching job and doctorate, the second as a great mind respected for his development of the theory of relativity.

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text: Regular[edit]

text:
Geoffrey Rush as elder Albert Einstein
Johnny Flynn as younger Einstein
Samantha Colley as Mileva Marić
Richard Topol as Fritz Haber
Michael McElhatton as Philipp Lenard
Emily Watson as elder Elsa Einstein
Gwendolyn Ellis as younger Elsa
Ralph Brown as Max Planck

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Robert Lindsay as Hermann Einstein
Claire Rushbrook as Pauline Einstein
Helen Monks as Maja Einstein
Nicholas Rowe as Jost Winteler
Lucy Russell as Pauline Winteler
Shannon Tarbet as Marie Winteler
Alicia von Rittberg as Anna Winteler
George Webster as Julius Winteler
Henry Goodman as Walther Rathenau
Alistair Petrie as Heinrich Weber
Jon Fletcher as Marcel Grossmann
Seth Gabel as Michele Besso
Sally Dexter as elder Mileva Marić
Nikola Đuričko as Leo Szilard
David Dencik as Niels Bohr
Predrag Bjelac as Milos Marić
Catherine McCormack as Marija Ružić–Marić
Charity Wakefield as Betty
Jodhi May as Helen Dukas
Zoe Telford as Clara Haber
T. R. Knight as J. Edgar Hoover
Vincent Kartheiser as Raymond H. Geist

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

1
"Chapter One"
Ron Howard
Story by : Noah Pink and Ken Biller
Teleplay by : Noah Pink
April 25, 2017 (2017-04-25)
1.38[3]

2
"Chapter Two"
Minkie Spiro
Angelina Burnett
May 2, 2017 (2017-05-02)
1.05[4]

3
"Chapter Three"
Minkie Spiro
Mark Lafferty
May 9, 2017 (2017-05-09)
1.02[5]

4
"Chapter Four"
Kevin Hooks
Noah Pink
May 16, 2017 (2017-05-16)
0.93[6]

5
"Chapter Five"
Kevin Hooks
Raf Green
May 23, 2017 (2017-05-23)
0.94[7]

6
"Chapter Six"
James Hawes
Brian Peterson
May 30, 2017 (2017-05-30)
1.02[8]

7
"Chapter Seven"
James Hawes
Kelly Souders
June 6, 2017 (2017-06-06)
1.06[9]

8
"Chapter Eight"
Ken Biller
Angelina Burnett & Francesca Butler
June 13, 2017 (2017-06-13)
1.05[10]

9
"Chapter Nine"
Ken Biller
Ken Biller & Raf Green
June 20, 2017 (2017-06-20)
1.04[11]

10
"Chapter Ten"
Ken Biller
Mark Lafferty
June 20, 2017 (2017-06-20)
1.04[11]

text: Production[edit]

text: On April 19, 2017, National Geographic renewed the series for a second season.[12] The subject of the second season was to have been announced during the finale of the first season,[12] but was instead revealed to be Pablo Picasso the day after the finale, when network and producers did not want to divert attention away from the season finale.[13][14]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: The first season has received mostly positive reviews. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 83%, based on 29 reviews.[15] On Metacritic, the series has a score of 65 out of 100, based on 20 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[16]

text: Science columnist Dennis Overbye of The New York Times described the series as a "tense binge-worthy psychological thriller full of political and romantic melodrama."[17] Overbye further noted that Einstein himself, writing to his sister, wrote, "If everybody lived a life like mine, there would be no need for novels."[17] According to Hillary Busis of Vanity Fair, the film shows, "... Einstein at work ... peers into the über-genius's tumultuous love life (monogamy, he believes, is "not natural") ... his fraught emigration to the United States ...".[18] Busis quotes producer Ron Howard: "When you move past his scientific contributions, Albert's life story—what his youth was like, who his friends were, who his enemies were, his tumultuous love life—is a story people don't know ... I think audiences are going to be riveted as we tell this ambitious and revealing human story behind Einstein's scientific brilliance."[18]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Nominee(s)
Result
Ref.

2017
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Limited Series
Genius
Nominated
[19]

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Geoffrey Rush
Nominated

Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special
Ron Howard
Nominated

Outstanding Hairstyling for a Limited Series or Movie
Tash Lees, Fae Hammond, Adela Robova, Alex Rouse
Nominated

Outstanding Main Title Theme Music
Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe
Nominated

Outstanding Makeup for a Limited Series or Movie (Non-Prosthetic)
Davina Lamont
Nominated

Outstanding Period/Fantasy Costumes for a Series, Limited Series, or Movie
Sonu Mishra, Martina Hejlova, Petia Krckova
Nominated

Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special
Daniel Pagan, Erich Gann, Arielle McGrail, Bill Bell, Nicholas Fitzgerald, Tim Chilton, Jill Sanders
Nominated

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Limited Series or Movie
Bob Bronow, Mark Hensley, Petr Forejt
Nominated

Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role
Eric Durst, Lenka Líkařová, Viktor Muller, Marek Ruth, Tomáš Kalhous, Lukáš Herrmann, Pavel Kolář, Petr Hastík, Vit Komrzý
Nominated


document_title: Kevin Durant

question_text: when did kevin durant sign with the golden state warriors

text: Kevin Durant

text: Early life

text: Durant was born on September 29, 1988, in Washington, D.C.,[2] to Wanda (née Durant) and Wayne Pratt. When Durant was an infant, his father deserted the family; Wanda and Wayne eventually divorced, and Durant's grandmother Barbara Davis helped raise him. By age 13, his father re-entered his life and traveled the country with him to basketball tournaments.[3][4] Durant has one sister, Brianna, and two brothers, Tony and Rayvonne.[5]

text: Durant and his siblings grew up in Prince George's County, Maryland, on the eastern outskirts of Washington, D.C.[6] He was unusually tall from a young age, and reached 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) in height while still in middle school (age 13–14).[7] Growing up, Durant wanted to play for his favorite team, the Toronto Raptors,[8] which included his favorite player, Vince Carter.[8] He played Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball for several teams in the Maryland area and was teammates with future National Basketball Association (NBA) players Michael Beasley, Greivis Vásquez, and Ty Lawson, the former of whom Durant remains friends with to this day.[9][10] During this time, he began wearing #35 as his jersey number in honor of his AAU coach, Charles Craig, who was murdered at the age of 35.[11]

text: After playing two years of high school basketball at National Christian Academy and one year at Oak Hill Academy, Durant transferred to Montrose Christian School for his senior year, growing 5 inches (13 cm) before the start of the season and beginning the year at a height of 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m).[12] Prior to the start of the season, he committed to the University of Texas.[13] At the conclusion of the year, he was named the Washington Post All-Met Basketball Player of the Year, as well as the Most Valuable Player of the 2006 McDonald's All-American Game.[14][15] He was widely regarded as the second-best high school prospect of 2006.[16][17]

text: College career

text: For the 2006–07 college season, Durant—who had grown to 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)—averaged 25.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game for the Texas Longhorns as a student at the University of Texas.[2] The Longhorns finished the year with a 25–10 record overall and a 12–4 record in conference.[18] Awarded a fourth seed in the NCAA Tournament, Texas won their first round match-up against New Mexico State but were upset in the second round by USC despite a 30-point and 9-rebound performance from Durant.[19] For his outstanding play, Durant was recognized as the unanimous national player of the year, winning the John R. Wooden Award,[20] the Naismith College Player of the Year Award,[21] and all eight other widely recognized honors and awards.[22][23][24][25][26][27] This made Durant the first freshman to win any of the national player of the year awards.[28] On April 11, he officially declared for the NBA draft.[29] His #35 jersey was later retired by the Longhorns.[30]

text: College career statistics

text:
College
Year
GP
GS
MPG
FG%
3P%
FT%
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
PPG

Texas
2006–07
35
35
35.9
.473
.404
.816
11.1
1.3
1.9
1.9
25.8

text: Professional career

text: Seattle SuperSonics (2007–2008)

text: Durant was selected as the second overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics.[32] In his first regular season game, the 19-year-old Durant registered 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals against the Denver Nuggets.[33] On November 16, he made the first game-winning shot of his career in a game against the Atlanta Hawks.[34] At the conclusion of the season, he was named the NBA Rookie of the Year behind averages of 20.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game.[2] He joined Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James as the only teenagers in league history to average at least 20 points per game over an entire season.[35]

text: Oklahoma City Thunder (2008–2016)

text: Breakthrough (2008–10)

text: Following Durant's debut season, the SuperSonics relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City, becoming the Thunder and switching to new colors blue, orange, and yellow.[36] The team also drafted UCLA guard Russell Westbrook, who would form an All-Star combination with Durant in later years.[37] At the 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend, Durant set a Rookie Challenge record with 46 points.[38] By the conclusion of the year, he had raised his scoring average by five points from the prior season to 25.3 points per game,[2] and was considered a strong candidate for the Most Improved Player Award, eventually finishing third in the voting.[39] Durant continued to grow during his first few years in the NBA, finally reaching a height of 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m).[1]

text: During the 2009–10 season, Durant was selected to his first NBA All-Star Game.[2] Behind his play, the Thunder improved their record by 27 wins from the previous year and defied expectations to make the playoffs.[40][41] With a scoring average of 30.1 points per game, he became the youngest NBA scoring champion and was selected to his first All-NBA team.[2][42] In his playoff debut, he scored 24 points in a Game 1 loss against the Los Angeles Lakers.[43] Oklahoma City would go on to lose the series in six games,[44] but the team's performance led many analysts to label them as an upcoming title contender.[45]

text: Deep playoff runs (2010–13)

text: Prior to the start of the 2010–11 season, Durant announced via Twitter that he had signed a five-year contract extension with the Thunder worth approximately $86 million.[46][47] For the second consecutive year, he led the NBA in scoring, averaging 27.7 points a game.[48] Behind his leadership, the Thunder won 55 games and earned the fourth seed in the Western Conference.[49] In the playoffs, Oklahoma City defeated the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies en route to a Conference Finals match-up versus the Dallas Mavericks, losing in five games.[50]

text: On February 19 of the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season, Durant recorded his first career 50-point game, scoring 51 points against the Denver Nuggets.[51][52] At the All-Star Game, he scored 36 points and was awarded the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award.[53] He finished the year with a scoring average of 28 points per game, representing his third straight scoring title.[54] Behind his play, the Thunder won 47 games and entered the playoffs as the Western Conference's second seed.[55] In Game 1 of the first round against the Mavericks, Durant hit a game-winner with 1.5 seconds remaining.[56] Oklahoma City would go on to defeat Dallas, the Lakers, and the San Antonio Spurs before losing to the Miami Heat in the Finals.[57] For the championship round, Durant led all players with 30.6 points per game, doing so on a 54.8 shooting rate.[58]

text: With a scoring average of 28.1 points per game to finish the 2012–13 season, Durant failed to defend his scoring title; however, with a 51 percent shooting rate, a 41.6 percent three point shooting rate, and a 90.5 free throw shooting rate, he became the youngest player in NBA history to join the 50–40–90 club.[2][59] Finishing the year with a 60–22 record, Oklahoma City earned the first seed in the Western Conference.[60] In the first round of the playoffs against the Houston Rockets, Russell Westbrook tore his meniscus, forcing him to miss the remainder of the postseason.[61][62] Without Westbrook, Durant was given more responsibility,[63] averaging a career-high 30.8 points per game throughout the playoffs,[2] but Oklahoma City were eventually eliminated in the second round by the Memphis Grizzlies in five games.[61]

text: MVP season (2013–14)

text: In January of the 2013–14 season, Durant averaged 35.9 points per game while scoring 30 or more points in 12 straight games, including a career-high 54 points against the Golden State Warriors.[64][65] In April, he surpassed Michael Jordan's record for consecutive games scoring 25 points or more at 41.[66] The Thunder finished the year with 59 wins and Durant was voted the NBA Most Valuable Player behind averages of 32 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game.[67] To begin the first round of the playoffs, he struggled against the physical play of the Grizzlies, converting on only 24 percent of his field goals in Game 4.[68] Through six games, the Thunder trailed the series 3–2, prompting The Oklahoman to dub Durant "Mr. Unreliable".[69] He responded by scoring 36 points in a Game 6 victory.[70] Oklahoma City eventually eliminated Memphis and the Los Angeles Clippers before losing to the Spurs in the Conference Finals in six games[71]

text: Final seasons with the Thunder (2014–16)

text: Prior to the start of the 2014–15 season, Durant was diagnosed with a Jones fracture in his right foot and was ruled out for six to eight weeks.[72] He subsequently missed the first 17 games of the year, making his season debut for the Thunder on December 2 against the New Orleans Pelicans.[73] On December 18, he injured his ankle against the Golden State Warriors,[74] returning to action on December 31 against the Phoenix Suns to score a season-high 44 points.[75] He then sprained his left big toe in late January.[76] On February 22, he was sidelined again after undergoing a minor procedure to help reduce pain and discomfort in his surgically repaired right foot,[77] and on March 27, he was officially ruled out for the rest of the season after deciding to undergo foot surgery.[78] In just 27 games, he averaged 25.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game.[2]

text: To begin the 2015–16 season, Durant and Russell Westbrook reached several historical milestones together, including becoming the first pair of teammates to each score at least 40 points in a single game since 1996, doing so in a win over the Orlando Magic on October 30.[79][80][81] On April 11, Durant scored 34 points against the Lakers, setting an NBA record for consecutive games scoring 20 or more points with 64.[82] For the year, Durant averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game,[2] leading the Thunder to 55 wins and the third seed in the West.[83] In Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs against the Mavericks, he scored 21 points but made just 7-of-33 shots in the worst postseason shooting performance, both by percentage and number of misses, of his career.[84] After defeating Dallas, Oklahoma City moved on to face the Spurs in the second round, falling behind 2–1 to start the series.[83] In Game 4, Durant tied his playoff career high with 41 points in a Thunder win.[85] Oklahoma City eventually defeated the Spurs in six games, drawing a matchup with the record-setting 73-win Golden State Warriors in the Conference Finals.[83] Despite going up 3–1, the Thunder were ousted in seven games, with Durant providing 27 points in Game 7.[86]

text: Golden State Warriors (2016–present)

text: 2016–17 season: First NBA Championship

text: On July 4, 2016, Durant announced his intentions to sign with the Golden State Warriors in a Players' Tribune piece titled "My Next Chapter."[87][88][89] The move was received negatively by the public and NBA analysts, with many comparing the move to LeBron James's 2010 off-season departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat.[90] On July 7, he officially signed with the Warriors on a two-year, $54.3 million contract with a player option after the first year.[91][92][93]

text: On October 25, Durant made his debut for the Warriors in their season opener against the San Antonio Spurs. In 36 minutes of action, he recorded a team-high 27 points and 10 rebounds in a 129–100 loss.[94] Three days later, he recorded 30 points and 17 rebounds (one shy of his career high) in a 122–114 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.[95] In his third game for Golden State on October 30, he had a 37-point outing in a 106–100 win over the Phoenix Suns.[96] On November 3, he matched his career high with seven three-pointers and scored 39 points in a 122–96 win over his former team, the Thunder.[97] With 22 points against the Pelicans on November 7, Durant had at least 20 points for his 71st straight game, matching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the fifth-longest streak in NBA history.[98] He increased that streak to 72 games with at least 20 points on November 9 against the Mavericks, tying Michael Jordan for the fourth-longest streak ever.[99] The streak ended the following day when he scored 18 points in a win against the Denver Nuggets.[100]

text: On November 26, he recorded 28 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and a career-high six blocked shots in a 115–102 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was the Warriors' first time ever having someone finish with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five blocks.[101] Two days later, he was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, November 21 through Sunday, November 27. Durant helped Golden State to a 4–0 week behind averages of 24.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 2.75 blocked shots per game.[102] On December 1, he matched his season high with 39 points to go with 13 rebounds, three steals, and three blocks in a 132–127 double overtime loss to the Houston Rockets.[103] On December 28, he had 22 points, matched his season best with 17 rebounds, and added seven assists and five blocks in a 121–111 win over the Toronto Raptors.[104] Two days later, he recorded his eighth career triple-double (his first since joining the Warriors) with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 108–99 win over the Mavericks.[105]

text: On January 18, 2017, he set a new season high with 40 points in a 121–100 win over the Thunder.[106] On February 2, 2017, he was named Co-Western Conference Player of the Month for January alongside teammate Stephen Curry.[107] On February 11, in his first game back in Oklahoma City, Durant scored 34 points while being booed throughout the night, as he helped the Warriors defeat the Thunder for the third time in 2016–17 with a 130–114 win. The Thunder crowd jeered him loudly during pregame warmups, starter introductions, and whenever he touched the ball.[108]

text: On March 1, he was ruled out indefinitely after suffering a Grade 2 MCL sprain and a tibial bone bruise the previous night against the Washington Wizards.[109] On April 8, after missing 19 games with the knee injury, Durant returned to action and had 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a 123–101 win over the Pelicans.[110] The Warriors finished the regular season with a 67–15 record and entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed. Over the 62 games in which he played, Durant averaged career highs in field goal percentage (.537), rebounds (8.3) and blocks per game (1.6), and a career low in turnovers per game (2.2).[2]

text: Durant's 29 points and 12 rebounds in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the Spurs led to a 129–115 victory that saw the Warriors advance to the NBA Finals for a third straight year while becoming the first team in league history to start the playoffs 12–0.[111] In Game 1 of the 2017 NBA Finals, Durant had 38 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to lead Golden State past LeBron James and the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers, 113–91.[112] He helped the Warriors go up 3–0 in the series with a 31-point effort in Game 3, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 45.3 seconds left in the game.[113] In Game 5 of the series, he scored 39 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists in the series-clinching 129–120 win at Oracle Arena to wrap up a 4–1 series win over the Cavaliers. He was the Warriors' top scorer in every game of the Finals, averaging 35.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists while shooting 55.5 percent from the field, 47.4 percent from three-point range, and 92.7 percent from the free throw line. He was subsequently named the winner of the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, receiving all 11 votes from the panel of voters for the award.[114][115]

text: 2017–18 season

text: After the NBA Finals, Durant declined his $27.7 million player option for the 2017–18 season and became an unrestricted free agent with the intention of re-signing with the Warriors for less money, helping the franchise create enough salary cap space to keep their core roster intact and add free agents.[116][117] On July 25, 2017, he re-signed with the Warriors.[118]

text: National team career

text: In February 2007, Durant received an invitation to the United States national team training camp.[119][120] Despite a strong performance, he was cut from the team when its roster was trimmed to its twelve-player limit.[121] Coach Mike Krzyzewski cited the experience of the remaining players as the deciding factor in making the cut.[121] Durant was finally selected to the national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and became their leader as other All-Stars were unavailable, a role he downplayed.[122] At the tournament, he led Team USA to its first FIBA World Championship since 1994, earning MVP honors in the process.[123] His final averages for the competition were 22.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.4 steals per game in nine games.[124]

text: At the 2012 Olympics, Durant set the record for total points scored in an Olympic basketball tournament.[125] With averages of 19.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, he helped the national team go undefeated en route to a gold medal.[124] In the tournament's final game, he led all scorers with 30 points.[126]

text: Less than a month before the start of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Durant announced that he would be dropping out of the competition, citing mental and physical exhaustion as reasons for his departure.[127] He rejoined Team USA in 2016 for the Olympics, where he led them to a gold medal.[128] In recognition of his performances, Durant was named the 2016 co-USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year, along with Carmelo Anthony, for the second time in his career.[129]

text: Player profile

text: Though Durant's height is officially listed as 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), he has stated that he actually stands 6 ft 10 3⁄4 in (2.10 m) barefoot and 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) with shoes.[1] He plays mostly at the small forward position,[2] and his career averages are 27.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.[2] Durant has earned All-NBA honors seven times (2009–14, 2016–17) and was voted Rookie of the Year in his debut season.[2] He has won an MVP Award and finished second in the voting three times,[130][131][132] a trend he has expressed frustration over.[133]

text: Described as a "scoring prodigy" by John Hollinger,[134] Durant regularly finishes as one of the NBA's points leaders and has won the scoring title four times.[2] A strong outside shooter, he is one of only seven members of the 50–40–90 club, and his 2013 campaign was called "one of the greatest shooting seasons in league history" by Grantland's Zach Lowe.[135] One of the primary reasons for Durant's shooting prowess is his 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) wingspan, which helps him get his shot off cleanly over most defenders.[136][137] He is also a strong finisher at the rim, converting on 72.2 percent of shots in the paint in 2012.[134] Early in his career, he was criticized for his slim build, defense, and passing.[138] Over time, he grew as a playmaker, increasing his assist numbers every year from 2010 to 2014.[136] He also showed defensive improvement, with opponents averaging just .62 points per isolation play against him in 2014, the best success rate for defensive players who faced at least 100 isolations that season.[139]

text: Off the court

text: Durant describes himself as a "high school kid" and enjoys playing video games in his spare time.[140] He is very close with his mother, Wanda, a relationship that was detailed in the Lifetime movie The Real MVP: The Wanda Pratt Story.[141] A Christian,[142] Durant goes to chapel before every game and has religious tattoos on his stomach,[143] wrist,[142] and back.[144] He owns several properties in the Oklahoma City area and listed his primary residence, located in the affluent Club Villa neighborhood, for sale for $1.95 million in 2013.[145] That same year, he opened a restaurant, KD's Southern Cuisine, in the Bricktown neighborhood and briefly became engaged to Monica Wright, a WNBA player.[146][147][148] In 2016, he was a credentialed photographer for The Players' Tribune at Super Bowl 50.[149][150]

text: Durant was formerly represented by agents Aaron Goodwin and Rob Pelinka.[151][152] He left Pelinka in 2013 and signed with the Roc Nation group, headed by Jay-Z.[152][153] Durant has endorsement deals with Nike, Sprint, Gatorade, Panini, General Electric, and 2K Sports.[154] In 2012, he tried his hand at acting, appearing in the children's film Thunderstruck.[155] In 2013, he earned $35 million, making him the fourth-highest-earning basketball player that year.[156] In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Durant claimed that, despite his high earnings potential, "global marketing and all that stuff" does not interest him.[154]

text: One of the most popular players in the league, Durant's jersey regularly ranks as one of the NBA's best-selling and he is consistently one of the top All-Star vote-getters.[157][158] He has developed a reputation for his kind demeanor; in 2013, Foot Locker released a series of commercials calling him the "nicest guy in the NBA",[159] and he has become a beloved figure in Oklahoma City, known for his "nice escapades" toward the Thunder's staff.[160] In 2014, he partnered with KIND snacks and launched StrongAndKind.com to show "being kind is not a sign of weakness."[161]

text: Throughout his career, Durant has participated in philanthropic causes. In 2013, he pledged $1 million to the American Red Cross for the victims of the 2013 Moore tornado.[162] His generosity inspired the Thunder and Nike to match his donation.[163] He is also a spokesperson for the Washington, D. C. branch of P'Tones Records, a nationwide non-profit after-school music program.[164]

text: In 2017, Durant became involved with YouTube. In February, he visited YouTube's headquarters for a speaking engagement.[165] On April 7, 2017, he created a YouTube account and soon began to upload live stream vlogs onto it.[166][167] In his first vlog, he detailed, "I'm so excited because I got off social media. I got off the Instagram, Twitter, all that stuff, just to distance myself a bit. But somebody talked me into getting on the YouTube."[167] As of April 26, 2017, Durant's YouTube channel has received over 100,000 subscribers and 1 million video views.[166]

text: NBA career statistics

text:
Legend

  GP
Games played
  GS
Games started
 MPG
Minutes per game

 FG%
Field goal percentage
 3P%
3-point field goal percentage
 FT%
Free throw percentage

 RPG
Rebounds per game
 APG
Assists per game
 SPG
Steals per game

 BPG
Blocks per game
 PPG
Points per game
 Bold
Career high

text:
†
Denotes season in which Durant won an NBA championship

*
Led the league

text: Regular season

text:
Year
Team
GP
GS
MPG
FG%
3P%
FT%
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
PPG

2007–08
Seattle
80
80
34.6
.430
.288
.873
4.4
2.4
1.0
.9
20.3

2008–09
Oklahoma City
74
74
39.0
.476
.422
.863
6.5
2.8
1.3
.7
25.3

2009–10
Oklahoma City
82
82
39.5
.476
.365
.900
7.6
2.8
1.4
1.0
30.1*

2010–11
Oklahoma City
78
78
38.9
.462
.350
.880
6.8
2.7
1.1
1.0
27.7*

2011–12
Oklahoma City
66
66
38.6
.496
.387
.860
8.0
3.5
1.3
1.2
28.0*

2012–13
Oklahoma City
81
81
38.5
.510
.416
.905*
7.9
4.6
1.4
1.3
28.1

2013–14
Oklahoma City
81
81
38.5
.503
.391
.873
7.4
5.5
1.3
.7
32.0*

2014–15
Oklahoma City
27
27
33.8
.510
.403
.854
6.6
4.1
.9
.9
25.4

2015–16
Oklahoma City
72
72
35.8
.505
.388
.898
8.2
5.0
1.0
1.2
28.2

2016–17†
Golden State
62
62
33.4
.537
.375
.875
8.3
4.9
1.1
1.6
25.1

Career
703
703
37.4
.488
.379
.882
7.2
3.8
1.2
1.0
27.2

All-Star
7
5
26.7
.518
.311
.900
5.6
2.9
1.6
.3
25.6

text: Playoffs

text:
Year
Team
GP
GS
MPG
FG%
3P%
FT%
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
PPG

2010
Oklahoma City
6
6
38.5
.350
.286
.871
7.7
2.3
.5
1.3
25.0

2011
Oklahoma City
17
17
42.5
.449
.339
.838
8.2
2.8
.9
1.1
28.6

2012
Oklahoma City
20
20
41.9
.517
.373
.864
7.4
3.7
1.5
1.2
28.5

2013
Oklahoma City
11
11
44.1
.455
.314
.830
9.0
6.3
1.3
1.1
30.8

2014
Oklahoma City
19
19
42.9
.460
.344
.810
8.9
3.9
1.0
1.3
29.6

2016
Oklahoma City
18
18
40.3
.430
.282
.890
7.1
3.3
1.0
1.0
28.4

2017†
Golden State
15
15
35.5
.556
.442
.893
8.0
4.3
.8
1.3
28.5

Career
106
106
41.0
.468
.344
.853
8.0
3.8
1.0
1.2
28.8

text: Awards and honors

text: NBA

text:
NBA champion: 2017
NBA Finals Most Valuable Player: 2017
NBA Most Valuable Player: 2014
8× NBA All-Star: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
5× All-NBA First Team: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2× All-NBA Second Team: 2016, 2017
4× NBA scoring champion: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014
NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2012
NBA Rookie of the Year: 2008
NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2008
NBA Rookie Challenge MVP: 2009

text: United States National Team

text:
Olympic gold medalist: 2012, 2016
FIBA World Championship gold medalist: 2010
FIBA World Championship Most Valuable Player: 2010

text: College

text:
Naismith College Player of the Year: 2007[168]
NABC Division I Player of the Year: 2007[23]
AP Player of the Year: 2007[169]
AP All-America 1st Team: 2007[170]
Oscar Robertson Trophy: 2007[24]
Adolph Rupp Trophy: 2007[25]
John R. Wooden Award: 2007[171]
Big 12 Player of the Year: 2007
USBWA National Freshman of the Year: 2007


document_title: List of Home Improvement characters

question_text: who played jill's friend on home improvement

question_tokens: who played jill 's friend on home improvement

text: List of Home Improvement characters

text: Taylor family[edit]

text: Tim Taylor[edit]

text:
Tim Taylor
Home Improvement characterFirst appearance
"Pilot"Last appearance
"The Long and Winding Road Part 3"Portrayed by
Tim AllenInformationAliases
Tim "The Tool Man" TaylorSpouse(s)
Jill Taylor

text: Timothy "Tim" Taylor (Tim Allen) – Tim Taylor (the character has a birth date of October 1954) is the father of the family. Ever the know-it-all, Tim believes he has an incredibly wide knowledge of tools, electronics, and general mechanics. In reality, he is highly accident-prone. He actually does have a significant amount of skill as a general handyman, but can be overly confident and prone to spectacular mishaps. He often forgets a crucial step, ignores instructions, makes ill-advised modifications, or comes to inaccurate conclusions. The only exception to this ineptitude is when working on cars, at which he excels. He is left-handed but actually does a great deal of his work with his right hand. Taylor's "arch enemy", so to speak, is the real-life home improvement specialist, Bob Vila. One episode saw Tim competing against Bob Vila in a lawnmower contest for charity. Tim actually installed a jet engine on his machine-which resulted in Tim causing unintended chaos and destruction. Tim hosts a home improvement show called Tool Time with his co-host and friend, Al Borland. While Al is his co-host, Al constantly must remind Tim of safety regulations and practices. Tim often ignores Al's advice, and this frequently results in an accident. While it is constantly mentioned that Tool Time is a limited local home improvement show that sits very high on the channel dial, Tool Time seems to have a very wide audience in the state of Michigan, and is progressively broadcast to more outlets across the Midwest (A season 5 episode has Tim, Al, and Bud brainstorming for ideas on how to bring the show into the Chicago markets). Tim often boasts at his popularity for hosting the show, although many people state that they like Al better. A running gag involves people encountering Tim in public and stating, "Oh, we always watch Tool Time...we love Al." To which an annoyed Tim would reply, "Oh yeah, we all love Al." In later seasons, however, it is learned that Tim actually has a higher fan base than Al (except in a Season 8 episode, where Al scores higher than Tim on a popularity poll).

text: Because of the numerous accidents in which he is involved, both on his TV show and at home, it is a recurring joke that Tim is on a first name basis with the hospital staff, and it is often suggested that Tim has special offers available to him for being a repeat customer. Another gag is that Tool Time fans believe his many accidents are staged, to show people what not to do. However, many of Tim's modified inventions work but are often too powerful, like his new ice cube dispenser in season 2, and his leaf sucker machine in season 6. Tim often garbles advice he heard from Wilson and/or otherwise makes stupid remarks – although on one episode Tim stuns Jill and Wilson by putting forth sound advice of his own. Another running gag is Tim accidentally causing damage or destruction to anything he touches – such as destroying the world's smallest car or running over golf carts with a Marine Corps tank. Tim has an unhealthy obsession with Halloween and Christmas, going to extraordinary lengths to scare others and competing with "Doc Johnson" in the annual neighborhood Christmas lighting contest, which he only won once, although it was more a victory for the boys as they did the decorating while Tim was out of town.

text: While Tim has a very good relationship with his wife, he is quick to admit defeat in any conflict they become engaged in. He also works hard to maintain healthy relationships with his three sons, although he relates more closely to Brad than Randy or Mark.

text: Tim is occasionally chauvinistic in attitude, usually putting women down or sometimes seeing them as inferior (but he often must absorb the same insults against men from Jill). A running gag is that every time Tim says something sexist on Tool Time, Al holds up a sign displaying the show's mailing address (or in one episode, the phone number) for the women to send in their complaints. He also tends to mock those who are overweight, such as Al's mother or his mother-in-law (until she loses weight), and can be juvenile in attitude on many occasions. Another running gag involves Jill's distaste for his attitude, in that she says "You're pathetic" every time he goes too far. Tim is an avid fan of all the local sports teams; the Detroit Lions, the Detroit Pistons, the Detroit Red Wings, and the Detroit Tigers. He is also a big fan of boxing, the Indy Racing League, and tractor pulls. Many scenes take place in the garage during his favorite hobby, working on one of his two hot rods, one of which he built from the ground up, and the other existing vehicle that he restored.

text: While he occasionally considers moving on professionally, Tim remains the main host of Tool Time until the final episode of Home Improvement. Before he was cast on Tool Time, he worked as a traveling tool salesman. Tim barely graduated from college, but later receives an honorary Doctorate from Western Michigan University. He often voices apelike grunts in a range of tones and inflections to convey emotions for comic effect, such as confusion, irritation, or pride.

text: His mother is alive for the entire series, however his father died when Tim was eleven years old. There has always been some disparity between how many brothers Tim has. On several occasions in the later seasons, it is mentioned that Tim has four brothers, but in earlier seasons he is stated to have five, however, seven have been mentioned by name (Marty, Jeff, Rick, John, Steve, Brian, and Danny).

text: Tim always thinks things need "more power", and is often seen wearing sweaters from Michigan-based colleges. Tim thinks he knows everything there is to know about tools. He is also very connected to his tools even once joking that when he dies he would like to be buried with them.

text: Tim is the only character to appear in every single episode. A close second is Jill, who only missed the second part of the series finale (unless one counts the flashbacks shown).

text: Jill Taylor[edit]

text: Jillian "Jill" Patterson Taylor (Patricia Richardson) – Jill (born November 1956) is Tim's wife and the mother of Brad, Randy, and Mark. Jill graduated from Adams High School (taken from an actual high school in Rochester Hills, Michigan) in 1973. Jill is intelligent, practical, and has a dry sense of humor that doesn't often fly with her family. After she decides that her career is not fulfilling, Jill dedicates herself toward earning her master's degree in Psychology. While she is very motherly and domestic in nature, she is apparently a very bad cook, as Tim and the three boys often make remarks about her cooking. Her strong femininity is often in direct conflict with Tim's masculinity, occasionally leading her to wonder why they work as a couple.

text: Jill comes from a strong military family, and sometimes uses her upbringing to solve several family squabbles. Her father was a Colonel in the US Army and is referred to as such. Jill has four sisters, all of whom have appeared: Robin, Carrie, Tracy, and Linda. (A fifth sister, Katie, was briefly mentioned by Jill's mother in the season 2 episode, "Much Ado About Nana", and in the season 4 episode, "Quibbling Siblings", but never again.) She often appears overwhelmed at the fact that she is the only female in a family with three sons and no daughter. She appears closest to her youngest son, Mark, as she remarks a few times that Mark is the only one who still has the ability to be open-minded to accept the things that Jill likes as opposed to being the typical "boy". Early on, she has a temporary job working at a magazine, and later in the series, Jill is a psychology student. She also does a significant amount of volunteer work, especially for the local library.

text: Jill has a strong feminist side and enjoys opera, theatre, and the ballet. She occasionally tries to be interested in sports and tools but always ends up relating to her husband over his buried sensitivity. Jill also considers it her mission to get Tim, Brad, Randy, and Mark to do the right thing. Jill refers to any or all of her sons, as well as Tim by their full names when she is angry. Jill likes to "match-make", with mixed results, as she did set up Al with Ilene, who were together for a few seasons, and Wilson and one of her professors in another successful relationship. She also has a thing for cars – driving at different times an Austin-Healey 3000 (which Tim hates because he doesn't understand British wiring) and a cherry red Chevy Bel-Air Nomad; in two memorable episodes, Jill is furious with Tim for driving her Healey without permission and for wrecking her Nomad. In other memorable episodes, Jill is extremely angry at Tim when he calls her an "old Hen" on TV and when she finds out he bought $4,000 worth of game tickets for the Detroit Pistons.

text: Brad Taylor[edit]

text: Bradley Michael "Brad" Taylor (Zachery Ty Bryan) – (born January 1981) is the oldest, most athletic and strongest of the three boys, once seen throwing Randy around when they got into an argument. While all three boys are portrayed as troublemakers at one point or another, Brad gets into the most serious trouble. He is the only one to have a run-in with the police (after throwing bricks at windows in an abandoned greenhouse) and was once discovered in possession of marijuana, which he admitted to smoking. On the other hand, Brad was the only Taylor son to co-host an episode of Tool Time, and the one seen doing the most extensive work on Tim's Hot Rod, and is the son to which Tim relates to the easiest. Although he often struggled with his school work, he has extraordinary athletic ability, especially playing soccer. Throughout the series, he was offered numerous opportunities to make a career out of soccer, including the offer to play for a professional team in England (the fictitious Birmingham Chubbs). This was rejected when his parents refused to allow him to give up college to play professional soccer. Later in the series, despite a knee injury which threatened to put an end to his athletic pursuits, he earned a college scholarship to UCLA. Brad has a prominent attraction to women, including his mild infatuation with Tool Time 's Heidi Keppert. Brad and Tim enjoy working on classic cars.

text: Brad got along well with Randy, especially early on in the show. The two are often seen working together to tease Mark, attempting to cover up Brad's actions to keep him out of trouble, or just hanging out together. Brad and Mark don't share many things in common until they get older, especially in the 8th season where they develop a close bond while Randy is away in Costa Rica.

text: Randy Taylor[edit]

text: Randall William "Randy" Taylor (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) – Randy (born February 8, 1982) is the middle child, ultimately the smartest of the three boys, and frequently the most mischievous troublemaker. Randy's intelligence eventually led to him skipping ahead to advanced math and science classes, and was often the cause of sibling rivalry with Brad. Randy inherited Tim's talents as a jokester. Randy in the later seasons is noticeably a lot shorter than his brothers and his height is often made fun of by Brad. Whenever Tim was in trouble with Jill, Randy was always there with a quick remark that would almost always get him in trouble. Although initially sharing mostly the same interests as Brad and his father, throughout his adolescence Randy became very conscious about the environment and civil rights. He became very skeptical of the intentions of organized religion, especially Christian denominations, and became a vegetarian in later seasons. He wrote for the school newspaper, where he concentrated on social and political issues, including criticizing Binford for its pollution record, which led to a fierce disagreement with Tim. Unlike Brad who dated many different girls, Randy, for the most part, only dated one girl, Lauren, whom he remained with for the rest of the series.

text: Randy is generally the most level-headed son in the family, although because he is an intelligent boy, he was also prone to arrogance, jealousy, and sometimes a little prejudice. His father has a tendency to dislike and mock anything he has no interest in, such as ballet and opera, and Randy inherited this attitude, which ironically puts him at odds with Tim, since Randy has no interest in cars and tools. Out of all the Taylor boys, Randy is the one with the least respect for his father. He once called his father's show "Fool Time", and compared his father to an ape. When Tim brought Brad onto Tool Time, Randy immediately called it a stupid show and acted hateful towards Tim and Brad. During high school, he wrote a school article that turned many adults against Tim for Binford's pollution record, threatening his father's reputation, and he bitterly disapproved of Brad's jockish article earning the paper's front page, which was usually occupied by Randy's articles. He does however mend his relationships with them after learning the error of his ways.

text: In the Eighth Season of the show, Randy leaves for Costa Rica (along with Lauren, who stayed in a nearby town), reappearing in only one episode when he came back for Christmas. On that occasion, Randy felt that so much had changed in his absence that he no longer fit in with the family, although confiding in Wilson aided his feelings. Unlike Tim and Brad, Randy is not good with his hands and does not enjoy working on crafts or the Hot Rod. Randy often relates more with his mother, with whom he shares his intelligence and enjoyment of acting (although Tim embarrassed Randy during one acting scene thanks to a malfunctioning stage prop). In another episode Randy's party with friends was ruined due to Tim putting on too many coats of floorwax-which resulted in his girlfriend getting a sprained ankle.

text: Early on in the show, Brad and Randy were portrayed as "partners in crime". While they did argue like normal brothers, they generally bonded over their mutual enjoyment of teasing Mark. As they got older, they grew apart somewhat, as Randy became more focused on school and social issues and Brad became more focused on athletics and girls.

text: Early on Randy and Mark generally only get along when united against Brad, though things improved somewhat as they got older.

text: Mark Taylor[edit]

text: Marcus Jason "Mark" Taylor (Taran Noah Smith[1]) – Mark (born March 1985) is the youngest and most sensitive of the three boys.[2] He relates very closely with his mother, especially after the first season. He does not share many interests with his brothers or father, and in the early seasons was often the victim due to his naïveté of some practical joke that Brad and Randy had thought up on the spot for him. Mark is not a troublemaker, as he doesn't possess a joking demeanor or even a hint of a mean streak.  On the rare occasions that Brad or Randy include him on pranks, Mark often blows their cover by responding to someone when he is not supposed to or divulging too much information. This divulging of information not only gets Brad and Randy in trouble, but often Tim as well, especially when he is trying to keep something he said or did from Jill. During adolescence, Mark began to adopt a more "goth" look and an anti-establishment kind of attitude, the cause of which was founded in his feelings of social isolation. While Mark's darkening demeanor worried Tim and Jill on several occasions, it never turned into anything extremely destructive, although a homemade horror movie he created was a bit more twisted than they expected. His Gothic appearance was gone by the end of the series. Mark enjoys film production and music, took karate and pilot training, and became a proficient cook. During the early seasons of the show Mark is seen in a Cub Scout uniform-sans badges.

text: Mark's relationship with Brad and Randy was often adversarial, especially in early seasons as he was often the butt of their jokes, pranks and teasing. While Mark never truly bonded with Randy, in the final season Mark and Brad grew very close as the result of the dynamic of their relationship changing when Randy left for Costa Rica. Mark eventually became taller than Randy and later Brad.

text: Marty Taylor[edit]

text: Martin "Marty" Taylor (William O'Leary) – Marty (born in 1964) is Tim's youngest brother by ten years. As their father died when Marty was just one year old, Tim is the closest thing he knows to a father. Marty was often picked on by his older brothers, much as Mark is by Brad and Randy. He is often seen bouncing from job to job, unable to hold a steady career. For the majority of the show's run, Marty was married to Nancy (Jensen Daggett), and they had identical twin girls, Gracie and Claire.

text: Jeff Taylor[edit]

text: Jeffrey "Jeff" Taylor (Thom Sharp) – Jeff is Tim and Marty's oldest brother (exact age unspecified). He is extremely frugal and suffers from male-pattern baldness, both of which make him a frequent target of Tim's jokes. Like Marty, Jeff has trouble maintaining a steady job. It is mentioned that he has made a number of bad business ventures (such as a drive-thru pet store), was divorced twice, and didn't finish college (as mentioned by Jill's sister in one episode). Jeff eventually makes an investment in Tim's hardware store.

text: Friends of the family[edit]

text: Al Borland[edit]

text:
Al Borland
Home Improvement characterFirst appearance
"Pilot"Last appearance
"The Long and Winding Road Part 3"Portrayed by
Richard KarnInformationFamily
Alma Borland (mother)Cal Borland (brother)

text: Albert E. "Al" Borland (Richard Karn) – A master plumber and licensed contractor, Al is Tim's un-hip sidekick on the show-within-a-show Tool Time and best friend. His personality is an exact opposite of Tim's – he is reserved, quiet, does not show much enthusiasm and has a wide array of professional knowledge concerning tools. Al made frequent suggestions that he should be the host of Tool Time instead of Tim. Al does not make as much money as Tim, in fact it is implied that his salary is not very big at all. In the episode, "Brothers and Sisters", Al says that he gets a very small paycheck. In the episode, "Fifth Anniversary", it is revealed that a big reason why Al was chosen to be Tim's assistant was because Al was the only assistant applicant that was willing to work for the salary that was offered. Al could be characterized as a "mama's boy"; he spent a great deal of time attempting to please his mother Alma – who was severely overweight (though she was never seen). She died from a heart attack near the end of the series after Al asked her permission to marry Trudy. His father was almost 60 when Al was born. Young Al has mechanical talent-constructing a model crane out of wood. Al was engaged to an orthodontist named Ilene for a time, but they ended up calling off the wedding. He also dated Greta Post who appeared a few times in the series. In a later season, Al met a wealthy exterminator named Trudy. They hit it off and were married in the show's final episode. Al might have been based on Norm Abram of This Old House because of the resemblance (flannel shirts, beard, pudgy, etc.) and the fact that Al does all the "real work" on the Tool Time show (much like Norm did on This Old House). In the episode "No, No, Gadot", Tim and Al were arrested for scalping hockey tickets. In a holding cell, an inmate named George approached them and asked if they were "the guys from that TV tool show", and Tim responded with "why, yes, I'm Bob Vila, and this is Norm". Al has a big brother named Cal who is a physicist, and unlike some other siblings around the world, they had never gotten into a physical fight. Instead, they usually settled their disputes over a cup of tea. In a flashback episode of the Tool Time premiere, Al was noted to be a Pisces and had a clean-shaven face, while Tim had a beard. Al has his own fan club. Like Tim, Al is left-handed and his favorite board games are Parcheesi, Chinese Checkers, Scrabble and Bingo. His favorite movie is My Fair Lady. One episode had a pet of Al's, a turtle named "Scooter," which Tim accidentally dropped in cement. With his dry wit, Al serves as the show's (both Tool Time and Home Improvement) straight man to the wackier, more outgoing Tim. Beginning at the end of the fifth season, Al invented a second source of income for himself by inventing a board game based on Tool Time, which features Tim, Al and Heidi as playable characters.

text: Family, fashion sense, and career[edit]

text: Borland is slightly overweight, and always seen wearing flannel, which Tim cracks jokes about consistently. The reason he always wears flannel came from his father, who, when asking young Al to assist in their own various home projects, would put his old flannels on Al to keep him clean or warm. Al wears flannel as a tribute to him after he died.

text: Tim also often criticizes Al's mother, Alma Borland, who is never seen (except her hand and forearm, in season 8), but is apparently severely overweight. In one of the later episodes, Al announces to his mother he is getting married. Immediately afterwards, she screams, passes out, and dies (she was holding a breadstick, which was all that was seen). When hearing the news, the breadstick shook violently and fell over. The coffin, shown at her funeral, is double-wide to keep the humorous tone.

text: Al also has a brother, Cal, who looks and dresses almost exactly like him, though he is a physicist ("Sisters and Brothers"). In the episode commentaries featured on the Season 1 DVD Set, the executive producers reveal that "Cal" was a fan from Texas who sent his photo in a fan letter. Upon seeing his resemblance to Al, the producers brought him in to be Al's brother, Cal.

text: When Al was younger, he took fencing in school and served in the Navy as a Lt (j.g.) with the Seabees, and although he wanted to see the world, he was stationed in Fallon, Nevada (in the episode where Al mentions this, he uses the shibboleth pronunciation of "Nevada", which is uncommon for an outsider, especially someone living in the midwest). After finishing his military service, Al was a construction crane operator (AFL–CIO Local 324), then apparently got certified as a master plumber and carpenter before getting the job on Tool Time. Al drives a 1983 Mercury Grand Marquis station wagon which his mother passed down to him, and has put much time and effort into preserving the vehicle. While Al has similar interests such as cars, he has some rather odd interests, such as being able to deduce different types of wood by smell rather than appearance or texture.

text: Al gets along well with Tim's sons. However, just like Tim, Al has faced problems and needed to seek the advice of Wilson. Outside of his job, Al has made investments such as becoming part owner of Harry's Hardware and marketing a successful board game based on Tool Time, the object of which is to avoid hospitalization.[3]

text: Al's beard[edit]

text: Al's beard is also a constant joke by Tim. In one episode where Tool Time is celebrating their fifth anniversary show, Al is shown in the first ever episode of Tool Time clean shaven, while Tim has a beard.[4]

text: Al's knowledge of tools and home improvement[edit]

text: He generally knows what he is doing more than Tim, and he seems to have a better knowledge of tools and home improvement than Tim. In the first episode of Tool Time, he was described as a "master plumber" by Tim Taylor. He also is very serious about his job, unlike Tim, who often jokes and messes up the project. Al often speaks fondly of his time as a U.S. Navy Seabee. Although Tim is the one who messes up most of the projects on Tool Time, Al is often the one who is blamed for the mishap, or is injured by the mishap. On rare occasions Al would cause a mishap of his own, but these were more due to overcalculating than Tim's attitude of "more power". Despite this, Tim and Al are good friends offstage, and Al often helps out, either by helping with home projects, or by watching his children.

text: Love life[edit]

text: Throughout the series, Al has had four different girlfriends. In season one, Al went out with Greta Post, whom he met while she was volunteering to help out during a Tool Time show. Al then showed an interest in Jill's friend Karen, but when he learned she found another man Al took it well and rebounded. He almost went out with Tim's ex-girlfriend Stacey Lewis, however, he wasn't interested in her as much as he thought. From seasons three through five, Al went out with Dr. Ilene Markham, an orthodontist who is sisters with one of Jill's co-workers. They got engaged, but they decided at the wedding that they shouldn't marry. Al met a woman named Trudy in season seven and married her in the finale episode in 1999.

text: Running gags surrounding Al[edit]

text:
His overweight and overbearing mother.
Tim jokes about Al's mom "looking for a smorgasbord".
He is always wearing flannel. He is often shown backstage at the Tool Time set, taking off his shirt and changing into a flannel shirt that is identical to the one he was just wearing.
His beard.
His higher popularity over Tim
His love of Bingo.
His fanatic admiration of fellow home improvement television host Bob Vila.
Whenever Tim suggests doing something particularly stupid, dangerous or both, Al replies in deadpan fashion, "I don't think so, Tim".
When Tim would make a particularly sexist or otherwise offensive remark, Al would hold up a large sign with Tim's mailing address and say, "That's Tim Taylor, care of Tool Time, PO Box 32733, Detroit, Michigan, 48252" Sometimes Tim will rip the sign half-way in his sentence, but Al would just pick up another sign and finish.
His often unlucky relationship with women, despite (or possibly because of) him being more sensitive than Tim.

text: Wilson Wilson, Jr.[edit]

text: Wilson W. Wilson, (Earl Hindman) – Tim's neighbor and confidant. As a child, his parents did not allow him to speak to his neighbors, so he really likes talking to Tim and Jill. Wilson serves as an all-wise sage in the show, doling out advice to the Taylor family and seemingly always knowing just what to say to solve a problem. While most of his appearances were to help the Taylors, on seldom occasion someone who was in the extended family, or a nonmember, such as Al, would seek out Wilson's advice. He has traveled the globe and learned much from virtually every culture in existence. He has a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies, studying "extinct languages and forgotten cultures." His house is full of artifacts along with a pet myna bird named Mozart who appeared infrequently. Wilson was married at one point, but his wife Catherine died long before the series begins (in a November 1994 episode, Wilson revealed that that month would have marked his and Catherine's 25th anniversary).

text: At first it was unclear whether "Wilson" was his first name or last, but his full name is revealed as Wilson Wilson, Jr. In Season 6, it is revealed that his cousins are the Wilsons of The Beach Boys. He has a grown niece named Willow Wilson (China Kantner), who appeared regularly in the seventh season when she moved in with him for a while. His usual greetings are "Well, hi-dee-ho ..." or "Hi ho, there neighbor" or "good neighbor" when greeting Tim, "neighborette" when greeting Jill, and "Taylor lad(s)" when greeting the Taylor boys.

text: A visual gag is that Wilson's face isn't shown in its entirety, originally (and most commonly) with the bottom half obscured by the tall privacy fence that separates the neighbors' yards. This gag is extended over the course of the series with other objects (or a beard) obscuring the bottom of his face, or the bottom half showing but the top obscured (such as by a mask), or his full face shown but covered by paint. The audience finally sees Earl Hindman's full face unobscured in the series finale's curtain call. This was based on how Tim Allen saw a next-door neighbor when he was growing up.

text: Lisa[edit]

text: Lisa (Pamela Anderson) – Binford's first "Tool Girl." A secondary cast member on Tool Time, Lisa's job was to introduce Tim and Al and to hand them any tool they requested. When Pamela Anderson chose to leave Home Improvement to pursue a role on the syndicated series Baywatch, she was written out of the series after Season 2 and it was stated that Lisa was training to be a paramedic. Lisa returns for a guest appearance four years later, having become fully qualified; and applies for (and gets) a job at Detroit Memorial Hospital .

text: Heidi Keppert[edit]

text: Heidi Keppert (Debbe Dunning) – The second "Tool Girl" (beginning in Season 3, series regular in seasons 7-8) and a master electrician.[5] Initially, the character was seen only in and around the Tool Time set. In later seasons, her personal life crossed paths with Tim and Al on a number of occasions. She gave birth to a daughter (Amy) and suffered marital problems during the show's run. In Season 8 Episode 24 (Dead Weight), Heidi reveals to Tim that her breasts twitch when she is nervous. In the last episode of the series, Heidi revealed she was pregnant for a second time. Her outfits typically showed off her very large cleavage during the "Tool Time" episodes. Tim speculated that many men came to the show just to see Heidi. It is revealed in multiple episodes that Tim's son, Brad, has a crush on her.[5] In seasons seven and eight, her role on Tool Time increased so much that she was eventually given main cast billing in the opening credits.

text: Harry Turner[edit]

text: Harry Turner (Blake Clark) – Owner of "Harry's Hardware", where Tim spent a great deal of his time (and money) and in which Al eventually became part owner. He is married – not-so-happily – to Delores (Shirley Prestia), and the couple bad-mouths one another behind their respective backs on every occasion (But Dolores rarely follows this rule). Also has four sons, one Dennis (David DeLuise), with whom he has a somewhat rocky relationship. In one episode Harry told Tim that he had gotten a vasectomy. In another episode it is mentioned he served in the United States Marine Corps in the Vietnam War.

text: Benny Baroni[edit]

text: Benny Baroni (Jimmy Labriola) – One of Tim's buddies who hangs out at the hardware store. Benny is a bit of a slacker and notoriously known as a freeloader – his trademark being drinking coffee and eating donuts. Benny has not had a job in years, mainly because he doesn't like to work. He makes money by gambling and betting on horse races. On one episode ("A House Divided", Season 4.18) While the "Tool Time" crew is fixing up Benny's aunt's house, the structure is blown up due to Benny's negligence and is not Tim's fault; furthermore when Tim and his family are moving furniture back into the twice repaired Benny's aunt house, Benny, rather than helping out, lies back on a lawn chair to watch the others do the work. He is also known for being inconsiderate of others; at one point, he even ate at a soup kitchen regularly to avoid paying for meals.  One episode ("The Look", Season 5.07) Tim was selling season Pistons tickets (Tim had 2 tickets for each game and each pair cost $100) and Benny not able or willing to buy any of the tickets kept offering to go to the games with the people who were buying them, even people he didn't even know, so he could go to the games without paying for a ticket. Ironically in a rare instance of performing earnest work, Benny once appeared on an episode of Tool Time for "Tim and Al's Fantasy Kitchen", where he was shown cutting meat inside a walk-in freezer.

text: Other recurring characters[edit]

text:
Karen (Betsy Randle) – feminist friend of Jill who is very obnoxious towards Tim, often helping Jill mock and discourage Tim. Tim finds her irritating. While she finds her rivalry with Tim innocent and harmless, she has no qualms passively accusing Tim of being unfaithful, making Jill feel insecure about their marriage. Moved to California after Season 2 - this coincided with Randle starting her regular role of Amy Matthews on Boy Meets World, another ABC sitcom.
Ilene Louise Markham, D.D.S. (Sherry Hursey) – an orthodontist, and Al's first serious girlfriend. On their wedding day, she and Al mutually agreed not to get married and ended their romance on a positive note. Her last appearance was in Season 6.
Marie Morton (Mariangela Pino) – neighbor of the Taylors; close friend of Jill.
Joe Morton (Robert Picardo) – Marie's overactive and obnoxious husband; the "meat man" who irritates Tim, until Morton finds a hard to find jalopy replacement part for Tim; ran out on Marie in Season 5 - this coincided with Picardo's taking the role of "The Doctor" on Star Trek: Voyager.
Jennifer Sudarski (Jessica Wesson) – Brad's first love interest who always called him "Bradley", later moved to Ohio.
Angela (Kristen Clayton) – Former girlfriend of Brad, known for being a constant motor-mouth. She dumped Brad for a guy with his own car. Brad suffered from a bout of depression because of this, but eventually rebounded.
Ashley (Leigh Ann Orsi) – girlfriend of Brad, went to boarding school from Season 5 onwards
Beth (Anndi McAfee) – Randy's first girlfriend who left town
Lauren (Courtney Peldon) – Randy's tomboy girlfriend, left for Costa Rica with him in Season 8.
Lillian "Nana" Patterson (Polly Holliday) – Jill's mother. Before Lillian's first appearance, she was joked at by Tim as being largely overweight, though in her first appearance, Lillian has become thin again, having used Tim's jokes on Tool Time as motivation. Lillian speaks with a very notable Southwestern accent and is caring and supportive to Jill whenever she has troubles.
Colonel Fred Patterson (M. Emmet Walsh) – Jill's father, died in his sleep from a heart attack in Season 6. He had a long career in the Army and his favorite movie was Patton. He somewhat got along fine with Tim, but didn't particularly respect him.  He never called Tim by his name but instead called him "Hey You".
Delores Turner (Shirley Prestia) – Harry's overbearing and demanding wife; a New York Knicks fan who can devastate men with "The Look". Her worsening asthma causes Harry to sell the hardware store and move to Arizona in Season 8. Delores and Harry are shown to constantly be arguing whenever they are seen together. Delores is shown several times to work at a local coffee shop as a waitress, where she continues to be sharp-tongued to customers
Nancy Taylor (Jensen Daggett) – Wife of Marty Taylor. They are separated in Season 8.
John Binford (Noble Willingham) – founder of Binford Tools, died early in Season 3.
Maureen "Producer" Binford (Vicki Lewis) – John Binford's overeager and annoying daughter, she ran Tool Time for a brief time during Season 2, constantly reminding Tim in a sing-song voice that she was the Producer of the show, which allowed her to cause many changes to the show that Tim hated.
Trudy McHale (Megan Cavanagh) – an electrician and heiress to her family's fortune whom Al married in the final episode.
Cal Borland (Keith Lehman) – Al's brother, a physicist.
Felix Myman (Al Fann) – professional plumber and frequent participant in Tool Time's projects.
Rock Flanagan (Casey Sander) – construction worker at K&B Construction. Somewhat loud, and charismatic, Rock always responds to guest appearances on Tool Time by saying, "It's always great to be here, Timmy!" In K&B's "all-tool band", his instrument is a grinder run over an empty oil drum.
Dwayne Hoover (Gary McGurk) – construction worker at K&B Construction. The "straight man" of K&B, he always has to interrupt Pete whenever he is about to say a story that is too revealing by saying, "This is not the time, nor the place!" In K&B's band, he plays hammers on an anvil.
Pete Bilker (Mickey Jones) – construction worker at K&B Construction. Whenever he is called by name from Rock, Pete usually responds, "That would be me." In K&B's band, he plays empty plastic fuel cans as drums, using screwdrivers as drumsticks.
Carrie Patterson (Tudi Roche – the real-life wife of Richard Karn), Jill's sister, a world-traveling photographer.
Willow Branch Leaf Wilson (China Kantner) – Wilson's laid back niece, just goes by Willow, saying she "pruned it back".
Lucille Taylor (Bonnie Bartlett) – Tim's widowed mother.
Bud Harper (Charlie Robinson) – head of Binford Tools, Tim's boss. Bud interacts a lot with Tim and Al, even offering Tim season tickets to the Detroit Pistons. He does not particularly respect Al, even at one point suggesting Al get fired, however Tim defended Al from this.
Jason (Jarrad Paul) – Eddie Haskell-like friend of Brad, often claims to be a fan of Tool Time even though he's never actually seen the show and gains favor with Tim by pretending to ask for advice about tools.
Samantha Hayes (Maggie Lawson) – A college student who dated Brad, although she was four years his senior, which troubled Jill and Tim. In one episode, she and Brad impulsively decided to get married at their young age, but Tim and Jill successfully tricked them to realize their mistake.
Patty (Tammy Lauren) – Jill's friend in season six and seven
Morgan Wondell (Danny Zorn) – The much hated producer of Tool Time during the final season. He apparently has no interest in tool shows, and constantly made changes to the show's premise, even staging a Jerry Springer Show-like riot in the audience, and planning to stage more destructive accidents. Rather than let Wondell turn their show into "Trash Time", Tim, Al, and Heidi quit in the series finale.
Milton (Milton Canady) – friend of Tim, often a guest on Tool Time; when he's around, people tend to make gay references, leading to him snapping "Hey, I don't go for that sort of thing!".
Art Leonard (Dick O'Neill) – Tim's old shop teacher who inspired him to enter the world of tools; stops by several times; at one point has a fling with Tim's mother.
George Sparky Henderson (Patrick Cronin) – friend of Tim and fellow car enthusiast.
Antonio (Vasili Bogazianos) – a sarcastic waiter who is always seen serving the Taylors at high-class restaurants; constantly jokes about the Taylors being cheap.
Alma Borland – Al's unseen, overbearing, obese mother; is the butt of many of Tim's jokes; dies of a sudden heart attack in Season 8.
Ronny (Kaylan Romero) – Mark's goth friend in season 7. Almost never speaks a word and constantly disturbs Tim and Jill with his silent but haunting demeanor.