AOLiveMC15: Welcome, Richard Karn!
RichrdKarn: Thank you for having me.
AOLiveMC15: We have plenty of audience questions lined up for you. Let's get right to 'em!
Question: Are you really as handy with tools as your character portrays? Have the writers of "Home Improvement" ever thought of having a script where the characters of Tim and Al would interact via the Internet with other tool men around the world like an international symposium?
RichrdKarn: I don't think anyone can be as handy as Al, except maybe my dad, but I grew up in a house with a contractor father, so I know how to look really good.
RichrdKarn: No we haven't. But it doesn't seem to be that far out of the question. Tim is very much into the Internet and, since I have taken on the hosting of the show for the Discovery Channel called "Secrets of the Internet," that kind of a show should not be too far behind us.
Question: I LOVED that Claymation sequence on the Thanksgiving episode, especially the outtakes! Your character was the funniest! How long did it take to create that?
RichrdKarn: The animators at Disney probably took a good month and a half to put it together. The cast were only in one day doing the voice overs. They animated the show from us doing videotape doing the dialog, with their animators doing other physicalization.
Question: Why doesn't Tim make fun of your name anymore? I went to a taping and run thru of the Thanksgiving episode, and, at the run-thru, he called you Al "Butterball" Borland. But at the taping, you called you just Al Borland.
RichrdKarn: I think because Tim has got very sensitive to the fact that people don't appreciate him making fun of Al at a personal level. So he has brought this into the personal life of Tim and Al.
Question: What is your new show about on the Discovery Channel?
RichrdKarn: It is going to be on actually this month: Nov 18, 19, 20. It's exploring interesting Web sites that are available as opposed to an infomercial for the Internet.
OnlineHost: Our guest is Richard Karn, one of the stars of "Home Improvement."
Question: Richard, how long have you been into this cyberspace thing?
RichrdKarn: I got into it this summer because of the Discovery Channel show. I have a computer at home, but hadn't hooked-up to be on-line, mainly because I didn't have the time. Now I'm starting to do it. So the answer would be just a few months.
Question: Richard, this show you are doing for the Discovery Channel sounds interesting, but I do not have cable. Do you know if it will be available on tape?
RichrdKarn: At this point, I don't know. Honestly, at this point it hasn't been discussed. We are hoping that this show would be popular enough to take it to ABC. A lot more people will be able to take advantage of the information we are bringing.
Question: On your Internet special, do you take in any "Home Improvement" Web sites, such as the "Home Improvement" Cyberfans Web page?
RichrdKarn: We go to it briefly, but it's not really geared to "Home Improvement" as much as it's geared to the audience of Discovery. So we go to things like flying a MiG 29. Other types of things that the Discovery Channel has found out over the years that their core audience would be interested in.
Question: Do you enjoy making the show? What was your favorite episode?
RichrdKarn: I truly enjoy doing our show. We have so much fun everyday, it's hard to consider it as work. I have a lot of different favorite shows for different reasons. I would have to say one of my favorite shows was when Tim and I went ice fishing. Another favorite was when I proposed to Eileen after finding out the "Tool Time" game I was making was falling apart.
Question: We know that Al proposed, but when is he getting married?
RichrdKarn: Good question. I don't even think the writers know for sure.
Question: What do you see yourself doing after "Home Improvement?" Could you see yourself doing a voice over for an animated character: say, a horse?
RichrdKarn: As to the last question: They really haven't decided where they want to go with that. Now for this one: Did you have something specific in mind? Actually I could see myself doing many different things. Theater has always been my first love, but I find that doing a comedy on television is very rewarding. You can reach a lot of people, and help along the human experience.
Question: Do you really wear flannel?
RichrdKarn: Yes. When it's appropriate.
Question: Richard, do you have any hobbies that you would like to share?
RichrdKarn: I have hobbies. However, a lot of my time is now given over to my four year old. But I still find time to play golf. I have a golf tournament in Seattle that is geared towards making money for a charity to help fight cancer.
Question: What was that movie called that you were in, where some guys were trying to get the secret for chocolate pop or something?
RichrdKarn: It was called "Picture Perfect" for ABC. We filmed it last summer or two summers ago up in Toronto. It was my first experience doing a feature length television movie. I had a wonderful time and came back to "Home Improvement" after hiatus, truly refreshed.
Question: How much longer does "Home Improvement" have left before it's canceled?
RichrdKarn: I would venture to say two more years. But anything is possible.
Question: Mr. Karn, what are some of the career and/or personal goals that you have yet to realize?
RichrdKarn: I have yet to realize a leading role on Broadway, and I have yet to realize a substantial role in a feature film.
Question: Are they ever going to show Wilson's face?
RichrdKarn: Not if they can help it.
Question: Are you and Tim Allen like good friends?
RichrdKarn: We're like good friends. We play them on TV.
Question: Richard, when is the golf tournament that you host in the Northwest?
RichrdKarn: It's annually held the last weekend in June, and is being shown on ESPN this year, Dec. 7th.
Question: What age group will your Discovery Channel show appeal to? Anything for 30-40 something?
RichrdKarn: I think it will appeal to everyone. Genuinely, it is showing us a version of what cyberspace will look like. I think it will be very interesting. Microsoft put a lot of time, energy and cost, making sure cyberspace is fun and interesting to look at. I think it will appeal to everybody, kids included.
Question: So your interest in cyberspace and computers was not prompted by the heavy use of computers in "Picture Perfect?"
RichrdKarn: Well, if you'll remember, most of the computer stuff going on was by the boy next door.
Question: I understand you used to be a landlord. How did you make the switch to television?
RichrdKarn: More appropriately would be: How did you make the switch from being actor to landlord? However, I was in a position to audition for "Home Improvement" because I'd worked for the producers before. So when I found out about it, I was able to call them and ask if they would be willing to see me. They very politely told me, yes, they'd see me, but it was already cast... "but come in anyways. You can meet our casting director." What happened then was the actor they had cast got a movie and they still wanted to use him for the show, but he couldn't do the pilot. So they asked me to do the pilot.
Question: I heard that the "Home Improvement" Cyberfans was just a fans page. Is that true? Do you and the cast back it up, or really not?
RichrdKarn: I'm not connected with it.
Question: Richard, which actor on the show is most unlike his/her character?
RichrdKarn: Well, I'd have to go with Earl, who plays Wilson.
Question: Will the show on the Discovery Channel talk about how to use the Internet effectively? Like how to do a good search?
RichrdKarn: Yes. It will give a few options of different browsers and different software that will help you get around quicker. However, that is not it's main priority. It's main priority is to entertain and give people an understanding of all the different things they might be able to enjoy on the Internet.
Question: How many hours a week does Richard use the Internet (considering his busy schedule)?
RichrdKarn: I would say probably two hours.
Question: Was the line "I don't think so, Tim" a writer's line, or did you ad-lib, and it stuck?
RichrdKarn: That was a line that was written by the writers, not as a signature line for Al, but as a transition line after Tim tells a joke. It was probably in one of the first three shows where Al asked something like, oh, I mean, Tim says something like, "Do you think they call it molding because it's been in the refrigerator so long?" And Al says, "I don't think so, Tim." Because I took a pause, and waited for an effect to get my own laugh on "I don't think so," the writers weren't expecting it. They had another actor to come back to play his assistant, but after I said the line like that, they kind of saw the character crystallize for them. They saw where Al was coming from there. So they decided to keep me instead of the other one.
Question: I've seen you do shows on aliens and UFO's. Do you believe paranormal?
RichrdKarn: I believe as there is such a thing as the paranormal, but haven't truly experienced it myself. So I believe in the possibility, but have no personal experience.
Question: Would the viewers of the Discovery Channel show need to be very experienced using the Internet, or will the special be easy to follow?
RichrdKarn: The special will be very easy to follow and mainly because, at the time, I was not up to speed. I tried, whenever there was something that I didn't understand, I tried to rephrase it or ask the writers to rewrite it so it was easier to understand. So to answer your question, no, you don't have to be experienced. The show is very user friendly.
Question: What is YOUR fav Web site, not the show's producers?
RichrdKarn: Well, I do enjoy scanning the "Home Improvement" page to see how people feel about the show. I also scan the pages of other shows I'm not involved with.
Question: Is Jonathan Taylor Thomas nice?
RichrdKarn: Yes. He is very nice.
Question: Anything new and exciting planned for this season's shows that you can share? :) RichrdKarn: We have an episode coming up next week where Heidi finds herself in the position of delivering the baby without being near the hospital. There's also an episode with Jill's sisters with the death of their father. Also, Al wins 100 million dollars in the lottery. Just kidding!
Question: How much time do you spend on the set of "Home Improvement?"
RichrdKarn: We rehearse four days and tape on the fifth day. So, depending on the script, each week we are there from anywhere from eight straight hours, to four or five per day.
AOLiveMC15: We have time for one final question tonight.
Question: Richard, do you feel that "Home Improvement" is one of the best series ever?
RichrdKarn: Yes. I do feel it is one of the best series created, but there is a lot of other shows on that list for different reasons. This show is not a groundbreaking show like "All in the Family" or "I Love Lucy," but it deals genuinely and truthfully with universal themes in a way that the whole family can watch and appreciate. And when I say appreciate, I mean a 4 year, 14 year old, 20 year old , 35 year old, to 75 year old, all see different things and appreciate it.
AOLiveMC15: Richard Karn, thanks so much for joining us tonight in AOL Live! Any closing words of wisdom for our audience? ;)
RichrdKarn: I had a wonderful time. I hope you keep watching the show. I hope you will tune in to the Discovery Channel for "Secrets of the Internet."
AOLiveMC15: Thanks again! Thanks to our audience, as well, for their great questions. Good night!