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On the set of his TV show, Allen jokes easily and incessantly with cast and crew, who are effusive in their praise of him. "There are stars who have an imperial rule," says Carmen Finestra, one of the show's co-creators. "Tim has made this a great place to work." He can be fussy about scripts, but there are no shouting fits. Says co-star Richardson: "When Tim gets tired or bummed, he gets quiet and stops entertaining the crew. That's the way he keeps himself under control."
Beneath that control is an anxiously competitive man. Allen paces furiously backstage before performances to work off his nervous energy. He scrutinizes each week's ratings and sometimes broods over them. Right now he is unhappy that Frasier -- which NBC moved opposite his show this season -- has been cutting into Home Improvement's audience. "Frasier is killing us," Allen confides. "He's taking away our heat." (Home Improvement still beats Frasier handily, but it has slipped from the No. 1 spot in a few recent weeks.)
Another thing that bothers Allen is that Home Improvement, despite its high ratings, rarely gets much attention from the critics -- or statuettes at the , Emmy Awards. "It hurts because I have so many people ((on the show)) I feel for," he says. "I get rewarded for this, but for the crew and the people who really grunt to get things done on this show -- well, I take it as an affront to all of them. Everybody wants to have what we have and be No. 1. But after you get here, then what do you want? Roseanne said something to me: 'You've already been No. 1. Don't make it your life's goal to stay No. 1, because that will not happen. Move on, strengthen your team, and go forward again."'
Allen has more places to go forward than almost anybody. He seems almost embarrassed at his power. "Now I go to meetings, and if I just start to say something, everybody shuts up. And any idea I say, people go, 'Oh, yeah!"' Among other things, he's writing a movie script about a mad scientist. "It's about how quickly you could change the world and how everybody could do it," Allen explains. "The more I read about physics and science, the more I know that a guy like me of rather average intelligence but a lot of interest could make things happen." As if he already hasn't.