King of the Hill

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For other uses, see King of the Hill (disambiguation)}}}.

King of the Hill is a satirical American animated television series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the FOX Network. It is the second-longest continuously running animated comedy on television, behind only The Simpsons. It debuted in 1997 and depicts the Hills, a suburban Methodist family proud of its Texas heritage. Unlike some other animated sitcoms that feature wacky or outlandish situations, King of the Hill attempts to retain realism, seeking humor in the otherwise conventional. It is something of a dramedy, although the creators take advantage of the series' format by featuring narrative elements that might cost significantly more if done in a live-action series. The series' popularity has also led to syndication by many local affiliates and FX Networks.

The series airs in the United Kingdom on Sky One, Channel 4, and FX, in Canada on Global TV (with reruns on the Comedy Network and various local channels), and in Australia on the Seven Network (with reruns on Pay-TV channel FOX8).

King of the Hill documents the Hill family's daily life, regularly forcing characters to question their values when they are confronted with the values of others, including their Laotian neighbors the Souphanousinphones, or even their son Bobby. Themes include friendship, family, masculinity, and gender roles, and episodes have focused on women's liberation, sex education, sexual harassment, and ethnic diversity.

The title theme was written and performed by the The Refreshments.

Production history

The series is the brainchild of Beavis and Butt-Head creator Mike Judge. After a successful run of Beavis and Butt-head on MTV, he co-created King of the Hill with former Simpsons writer Greg Daniels. Judge is a former resident of Dallas suburb Garland, Texas, which was partly the inspiration for the fictional town name Arlen [][], along with his current residence of Austin, Texas.

Recently, King of the Hill joined the ranks of other FOX series like Futurama and Family Guy in its placement within a questionable timeslot and has faced frequent pre-emptions from sporting events (mostly The NFL on FOX) featuring overtime play and post-game commentary. The series's 10th season is largely comprised of episodes that did not get to air last season. The series was renewed [link] by FOX for an 11th season that will air beginning January 2007.

King of the Hill reached its milestone 200th episode ("Edu-macating Lucky") on May 14, 2006. This indicates the hour-long "Returning Japanese" is considered to be one episode by FOX, despite its being split into two for syndication. FOX has done this with other shows including The Simpsons, whose 300th episode, "Barting Over", was actually the 302nd episode aired.

Characters

When Mike Judge pitched the series to Fox, he drew the characters as menacing looking, stereotypical "rednecks" with jagged teeth that protruded from their mouths when they spoke; Hank, Peggy, and Bobby were the only three characters whose present form closely resembles their original concept drawings (though originally Peggy was significantly overweight). In a unique move, Mike Judge changed many of the characters to look like the actors and actresses providing their voices: Bill, Luanne, Nancy, and John Redcorn are all physically modeled on their voice actors. Although rumored to be modelled after Judge himself, Dale is based on Robert Patrick, whom Judge had originally wanted to voice the character.[]

• Hank Hill (Mike Judge) proudly sells "propane and propane accessories" as the assistant manager at Strickland Propane. He resembles -- in both voice and appearance -- the Tom Anderson character from Beavis and Butthead, a character also voiced by Judge. Hank is a generally well-meaning father but is often frustrated and confused by modern trends and the antics of his friends and family members. Hank suffers from a narrow urethra, which made Bobby's conception difficult. He is uncomfortable with intimacy and sexuality but has a healthy relationship with his family. In addition to propane, Hank enjoys car repair and yard work, and is shown in some episodes doing his neighbor's yard work or surreptitiously creating more for himself to do. Hank's trademark wail of distress in times of discomfort and the phrase "I tell you what" are running gags on the series. At the age of 40 he learned he was born in New York City, much to his consternation.

• Peggy Hill (Kathy Najimy), Hank's wife, is a substitute teacher who specializes in teaching Spanish; however, her knowledge of the language is lacking, and she refers to it phonetically as "es-pa-nole". Peggy is also a freelance newspaper columnist, Notary Public, and Boggle champion. Though well-meaning and open-minded, she often accidentally displays her naivete and ignorance; she considers herself more knowledgeable and clever than she actually is, and in a number of episodes, this gets her into trouble. Peggy is self-conscious about her larger-than-normal (size 16) feet. Peggy frequently speaks the phrases "Ho, yeah!" when she exerts effort into a task and "Oh, Peggy!" a self-compliment after she says something that she finds to be especially clever.
• Bobby Hill, (Pamela Segall, sometimes as Pamela Segall Adlon), Hank and Peggy's husky 13-year-old son, wants to be a famous prop comic when he is older. Bobby displays little interest in gender roles and dislikes sports. Hank's discomfort with Bobby's proclivities is a regular narrative element in the series, and he has stated this with phrases like "That boy ain't right" and "What has the MTV done to you, son?".
• Luanne Platter (Brittany Murphy), Peggy's college-aged niece, is a student at the beauty academy and later at Arlen Junior College. She is often portrayed as an airhead, although she is also an expert mechanic and is good at logic puzzles. Luanne is promiscuous, but she settles down after attending a church-sponsored "second virginity" program and starting a Bible study class. In the 10th season finale, Luanne reveals that she's pregnant with the child of her future husband Lucky.

• Dale Gribble (Johnny Hardwick) is the Hills' chain-smoking neighbor, an insect exterminator, conspiracy theorist, and borderline paranoiac. Dale is also his gun club's president and a licensed bounty hunter. Though boastful, he is a coward who recoils in the face of violence. He often uses the alias "Rusty Shackleford". He also drives a minivan with a giant bug on the roof, advertizing his extermination business.
• William Fontaine De la Tour "Bill" Dauterive (Stephen Root) is the Hills' overweight, divorced, clinically depressed neighbor. He obsesses about his ex-wife, and his suicidal tendencies are a running gag on the series. He is a barber in the United States Army. He frequently tries to flirt with and woo Peggy.
• Boomhauer (Mike Judge) is a womanizing bachelor whose mutterings seem incomprehensible, although his associates usually understand him perfectly. Boomhauer is a classic car aficionado. In several episodes, he is depicted wearing very skimpy speedos.
• Cotton Hill (Toby Huss), Hank's father, is a deranged, politically incorrect misogynist with a hair-trigger temper. His shins were blown off in WWII and his feet were reattached to his knees resulting in a short height and stilted gait. After divorcing Hank's mother, he marries a much younger, dimwitted blonde nurse and fathers G.H. ("Good Hank", since Cotton considers Hank a disappointment). He calls Peggy "Hank's Wife" and frequently makes reference to his (perhaps dubious) wartime heroism, including his killing of "fiddy men".
• Kahn Souphanousinphone (Toby Huss) is the Hills' materialistic, Laotian American neighbor. He is prejudiced against whites, southern whites in particular. He frequently boasts his superiority to the others, but Hank bails him out in several episodes. Secretly, Kahn considers Hank his best friend because both men share some of the same principles. Kahn occasionally wrestles with the fact that he has a daughter, and has even referred to her as his son in times of frustration.
• Minh Souphanousinphone (Lauren Tom), Kahn's wife, is a housewife who grows roses in her front yard. She enjoys making catty comments about the "redneck" neighbors, particularly Peggy. She knows a lot of household tips, acquired from her mother-in-law.
• Kahn "Connie" Souphanousinphone, Jr. (Lauren Tom) is Kahn and Minh's daughter, and an A-student. She is one of Bobby's best friends and sometimes girlfriend. Connie is named for her father because Kahn wanted a son. Though classicly trained on the violin, Connie has a natural gift for bluegrass 'fiddle' playing.
• Nancy Gribble (Ashley Gardner) is Dale's wife and the weather girl for a local television station. She has a 14-year affair with John Redcorn that she eventually ends. She frequently addresses other characters as "shug" (short for "sugar").
• Joseph Gribble (prepubescent, Brittany Murphy / pubescent, Breckin Meyer) is Dale's muscular 13-year-old son and one of Bobby's best friends. The running gag is that despite Joseph's obvious Native American features and Dale's paranoiac conspiracy theories, Dale is oblivious to that fact that John Redcorn is Joseph's biological father, the result of a 14-year affair. Most of the people in the neighborhood know this and keep it secret from Dale.
• John Redcorn (Jonathan Joss) is Nancy's former Native American "healer" and adulterous lover and the biological father of Joseph Gribble. A former roadie for Winger and lead singer of Big Mountain Fudgecake, John Redcorn enjoys classic rock music and hair bands. John Redcorn works out of his trailer as a masseur. He generally works only on women.

Texas culture

King of the Hill not only features characters proud of their Texas heritage, but also numerous references to Texas history and culture. Much of the culture portrayed on the series -- the obsession with football (the state sport), the high school culture -- is reminiscent of current and 1980's-style urban Texas culture, a result of creator Mike Judge's upbringing in Garland, Texas, a city near Dallas.

Luly's Cafeteria, where the Hill family sometimes eats, is a reference to the real-life Texas restaurant chain Luby's. Luanne's name is a play on Luby's "Lu Ann" platter. The Waffle Hut, a reference to the Waffle House chain is mentioned in several episodes, even becoming Peggy's newsbeat at the newspaper. The Texas-based fast food restaurant chain Whataburger appears in several episodes.

Dale's stand-off with the police in the clock tower of the local junior college with a pesticide spray-gun mirrors Charles Whitman's 1966 shooting spree at the University of Texas at Austin. Bill's family, who lives in Louisiana, is quite wealthy and resides in a lavish antebellum mansion, subtle reference to the large Cajun population in East Texas.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]} While there is no county in Texas named Heimlich County, this is a reference to the large German heritage of Texas.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]} In the fifth season episode "Hank and the Great Glass Elevator", Bill has a brief relationship with Ann Richards, Texas' governor from 1991 to 1995.

Arlen, Texas

The location of the fictional town (Arlen) relative to real-life locations is never explicitly stated within the series. Characters refer to Madero, Houston, and Wichita Falls as if they are near, and Hank's preference for Dallas-based sports teams implies that Arlen lies within the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The Hills rely on Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport for their air travel, and Hank's hatred toward Houston is common among Dallas citizens.#redirect In a Thanksgiving episode, however, Hank says that it will take them four hours to get to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. In several episodes, Hank's mail shows 78104 or 78701 ZIP codes, the postal codes for Beeville, Texas and Austin, Texas, respectively. The telephone number painted on the Strickland Propane truck has 409 area code, placing it in southeast Texas. Hank and Peggy have made day trips into Mexico when the peso was devalued, indicating a short distance from the national border. Kahn, Hank's Laotian neighbor, commutes into Houston, which is a three-hour drive from Arlen.

In the episode "As Old as the Hills", Hank and Peggy are having their 20th anniversary and Bobby is spending the weekend with Cotton and Didi in Houston. Didi goes into labor and Bobby doesn't know where the hospital is in Houston. He instead drives to the Arlen hospital, which he says is 2 hours away, and a sign is shown that says "Arlen 96 miles". In the episode "Hank and the Great Glass Elevator," Bill tells Ann Richards that Rainey Street is only a few miles from Interstate 35, which runs from Laredo (on the Mexican border), through San Antonio, Austin, and the Dallas-Ft. Worth "Metroplex".

Arlen, one of George Bush's "Communities of Excellence," is a city of 15,900. It was originally founded as "Harlottown," later shortened to "Harlen," by settlers during the westward migrations of the 1800s. The town was then known for its large population of prostitutes. City leaders renamed the town to its current name as a way to turn around the city's image. Arlen's current major industry is meat processing, and the town is home to at least one major pig processing facility. Most of Arlen's Main Street businesses were forced into bankruptcy after the opening of the local Mega Lo Mart. The chain store closed down Arlen's bait-and-tackle shop (Lay-a-way Ray's), its hardware store, and briefly, its propane supplier. Arlen is also home to several educational institutions such as Roger Staubach Elementary School, Tom Landry Middle School, Arlen High School, Arlen Community College and Arlen University.

Themes and analysis

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The general theme is that Hank is always willing to do the right thing even when those around him may be more inclined to wrong for the sake of ease. Hank Hill is the most virtuous character on the series, and, it could be argued, recent television; his character is a modern updating of the type found on 1950s sitcoms such as Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best. He, for the most part, always acts in an honest, loyal manner. His "by-the-book" lifestyle is highlighted in almost every episode. For example, at one point he refuses to tape a Major League Baseball game because it is technically illegal to record televised professional sporting events without expressed written permission from the broadcasting network of the game in question (No doubt, this law is neither widely obeyed nor widely enforced. However, home-taping for expressly personal usage is qualified as fair use in the Supreme Court's decision in Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios.) However, this desire to achieve complete conventionality leads him to often live with fear or shame. Hank disapproves of his son's hopes of becoming a comedian, and the issues of his health conditions (a narrow urethra and "diminished glutes," which render him basically unable to sit down without the aid of a hidden prosthetic) are of great embarrassment to him. Hank is also uncomfortable with intimacy, which is demonstrated on the numerous occasions that he refuses to kiss Peggy in public (instead offering her a firm handshake). At one point, while standing in the alley with Bill, Dale, and Boomhauer, he sarcastically says, "What are we supposed to talk about? Our feelings?"

Generally, when it comes to politics, the series champions Hank's small-town values and motivations while simultaneously poking fun at his small-minded and highly conservative worldview (Mega-Lo-Mart, a stand in for Wal-Mart, is a de-facto villain of sorts in the first two seasons of the series, destroying all of Arlen's small businesses and forcing their middle aged, competent owners to go to work at Mega-Lo, where they are debased by college student supervisors who know nothing about their trade. Ultimately, the incompetence of the employees results in Mega-Lo being blown up and burned to the ground, when one employee refuses to stop carrying canisters of propane by the nozzle, believing himself to be above Hank's continued warnings that carrying the canisters in such a manner will cause a gas leak). Likewise, the local community of Arlen is often portrayed in a postive light while hefty criticisms are leveled at impersonal, uncaring bureaucratic institutions. There are political and social undertones to many episodes, which often make light of the "liberal" position in American politics. However, it is important to note that while liberal politics are the subject of many jokes, it is often Hank himself who is the target of the joke, and the laughs typically emanate from Hank's overly innocent and simplistic approach to life. In one episode Hank mistakenly hires a cocaine addict. When he attempts to fire the addict, the addict checks himself into rehab and then threatens Hank with a lawsuit because it is against the law to fire an addict in recovery. The employee continues to show up to work under the influence, always accompanied by a member of the ACLU to remind Hank that the workplace must conform to the employee's special needs. Eventually, Hank's office becomes unproductive as other employees, disgusted at the special privileges which the ACLU is forcing the company to give to the cocaine addict, themselves begin making up addictions and afflictions to use as excuses to get paid for doing nothing. In the end, Hank "saves the day" by quitting his job, which allows the company to circumvent employment laws because they now have too few employees to qualify as a government-recognized business.

Hank is devoutly Republican (With regards to Ronald Reagan, he once says, "I miss voting for that man." However, Hank expressed doubts in George W. Bush after being granted a "weak" handshake; Hank decided to keep his final vote anonymous), and the Hills are practicing Methodists; however, like many Texans, Hank often expresses admiration for Democrats of the past, such as Lyndon B. Johnson. In one episode, Hank questions a job applicant about gaps in his employment history. The applicant, an elderly man, replies "Well, '33 to '45, FDR was President, so I was on the welfare. Then in the '60s you had Kennedy and LBJ, so I was on the welfare, and '77 to '81, Jimmy Carter was in the White House, so I was on the welfare." When attending a trial, Hank is heard to remark, "This better not be one of those Carter appointees." He is also a gun owner, despite trouble with marksmanship. When confronted with the story that President Reagan dyed his hair, he replied that it was only "to show his resolve to the Communists." Some might liken the character of Buck Strickland to President Lyndon Johnson-for example, in one episode, there is a photograph of Buck holding his pet dog by the ears (a parody of a now-famous photo of LBJ in a similar pose), and he often holds meetings while sitting on the toilet-perhaps a comment on LBJ's famous crudeness. Like Johnson, Buck is narcissistic, domineering, and often plagued by emotional and personal problems. The series is also often unkind to the religious right, such as in the episode "Hilloween," when an evangelical Christian convinces the town council to ban the celebration of Halloween, and Hank gets his revenge.

The interaction between the Hills and the Souphanousinphones highlights the culture gap that often ensues in immigrant families—particularly those from Southeast Asia. The Souphanousinphones are generally disliked by their neighbors who see them as uppity, snobbish and look down on the locals as ignorant rednecks. Kahn mockingly refers to the Hills as the "Hillbillies" and is never hesitant to rub his daughter's academic prowess in the faces of the Hills who are less assured about the academic success of Bobby. The interactions between the Souphanousinphones and other Asian families (like the Wasonasongs) point out that there are divisions within race, just as there is between races. Kahn and Minh privilege financial success above happiness and personal fulfillment. They frequently try to forge a romantic relationship between their daughter Connie and Chane Wasonasong, in hopes that this alliance will aide their family; Kahn's attempt to join the exclusive Nine Rivers Country Club is another example of this (It can also be seen as an inversion of the country club culture of the early and mid twentieth century, which was often highly elitist and racist). They also put immense pressure on their daughter to excel academically and musically, often to the point that it breeds discord between Connie and her parents. Connie envies the Hills, who are much more tolerant of Bobby's interests and predilections. Also, Kahn and Hank, despite their differences, do sometimes get along; at one point, Hank offers financial support to Kahn when Kahn loses his job and one another occasion, when Hank, Dale, and Kahn were trapped in Mexico, it was Kahn, rather than Dale, who risked his own life to help bring Hank back to the States.

The series also mocks the arbitrary nature of social customs and subjectivity of social appropriateness; in one episode, while visiting a Menonite town, Hank, often prudish, allows Bobby to hold a girl's hand instead of letting him kiss her. Seconds later, a Menonite person expresses disgust at what he perceives to be such a flamboyant display of affection.

Trivia

• All the main caucasian characters worship at Arlen First Methodist Church, as does John Redcorn. The Souphanousinphones are Buddhists and follow the Dalai Lama.
• Hank (much to his discomfort) learns when he is forty-one that he was actually born in New York City; this may have been inspired by Mike Judge's discovery that he was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
• Stephen Root, who voices Bill, originally auditioned for the part of Dale.
• Over the course of the series, most of the main characters' heights have been given: Hank (6' 2"), Dale (5' 10"), Bill (5' 8 3/4"), Cotton (6' 4" pre-war / 5' 0" sans shins), Joseph (5' 4" pre-puberty / 5' 10" currently).
• Nancy Gribble works for channel 84. This is a fictional channel assignment probably chosen as a joke by the writers. The UHF television band in North America formerly had channel assignments up to channel 83, although it now ends at channel 69.
• The Hills address is 123 Rainey Street, Arlen TX. There is an actual Rainey Street in Austin, Texas (the house numbers end at 89) which strengthens the belief of some that Arlen is modeled after the city of Austin.
• Two characters on the series are shown to be keyboard players, Dale and Kahn; however, Dale's talent consists mostly of being able to mimic playing it while the keyboard plays a pre-recorded song. Kahn, however, is shown to have at least a working knowledge of the keyboard in the episode, "Maid in Arlen", in which he is able to play the Axel Foley theme from Beverly Hills Cop ("Axel F" by Harold Faltermeyer) while singing, "Bev-Bev Beverly Hills Cop/Bev-Bev Beverly Hills Cop/Axel Foley's gonna find those druuuugs!"
• Hank, Dale, Bill and Boomhauer all drink Alamo beer and Dale smokes Manitoba brand cigarettes, perhaps a parody of Marlboro cigarettes.
• Jazz musician Chuck Mangione has a recurring part as himself. He is featured in eleven episodes as a celebrity spokesman for Mega Lo Mart.
• Boomhauer's voice was inspired by an angry Beavis and Butt-head viewer who left an answering machine message for Mike Judge.

Continuity errors

• Peggy Hill is shown to have two different mothers. Prior to the ninth season, whenever Peggy's mother is seen (in the present or in flashbacks), she is portrayed as an older version of Peggy, a stereotypical 1950s housewife with a hatred for the use of contractions; however, in the ninth season's premiere episode, Peggy's mother is a lean, leather-skinned rancher who disdains Peggy and lives on a secluded ranch.
• In the episode "Bill's House", Bobby teaches Peggy to ride a bike, but previous episodes show Peggy riding a bicycle, and once she rides across the entire town.
• In the first season episode "How to Fire a Rifle Without Really Trying", Hank is unable to handle a gun, but in the next episode, "Texas City Twister", a shot of Hank's den shows a trophy Hank won for skeet shooting.
• In the sixth-season episode "My Own Private Rodeo", Dale's father appears, looking completely different from the character that appeared in a flashback in the first season episode The Order of the Straight Arrow.
• In earlier seasons, Hank's truck is notably identified as a 1993 Ford Ranger. However, in the episode "Chasing Bobby", It becomes a 1983 Ranger, now on its last legs. #redirect

Cameo appearances

• The Hill family was once (briefly) seen in an episode of The Simpsons ("Bart Star"), where Bart Simpson and his football team badly defeat Arlen's team, with Hank making the remark: "We drove 2000 miles for this?"

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