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King of the Hill (TV series)
(Redirected from King of the Hill)
- This article is about the TV series. For other uses see King of the Hill (disambiguation).
King of the Hill is a long-running, satirical American animated series produced by Deedle-Dee Productions, Judgemental Films, and 3 Arts Entertainment in association with 20th Century Fox. It debuted in 1997 and depicts a suburban Texan family the Hills. A conservative, God-fearing Methodist family proud of its Texas heritage, the Hills reside in the fictional town of Arlen. Unlike most other animated series, which feature wacky or outlandish situations, King of the Hill attempts to retain realism; it is something of a dramedy. It is broadcast weekly on the FOX Network. The show's popularity has also led to frequent reruns (syndicated) by many local affiliates and FX Networks.
The show 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 and the effects of their traditional values versus controversial topics in modern America. Themes of past episodes have included women's liberation, female pastors, sex education, sexual harassment, proctologic examinations, ethnic diversity, and addiction support/anger management groups. The show focuses on the simple lives of the Hill family, often in contrast to "outsiders," such as their Laotian neighbors the Souphanousinphones.
The title theme was written and performed by The Refreshments.
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 went on to co-create King of the Hill with former Simpsons writer Greg Daniels. Judge is a former resident of Garland, Texas, which is possibly the inspiration for the fictional town name Arlen.
Recently, King of the Hill has joined the ranks of other FOX shows like Futurama and Family Guy in its placement within a questionable timeslot and has faced frequent pre-emptions from sporting events featuring overtime play and post-game commentary. Currently the show is in its tenth season. It will be comprised for the most part of episodes which did not get to air last season, along with a few originals. The series was recently renewed by Fox for an eleventh season, that will air beginning January 2007.
For a time, new episodes of King of the Hill were pre-empted due to events such as the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards. There are currently nine more episodes to be aired in the current season; new episodes will return on Sunday, March 19, 2006.
Major characters
When Mike Judge pitched the show 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. Dale is based on Robert Patrick, whom Judge had originally wanted to voice the character.
Hills and Platters
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
- Hank Hill (Mike Judge), an upright Eagle Scout, Arlen High School's all-time leading rusher, and all-American patriot, is the assistant manager at Strickland Propane and proudly sells "propane and propane accessories." (In fact, his voice sometimes trembles with reverence when he says the word "propane.") He sounds like and bears a mild resemblance to Tom Anderson from Beavis and Butthead, a character that Judge also voiced. 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 it difficult for the Hills to conceive Bobby.
- Bobby Hill, (Pamela Segall (Also as Pamela Segall Adlon)), the chubby thirteen-year-old son of Hank and Peggy, wants to be a famous prop comic when he is older. Bobby has little grasp of gender roles and dislikes sports, and his dissimilarity to his father is a constant source of worry for Hank and humor for the viewers.
- Peggy Hill (Kathy Najimy) is the wife of Hank, a substitute Spanish teacher (whose knowledge of the Spanish language is seriously lacking), freelance newspaper columnist, Notary Public, and Boggle champion. Though well-meaning, she is often quite naive and ignorant. Her tendency to consider herself much smarter and more knowledgeable than she actually is occasionally gets her into trouble. She is also terribly self-conscious about her larger-than-normal (size sixteen) feet.
- Luanne Platter (Brittany Murphy) is the college-age niece of Peggy, creator of Manger Babies, and student of the beauty academy and later Arlen Junior College. She is often portrayed as dumb, though she is also an expert mechanic and good at logic puzzles. Although she is consistently shown to be promiscuous during the first half of the show's run, she settles down after enrolling in college, attends a church sponsored "second virginity" program, and starts a Bible Study class. Luanne's name is a joke to Texans who recognize the Luly's restaurant that the Hill family frequents: at Luby's restaurants in Texas, the generic "one meat, two vegetables" plate is called the "Lu Ann Platter."
- Cotton Hill (Toby Huss) is Hank's gruff, politically incorrect, and imbalanced father. He had his shins blown off and his feet reattached to his knees in WWII, resulting in his short height and stumpy gait. While hospitalized in Japan, he impregnated a Japanese nurse who gave birth to a son. Cotton eventually retired from the Texas State Guard as a full Colonel and spends most of his days with his VFW and American Legion buddies. He married his much younger, dimwitted blonde nurse Didi and fathered an infant child ("G.H.," for Good Hank, since he considers Hank a disappointment). The calling of his later life is the assassination of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. He consistently refers to Peggy as "Hank's Wife." He makes frequent references to his (perhaps dubious) wartime heroism, including his killing of "fiddy men," (i.e., fifty Japanese soldiers). He refers to his vehicle as a "Cadillac Car."
- Tilly Hill is Cotton's first wife and Hank's mother. She divorced Cotton after suffering years of verbal abuse.
- Didi Hill is Cotton's second wife and nurse. She went to kindergarten with Hank. She has breast implants, suffers from postpartum depression, and is generally depicted as docile and unintelligent.
- Ladybird (Hill) is the Hills' purebred bloodhound. She is fourteen years old. Her acquisition temporarily relieved Hank's stress (and narrow urethra), thus helping him to conceive Bobby with Peggy. She is named after the famous Texan and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson's wife Lady Bird Johnson. Her mother was involved in the manhunt for James Earl Ray. Hank's relationship with her frequently seems to be closer and more paternal than his relationship with Bobby.
- Leanne Platter is Luanne's violently alcoholic mother, who was imprisoned for stabbing her husband with a fork. She is frequently mentioned over the course of the show but seen only once. In that episode, she is released from prison and has an abusive affair with Bill.
Gribbles
- Dale Gribble (Johnny Hardwick) is the Hills' chain-smoking neighbor, insect exterminator, conspiracy theorist, and borderline maniac. He is also president of his gun club and a licensed bounty hunter, though the latter seems to be for prestige, because his bravado fails when he thinks that he may be in physical danger. (Though boastful, he is also a weakling.) He won't entirely resist stabbing Hank in the back for his own selfish gain but always finds himself suffering the consequences.
- Joseph Gribble (Brittany Murphy (prepubescent) / Breckin Meyer (pubescent)) is the muscular thirteen-year-old son of Dale (although John Redcorn is the biological father, unbeknownst to Dale and to Joseph himself). The running joke is that despite Joseph's obvious Native American features, Nancy's clearly sexual "healing sessions" with John Redcorn, and Dale's manic insistence of his insight into conspiracy theories, Dale is oblivious to that fact.
- Nancy Gribble (Ashley Gardner) is the wife of Dale and longtime weather girl on a local television station. She had a lengthy (ten+ years) affair with John Redcorn. She frequently addresses the other characters as "sug'" (i.e. short for "sugar").
Souphanousinphones
- Kahn Souphanousinphone (Toby Huss) is the Hills' materialistic, Laotian American next-door neighbor. He harbors a prejudice against whites and southern whites in particular. He frequently tries to show that because he has more money, he is superior to the others, but Hank has to bail him out on more than one occasion.
- Minh Souphanousinphone (Lauren Tom) is Kahn's wife. She is a housewife and grows roses in the front yard. She enjoys making occasional catty comments about the "redneck" neighbors, especially Peggy.
- Kahn "Connie" Souphanousinphone, Jr. (Lauren Tom) is the daughter of Kahn and Minh, violin player, and A-student. She dates Bobby for the latter majority of the show's run. She is named for her father because Kahn wanted a son (and he occasionally wrestles with the fact that he has a daughter).
- Doggy Souphanousinphone is a feisty West Highland White Terrier.
Other main characters
- Boomhauer (Mike Judge) is a womanizing bachelor friend of Hank whose mutterings seem incomprehensible to some people (although his associates almost always seem to understand him perfectly). Example: "Dang-ol'-dang-ol'-one-two-three, man, dang-ol', mumble mumble" Boomhauer's occupation is never revealed and has served as a gag in some episodes, but in one episode, if one listens closely, he mentions disability pay. Boomhauer's first name has never been revealed in the series.
- William Fontaine De la Tour Dauterive (a.k.a. Bill Dauterive) (Stephen Root) is the overweight, divorced, clinically depressed neighbor of the Hills and high-school friend of Hank. He was a barber in the United States Army. He frequently tries to flirt with and woo Peggy (not obsessively, more due to extreme loneliness) but for the most part seems oblivious to the fact that Peggy wants nothing to do with him (romantically, at least). One of his few sources of self-esteem is the fact that he was a blocker for the all-time leader in rushing touchdowns at Arlen High (Hank Hill). Also, in the episode "Bills Are Made To Be Broken," he is tied for Arlen High's single season rushing touchdowns record.
- John Redcorn (Jonathan Joss) is Nancy's former Native American "healer" and adulterous lover as well as the biological father of Joseph Gribble, former roadie for Winger, and former lead singer of Big Mountain Fudgecake. He drives a Jeep Wrangler and enjoys classic rock music and hair bands. A masseur, he generally works only on women and has his trailer wired to provide low light and Teddy Pendergrass music.
- Buck Strickland (Stephen Root), is owner of Strickland Propane, Hank's boss, a compulsive gambler, chauvinist, alcoholic, cheat, and adulterer/womanizer. Hank is blindly loyal to Buck, who generally treats Hank miserably.
Minor characters
- Buckley (David Herman) is the slacker boyfriend of Luanne who is vaporized in a propane explosion while working at Mega Lo Mart (deceased).
- Lenore Dauterive (Ellen Barkin) is Bill's ex-wife (also, in one episode, the name of his iguana). She is mentioned frequently throughout the course of the show but seen only once.
- Stuart Dooley (Mike Judge) is Bobby's deep voiced, laconic classmate. He has shaggy red hair. He always says something obvious (for example, to Bobby after witnessing a bully scare Bobby, "He scared you."). His character is based closely on the character Butt-head of Beavis and Butt-head.
- Eustis (David Herman) is a wimpy, moustached patent lawyer and father of Bobby's classmate Randy.
- Debbie Grund (Reese Witherspoon) is a former employee of Strickland Propane who was Buck Strickland's mistress. She once tries to seduce a horrified Hank. She accidentally kills herself while waiting to murder Buck and his wife Miz Liz Strickland (deceased).
- Lucky (Tom Petty) is a dimwitted local man living on government disability payments (He slipped in urine in a Costco bathroom.) and proud of it. He dates Luanne, to Hank and Peggy's consternation. He is also a former guitarist for John Redcorn's Big Mountain Fudgecake and occasionally plays gigs in biker bars.
- Chuck Mangione, playing himself, shamelessly promotes Mega Lo Mart until he grows tired of going to every Mega Lo Mart opening and becomes a hermit, living within the Arlen Mega-Lo Mart in a "Toilet Paper Castle" and stealing stocked items.
- Monsignor Martinez is the gun-toting priest hero of the fictional TV show Las Dias y Los Noches de Monsignor Martinez that appears in several episodes.
- Carl Moss (Dennis Burkley) is the principal of Tom Landry Middle School and one of Hank's high school classmates. Like most school administrators, his twin concerns are tight budgets and maintaining discipline. He once suspends Hank from teaching shop class on a temporary, volunteer basis due to a rule that prevents students from carrying weapons around campus.
- Octavio (Danny Trejo) is a Hispanic quasi-mercenary who does various favors for Dale, when paid enough money. His appearance was modeled after Danny Trejo.
- Miz Liz Strickland (Kathleen Turner) is the wife of Buck Strickland.
- Rev. Karen Stroup (Mary Tyler Moore) is the first female minister of Arlen First Methodist. She is originally from Minnesota but is assigned to Arlen after the previous minister left to start an online ministry.
- M. F. Thatherton (Burt Reynolds) is a former employee of Strickland Propane who strikes out on his own and opens up the crooked Thatherton Fuels company across the street from Strickland. He is a foil to Hank Hill.
- Toppington (aka Topsy) is an old wartime buddy of Cotton's. He often acts as an accomplice to Cotton's inane hate/revenge-driven schemes. In a later episode, he is left for dead by Cotton after a failed scheme; Cotton: "He's playing checkers with the worms."
- Chane Wasonasong is a smart but obnoxious classmate of Bobby and Connie. Connie's parents are constantly trying to fix her up with Chane, as they see him as a positive alternative to dating Bobby.
- Ted Wasonasong is Chane's father. Ted is an elitist (parodying stereotypes of affluent Asian-Americans) who elicits jealousy from Kahn. He is a senior member of the prestigious Nine Rivers Country Club, which has rejected Kahn's numerous attempts at gaining membership.
- Jimmy Wichard is a violent mentally retarded man. He has had several jobs, including concession manager at the racetrack and modern artist. He is revealed by Dale in a later episode, as to not being very bright nor stable, on account of staring at the hot sun all day long.
- Joe Jack is a fuel truck driver and co-worker with Hank at Strickland Propane. He has a drinking problem, as seen when he is a member of the Propaniacs. He has a habit of calling people "honey," regardless of gender.
About Arlen
The location of the fictional town (Arlen) relative to real-life locations is never explicitly stated within the show. References to Madero, Houston, and Wichita Falls 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 airplane trips, and Hank's hatred over Houston is common among Dallas citizens. Garland, Texas, Mike Judge's hometown, also lies near Dallas/Fort Worth. But in a Thanksgiving episode, Hank states that it will take them four hours to get to the DFW Intl. Airport. (This could be a reference to Dallas' traffic problems.) In several episodes, Hank's mail shows an address in the 78104 and 78701 ZIP codes, the postal numbers for Beeville, Texas and Austin, Texas, respectively. Also, the telephone number for Strickland Propane (painted on the truck) is in the 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 "Hank and the Great Glass Elevator," Bill tells Ann Richards that Rainey Street is only a few miles from Interstate 35.
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 as a haven of prostitution.
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 Lay-a-way Ray's bait-and-tackle shop (Ray was forced to burn it in order to collect the insurance.), its hardware store, and briefly, its propane supplier.
Themes & Analysis
Hank Hill is the most virtuous character on the show. 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 the Super Bowl 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, 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?"
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 play off of Hank's overly innocent and simplistic approach to life. Generally, when it comes to politics, the show champions Hank's small-town values and motivations while simultaneously poking fun at his small-minded and highly conservative worldview. Likewise, the local community of Arlen is often portrayed in a postive light while hefty criticisms are leveled at impersonal, uncaring bureaucratic institutions.
Hank is devoutly Republican (With regards to Ronald Reagan, he once says, "I miss voting for that man."), and the Hills are practicing Christians. 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." This presents the Republican criticism that an oversized welfare state creates laziness and hinders productivity. In the same episode, the OSHA and other employment regulatory agencies are ridiculed; after a new employee turns out to be a drug addict, Hank is forbidden by law from firing him because a drug addiction qualifies as a medical condition (and employers cannot discriminate on the basis of medical conditions). Soon, the other employees grow jealous and fabricate their own ailments to get out of working. A completely disgusted Hank quits his job, and his absence makes Strickland Propane a small enough company that they no longer have to abide by these regulations. This episode ridicules both extensive business regulation (which Republicans tend to oppose) and the absurd technicalities that an enormous federal government entails (another Republican criticism). Some might liken the character of Buck Strickland to President Lyndon Johnson - in one episode, a photograph is seen 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. 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 Mega Lo Mart serves as a parallel to the impact of big box retail on American commerce. Its presence has virtually eliminated most smaller local businesses and has supplanted them with impersonal retail and incompetent employees. Hank often speaks of the store with infamy.
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; they are 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, with their less accomplished son. The interactions between the Souphanousinphones and other Asian families (like the Wasonasongs) highlight that the Souphanousinphones are not as bad as they come across; they are merely the victims of the opportunism and social-climbing that their native cultures encourage but that their adoptive country disdains. Kahn and Minh operate on the premise that happiness is not as important as financial success and social acceptance. They frequently try to forge a romantic relationship between their daughter Connie and Chane Wasonasong, in hopes that this alliance will benefit 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, compared to her parents, are much more relaxed and tolerant.
The series also mocks the arbitrary nature of social customs and subjectivity of social appropriatness. This is clearly demonstrated by the Amish town scenario.
Texas connections
- Luly's Cafeteria is a take on the real-life Texas restaurant chain Luby's.
- 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 is often ridiculed by the other characters for being from Louisiana. This is a very subtle reference to the large Cajun population in East Texas (It also suggests that Arlen is closer to Houston than Dallas.).
- Arlen is located in Heimlich County. There is no county in Texas by that name; however this is a reference to the heavy German heritage of Texas.
- In one episode, Bill has a brief relationship with Ann Richards, who was the Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995. She was also Texas' second female Governor.
- Texas-based fast food restaurant Whataburger has appeared in multiple episodes.
Trivia
- All the main caucasian characters worship at Arlen First United Methodist Church, as does John Redcorn. The Souphanousinphones are Buddhists and follow the Dalai Lama, although they are shown worshipping at Arlen First in the episode in which Bobby accidentally burns down the church.
- Hank (much to his discomfort) learns when he is forty-one that he had been 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.
- Will Ferrell guest starred in the forty-seventh episode "Three Coaches & a Bobby," playing a children's soccer coach. He would again play a children's soccer coach in the 2005 film Kicking & Screaming.
- 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).
Episodes
See List of King of the Hill episodes.
DVD releases
- For details, see King of the Hill DVDs.
External links
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