King of the Hill Appreciation Thread

[pap64]

I've been dying to do this sort of thing for a while.

In my honest opinion, Adult Swim made one of the smartest decisions at the end of the year: pick up the syndicated seasons of King of the Hill for show on its lineup. Brilliant, simply because its been years since I last saw the series and this gave me the opportunity to see what I had missed. And I was so happy.

King of the Hill is, simply put, one of the best animated sitcoms of its time. Its a very rare show in that it achieves humor by creating endearing characters and fun stories, many based on real life events and occurrences. The funny is that one time me and a couple of friends were talking about this series and they said that "the show was making fun of Texans and how dumb they were, but they were so dumb that they didn't realize the show was making fun of them".

Looking back, this was a rather racist comment towards Texans and an insult towards the show. Yeah, the show strives to make fun of Texans beliefs on occasions, but the show is very universal. The characters feel real and you can identify with them, whether you are Asian, American, Puertorican etc.

I just can't stress enough how great the writing is. The stories are all winners, save for a few stinkers and do a great job of establishing wonderfully ironic moments. Like for example, Dale Gribble is so caught up with his conspiracy theories that he is unaware through half of the seasons that he is living one very real threat; infidelity.

Peggy Hill is my favorite character. Me being a teacher, I can relate to her problems as a teacher and her personality is winning. Warm and cheerful and very confident without being obnoxious. I love her.

Hell even Kahn, which is a character you love to hate, comes through on many episodes as a man who has visions of grandeur due to feeling unappreciated and belittled by people. Its fantastic writing.

My only issues with the show actually come in the later seasons. As with most shows as it goes on the writing becomes weaker and weaker, often developing the hell out of one character while ignoring another. For example, Bill was given MANY female characters to interact with and NONE of them stuck. Meanwhile, Cotton Hill, Hank's father, gets married, has a kid, loses his home, loses his veteran home and dies while having an argument with Peggy. Maybe its just the whiny writer in me, but couldn't we develop some of the other characters beyond their roles as comic roles/pathos/annoyance etc.?

There were also inconsistence with backstories. During the first seasons we never knew that Peggy had a rocky relationship with her mother. In fact, in the few scenes we see her she looks like Peggy and is seen as a 50s type mother, right down to her personality. Then, we learn that she is a cattle rancher in Montana and hates her daughter? Not only that, we are given an un satisfactory episode about it. Again, writer in me is whining, but really. If I ever decide to write a novel, I will make a character for each character and make sure to keep them consistent.

But despite with these issues common among many shows and isn't exclusive to King of the Hill its still better than most shows during their 10 or 15th seasons (I'm looking at you Simpsons!) and its just plain fun.

But I've rambled enough. What do you guys think?

[dvdjunkie]

I hope you realize that you are in the minority here. "King of the Hill" is one of the POOREST animated comedies on television today. Why do you think it got canceled from the Fox Schedule. I read somewhere that Disney uses like 100 cells a second for its animated features, and a television show like this is lucky to use 100 cells in the whole 30 minutes.

I never really got into the "Hill"'s because of the animation. I have tried to watch it several different times and it just grates on me, their sense of humor (Or lack of it) and I hope that Adult Swim puts in on after 11 p.m. so the little kids are subjected to this adult material.

I still can't believe that "The Simpson" are showing in syndication around 5 and 6 pm across the country.

[xxhplinkxx]

I never really watched KotH until it started airing on [adult swim] and I must say, I enjoy it. Bobby and Peggy are probably my favorites, but they're all pretty funny.

And, uh, as for your comment on it being canceled... ok, maybe it was, but it lasted 14 seasons.

[tsom]

I LOVE King of the Hill!

It's very hilarious and the humor is sort of subtle, but I enjoy watching it. I'm going to miss it while it's gone.

I'm hoping that Dale finds out the paternity of Joseph before it ends for good!

[pap64]

I hope you realize that you are in the minority here. "King of the Hill" is one of the POOREST animated comedies on television today. Why do you think it got canceled from the Fox Schedule. I read somewhere that Disney uses like 100 cells a second for its animated features, and a television show like this is lucky to use 100 cells in the whole 30 minutes.

I never really got into the "Hill"'s because of the animation. I have tried to watch it several different times and it just grates on me, their sense of humor (Or lack of it) and I hope that Adult Swim puts in on after 11 p.m. so the little kids are subjected to this adult material.

I still can't believe that "The Simpson" are showing in syndication around 5 and 6 pm across the country.

Not to sound like a jerk or anything like that, but considering the series lasted over 14 seasons, earned very high ratings during its running as well as awards and critical acclaim I think you are the minority in that train of thought.

You say its the poorest, but compared to what? Have you even seen Family Guy or American Dad? While KotH might not be the tour the force in comedy but it does something very few comedies do; mix humor with storytelling.

Really, go watch the one hour block on Adult Swim, then stay tuned for Family Guy and the difference is as day and night.

As for the animation I agree its not the show's strongest asset, but that's not the point. Its all about the story. And even then, in comparison to other animated sitcoms the animation is really good with elaborate sets and some interesting character design.

Once again, compare KotH to Family Guy and you'll realize that KotH at least tries to insert life into its characters.

Once again, sorry if I come off as a jerk. Note that I don't mind that you don't think the show is great. I realize that the show's humor isn't for everybody, in the same way that Family Guy's humor is not for everybody. Humor is a subjective thing and what may be funny to you might be stupid or dumb to me, and vice versa. But the fact that you say "I hope you realize you are the minority here" says to me that you are trying to use your dislike of the show as fact that everybody hates it just annoys me a bit.

If you can, watch the South Park episode "Cartoon Wars" and you'll see what I mean.

[dvdjunkie]

pap64 wrote:

As for the animation I agree its not the show's strongest asset, but that's not the point. Its all about the story. And even then, in comparison to other animated sitcoms the animation is really good with elaborate sets and some interesting character design.

There are NO animated shows on television (Family Guy, American Dad, Simpsons, King of the Hill, et al) that are what I would call good animation. They are cheaply made, their toilet humor gets very old after a while, and the subject matter is just not my cup of tea.

If it isn't animated by Disney or Warner Bros. I will not watch it. They use more film cels in their 7 minute cartoons than these 30-minute attempts at humor could ever use. I can just imagine how many of you will be watching "The Goode Family" when it airs on ABC.

[PeterPanfan]

^ You sure seem to know a lot about what you say you "hate."

[pap64]

pap64 wrote:

As for the animation I agree its not the show's strongest asset, but that's not the point. Its all about the story. And even then, in comparison to other animated sitcoms the animation is really good with elaborate sets and some interesting character design.

There are NO animated shows on television (Family Guy, American Dad, Simpsons, King of the Hill, et al) that are what I would call good animation. They are cheaply made, their toilet humor gets very old after a while, and the subject matter is just not my cup of tea.

If it isn't animated by Disney or Warner Bros. I will not watch it. They use more film cels in their 7 minute cartoons than these 30-minute attempts at humor could ever use. I can just imagine how many of you will be watching "The Goode Family" when it airs on ABC.

I'm sorry for saying this, but you are being biased and making yourself look like a fool. From the way you pile up King of the Hill with the Seth McFarlane you are telling me that you have not seen one episode of the show and assume that since its on Fox and is created by the same guy who did Beavis and Butthead its crude and lowbrow.

King of the Hill's story comes from the amusing personalities and stories, not from pop culture references or fart jokes. Its very rare that they use a fart joke, and when they do they use them to show a character in bad health or letting one out by accident. Its not like in Family Guy where fart jokes are glorified in an annoying manner.

And going back to the animation I implore you to watch an episode and compare it to the rest of the shows on Adult Swim. It is not Disney or Warner Bros. quality but you seriously expect EVERY TV show to have that type of quality for 30 plus episodes? At the very least the characters are well drawn with good animation and facial expressions and detailed backgrounds.

The Disney Afternoon shows looked good, but remember that these were outsourced to other countries. The Warner Bros. series from the 90s were also outsourced and you can clearly see the change of quality with each episode.

Once again sorry for saying this but it looks like you have no idea what the show is about and you are writing it off since its not Disney or Warner Bros. and on Fox with the Seth Mcfarlane shows (as an FYI King of the Hill is being canceled to make room for another McFarlane show, The Cleveland Show). Once you actually saw not just an episode but the whole series you can come back and tell me you are not a fan of this.

As of now, you are being a snub. Next time if someone asks you if you are an animation fan, you should state that you are a fan of Disney and Warner Bros. animation, because when you say you are a fan of animation you are saying that you enjoy the medium and have experienced many types of animation.

Look I LOVE Disney and Warner Bros. is great, but I won't let my great respect for them tarnish my appreciation towards other animation series, movies and projects because I am likely to find hidden treasures and amazing talent that I would have missed if I limited my scope to just Disney.

[tsom]

To be honest, I don't even pay attention to the animation in animated movies and televison shows. If I watch something, it's because I really like the story, characters, etc. Hence, I watch King of the Hill, The Simpsons, and Family Guy because I find them hilarious. I'm also pretty pumped for The Cleveland Show, although I feel bad that King of the Hill is getting canceled after so many years.

[Lazario]

I think it's a very good show. But the characters kind of bore me. It's like - you see one episode and that's filling enough for at least a month for me.

[PixarFan2006]

I think KotH is an okay show, but I honestly do not laugh at it most of the time. I also do not care for the newer episodes much (With the character Lucky, who I find annoying). I only own the first three seasons on DVD.

[littlefuzzy]

First off, to DVD Junkie... I watched about 5 minutes of Disney's Tarzan, and had to turn it off... After I saw the exact same leaf shadow pattern go across the screen for the thirtieth time, I realized that the show was cheaper than ANY of the cheapquels ever hoped to be... I don't really know how most of the other Disney shows stack up. Well, Gargoyles, Rescue Rangers, TailSpin, and others of that ilk are fine, but the newer stuff seems pretty bad (Little Mermaid, Stitch, etc.) Warner Brothers, on the other hand, especially with Animaniacs... GREAT STUFF!

=====

I was watching King of the Hill when it first started, and I had even picked up the first season. After a while, though,, it just started to grate on me. It was TOO redneck-y, and the jokes started getting stale... Bill is a loser, Dale is a conspiracy theorist who can't see that his son is actually from the wife's "headache therapist", Hank sells propane and propane accessories, Khan is just annoying, Bobby isn't really a Manly man, Peggy teaches school and has big feet, and Cotton was just a racist, chauvinist jerk.

King of the Hill turned into more of an animated sitcom (that didn't really do anything that couldn't happen in real life,) as opposed to a cartoon like Beavis & Butthead, The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, and so on...

Now, I like B&B (it's stupid, but funny) Office Space, and Idiocracy, although the latter is more depressing than anything because it's going to come true...

[pap64]

I was watching King of the Hill when it first started, and I had even picked up the first season. After a while, though,, it just started to grate on me. It was TOO redneck-y, and the jokes started getting stale... Bill is a loser, Dale is a conspiracy theorist who can't see that his son is actually from the wife's "headache therapist", Hank sells propane and propane accessories, Khan is just annoying, Bobby isn't really a Manly man, Peggy teaches school and has big feet, and Cotton was just a racist, chauvinist jerk.

King of the Hill turned into more of an animated sitcom (that didn't really do anything that couldn't happen in real life,) as opposed to a cartoon like Beavis & Butthead, The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, and so on...

Now, I like B&B (it's stupid, but funny) Office Space, and Idiocracy, although the latter is more depressing than anything because it's going to come true...

I have to agree about the personalities and joke not evolving enough as the show went on. It annoyed me how Bill met promising women only for the writers to forget about her and continue with their jokes about him being depressed. This is even more annoying given the fact that the supporting characters seem to receive the most attention than the lead characters (like I mentioned in my first post, Cotton Hill got re-married, had a kid, lost his home, lost his war veteran home and died in a heated argument with Peggy while Luanne left beauty school, enrolled in community college, dropped out of community college, graduated from beauty school, got married and had a baby girl from Lucky the redneck).

But like I said, this is a common problem with most, if not all, sitcoms and animated comedies due to the fact that writers are tired of the storylines and are afraid to change because the fans might bash them and say the series jumped the shark.

I mean, after years of being in the air, would they accept a sane Dale that realized that his wife cheated on him and that his kid isn't his but is happy with it? Would they accept Bill as a loser who became a winner by marrying a wonderful woman and having his first ever child? Finally, would fans want to see Hank quit Strickland Propane because he got tired of how corrupt Buck really is?

Character development can be a huge double edged sword as you risk alienating your fans if you change the character too much or if you don't change him/her at all.

But even with these issues they manage to create captivating and fun stories that sometimes manage to be very heartfelt and honest, even with the tired jokes.