After 13 seasons of educating viewers about “Propane and Propane Accessories”, Mike Judge’s animated series, King of the Hill, sadly comes to an end.
artwork by Anna Becker
As autumn approaches and students return to school, television networks also return to work, brainstorming ideas for new shows and continuing existing ones. However, this means letting some old or unpopular ones go. When the Fox network decided to air Seth MacFarlane’s new Family Guy spin-off cartoon, The Cleveland Show, they had to make room in their Animation Domination block on Sundays. Unfortunately, the show chosen for cancellation was King of the Hill.
Mike Judge is credited with not only writing King of the Hill, but also other comical works such as Beavis and Butt-head, Office Space, and Extract. He, along with former Simpson’s writer Greg Daniels, decided to create King of the Hill in early 1993, after the successful run of Beavis and Butt-head. Being a former resident of Garland (a suburb of Dallas), Texas, Judge decided to rename that town the fictional town of Arlen, and use it as the setting of his new cartoon. Although Alren was a fictional town in a cartoon series, the King of the Hill writers wanted viewers to feel as if they were watching a regular sitcom, so they often went to Texas for annual research trips. Judge also created many realistic people, hoping to use humor in conventional aspects of everyday life.
King of the Hill’s main characters, the Hill family (for whom the show is named) are small-town Methodists. Hank Hill (Mike Judge) is a calm but strict father and husband who loves his job selling “propane and propane accessories” for Strickland Propane. Hank’s wife, Peggy (Kathy Nazify, The Wedding Planner), is a Spanish substitute teacher who is good intentioned and open-minded. Their son, Bobby (Pamela Adlon, Sgt. Bilko), is an overweight class clown who Hank claims “ain’t right”. Hank and Peggy’s twenty-something niece, Luanne Platter (Brittany Murphy, The Dead Girl), lives with them and has a bubbly and fun-loving energy. In the last season Luanne got married and had a daughter with a mellow redneck named “Lucky” Kleinschmidt (Tom Petty).
When Hank is not working or with his family, chances are he is drinking beer with his three friends in their block’s alley. Dale Gribble (Johnny Hardwick) is often seen in his signature orange ball cap and shades, working as an exterminator and talking about his conspiracy theories. Although Bill Dauterive (Stephen Root, True Blood) has a friendly personality, his appearance is not as appealing. Bill is fat, bald, and often idiotic, living like a bum: alone and poor. As for Jeff Boomhauer (also Mike Judge), he is a womanizing playboy who mumbles so fast it is hard to understand a word he says, except for the frequent “dang” and “man”.
Buck Strickland (also Mike Judge) is the gambling, alcoholic, womanizing owner of Strickland Propane, where Hank is assistant manager, working alongside Joe Jack (Toby Huss, Reno 911), Enrique (Danny Trejo, Grindhouse’s Machete trailer), Debbie (Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line), and Donna (also Pamela Adlong). At Strickland Propane, Hank takes his job, and his loyalty to Buck seriously.
Other secondary characters on King of the Hill also seem to have unique, but true-to-life personalities. These characters include John Redcorn (an Indian healer who is often seen “healing” Dale’s wife, Nancy), the Souphanousinphones (The Hills’ Laotian, materialistic neighbors who often refer to Hank as “hillbilly” or “redneck”), and Cotton (Hank’s deranged, World War II veteran father who seems to dislike his own son). Like other great cartoon series, King of the Hill has had many famous celebrities including Chris Rock, Johnny Knoxville, Willie Nelson, and ZZ Top featured as guests.
King of the Hill is the second longest-running animated television series (behind The Simpsons), and has been named one of the greatest by various publications including Entertainment Weekly, Time, and TV Guide. However, with King of the Hill’s declining ratings, by January 2009, it was officially announced as cancelled. In order to give a proper bon voyage, Fox decided to air a series finale on September 13. The last scene was deep in accordance to the nature of the show, using a burger as a metaphor by showing Hank and Bobby both grilling in their yard. When the last burger was being grilled, Hank said, “Well, looks like this is the last one,” leaving the viewer feeling kind of sad.
While this may not be the episode to watch if one has never seen King of the Hill, the episode, Hank’s Back Story (103rd episode), is quite funny and uplifting. When Hank suffers from a fictional disease called “diminished gluteal syndrome” (a condition that has worn down Hank’s backside and has put pressure on his spine), he has to wear a prosthetic posterior. When Hank’s friends and father mock his medical problem he decides not to compete in an upcoming lawnmower race, fearing he will embarrass himself. Most King of the Hill episodes are outstanding, some even more so than episodes of The Simpsons. If Hank Hill were to give his opinion on King of the Hill’s cancellation, he would probably say: “I’ll tell you what, that cancellation ain’t right!”
