King of the Hill

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Image:Text document with red question mark.svg

This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations.

Image:Broom icon.svg

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (January 2008)

King of the Hill
Image:King of the Hill alley.jpg From left to right: Boomhauer, Hank, Dale, and Bill
Format	Animated Sitcom
Created by	Mike Judge Greg Daniels
Voices of	Mike Judge Kathy Najimy Pamela Segall Adlon Brittany Murphy Ashley Gardner Toby Huss Lauren Tom Stephen Root Johnny Hardwick David Herman Jonathan Joss
Country of origin	Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States
No. of seasons	12
No. of episodes	222 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	22 min. per episode
Broadcast
Original channel	FOX
Picture format	480i (SDTV)
Original run	January 12, 1997 – present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

King of the Hill is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a soft-satirical parody of "Middle American" lifestyle, epitomized by its titular family, the Hills, a suburban Methodist family proud of their Texas heritage. Unlike many animated sitcoms of its kind that generally feature impossible events, King of the Hill attempts to retain a moderatly realistic approach; featuring Americans with average IQs, dealing with unusual situations that occur in their suburban lives.

Judge and Greg Daniels conceived the series after a successful run with his earlier Beavis and Butthead on MTV, and the series debuted on the Fox Network on January 12, 1997, becoming an early hit. The series' popularity has also led to syndication by many local affiliates and the FX network as well as a number of international networks. The show has risen to become one of FOX's longest-running series, and the second longest running American animated series and sitcom, behind The Simpsons. In 2007, it was named by Time Magazine as one of the greatest television shows of all time.^[1] The title theme was written and performed by The Refreshments. King of the Hill has won two Emmy Awards and has been nominated for four since its inception.

Contents 1 Origins 2 Setting 3 Themes 4 Characters 4.1 Celebrity Voices 5 References in Other Shows 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Origins

In early 1995, after a successful run of Beavis and Butt-Head on MTV, Mike Judge co-created King of the Hill with former The Simpsons writer Greg Daniels. Judge is a former resident of Dallas, Texas suburb Garland, considered the basis of the setting of the series. Judge loosely based his creation of Hank Hill from a character in Beavis and Butt-Head.^[2] 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.^{[citation needed]} Although rumored to be modeled after Judge himself, Dale is based on Robert Patrick, whom Judge had originally wanted to voice the character.^[3]

Recently, King of the Hill joined the ranks of other Fox Network series like Futurama and Family Guy in its placement within a questionable time slot and has faced frequent preemptions from sporting events (mostly The NFL on FOX) featuring overtime play and post-game commentary. The series's tenth season was largely composed of episodes that did not get to air the previous season. During the tenth season in 2005, the show was scheduled to be canceled, however the series managed to attract high ratings and the idea was scrapped and the series was renewed.^[2] Fox renewed it for seasons eleven and twelve, making it the second longest-running animated televisions series after The Simpsons.^[4]

After its debut, the series became a huge success for the Fox Network and was named one of the television series by various publications, including Entertainment Weekly, Time and TV Guide. For the 1998 season, the series outperformed The Simpsons in ratings, and brought more viewers to its lead-out program The X-Files. It quickly became the highest rated program, finishing behind The X-Files and in-front of The Simpsons. Fox also earned a double profit from the series success, since Twentieth Century Fox produced the show.

[edit] Setting

Main article: Arlen, Texas

King of the Hill is set in Arlen, Texas. Although the town of Arlen is entirley fictional, thanks to research conducted by its creators, the culture, locale and characters resonate with viewers.^[2] Characters in the series make mention to Austin and Houston as if they are located near by.

Like most fictional towns, the basis for the town does not originate from one specific place. Despite conflicting information in various episodes, fans speculate the inspiration for the fictional town named Arlen is Temple, Texas, based on locations noted throughout the show both in word and on maps in various episodes.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Themes

Image:Emblem-important.svg

This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (January 2008)

King of the Hill uses the standard set-up of a situational comedy or "sitcom" as its premise, depicting a family and their lives in a typical American town. It documents the Hill's day-to-day-lives in the small Texas town of Arlen, exploring modern themes ranging from parent-child relationships, to friendship and loyalty, to justice, and patriotism. As an animated sitcom, however, King of the Hill's scope is generally larger than that of a regular sitcom.

[edit] Characters

Image:Acap.svg

This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling. You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available.(January 2008)

Main article: List of characters in King of the Hill

The patriarch of the Hills is Hank Hill, a salesman of propane and propane accessories, who has an obsession with his lawn and the Dallas Cowboys. Hank strongly resembles Mr. Anderson from Beavis and Butthead, largely because Hank was based on him. He is uncomfortable with intimacy and sexuality but has a healthy relationship with his wife, as well as the rest of his family. Hank's trademark grunting sigh in times of discomfort and the phrase "I tell you what" are running gags on the series. In contrast with his emotional distance with the members of his family, he dotes unashamedly on his dog Ladybird. Hank is also known to be passively prejudicial in a sexist manner, disallowing his son Bobby from any untraditional and "feminine" activities. Hank is married to Peggy Hill a substitute Spanish teacher who has a mediocre grasp of the language (referring to it phonetically as "es-pa-nole"). Peggy is also a freelance newspaper columnist, notary public, and Boggle champion. Peggy frequently speaks the phrases "Ho, yeah!" when she exerts effort into a task, and "Oh, Peggy!", a self-compliment after a perceived accomplishment. Usually well-meaning and open-minded, she often displays her naïveté and arrogance; with an inflated sense of her intelligence and appearance, she considers herself knowledgeable, clever physically attractive but is blind to the truth due—most likely—to severe narcissism.

The two have a son, Bobby Hill, Hank and Peggy's chubby 13-year-old son, wants to be a famous prop comic when he is older. Bobby lacks his father's athletic prowess, dislikes most sports with the exception of football, which he attempted to play, and soccer. He also attempted baseball, wrestling and ran track in several episodes. He has a rather wacky sense of humor that clashes with Hank's more collected manner. Bobby's inclination towards pop phenomena such as the Spice Girls and comments such as "He's handsome" (in reference to race car driver Jeff Gordon) are taken by Hank as signs that Bobby may be a homosexual even though the audience can easily recognize their harmless and unindicative nature. Hank's discomfort with Bobby's proclivities is a regular narrative element in the series, and he has stated this with phrases like "The boy ain't right" and "What has the MTV done to you, son?". In addition to the lead family, the show includes an array of quirky characters: co-workers, teachers, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople and local celebrities. Occasionally, the series features guest stars.

[edit] Celebrity Voices

In addition, the show has many celebrity appearances, though rarely as themselves. Brad Pitt, Trace Adkins, Pamela Anderson, Jennifer Aniston, Will Arnett, Tom Arnold, Diedrich Bader, Big Boi, Clint Black, Lisa Hartman Black, Brooks & Dunn, Gary Busey, Drew Carey, Kelly Clarkson, David Cross, Johnny Depp, Laura Dern, Ani DiFranco, Snoop Dogg, Dale Earnhardt, Will Ferrell, Sally Field, John Goodman, Nathan Fillion, John Force, Brendan Fraser, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Vince Gill, Topher Grace, Green Day, Kirk Hammett, Dennis Hopper, Michael Keaton, Jamie Kennedy, Kid Rock, Johnny Knoxville, Laura Linney, Lucy Liu, Tone Lōc, Bernie Mac, Danny Masterson, Matthew McConaughey, Willie Nelson, No Doubt, Laura Prepon, John Ritter, Chris Rock, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Cybil Shepherd, Gene Simmons, Ben Stiller, Meryl Streep, Sum 41, Mikey Teutul, Paul Teutul Jr., Paul Teutul Sr., Randy Travis, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, Alan Rickman, Mo Collins, Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, and all three members of ZZ Top, Jeff Goldblum, with Dusty Hill as Hank's cousin.

Jazz musician Chuck Mangione has a recurring part as himself. Musician Tom Petty has a recurring role as Lucky, the significant other of Luanne Platter.

[edit] References in Other Shows

• The series is occasionally referenced in The Simpsons. The Hill family was once (briefly) seen in "Bart Star" (with Dale, Bill and Boomhauer visible in the background), where Bart Simpson and his football team badly defeat Arlen's team, with Hank making the remark: "We drove 2,000 miles for this?" In "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo", Barney imitates Homer in order to put drinks on his tab at Moe's, saying "D'oh!, woohoo!, uh... that boy ain't right." The last is a catchphrase of Hank Hill, not Homer Simpson. In "Helter Shelter", in which the Simpson house undergoes fumigation, the family questions one another on where to live. Homer decides to stand outside the house and wait. He opens a beer, and the King of the Hill theme tune plays and, as with the theme of King of the Hill, time speeds up and events occur rapidly while Homer takes sips of beer, just as Hank does. Upon finding that only a few minutes have passed, Homer gives up. In "Missionary: Impossible", Hank can be seen at the end of the episode working the PBS-style pledge phonelines for the FOX network. In "Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays", while Bart and Lisa are fighting over the remote control, it stops on one channel and although the viewer cannot see the screen they hear an imitation of Hank's voice saying "Bobby, I've got propane in my urethra," combining three recurring elements of the show.
• In the Family Guy episode "One If By Clam, Two If By Sea", the guys stand in front of the alley and act out the famous "Yep" scene after their bar has been taken over by British people. In "Petergeist", Peter begins to peel off his face in front of a mirror until Hank Hill's face is revealed underneath. He then says "heheheh... propane."
• In the episode "Cartoon Wars Part II" of the series South Park, when Cartman and Kyle are fighting at Fox Studios, they pass through cubicles with signs that say "King of the Hill - 11th Season." Mike Judge has been friends with South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker since he advised them on how to deal with the cult status of a cartoon in 1997 and provided the unmuffled voice of Kenny in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.
• Hank, Bill, and Dale are parodied on Godzilla: The Series; known as the "Red Neck Hunters", recurring villains who attempt to hunt Godzilla as a trophy.
• In an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, "Squirrel Jokes" when SpongeBob tells squirrel jokes, a fish that looks like Hank Hill can be seen in the audience.
• Boomhauer is referenced in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode featuring the movie Squirm. A character in the movie mumbles something incoherently, to which Tom Servo replies, "Thanks, Hank Hill's friend."
• In the PC game Starcraft, clicking repeatedly on a Terran Firebat unit will eventually result in the Firebat asking, "Do you have any questions about propane?" followed by "Or propane accessories?" This is a direct reference to Hank Hill's recurring statement about selling "propane and propane accessories."
• In the episode "Lost in Parking Space, Part One" of the comedy show Drawn Together, while the character Foxxy Love is in a local Hot Topic, she comes across a King of the Hill Boredom Helmet. After putting it on and standing still for a few seconds, she exclaims "Oooh! This is almost as boring as the show itself!".

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• King of the Hill (Fox Broadcasting Company site)
• King of the Hill at the Internet Movie Database
• King of the Hill at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• King of the Hill at TV.com
• King of the Hill: Evidence That Compassionate Conservatives Really Do Exist in Texas

v • d • e King of the Hill

Hank Hill — Peggy Hill — Bobby Hill — Luanne Platter — Cotton Hill — Tilly Hill — G. H. Hill — Ladybird Hill — Dale Gribble — Joseph Gribble — Nancy Gribble — Kahn Souphanousinphone — Minh Souphanousinphone — Connie Souphanousinphone — Boomhauer — Bill Dauterive — John Redcorn — M. F. Thatherton — Chuck Mangione — Monsignor Martinez Mike Judge — Kathy Najimy — Pamela Segall Adlon Brittany Murphy — Ashley Gardner — Toby Huss — Lauren Tom — Stephen Root — Johnny Hardwick — David Herman — Jonathan Joss Episode list — DVDs — List of characters — Alamo Beer — Arlen — Mega Lo Mart — Strickland Propane

v • d • e Mike Judge
Films directed: Beavis and Butt-Head Do America • Office Space • Idiocracy Television series created: Office Space (Milton/SNL shorts) • Beavis and Butt-head • King of the Hill

de:King of the Hill

es:King of the Hill fr:King of the Hill is:King of the Hill it:King of the Hill he:המלך היל ja:キング・オブ・ザ・ヒル pt:King of the Hill sq:King of the Hill simple:King of the Hill fi:Kukkulan kuningas sv:King of the Hill