History WesternAnimation / KingoftheHill

* ALessonLearnedTooWell: {{Defied}}. In "Rich Hank, Poor Hank", Bobby mistakenly thinks that his father is rich when he overhears Hank telling Peggy about his $1000 annual bonus from work but mistakenly gets the idea that Hank makes that much per day. At first, Bobby tries to get his father to spend his money, which backfires when Hank tries to teach Bobby the value of a dollar by showing how much money Bobby spent and suggests Bobby could make money by taking littered cans to the recycling center, but this only reinforces Bobby's misjudgment that Hank is being stingy. Bobby steals Hank emergency credit card and goes to the mall. After Bobby is caught and he tells Hank he knows he rich, Hank clarifies Bobby's earlier misconceptions -- the $1000 check was an annual bonus and the strongbox of oil receipts was a collection of receipts what Hank has spent on the truck, such as oil changes, instead of deeds to oil wells that Bobby assumed them to be. Bobby also learns that he's personally responsible for spending their entire monthly entertainment budget on music CDs. They return all of the items which Bobby had purchased, save for a nonrefundable jet ski. Bobby, feeling bad for the trouble he caused and learning of his family's real income, works hard at his punishment and adopting Hank's attitude towards the value of a hard day's work and an honest dollar. At first, Hank is happy and proud of Bobby, but when they try to sell the jet ski to a rich father buying it for his spoiled son Eric, Hank becomes uncomfortable when he sees that Bobby is too eager to please Eric, who treats him like garbage. This prompts Hank to decide not to sell the jet ski to Eric's father. As Hank and Bobby ride the jet ski to test it, he tells Bobby they're not selling the jet ski, they will sell it in a year and carry it on his credit card until then. The episode ends with Hank and Bobby talking about a responsible way to use a credit card and Hank happy that Bobby learned his lesson about earnest work and not behaving like that spoiled brat.

One thing that stands out the most about the series is that unlike most other animated sitcoms that feature wacky or outlandish situations (i.e. ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', and all of their myriad offspring), ''King of the Hill'' attempts to retain realism by seeking humor in the otherwise conventional, making it the polar opposite of Judge's previous show ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead''.

** In "Strangeness on a Train," Dale takes great pride in [[IronicBirthday Peggy having horrible birthdays]]. When Peggy arranges for a {{Disco}}-themed [[ThrillerOnTheExpress murder-mystery dinner party on a train ride]], Dale anticipates it becoming yet another lousy Peggy Hill birthday. When [[BirthdayPartyGoesWrong it does happen]] (due to [[TheDitz Luanne]] accidentally revealing the murder victim before the train even pulls out of the station, the refrigeration going out (and ruining the planned dinner and cake), the train traveling through dry counties (meaning no alcoholic beverages), and [[MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces Hank and Peggy having sex in the train's restroom]] leading to Khan trying to match up the couple's feet with the footprints on the mirror), Dale initially enjoys it and [[JerkAss tries to fuel Peggy's misery]]. But when everyone gets kicked off the train (Hank distracted everyone from the mystery by scaring the engineer into stopping the train), Dale notices how upset Peggy really is and starts to genuinely feel sorry for her...

* BirthdayPartyGoesWrong: "Strangeness on a Train" reveals that Peggy has this happen to her ''every single year'', leading her to feel like her birthday is cursed. It's mentioned that past birthdays involved flash floods, food poisoning, Peggy getting hit by a foul ball, and being robbed at gunpoint, while the one depicted in the episode is part of a Disco-themed murder-mystery party on a train. The things that go wrong include [[TooDumbToLive Luanne spoiling the mystery when asking about why a specific character would want to kill her]], the train's freezer breaking (meaning no food), being stuck in dry counties (meaning no liquor), and having to deal with a rude conductor with a zero tolerance attitude. On the other hand, [[MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces Hank and Peggy have sex in the bathroom]], and after they get kicked off the train and end up in a bar for a DancePartyEnding, meaning it's probably the best birthday Peggy's ever had.

* ALessonLearnedTooWell: {{Defied}}. In "Rich Hank, Poor Hank", Bobby mistakenly thinks that his father is rich when he overhears Hank telling Peggy about his $1000 annual bonus from work but mistakenly gets the idea that Hank makes that much per day. At first, Bobby tries to get his father to spend his money, which backfires when Hank tries to teach Bobby the value of a dollar by showing how much money Bobby spent and suggests Bobby could make money by taking littered cans to the recycling center, but this only reinforces Bobby's misjudgment that Hank is being stingy. Bobby steals Hank emergency credit card and goes to the mall. After Bobby is caught and he tells Hank he knows he rich, Hank clarifies Bobby's earlier misconceptions -- the $1000 check was an annual bonus and the strongbox of oil receipts was a collection of receipts what Hank has spent on the truck, such as oil changes. They return all of the items which Bobby had purchased, save for a nonrefundable jet ski. Bobby, feeling bad for the trouble he caused and learning of his family's real income, works hard at his punishment and adopting Hank's attitude towards the value of a hard day's work and an honest dollar. At first, Hank is happy and proud of Bobby, but when they try to sell the jet ski to a rich father buying it for his spoiled son Eric, Hank becomes uncomfortable when he sees that Bobby is too eager to please Eric, who treats him like garbage. This prompts Hank to decide not to sell the jet ski to Eric's father. As Hank and Bobby ride the jet ski to test it, he tells Bobby they're not selling the jet ski, they will sell it in a year and carry it on his credit card until then. The episode ends with Hank and Bobby talking about a responsible way to use a credit card and Hank happy that Bobby learned his lesson about earnest work and not behaving like that spoiled brat.

** Hank and his father have a lot in common, mainly in how they treat their son and how that affects them. Hank's so uptight because Cotton would scream at him any time he ever showed the slightest hint of emotion. It has been hinted numerous times that Bobby’s nïevete is mainly due to the fact that Hank refuses to appreciate his other skills. For example, in "The Witches of East Arlen", Bobby loses his part in the play ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}'' to Ken Hayashi, another actor, and begins to doubt what he is good at. He always thought that acting was his "thing." At the behest of Peggy, Hank takes him to the flea market to find something new, preferably something Hank would approve of. And anyone who saw the sheer loof of determination in Bobby's eyes in "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Clown" after Hank told him that he didn’t find him funny will know that he went on that stage to prove Hank wrong.

** Jimmy Witchard, the dim-witted jerk who Bobby is forced to work concession for. He pushes Bobby around and forces him to do humiliating and dangerous things, and Hank unknowingly guilt trips Bobby into accepting it without complaint. Luckily, he digs his own grave when Hank happens to catch him trying to force Bobby to cross a speedway [[TooDumbToLive mid-race]] to deliver something, leading to a literal asskicking.

* BirthdayPartyGoesWrong: "Strangeness on a Train" reveals that Peggy has this happen to her ''every single year'', leading her to feel like her birthday is cursed. It's mentioned that past birthdays involved flash floods, food poisoning, Peggy getting hit by a foul ball, and being robbed at gunpoint, while the one depicted in the episode is part of a Disco-themed murder-mystery party on a train. The things that go wrong include [[{{Jerkass}} Dale spoiling the mystery]], the train's freezer breaking (meaning no food), being stuck in dry counties (meaning no liquor), and having to deal with a rude conductor with a zero tolerance attitude. On the other hand, [[MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces Hank and Peggy have sex in the bathroom]], and after they get kicked off the train and end up in a bar for a DancePartyEnding, meaning it's probably the best birthday Peggy's ever had.

* AngerIsHealthyAesop: ''[[Recap/KingOfTheHillS7E7TheTexasSkilsawMassacre The Texas Skilsaw Massacre]]'', in this episode Hank is sentenced to anger management classes after accidentally cutting off Dale's finger. After seeing Big Jim die of a heart attack caused by his uncontrolled anger, Hank takes the classes much more seriously and learns to suppress his anger. However, when he learns that his friends have a series of poorly made tunnels to connect their houses, Hank tries to calmly explain that they could get crushed inside the tunnel by an approaching garbage truck because the tunnels are only supported by a thin layer of dirt. When patiently reasoning only leads to being rudely ignored (by both his buddies and the truck driver), Hank snaps and yells angry threats of committing violence if they don't get out. This outburst actually saves his friends as they quickly get out before the tunnel collapses under the weight of the garbage truck.

** Big Jim, though he was only featured in one episode. He befriends Hank when they meet at an anger management class. At one point, he gets so angry that he ends up dying of a heart attack.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: In "Movin' On Up", Tanya, Luanne's roommate, is always shown barefoot, being a lazy deadbeat who will shuck shoes anytime she's holed away indoors.

'''Nurse (who Weissman had insulted earlier):''' I don't hear ''[[KickTheSonOfABitch a thing]]''.

* AnachronismStew: [[invoked]] In the episode "Joust Like a Woman", Hank and Peggy visit a Renaissance fair that is stated to imitate England in 1590. The boss is "King Philip." In 1590, England had [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethI a queen]]. Also, the costumes for the working wenches exposes too much skin, and King Philip's outfit looks more like a medieval outfit. Not to mention there was never a King Philip of England.[[note]]Well, there sort of technically was: [[UsefulNotes/MaryTudor Mary I]] had her husband Philip II of Spain proclaimed King of England ''jure uxoris''. However, basically everyone has ignored that since the moment Mary died.[[/note]] Peggy attempts to correct some of the inaccuracies, and that is the start of Philip disliking her.

* LongTitle:
** [[Music/PaulaCole "I Don't Want to Wait for Our Lives to Be Over,]] I Want to Know Right Now, Will It Be... Sorry. Do Do Doo Do Do, Do Do Doo Do Do, Do Do Doo Do Do, Doo..." (often just abbreviated to "I Don't Want to Wait").
** "When Joseph Met Lori, and Made Out with Her in the Janitor's Closet".
** "What Happens at the National Propane Gas Convention in Memphis Stays at the National Propane Gas Convention in Memphis".
** "Serves Me Right for Giving General George S. Patton the Bathroom Key".
** [[Film/DrStrangelove "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Alamo"]].
** "[[Music/TheRollingStonesBand Jumpin' Crack Bass (It's a Gas, Gas, Gas).]]"
** "Transnational Amusements Presents: Peggy's Magic Sex Feet".

* AnachronismStew: [[invoked]] In the episode "Joust Like a Woman", Hank and Peggy visit a Renaissance fair that is stated to imitate England in 1590. The boss is "King Philip." In 1590, England had a queen. Also, the costumes for the working wenches exposes too much skin, and King Philip's outfit looks more like a medieval outfit. Not to mention there was never a King Philip of England. Peggy attempts to correct some of the inaccuracies, and that is the start of Philip disliking her.

-->'''Bill:''' I wish ''I'' had a son to kick me in the groin.\\

''King of the Hill'' is a [[LongRunners long running]] animated sitcom created by Creator/MikeJudge and Greg Daniels that aired from 1997 to 2010.

* {{Crossover}}: With ''WesternAnimation/SilverSurfer'' of all things during the "Head For The Hills" promotion with Creator/FoxKids.

His family includes his wife Peggy (Creator/KathyNajimy), a substitute Spanish teacher [[SmallNameBigEgo who is a little too prideful of her abilities]]; his son Bobby (Creator/PamelaAdlon), a sensitive, naive and somewhat awkward child who's far from the athletic type that Hank hoped for (though he loves him all the same); and his ditzy niece, Luanne Platter (Creator/BrittanyMurphy), who fled her trailer-trash upbringing to come live with the Hills for the first few seasons. Hank also has plenty of conflicts with his father Cotton (Creator/TobyHuss), a misogynistic World War II veteran, and his uptight Laotian next-door neighbor Kahn (Huss).

His family includes his wife Peggy (Creator/KathyNajimy), a substitute Spanish teacher [[SmallNameBigEgo who is a little too prideful about her abilities]]; his son Bobby (Creator/PamelaAdlon), a sensitive, naive and somewhat awkward child who's far from the athletic type that Hank hoped for (though he loves him all the same); and his ditzy niece, Luanne Platter (Creator/BrittanyMurphy), who fled her trailer-trash upbringing to come live with the Hills for the first few seasons. Hank also has plenty of conflicts with his father Cotton (Creator/TobyHuss), a misogynistic World War II veteran, and his uptight Laotian next-door neighbor Kahn (Huss).

* HasTwoMommies: Referenced in the cold open for "To Spank With Love":
--> '''Joseph:''' Your mom's as cool as most people's dads.\\
'''Bobby:''' It's like that book they took out of the library: ''I've Got Two Dads''.\\
'''Hank:''' No, you ''don't''.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: It's said that Hank has fertility problems caused by his narrow urethra. But in reality, the width of the urethra has little, if any, impact on male fertility.

* TheThemeParkVersion: In "The Company Man", Hank has to do business with a pushy Bostonian who seems to think Texas is/should be this. In order to keep his business, Hank tries to conform to the man's beliefs, making himself an ExtremeDoormat (as Peggy points out). After a [[NotSoDifferent heart-to-heart with a stripper]], Hank finally tells the man off, who goes to Thatherton Fuels to get what he wants. However, in the deleted scene from the DVD version, his wife, who was kept by Peggy's company, is the actual owner of the business and decides to go with Strickland Propane.

* TheThemeParkVersion: In "The Company Man", Hank has to do business with a pushy Bostonian who seems to think Texas is/should be this. In order to keep his business, Hank tries to conform to the man's beliefs, making himself an ExtremeDoormat (as Peggy points out). After a heart-to-heart with a stripper, Hank finally tells the man off, who goes to Thatherton Fuels to get what he wants. However, in the deleted scene from the DVD version, his wife, who was kept by Peggy's company, is the actual owner of the business and decides to go with Strickland Propane.

* StupidStatementDanceMix: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJr_u4fW3VI The Baaah! song]], which consists of variations of Hank's [[BigNo Baah!]]

** Bobby's bare butt in assless chaps in "Rodeo Days".

* CanadaEh: Inverted nearly into FreakyThursday as Canadian neighbors act as Flavor 2 EagleLand for the sake of [[ConflictBall conflict]] and let Hank remain Flavor 1.

---> "I am YourWorstNightmare! I have a three-line phone and absolutely nothing at all to do with my time!"