History YMMV / KingOfTheHill

*** Another interpretation that's gained popularity in recent years is that Hank has [[DiagnosedByTheAudience autistic]]. It's fully possible, given the show’s timeframe, as well as Hank's age, that he could be on the spectrum without anyone knowing.

*** Another interpretation that's gained popularity in recent years is that Hank has [[DiagnosedByTheAudience high-functioning autism or Asperger's]]. It's fully possible, given the show’s timeframe, as well as Hank's age, that he could be on the spectrum without anyone knowing.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: It's never outright stated, but Hank displays a lot of signs that he may have Aspberger's Syndrome. Difficulty with social interactions? Check. All-absorbing interest in certain topics? Check. Hyperfocus? Check. Desire for sameness? Big check.

* AwardSnub: "Chasing Bobby" was up for an Emmy in 2001, and is one of the best episodes of the series. It lost to ''The Simpsons'' episode [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS12E9HOMR "HOMR"]] (which, while not as terrible as the other latter-day episodes of ''The Simpsons'', still feels like a screw to the people who like ''King of the Hill'' over ''The Simpsons'').

* {{Squick}}: In the episode "[[Recap/KingOfTheHillS2E17HanksDirtyLaundry Hank's Dirty Laundry]]", it’s implied that Fernanda Valley, the star of the film "Cuffs and Collars," was starring in pornographic films while she was still a minor.[[labelnote:Explanation]]Fernanda Valley has an "I love Charlie Sheen" tattoo in the movie, which she did not get until two weeks after Hank supposedly rented the film. However, the reason she got that tattoo was to "celebrate her triumphant return to the profession" on the occasion of her eighteenth birthday, implying that she had been starring in pornographic films before she turned eighteen.[[/labelnote]]

* MostWonderfulSound: Anytime the mild-mannered Hank says he's going to kick some ass, because it's always directed at someone who deserves it.

* {{Squick}}: In the episode ''[[Recap/KingOfTheHillS2E17HanksDirtyLaundry Hanks Dirty Laundry]]'', it’s implied that Fernanda Valley, the star of the film "Cuffs and Collars," was starring in pornographic films while she was still a minor.[[labelnote:Explanation]]Fernanda Valley has an "I love Charlie Sheen" tattoo in the movie, which she did not get until two weeks after Hank supposedly rented the film. However, the reason she got that tattoo was to "celebrate her triumphant return to the profession" on the occasion of her eighteenth birthday, implying that she had been starring in pornographic films before she turned eighteen.[[/labelnote]]

* MisaimedMarketing: ''Very'' early in the show's run, they tried to cross promote the show on Creator/FoxKids with "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpmw9azzLDI Fox Kids Heads for the Hills]]", where special bumpers and promos showed the characters interacting with various FK characters -- like Hank convincing the WesternAnimation/{{Silver Surfer|TheAnimatedSeries}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1FLRlVnHJQ to switch to propane power for his surfboard]]. This might have been a misguided attempt to promote it based off the popularity of ''Beavis and Butt-head'' with young people, though [[https://kidsblockblog.wordpress.com/2019/08/05/foxs-cross-promotions-of-king-of-the-hill/ some evidence]] suggests that the first season of ''King of the Hill'' was in fact [[PeripheryDemographic extremely popular with kids]]... which doesn't make the cross promotion any less bizarre. Also, this was one of the last times Fox's primetime lineup ever really interacted with the FK lineup -- it was mainly untenable at this point. [[note]]Due to half of Fox's affiliates in major markets (specifically, station that had switched due to the DisasterDominoes that ensued when Fox nabbed the NFL -- see that page for ''that'' mess) not wanting to air the block, specifically the weekday lineup, because they didn't want cartoons leading into their newscasts. As a result, depending on where you lived in the 90s, Fox Kids wasn't likely to be on the Fox station -- it'd be on a WB, UPN, or indie station. So cross-promotion became rarer as an aftereffect of that.[[/note]] It is however worth pointing out that as far as adult animation goes, King of the Hill is actually quite tame -- even ''for'' its time.

* DesignatedHero: While Hank is usually well-meaning, his characterization as a stereotypical white middle-class conservative Bible Belter with rather SkewedPriorities is not played for comedy, but as something to be respected and admired. There are many episodes in which Hank comes off as a condescending, self-righteous {{jerkass}} and yet viewers are still supposed to agree with him. A good example of this is in the (in)famous episode "Bobby Goes Nuts". Hank is disappointed in Bobby once he learns that Bobby has been using {{Groin Attack}}s to stand up for himself and his message throughout the episode is "Groin attacks aren't fair. Always fight fair no matter what." First of all, the majority of real life fights (outside of contact sport) are anything but fair -- they usually involve multiple people ganging up on one target, or someone throwing an unexpected punch to open the fight. And most forms of self-defense ''encourage'' dirty fighting since it is a quicker, safer and more effective way to stop a dangerous attacker while attaining minimal damage. Hank tries to teach Bobby to box, but the punches cause Bobby to snap and kick Hank in the nuts, causing severe injury to his groin. Hank understandably grounds Bobby for the kick. However, when Bobby starts to defy Hank and play video games anyway, Peggy steps in and successfully wrestles the UsefulNotes/GameBoy away from Bobby (since his groin kick was somehow ineffective on Peggy). Instead of Hank being angry with Peggy for what was dangerously close to child abuse, he's perfectly okay with it because it showed Bobby the importance of a fair fight.

** Luanne came from a dysfunctional family, failed several times at doing what she loved (cosmetology), her on-again-off-again boyfriend died in a freak accident, her father is in jail for life as a three-strike felon, and to top it all off she isn't very smart.

* SignatureScene: Hank giving Jimmy Wichard a LiteralAssKicking in "Life in the Fast Lane" one of the rare times Hank actively ACTS on his threat of kicking someone's ass.

* MemeticMutation:
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy4oURBLo98 "Mother of God, it's all toilet sounds!"]]
** [[CallingYourAttacks "Pocket Sand!!"]]
** "That boy ain't right."
** "A damned hammer!"
** [[CatchPhrase "I sell propane and propane accessories"]] has caused many instances of people following the word "propane" with "and propane accessories" in regular conversation. Another common joke is replacing "propane" with "cocaine". It has even made its way into becoming parodies of many images, including other memes.
** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRvHk9weoQU THAT'S MAH PURSE, AH DON'T KNOW YOU!]]"
** "[[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech LOSER! YOU'RE A LOSER! ARE YOU FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF? WELL, YOU SHOULD BE, 'CAUSE YOU ARE DIRT! YOU MAKE ME SICK, YOU BIG BABY! BABY WANNA BOTTLE?! A BIG DIRT BOTTLE?!]]"
** "LAO TZU LIVED IN A HUT AND ATE STRAW!"
** Hank's face after [[DoWrongRight showing Bobby how to inhale a cigarette]]. Mostly because, even though it's an ordinary tobacco cigarette, he looks ''stoned out of his mind''. Hank's [[OffModel giant smile]] seen for a split-second in another episode also became a bit of a meme, dubbed "Happy Hank."
** Boggle!
** "I tell you hwat." And it ''must'' be spelled that way.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhGX5izia1U "I killed fitty men."]]
** Discussing and/or describing the show as if it were an anime.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGcdYB8vF_c "BWAAAAAAAAAAAH!"]]
** "Dang it, Bobbeh." Again, it ''must'' be spelled that way.
** When Bill buys a new leaf blower and suggests it has the power of a jetpack. The look of joy on his face when he pretends it's a jetpack, then sheer disappointment when Hank says "It's a leaf blower, Bill, not a jetpack." Also photoshopping Bill pretending it's a jetpack as though he were flying.
** "Well well well, looks like these fire ants [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain played you like a damn fiddle]]."
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXVhOPiM4mk "Do I look like I know what a .jpeg is? I just want a picture of a got-dang hot dog!"]]. And also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEzhxP-pdos this more popular variant]], used whenever someone posts a low-quality image/video, in which the previous line gets compressed into oblivion halfway through.
** There exists a scene from "Hank's Got the Willies" where Hank, looking for a bathroom, wanders into the wrong room and [[BrainBleach sees something he'd rather not]]. It's become popular to edit the scene so that Hank happens upon something [[NightmareFuel scary]], [[SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou threatening]], [[NauseaFuel disgusting]], or stupid. Other variants on the meme include having Hank magically transport to another world as he opens the door à la ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', or having Hank walk in on [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Principal Skinner about to climb out the kitchen window to buy some steamed hams]].
** Referring to the show as "the best anime", alongside ''Series/CoryInTheHouse'', partly as a way to troll otaku, but also just for laughs.
** Referring to video games as "vidya gaems" (or "vidya" for short) comes from how Hank pronounces it.
** Bobby holding up a sign against a classroom window and Principal Moss telling him "If those kids could read, they'd be very upset," became a way of mocking people's opinions.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqdDjNAyPdA "That's a clean burning hell I tell you what!"]]
** "Sadness covers me like a blanket. Tuck me in, let me die."
** "It was back when we didn't know the Russians were incompetent." [[note]]This line provided by Hank saw a lot of quoting after multiple Russian failures, defeats and embarrassments during their invasion of Ukraine.[[/note]]
** If Hank had a [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure stand]], pretty much everyone agrees it would be called ''[[Music/PendulumBand Propane Nightmares]]''.
** This exchange between Dale Gribble and John Redcorn gets some mileage online whenever Thanksgiving rolls around:
--->'''Dale:''' Do your people even celebrate Thanksgiving?\\
'''John:''' We did. Once.

** Is Hank just an AccompliceByInaction? There are many instances where he ignores the antics of his friends and family (usually either Bill or Peggy) no matter how much they inconvenience others until it starts to become a problem for him.

*** How much are Bill’s antics serious and how much is just him wanting attention? It has been pointed out that while he claimed he was trying to kill himself in "Pretty Pretty Dresses", he seemed to have specifically waited until Hank had gone outside to see him before climbing on the roof. Instead of jumping off, he rolled off and even tried to catch himself.

-->'''Hank:''' America is my country and I love her, I wouldn't enter her in any way that's unnatural!

*** A different variation proposes that Hank isn't stuck in the 1950's as much as he has a mental block caused by the traumatic memories of his childhood. He became so used to being beaten down by Cotton in his youth for showing the slightest sign of weakness that Hank, in essence, built a mental fortress around himself, and is afraid of anything "new" or "modern" penetrating this mental fortress out of a subconscious fear of Cotton's retribution.

** Yes, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frito_pie frito pies]] are an actual thing.

** During the season two finale "Propane Boom", Mega Lo Mart explodes with Hank, Luanne, and Buckley inside as the citizens of Arlen run screaming and look on in horror. Absolutely mortifying. But it's ''[[TheUnintelligible Boomhauer]]'' who [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ephTpUsYPxY calls 911]], and of course, the operator can't understand a word he says.

* GrowingTheBeard: While the first two seasons aren’t bad by any stretch, the show really hits its stride by season 3. The casts voices became more or less what we know them for today, giving them much more range. Hank's personality mellowed out significantly, the occasional surreality was dialed back and more episodes focused primarily or partially on the cast outside the Hill residence. The "Propane Boom" two-parter arguably kicked off this growth by having Buckley KilledOffForReal to shake up the status quo.

** A group of hippies praying to the sun in "Phish and Wildlife" is quite an amusing sight if you happen to be a ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' fan.

** A group of hippies praying to the sun in "Phish and Wildlife" is quite an amusing sight if you happen to be ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' fan.

** A group of hippies literally praising the sun in "Phish and Wildlife" is quite an amusing sight if you happen to be ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' fan.

** A group of hippies literally praising the sun in "Phish and Wildlife" is quite an amusing sight if you happen to be ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' fans.

** This line from "Phish and Wildlife" is quite amusing if you happen to be a ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' fan:

--->'''Bill:''' So, the son is God?\\

** This line from "Phish and Wildlife" is quite amusing if you happen to be a ''VideoGameDarkSouls'' fan:

** Many longtime fans hate Lucky due to viewing him as an unnecessary character who ruined Luanne's character arc. However, modern viewers consider him one of the, if not the, most likable characters on the show due to being honest and positive.

* CharacterPerceptionEvolution: Lucky, despite being voiced by Music/TomPetty, was initially considered to be TheScrappy of the show and received a lot of hate due to being a contributing factor to the show's NegativeContinuity and very little else. The reasons being that his relationship with Luanne (combined with Luanne's {{Flanderization}}) turned her into the exact kind of person she ''didn't'' want to be in the earlier seasons; his lazy lifestyle which Hank, for some reason, mostly tolerates despite being established as treating hard work and effort seriously; the fact that he took Texas stereotypes up to eleven despite earlier seasons making a point of showing that such stereotypes aren't always accurate; and his [[AscendedExtra greater importance]] in the show's last legs despite contributing very little to the plot and not being particularly funny. However, over the years, many new viewers who watch the show have found themselves fond of Lucky due to being the most consistently nice character while the rest of the cast became a bit of a Jerkass, to the point that many believe his marriage to Luanne gave her a strong character arc in trying to stop the cycle of bad parenting through raising their child. Nowadays, while he's still a BaseBreakingCharacter, there are many people who like him more than how much he was hated in the past.

* CharacterPerceptionEvolution: Lucky, despite being voiced by Music/TomPetty, was initially considered to be TheScrappy of the show and received a lot of hate due to being a contributing factor to the show's NegativeContinuity and very little else. The reasons being that his relationship with Luanne (combined with Luanne's {{Flanderization}}) turned her into the exact kind of person she ''didn't'' want to be in the earlier seasons; his lazy lifestyle which Hank, for some reason, mostly tolerates despite being established as treating hard work and effort seriously; the fact that he took Texas stereotypes up to eleven despite earlier seasons making a point of showing that such stereotypes aren't always accurate; and his [[AscendedExtra greater importance]] in the show's last legs despite contributing very little to the plot and not being particularly funny. However, over the years, many new viewers who watch the show have found themselves fond of Lucky due to being the most consistently nice character while the rest of the cast became a bit of a Jerkass, to the point that many believe his marriage to Luanne gave her a strong character arc in trying to stop the cycle of bad parenting through raising their child. Nowadays, while he's still a BaseBreakingCharacter, there are many people who like him more than how much he was hated in the past,

* TheScrappy: Lucky, despite being voiced by Music/TomPetty, gets a lot of hate due to being a contributing factor to the show's NegativeContinuity and very little else. The reasons being that his relationship with Luanne (combined with Luanne's {{Flanderization}}) turned her into the exact kind of person she ''didn't'' want to be in the earlier seasons; his lazy lifestyle which Hank, for some reason, mostly tolerates despite being established as treating hard work and effort seriously; the fact that he took Texas stereotypes up to eleven despite earlier seasons making a point of showing that such stereotypes aren't always accurate; and his [[AscendedExtra greater importance]] in the show's last legs despite contributing very little to the plot and not being particularly funny.

-->'''Dale:''' Do your people even celebrate Thanksgiving?\\