King of the Hill, season 1

Hank: "Didn't you read this? Cancer, heart diease, emphysema."
Bobby: "Well, I thought those were the ingredients."

release year: 1997
genre: TV animation comedy
viewing setting: home streaming 10/27-31/26

synopsis: This animated series shows the often-humorous lives of various residents of a typical small town in Texas.

impressions: I hadn't seen this in about twenty years (and even then I'd only watched a few episodes way back then) but I decided to revisit it in 2026...and boy was it funny. The story centers around a family and a handful of their neighbors, and shows slices of their daily life. A lot of the events and situations are fairly ordinary, but with a humorous spin. Hank is just an old-fashioned guy with old-fashioned deas and values. His son Bobby is a little slow and odd, which is the source of a lot of the humor. As I told my wife, people either get the humor and like this, or else they don't and never will. I enjoyed the hell out of it. Brief episode summaries:

(1.1) pilot episode, in which Hank is falsely accused of child abuse

(1.2) Peggy has to teach sex education

(1.3) the kids do their Boy Scout type test

(1.4) they encounter Willie Nelson

(1.5) Luanne has a breakup and Hank tries to find her a new guy

(1.6) Hank deals with constipation, and everyone giving him advice about it

(1.7) a new Laotian family moves in next door

(1.8) Hank's old-fashioned father causes problems

(1.9) Peggy competes in the state boggle championship

(1.10) Bobby discovers cigarettes

(1.11) Hank's lawn gets ants

(1.12) Luanne tries to pass beauty school

acting: This is all voice acting but there's some great work here, and they really bring the characters to life. Of note, Hank is voiced by series creator Mike Judge, and is basically a younger version of Mr. Anderson from Beavis and Butt-Head.

final word: Great American/southern/Texan comedy.

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