I have watched several animated television shows over the years and I continue to watch some of them now.  I can't remember when I first saw King of the Hill, but I've enjoyed the show for several years.  I recently decided to pick up King of the Hill - Season 1.

King of the Hill is an animated show created by Mike Judge that began airing on FOX in 1997.  New episodes continue to air, but FOX has announced that they are cancelling the show.  I think FOX has planned to cancel it before and then changed the decision.  FOX has bounced the show around to different time slots and there were times when I thought it had been cancelled because of that.

King of the Hill is set in the fictional town of Arlen, Texas.  The show was mainly focused on Hank Hill, his wife Peggy, their son Bobby, and niece Luanne.  A few of Hank's friends and neighbors were also around.  Some problems that the different characters had to deal with were shown.  Every episode had a different plot and they could stand alone.  There were a few minor subplots that popped up every so often.  Certain things would make more sense if the episodes were watched in order.  

The episodes from the first season were mainly focused on Hank and his family.  All of them had some adventures connected to their daily lives.  There wasn't really any mystery to what was going on though some things worked out differently than I had thought they would.  The episodes were entertaining and interesting.  There was a decent amount of humor in each episode, though the show wasn't as funny overall as some others.  The humor was provided by things that the characters said and did.  Some of the humor was a bit silly or even gross at times, which may not appeal to some viewers.

The animation for King of the Hill was all right, though it wasn't anything that special.  It wasn't that the animation was bad, but I have seen better.  The movements for the characters did look a little jerky at times, but that didn't bother me much.  The colors that were used were a bit more muted than what some other animated shows use.  The quality of the episodes on the DVD did seem to look a bit better than when I've seen the same episodes on television.  The animation did improve in later seasons of the show.

Hank Hill sold propane and propane accessories.  He was very proud of his job and frequently brought it up when talking to people.  I think he brought it up at least once in every episode.  He also had a habit of saying I tell you what a lot, which did get slightly annoying for me as I watched the episodes in the first season.  He had very definite ideas about certain things and he got very uncomfortable if he was pushed out of his comfort zone.  Mike Judge, the creator of the show, provided the voice for Hank.

Hank and Peggy had been married for many years when the show started.  She was a substitute teacher and very proud of having won a teaching award.  She was also very good at the game of Boggle, which was the whole focus of one episode.  She had her own ideas about things and she didn't always agree with Hank.  Peggy also got a bit uncomfortable in certain situations, though that didn't happen with her as often as it did with Hank.  Kathy Najimy did fine with the voice for the character.

Bobby was Peggy and Hank's son.  I think he was supposed to be about thirteen.  Bobby had his own interests that were a little different.  He wasn't interested in sports or other things that Hank thought he should be interested in.  Bobby was caught practicing kissing a mannequin head at one point, which did not go over well with Hank.  Bobby and Hank did seem to have some trouble connecting at times.  Pamela Adlon did fine with his voice.  Luanne Platter was Hank and Peggy's niece.  She was staying with them because of some kind of trouble with her parents.  Luanne was going to beauty school and had a few of her own issues to deal with.  Brittany Murphy did fine with the voice for the character.

Hank's rather grumpy father Cotton turned up in one episode.  The man was very unpleasant and he had a horrible attitude toward women.  It was very understandable why Peggy didn't want him around the house or influencing Bobby.  Some of the neighbors, who were also Hank's friends, turned up at least briefly in most of the episodes.  I couldn't understand most of what Boomhauer was saying he was around.  He was always talking in some kind of mumble, but his friends seemed to be able to understand him and that didn't keep him from being very popular with the ladies.  Mike Judge also did the voice for Boomhauer.

Dale Gribble had all kinds of conspiracy theories and was paranoid most of the time.  He did tend to come up with some odd ideas at times.  He was an exterminator and at one point, he showed that he was willing to do some extreme things for his business.  Johnny Hardwick did fine with the voice.  When I was watching the first season, I did think that Dale's voice sounded different from how it had in the later seasons.  Dale was married to Nancy, who worked for the local television station reporting the weather.  Nancy wasn't around much in the first season, but it was clear that something was going on with her that Dale had somehow missed.  Dale and Nancy's son Joseph was Bobby's best friend.  Brittany Murphy also did the voice for Joseph during the first season.

Bill Dauterive was a barber in the army and that seemed to be about the only thing going for him.  He was overweight, balding, and had horrible luck with relationships.  Most people considered him a loser and things just seemed to keep going wrong for him.  He was a nice enough character though.  Stephen Root did well with Bill's voice, which fit perfectly with the character.  John Redcorn was a Native American who lived in the area.  He just turned up a few times, usually in connection with the treatments he was giving Nancy for her migraines.  

Kahn and Minh were a couple originally from Laos who moved in next door to Hank.  Kahn was very ambitious and looked down on everyone in the neighborhood.  Kahn felt that they were all hillbillies and he didn't have a problem voicing that opinion.  He and Hank clashed more than once.  Minh wasn't overly friendly either, and she and Peggy ended up having some conflicts.  Kahn and Minh had a daughter, Kahn Jr.  They named her that because Kahn wanted a son.  She had her friends call her Connie.  She was very smart and involved in a lot of activities.  She did end up becoming friends with Bobby and Joseph.  Lauren Tom, who also did voices for Futurama, provided the voices for Minh and Connie.  Some various other people turned up every so often without any of them being developed yet.

Main Voice Talent

Pamela Adlon - Bobby Hill
Ashley Gardner - Nancy Gribble
Johnny Hardwick - Dale Gribble
Toby Huss - Kahn/Cotton Hill
Mike Judge - Hank Hill/Boomhauer
Brittany Murphy - Luanne Platter/Joseph Gribble
Kathy Najimy - Peggy Hill
Lauren Tom - Minh/Kahn Jr-Connie

DVD Information

King of the Hill - Season 1 DVD set includes the thirteen episodes from the first season on three discs.  There are more than fifty deleted scenes, some of which were just alternate versions of scenes that were used in the finished episodes.  Certain episodes have commentaries that I haven't taken the time to listen to yet.  There were animatics, an alternate ending to one episode, promo spots, and a behind the scenes featurette that was interesting.  

Episode List

Pilot
Square Peg
The Order of the Straight Arrow
Luanne's Saga
Hank's Got the Willies
Westie Side Story
Hank's Unmentionable Problem
Shins of the Father
Peggy the Boggle Champ
Keeping up With Our Joneses
Plastic White Female
The Company Man
King of the Ant Hill

King of the Hill is a fun, entertaining animated show that is worth watching.  It is a bit different from the other animated shows on FOX, but it is still very good.  King of the Hill - Season 1 is a great DVD set for fans of the series.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD