King of the Hill/Pilot

Pilot
Season 1, Episode 1
Airdate	January 12, 1997
Production Number	4E01
Written by	Mike Judge & Greg Daniels
Directed by	Wes Archer
— N/A	1x02 → Square Peg
King of the Hill — Season One

Pilot is the first episode of the first season of King of the Hill.

Starring: Mike Judge (Hank Hill, Boomhauer), Kathy Najimy (Peggy Hill, 2nd Female Shopper, 2nd Gossiper), Pamela Segall (Bobby Hill), Brittany Murphy (Luanne Platter, Joseph Gribble)

and Johnny Hardwick (Dale Gribble)

Also Starring: Ashley Gardner (Nancy Gribble, P.A., 1st Female Shopper, 1st Gossiper), David Herman (Buckley, Anthony), Toby Huss (Cotton Hill), Gailard Sartain (Anthony's Supervisor, Bus Rider)

Uncredited: Stephen Root (Bill Dauterive)

Plot Overview

A rumor is spread throughout Heimlich County that Hank beats Bobby and a man, "Twig Boy", from Child Protective Services is sent to investigate. Bobby doesn't believe that his father loves him.

Notes

Seen, But Not Heard

• John Redcorn

Music

• Foreigner - "Hot Blooded"

Arc Advancement

Characters

• Luanne is living with the Hills when she tells them that her mother is in jail after a fight that wound up tipping over their trailer. He reluctantly lets her stay with them until her mother gets out.

• It's also established that Luanne is in a beauty academy.

• Luanne appears to have some knowledge of mechanics, as she recognises what's wrong with Hank's truck when she borrows it and fixes it.

• Nancy is shown to be going to a healer named John Redcorn for 12 years. Dale is oblivious to the fact that his son Joseph, who seems about 12 years old, has a resemblance to Redcorn.

• Dale is established as a conspiracy theorist.

Trivia

Allusions and References

• In the cold opening, the guys talk about catching the latest episode of Seinfeld, a sitcom about four New Yorkers that was on the air at the time, often referred to a show about nothing, as Boomhauer does.

Goofs

• During the Mega Lo Mart scene, the items on the shelves change between shots.

• When Bobby is playing his Game Boy, the length of his shorts change when it cuts back to him.

• When Anthony later shows up at the Hill, from the inside shot, the rain gutter is missing when subsequent shots make it clear that it would be.

• In some shots, the stop sign is show to be resting on the door and in others resting next to it.

Quotes

• Hank: That boy ain't right.

• Dale: I know what's wrong with it. It's a Ford. You know what they say "Ford" stands for, don't 'cha? It stands for "Fix it again, Tony." (chuckles)

Hank: You're thinking of a Fiat, Dale.

Dale: "Fix... it... again..."

• Hank: It's hard, Peggy. I don't wanna lose my little boy, my only son. But, oh, it's hard.

Peggy: Well, you can relax. The investigation has been off for a week. Only, Bobby didn't tell us.

Hank: I'll kill him!