I have to admit that Beavis and Butthead was never one of my favorite shows to put it mildly, so when King of the Hill premiered in 1997, I didn't have the highest of expectations. A decade later, this low key comedy has become one of my favorite shows of all time. While I do give out an award based on a fellow Fox cartoon, King of the Hill will always occupy a special place in my heart.There is a gentleness to the humor that makes it ever so appealing, and the fact that while some of the situations are very strange, they are wholly plausible within the context of that community. It is in essence as close to a live action situation comedy as an animated series could be. And to think, it was almost cancelled after its tenth season, but lucky for us fans of the show, it is returning to the television this Sunday.
If you've never seen the series, it is based around the rather conservative and uptight Hank Hill, a man who fights for his core beliefs, even when they are being challenged by his friends and family. Whether it is trying to keep his son Bobby out of trouble and away from the oddities of the liberalizing world to trying to keep Strickland Propane a tightly run ship, he is always battling for what he thinks is right, and upon that base, our whole conception of Arlen, Texas is developed, and it does seem like a nice little place to live.
In another person's hands, the show could have been pure caricature and devoted to nothing but making fun of the supposed "redneck" mentality, but what emerged from Mike Judge's skillful development after that first season was a deeply thought out and well-developed set of characters with a great deal of subtlety and nuance. The situations seem like things that could actually plausibly happen to anyone and the solutions to the problems they face aren't outlandish.
It is solid writing, low key performances and pure atmosphere that make this show a winner and the second longest running animated series of all time, and one respected by its peers, and it is great to see it returning to the Fox Sunday Night lineup.
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