King Of The Hill - Series 1 (DVD)

...of these series. However with King of the Hill we have a very underated series that not many people have seen in this country despite its popularity across the globe (mainly the states).

This series comes to you from "Beavis and butt-head" creator and writer Mike Judge. Whilst Beavis and butthead may not be the most mature of series it did show originality and some classic humour mixed in. It never took off over here but ...
...into the world of pre-production King of the Hill

You can pick the season one DVD up for around £10 and all the other seasons come in at this price too. This is a great price. Personally I do not want to pay this price for The Simpsons as it is on all the time. With King of the Hill however most of the episodes you may have only seen once at the most! It is only on the Sky channel FX and it is on during the day. This DVD will get loads ... more

We all know of the Simpsons, south park and Family guy and most of us have seen itleast one of these series. However with King of the Hill we have a very underated series that not many people have seen in this country despite its popularity across the globe (mainly the states).

This series comes to you from "Beavis and butt-head" creator and writer Mike Judge. Whilst Beavis and butthead may not be the most mature of series it did show originality and some classic humour mixed in. It never took off over here but it has some cult status to it. King of the hill is nothing like Beavis and butthead. The comedy is much more mature as are the themes it deals with and the characters in general. This may be due to the input from "The Simpsons" writer and producer Greg Daniels.

It is situated in Texas and most of the episodes take place on the street and the back alleys where the central characters live. The stories follow the exploits of the characters mainly however the Hill family. The hill family includes Hank, Peggy, Bobby and Louanne.

Characters:

Hank Hill - The father of the house. As is with the Southern part of America everything is traditional. He sees himself as the supporter of the family and enjoys American football, drinking beer and many other male sterotypes. These include cars , shooting (its Texas) , Lawnmowers and woodowork. He is a salesman at Strickland propane selling , as you will hear a lot, "propane and propane accessories. He is deputy manager and is very proud of his job. He has a good heart and looks out for and loves his family. You will however rarely see him display his emotions (apart from to his dog Ladybird).

Peggy Hill - More than happy to be a housewife but does display a modern "girlpower" side to her. She is very independant and is proud to be the substitute teacher of the year for many years on the trot. Most of her comedy moments centre around her thinking shes always right. She means no harm but assures everyone that she knows exactly what to do in any given situation.

Bobby Hill - Possibly not the ideal son Hank was looking for and Hank often says "that boy aint right". Bobby is a very loveable child but is by no means a sport star or good at anything Hank wants him to be good at. He is a little on the chubby side but a very charming guy and sees himself as a bit of a comedian! There are a few episodes where he is the central character and these often turn out to be very funny.

Louanne - This is the neice of Hank and Peggy. Her mother is in jail and so Louanne is living with the Hills. Shes around 20 but I am not sure. She isn't the most intelligent person in the world but she is a very nice person. She looks out for Bobby. She however has bad taste in men and Hank rarely approves. Hank looks out for her like a father but again never shows any sensitivity to her!

Dale Gribble and Family - Dale is Hanks next door neighbour and one of Hanks closest friends. He works as a freelance insect exterminator. He is terrible at his job however and I can only assume his wife (a weather lady) brings home the bacon. Dale is rather paranoid about everything. He hates the government and it wont be long till you are familiar with his crazy schemes and ways! His son Joseph is well....not his son. Dale doesn't realise but Joseph is the son from an affair his wife had with a native American called John Redcorn. Joseph is obviously native American but everyone continues on like they know nothing. The affair is still going on however and is covered up by Dales wife's migranes which Redcorn help using "massage".

Boomhauer - Wierd name I know. He is one of Hanks friends also. Not too uch is known about him. He speaks in a rather hilarious fashion that is almost impossible to understand (intentionally so). He seems to be a ladies man. Boomhauer does not feature too much but he is a good addition character and provides some of the funniest moments!

Bill - Hanks third friend. He lives across the street. The four of them stand in the alley and drink beer everynight , not talking as such, just enjoying the company I guess! Bill is odd, he was divorced some time ago but is certain his ex-wife will come back someday. He played college football with Hank years earlier but has let himself go since then. He is harmless however and is often funny unintentionally.

The Khans - Hanks neighbours the other way. They are an asian family that often laugh at the methods and general way of life of the Texan natives. Khans daughter connie strikes up a relationship with Bobby and this provides some stories for episodes that are often quite funny.

There are many other sub-characters such as Hanks dad and his boss. They all provide relief from the main charaters at time and in general there is a very good balance of characters ensuring you never get episode repeats.

To give you an idea of some of the stories you will be getting on this first season :
Peggy teachers sex-ed at Bobbys school
Louanne hooks up with Boomhauer mcuh to Hanks displeasure
Hanks war veteran and sexist father comes to stay causing chaos
Bobby plays spin the bottle with a manakin head.

The storylines prove to be very original even with the mounting pressure on shows like this to do something the Simpsons havn't thought of yet! I enjoy watching the episodes again and again. Much like The Simpsons you just don't get tired of watching this show. Even though you know a joke is coming you are guaranteed to still laugh and its great fun. The storylines can be a little mature so there is 12 guidance rating on the box and I think this is justified by some of the adult humour!

There are 13 episodes on season 1
You will be getting plenty of special features on the DVD's also:
A hilarious introduction by Dale
A featurette showing some of the promotional work done on the TV done by Mike Judge and Co.
A music video by the bare naked ladies
Some deleted scenes and analternatie ending well worth watching!
You also get some of the episodes commentated on by the characters from the show, this can be a riot!
There is also a behind the scenes feature which takes you into the world of pre-production King of the Hill

You can pick the season one DVD up for around £10 and all the other seasons come in at this price too. This is a great price. Personally I do not want to pay this price for The Simpsons as it is on all the time. With King of the Hill however most of the episodes you may have only seen once at the most! It is only on the Sky channel FX and it is on during the day. This DVD will get loads of use if you buy it so I strongly suggest you do!

Oh and by the way you are going to love the opening song. It screams Texas but it will be stuck in your head much like The Simpsons song does! 

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