Adult animation really began to take off in the late 80s/early 90s with the premier of The Simpsons and ramped up to more juvenile levels with Beavis and Butt-Head. It is the latter whose creator Mike Judge also introduced us to Hank Hill and his cast of eccentric family and friends with the 1997 debut of King of the Hill. Set in the fictional town of Arlen, Texas, the show focuses primarily on Hank, his wife Peggy; son Bobby, and niece Lou Ann. Along for the ride are Hank’s friends Dale, Bill, and Boomhauer, featuring an endless cast of characters throughout the series. King of the Hill was met with rave reviews throughout its 13 year-run, winning numerous awards, and building a large and loyal fan base. And was nearly given the revival treatment before talks fell through. Nevertheless, the show has surely endured over the years, remaining relevant within pop culture. With more than 250 episodes to choose from, seven particular episodes stand out as the series funniest. Get your pocket sand ready and let’s find the funniest episodes of King of the Hill.
7 ‘Hilloween’
20th Television
The Halloween episode featured in the first season of the show is aptly named ‘Hilloween’ and features Hank and his friends tasked with building a haunted house for the local school. The holiday is challenged for Hank and other residents of Arlen when Hank’s niece Lou Ann joins a local Bible study group who promotes Halloween as a holiday for witches and satanists. While Hank pushes back against this notion, the real comedy from this episode comes from the impressionable Bobby Hill, Hanks son. Bobby is a very malleable character throughout the series and his overall personality can easily be swayed. Watching a young person struggle with a morality complex over Halloween does not sound ripe for comedy, but the brilliant writing of the episode helps produce a hilariously brilliant entry into the series and an episode that could be one of the best Halloween TV shows episodes.
6 ‘A Beer Can Named Desire’
This season four episode sees Hank win the opportunity to win up to one million dollars at a New Orleans Saints vs. Dallas Cowboys football game in New Orleans by making a pass through the whole of a large beer can at halftime. Hank can win the money by making the throw himself or have Cowboys legend Don Meredith take the throw and win a lesser amount. On their journey to New Orleans, the Hill’s “run into” their friend Bill Dautrive. Bill has family in the New Orleans area and asks Hank to take him there. Upon their arrival, Bill meets four of his cousins. Gilbert and Violetta, who are his cousins by blood, as well as Lily and Rose, who are widows from marriages to his two other deceased cousins. What makes this episode one of the funniest of the series stems from Bill’s ignorance as to which young lady is his biological cousin as the three swoon and fight over Bill’s affection. Bills experiences much hard luck throughout the series, much to our comedic delight.
5 ‘King of the Ant Hill’
If there is one thing throughout the series that Hank Hill takes seriously, it is his lawn. Thoroughly mowing, watering, and fertilizing the lawn is as important to Hank as any other task around the house. With the neighborhood Cinco de Mayo festival approaching, Hank needs his lawn in top-notch shape and begins to believe that the spraying done by his exterminator neighbor, Dale, may be harming the grass. Hank makes the decision to have Dale stop spraying and even replaces his current lawn with an expensive strain of grass. Feeling jaded, Dale unleashed fire ants on Hank’s lawn that eventually devour every last blade. It is Peggy who ultimately discovers Dale’s scheme and is caught red-handed by the neighbor in a hilarious homage to a scene in Buffalo Bill’s house from Silence of the Lambs. Meanwhile, Bobby has taken the queen ant as his pet, even becoming hypnotized by her powerful pheromones. This leads to Bobby obeying her every command and to hilarious effect, eventually becoming a walking colony himself. It is Dale who saves Bobby from the fire ants as he becomes immune to their bite, and Hank forgives the dastardly deed of his neighbor.
4 ‘Hanky Panky’ /’ High Anxiety’
This two-part murder mystery saga involves Hank, his boss Buck Strickland, and his mistress Debbie Grund. The first entry, ‘Hanky Panky’ ends with Debbie’s lifeless body being found in a dumpster by Peggy Hill. It is the second part, and the main focus on this entry, ‘High Anxiety" that lands as one of the funniest episodes of the series. As the mystery of who killed Debbie unfolds, the episode begins with Hank in her apartment with her roommate Gayle, awaiting her return and unknowing of her demise. Hank mistakenly smokes marijuana which leads to a hilarious anxious Hank dealing with the after effects. As the episode plays out we discover that it was Debbie who accidentally pulled the trigger that ultimately killed her as she attempted to await the arrival of Buck. Watching Hank hide his drug use from Peggy and Bobby while being tangled up in a murder investigation plays out in hilarious fashion throughout this season four episode.
3 ‘The Exterminator’
Some of the funniest episodes of King of the Hill focus on Hank’s conspiratorial neighbor Dale Gribble, as is the case with this season five episode dubbed ‘The Exterminator’. The episode focuses on Dale as he attempts to acclimate to an office job after leaving his previous job as an exterminator. Dale falls into the role of terminating employees, something he excels at very quickly in the episode, putting to use his extermination skills in a new fashion. However, when the office becomes overrun with bugs, Dale can not hide his exterminating passion any longer and saves the office from the infestation. Seeing a character like Dale, thrust into an uncomfortable setting but exceeding in his new role, produces some of the best comedy the series provides.
2 ‘A Fire Fighting We Will Go’
After Bill decides to become a volunteer firefighter in the wake of a strike, Hank, Dale, and Boomhauer jump at the chance to join him. With Hank being the only one of the four taking his new job seriously, things turn juvenile quickly as they begin to fight over a neon beer sign once owned by a former member of the fire department who had recently passed away. After leaving for a job, the four return to a burnt down fire station, eventually revealed to have been part of a fire caused by the beer sign. The bulk of this story is told through flashbacks from the four being interrogated following the fire. This includes each one of the men telling their side of the story in embellished fashions according to their character. A highlight of these stories being Boomhauers. Boomhauer who normally speaks in a very quick and muddled slack jaw tone, recalls the events as it is now Hank, Bill, and Dale, who speak like this while he speaks clearly. A fantastically hilarious moment in the series after hearing Boomhauer speak for all the previous seasons.
1 ‘Bobby Goes Nuts’
The funniest episode of King of the Hill can be boiled down to a hilarious seven-word phrase uttered by the incomparable Bobby Hill. “That’s my purse, I don’t know you”. The unforgettable voice of soon-to-be director, Pamela Adlon adds so much to the hilarious writing for Bobby in this episode. Bobby, who after being bullied and made to eat dirt, is sent to a boxing class at the Arlen YMCA by Hank. After finding that all the boxing classes are full, Bobby signs up for a women’s self-defense class and finds the primary defense move taught is a firm kick to the groin. As immature as the humor surrounding a groin kick is, the way the writers of the show apply it to Bobby does not come across in the crass way it typically would. As we mentioned earlier in the countdown, Bobby is a blank slate throughout the series, often times taking on the personality of the moment. Never is that more true than in this episode, as Bobby takes down bullies of all shapes and sizes throughout school with his groin kick, each time pronouncing the phrase “That’s my purse, I don’t know you!”, including his own father. Bobby is taught the error of his ways by his mother Peggy, who firmly announces that she does not have testicles, when Bobby attempts his move on her. Bobby is humbled and learns his lesson as Hank stumbles inside with the family, still recovering from his kick.
