Rent King of the Hill: Series 11 (2007)

King of the Hill: Series 11 review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Despite having one of the most meme-worthy episodes of the entire series, I daresay that season 11 may be one of the worst runs for King of the Hill. Sure, there’s the video game episode everybody loves to reference and the season finale of the wedding for Lucky and Luanne (which may or may not have been intended to be the series finale depending on how you look at it). But there are so many duds present in this season that it’s hard to see past such glaring misfires.

First, the good. "Grand Theft Arlen" is easily the best episode of the season. Hank discovers that a local community college has been developing an action video game based on Hank’s propane career. Initially angered for his world being turned into Grand Theft Auto, Hank becomes hopelessly addicted to the game. His addiction never felt too cartoonish, finding himself simply looking at the clock at 3am and figuring he can play one more game. Not even Peggy’s citation of such a label as Technosexual can keep him away. Thankfully, Peggy finds a way to get into the game and curb Hank’s addiction. Complete with hilarious GTA interpretations of Hank Hill, it’s as interesting as it is comical.

I wish I could say I liked "Lucky's Wedding Suit" for its conclusion but the road to that wedding is an odd one that never quite resonates. It involves Lucky trying to find a stable career outside of relying on his settlement money from slipping on urine in Costco. Instead, Lucky finds himself suing Dale for another accident and then trying to find his way out of a lawsuit with a scummy lawyer. It’s a story that takes a lot of turns but just doesn’t work.

The rest of the episodes simply don’t work and are posed as more cartoonish scenarios that escape that the realism the show usually strives for. "Bill, Bulk and the Body Buddies" follows Bill as he tries to bulk up for his military physical and instead transforms into a muscle-bound jerk who attracts the wrong crowd of obsessed bodybuilders. "The Peggy Horror Picture Show" features Peggy mistaking a drag queen for a real woman and vice-versa which leads a classic KOTH mix-up but is perhaps too open with its reveal that offers up a mixed-bag of questioning femininity.

But by far one of the worst episodes of the season and possibly the series is “Hank Gets Dusted.” This episode wants us to believe that the guest stars of ZZ Top are indeed the cousins of Hank. Not only that but they come to invade his home to stage a reality show ala Duck Dynasty. Considering this whole episode leads up to a demolition derby and exists for little more than a chance to make Hank angry, this is a dead-in-the-water episode that feels more like a lackluster Simpsons script.

Some of the other episodes feel like ideas that were too little too late. "Glen Peggy Glen Ross" features Peggy switching from journalism to real estate in one of the oddest ways. "The Passion of Dauterive" features Bill finally hooking up with Reverend Stroop in a relationship that starts strong and then ends horribly for the sake of the status quo. "Peggy's Gone to Pots" finally finds Dale coming face to face with the man Rusty Shackleford, a man he has been stealing from for years. "Blood and Sauce" also throws Bill further down a hole by not only realizing his whole family tree is all but dead but that he can’t pass on his legacy of the family BBQ sauce.

I really do love King of the Hill and think it’s one of the finest animated sitcoms out there for being so different from its competition. But Series 11 is how hard to like that it’s one season I have no qualms recommending a skip.