Rent King of the Hill: Series 4 (1999)

King of the Hill: Series 4 review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

The fourth season of King of the Hill starts off pretty strong by introducing some new some serialization into the animated sitcom. While Peggy Hill recovers from her botched skydiving incident and Cotton Hill welcomes his newest son into the world, these aspects are not treated as one-and-done story elements. Peggy’s recovering continues into the next episode and Cotton’s life with a new baby reshapes his entire worldview, making him more bitterly depressed about the world he may not be able to provide to his son. These elements don’t define the season but they are welcome elements to a format that usually favors status quo staging.

Outside of the major developments with Peggy and Cotton, who pretty much have a two-parter opening, there are some solid standalone episodes as well. "Bills Are Made to Be Broken" brings up Bill’s legacy and his questioning of how records are made in a slumping system of expectations. "Aisle 8A" explores how the relationship of Bobby and Connie changes when she has her period, not to mention freaking out Hank when he finds himself caught up alone in handling this development. "A Beer Can Named Desire" features two strong plots of Bill’s sordid family affairs and Hank’s questioning of his abilities for future fortunes.

The holiday episodes this season are also some of the most elaborate of the series. "Happy Hank’s Giving" takes place at an airport the day before Thanksgiving as the Hill family and neighbors fight to make it onto flights as the weather worsens. "Hillennium" is both a Christmas and New Years episode in how it tackles the hysteria of the Y2K bug threat, where Hank buys into the theory of the grid going down and stocking up on essentials, ruining Christmas gifts.

Most notable about this season is the mid-season finale of “Hanky Panky”, where a slew of Stickland affairs bring about a murder in the community. The killer is revealed in the next episode in a great surprise while Hank tries to cover up his alibi of getting accidentally high on marajuana. Filled with sex and revenge, it’s one of the steamier and experimental episodes of the season, playing with the murder mystery genre in a clever use.

Other episodes attempt to be more down-to-earth stories involving coming of age. “Naked Ambition” finds Joseph obsessing over Luanne as Bobby struggles with his developing feelings for Connie. "Old Glory" finds Bobby struggling in school and trying to learn the true meaning of America. There’s also the more intriguing legal drama of "Flush with Power" where Hank Hill attempts to take on a stuffy local council that is involved in a scheme involving toilets and water usage.

That being said, there are still the more outlandish episodes as with the absurdly titled "Transnational Amusements Presents: Peggy's Magic Sex Feet". It’s a bizarre story involving Internet fetishes that once more finds Peggy making mistakes that are only increased by her ego. And in case that episode didn’t portray her as egotistical enough, the star-studded finale of "Peggy's Fan Fair" finds her almost committing murder and forcing Hank to question just how far he can let Peggy go with her prattlings.

This is certainly one of the best seasons of King of the Hill with all things considered. The episodes are a great mixture of timeliness and poignant tales. The characters have real development and their stories become all the more absurd in the swirling of misunderstandings and slice-of-life mundanity. If there’s one season as whole that is the one to watch, this is certainly it.