- 7 weeks ago
Join us as we count down the best King of the Hill adventures that had us laughing, crying, and occasionally shouting "Dang it, Bobby!" Our picks showcase the Hill family and their quirky Texas neighbors at their absolute finest. Which episode made you want to crack open a cold Alamo beer?
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 King of the Hill episodes, excluding the 2025 revival.
00:19That's my purse! I don't know you!
00:25Number 10. Hanky Panky and High Anxiety
00:29King of the Hill might have seemed like a simple premise, but it had a lot of ambition where it came to storytelling.
00:35In this noir-ish two-parter, a gruesome crime scene is discovered after Hank Hill's boss Buck Strickland separates from his wife.
00:41Debbie! Somebody shot Debbie!
00:46When Peggy discovers the body of Buck's former secretary and lover, Debbie Grund, her law-abiding, propane-selling husband becomes a suspect.
00:54Hank becomes even more stressed out for a while after he accidentally has his first experience with a certain plant.
01:00Oh no, my eyes are turning bloodshot. I'm going on a trip. I look like I'm doped out of my gourd.
01:07As the truth unfolds, we're treated to a deep story and hilarious twists. If Mike Judge ever wants to make a mystery movie, we're definitely seeing it.
01:16For as Debbie climbed into that dumpster, her foot accidentally tripped the hammer on the gun.
01:21So, Debbie Grund's killer was Debbie Grund.
01:28Number 9. A firefighting we will go.
01:31Hank and his three best friends, Bill, Dale, and Boomhauer, all have pretty divergent views on the world.
01:44So, if you ask them to explain how a firehouse burned down, you're going to get four very different explanations.
01:50Season 3's of Firefighting We Go is a hilarious episode that perfectly captures the personalities of each of the four friends and how they relate to each other.
01:59And it especially deserves a spot on this list for the scene where the usually incomprehensible Boomhauer sounds clear as a bell, while his pals are the marble-mouthed ones.
02:14And keep it down, guys, will you? I'm trying to get through an article on vintage Camaros and I've been on the same dang page for 20 minutes.
02:23Number 8. Propane Boom and Propane Boom 2, Death of a Propane Salesman
02:32The Propane Boom saga is also the story that makes up the show's historic first two-parter.
02:37When superstore Megalomart starts selling propane, Hank's employer, Strickland Propane, shuts down.
02:43I've decided to shut down this branch of Strickland Propane.
02:45What? No, sir, we can't give up.
02:49Hank, listen, I got four more branches to think about. Sometimes you just gotta cut off a finger to save the hand.
02:54He ends up working for the enemy. Unfortunately, Hank's job change results in a literally explosive climax.
03:01What makes this two-parter especially notable is that the events of the story deeply affect the main character we know and love.
03:14We see him develop a severe phobia of his beloved propane and his own mortality.
03:19The two-parter is also a very touching examination of grief, with characters like Hank, Luann, Khan, and Bobby all looking inward in a truly moving fashion.
03:28Here's some CDs I don't listen to anymore. Later, Buckley.
03:31Buckley!
03:33My hair!
03:437. Soldier of Misfortune
03:45While King of the Hill is often a very subdued show, it's also capable of going broader, and still staying true to itself.
03:54In this episode, conspiracy theorist and exterminator Dale Gribble sabotages his chance to remain president of the local gun club.
04:01I'm unfit to carry a weapon.
04:07Hank tries to lift his friend's spirits by pretending to be a recruiter with a secret mission for Dale.
04:13Things completely get out of hand and result in a hostage situation.
04:17Well, you better start talking, or you're gonna end up just like the guy who spilled that red wine.
04:21Okay, okay, just calm down. You seem like a reasonable fella, so you'll probably get a chuckle out of this.
04:27Dale's coming to kill you!
04:29I knew it!
04:30This episode also adds a very committed Gary Busey playing Dale's rival, Mad Dog, and the origin of the classic pocket sand meme.
04:38Briefcase.
04:39What the hell are you doing?!
04:41What the hell are you doing?!
04:42Just give it!
04:45Pocket sand!
04:47All in all, Soldier of Misfortune is a King of the Hill episode that's equal parts tense and side-splitting.
04:55Number 6. Escape from Party Island
04:58Hank, you're making too much out of this.
05:00Mom, that fella asked you to show him your high beams. Now, do you even know what he meant?
05:06Of course I do. I've been driving longer than you.
05:09Hank Hill hasn't always been in touch with the younger generation.
05:13That's exactly what makes Escape from Party Island so perfect.
05:17When Hank escorts his mother and her friends to visit a miniatures museum in Port Aransas,
05:21they unwittingly end up in the middle of MTV's Spring Break celebration.
05:25Hey, you kids, knock it off. Come on, some of us are trying to sleep.
05:32Okay, you asked for it. You, what room are your parents in?
05:38The episode completely delivers on its fish-out-of-water premise.
05:41In one classic moment, Hank is horrified by a wet t-shirt contest.
05:45The episode also surprisingly displays a lot of heart as he learns to be more loving towards his mother.
05:50And whoever thought we'd hear Phyllis Diller, Betty White, and Pauly Shore all in the same episode.
05:57You said you'd get us out of here. Tilly, your boy is all talk.
06:01I hate you.
06:03Hank, get us out of here.
06:055. Pilots
06:06Many shows take a few episodes or even a whole season to find their footing.
06:10That wasn't the case with King of the Hill.
06:20The pilot episode does a great job at introducing viewers to Arlen, Texas, and to the Hill family.
06:27Specifically, it's an episode about the relationship between Hank and his aspiring prop comic son Bobby.
06:33I like this new generation of music.
06:36Hello?
06:38Mother of God, it's all toilet sounds.
06:43After a Little League accident gives Bobby a black eye, a huge misunderstanding leads to a social worker investigating the household.
06:50Comedies typically avoid tackling serious themes so early.
06:53But the way the show confidently combined humor and heavy topics in its first episode quickly distinguished it from other comedy shows.
07:01Now you listen here. You see that boy? That's my boy.
07:05And if you ever try to take him away, so help me God, I'll tear you a new one bigger than the Grand Canyon.
07:124. I Don't Want to Wait
07:14Like most animated shows, the characters on King of the Hill didn't really age.
07:18However, one crucial development happened in the show's fifth season.
07:22Thirteen? You know, in my religion, thirteen is your official passage into manhood.
07:28It's called Abba Mitzvah, or Big Party.
07:31Is that an Arizona thing?
07:33Arizona, New York, Miami.
07:35When Bobby's 13th birthday is coming up, he becomes envious of his best friend who just hit puberty.
07:40Meanwhile, Joseph, now voiced by Breckenmeyer, is terrified of changes to his body and his budding hormones.
07:47Whoa.
07:48Joseph, what's going on?
07:50I can't dance.
07:52Compared to me, no.
07:54I've got stretch marks on my shoulders and zits on my back.
07:59I can't even ride my own bike anymore.
08:02Puberty is extremely difficult to experience and hard to tackle in a sensitive way, but
08:07this episode excels in reminding viewers that the awkward years are not forever and everyone
08:13has their own journey to maturity.
08:15What is it now?
08:16Did you come here to watch me do my homework?
08:18I just wanted to say it was all my fault.
08:20I mean, Bobby did it to help me cause I'm such a, um, oh man, I'm not good with girls.
08:30Girls.
08:313.
08:32Keeping Up With Our Joneses
08:33You ever had any cigarette?
08:36Well, no.
08:37How about you?
08:38Only secondhand from my dad.
08:41You wanna spark it?
08:43Bobby Hill is a good kid who occasionally makes some very serious errors in judgment.
08:48And while his father also means well, he can also be quite short-sighted.
08:52When Hank catches Bobby smoking, he employs the questionable tactic of making him smoke
08:56until he's sick.
08:57You are gonna smoke this entire carton.
09:00Huh?
09:01I thought you said you didn't want me to smoke anymore.
09:06Oh, this'll take care of that, believe me.
09:09Unfortunately, this backfires when Hank decides to indulge in cigarettes.
09:13Eventually, the whole family gets hooked on nicotine.
09:16It's up to Luann to help the family help themselves.
09:19The story shows how hard it is to quit smoking while making a lovable and memorable episode.
09:24Hey, what are you doing, Luann?
09:26Unlock this door right now.
09:28I'm crating y'all in like an unruly dog.
09:32I'm sick of dysfunctional families.
09:35I came from one, and I'm not gonna let it happen to you.
09:38Number 2.
09:39Bobby Goes Nuts
09:40One of the show's most iconic lines comes from the show's sixth season premiere.
09:44If you eat some dirt, then maybe I'll leave you alone.
09:48But I don't wanna eat any dirt.
09:51Well, maybe just a little.
09:54After Hank encourages Bobby to take boxing lessons, he ends up taking a woman's self-defense class.
10:00Here, he learns the power of the phrase…
10:02That's my purse!
10:03I don't know you!
10:05He also becomes feared in the schoolyard for his strategy of targeting his enemies below the belt.
10:10Hank himself eventually suffers the consequences of teaching his son to defend himself.
10:14This plot all culminates in an epic clash between Peggy and Bobby.
10:18I'm sorry, Mom. It was a reflex.
10:23Mom, okay. I said I was sorry!
10:28All right, Peggy. Let him go.
10:30The moral?
10:31Never underestimate the effectiveness of some good below the belt based comedy.
10:35Also, try not to fight dirty.
10:37Before we unveil our topic, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:40Hank and the Great Glass Elevator.
10:42Texas Governor Ann Richards voiced herself in the episode.
10:45The Honorable Ann Richards!
10:51Megalo Dale.
10:52Dale tackles an apparent rodent problem at Megalo Mart.
10:55Just thank me by doing a thorough, discreet, professional, quiet, detailed, courteous, efficient job.
11:02I won't let you down. I'm actually going to spray poison instead of walking around going...
11:10And they call it Bobby Love.
11:12Bobby deals with heartbreak by eating a giant steak.
11:15Come on, Mom.
11:16Dad.
11:17We're leaving.
11:18Yeah!
11:22Revenge of the Lutefisk.
11:24A bad meal leads to accidental arson.
11:26My fault!
11:28I ate the Lutefisk.
11:31I got sick in the bathroom.
11:33I lit the matches.
11:35I burned down the church.
11:37I let everyone blame Grandpa.
11:40To sirloin with love.
11:43A strong finale for the show's initial run.
11:46And this bone is so big and flat.
11:49Everybody knows the tiny bone side of the sirloin is the most tender.
11:53What kind of steak joint is this?
11:55Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
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12:091.
12:10Returning Japanese and Returning Japanese 2
12:16The men of the greatest generation have a new mission.
12:19But instead of bayonets and bullets, they are wielding reflection and forgiveness as they return to the battlefields of their youth, confronting the haunting memories they've tried to leave behind.
12:30The best King of the Hill episode is yet another two-parter that finds the Hills going overseas.
12:35When Hank's crotchety father, World War II veteran Cotton, is haunted by visions of soldiers he took down in combat, he tries to make amends by taking a trip overseas.
12:43The tension increases when Hank meets his long-lost half-brother, Junichiro, during the journey.
12:48This story also finds time to give Bobby a romance plot and let Cotton's humanity shine through his prejudice.
13:05Meanwhile, back in Arlen, shenanigans lead to Dale and Bill pretending to be Hank and Peggy.
13:10This episode shows how perfectly King of the Hill could mix the poignant with the ridiculous.
13:15And I cannot open the door as I am making love to my wife, Peggy.
13:21We're doing it!
13:24What are your favorite King of the Hill episodes or moments?
13:27Let us know in the comments!
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