I wish them luck in capturing that lightning in a bottle that the original series had. For me, King of the Hill is like my "The Office" that some people have. If I don't have a TV show in mind...
I wish them luck in capturing that lightning in a bottle that the original series had. For me, King of the Hill is like my "The Office" that some people have. If I don't have a TV show in mind then to kill time, I will watch KotH. I've probably watched the series since 2003(?) when it was still airing and sandwiched in between other shows like The Simpsons, Malcolm in the Middle, and Futurama.
I can still remember the first episode I ever watched, just happening to select the channel showing re-runs from the old Dish Network set-up we had. It was King of the Anthill. There was a period of time where my dad and I would watch this show together, it being mine while his was Seinfeld, and we would bond in a way that we can still connect on to this day. Funnily, I could actually say nearly every relationship that I have had in my adult life I have likely subjected them to a full KotH series re-watch, or at least peppered what I was talking about with KotH references. I think it is a great show that really shines through on episodes where the slice-of-life aspect was so relatable that I could believe the characters could exist in real life.
With that said, I'm going to go into this with no expectations. The world we live in today is much different than the world that KotH was created in and I hope they create something that gives the creators fulfillment and pride, even if I end up not liking it personally. I have my fond memories of the original run and they can stand on their own separate from this reboot.
I'll preface this by saying that King of the Hill is my favorite TV show. I'm apprehensive about a new version though. We got 13 seasons of reliable service, and there's not any single season you...
I'll preface this by saying that King of the Hill is my favorite TV show. I'm apprehensive about a new version though. We got 13 seasons of reliable service, and there's not any single season you can point to as being bad. There's a few weirdo episodes in there, but nothing outright bad. So even if it doesn't happen, I won't be too disappointed.
The announcement is short on details. They don't mention anyone coming back, so it could be an entirely new cast or even new characters.
I do think it will be difficult to contextualize it in the modern era, much like Roseanne. It takes place in suburban Texas. We know from the show that almost all of the main characters are extremely conservative.
Imagine what Dale would be like nowadays. He wouldn't be a "wacky" conspiracy theorist who distrusts the government. He would be deep into the Q-Anon rabbit hole. He would absolutely be at the January 6th riot, fully supporting the overthrow of the U.S. government.
Bill wouldn't just be a divorced sad sack. He'd hate women and be an incel.
On a more positive note, maybe they would actually give John Redcorn some more character development. He's one of the best characters on the show, since he seems to be the only one who consistently realizes how dumb some of the other characters are. But a lot of the time (especially in the earlier seasons of the show), he is relegated to showing up and giving some sage advice to the main characters that they then completely misunderstand and misapply.
One thing the show was good at was respecting LGBTQ+ characters. The episode where they find out that Dale's dad is gay is one of my favorites. You can tell Hank, Bill and Boomhauer are uncomfortable about being at the gay rodeo but they aren't spitting vitriol or slurs at the other attendees. Is that how it would play out today? Either way, I'd love to see what they do with more LGBTQ+ characters.
I think the show could touch on some of your examples without ruining the characters. The show ran for over a decade during a really fast-paced era in the US. They touched on a lot of politics and...
I think the show could touch on some of your examples without ruining the characters. The show ran for over a decade during a really fast-paced era in the US. They touched on a lot of politics and social changes without being preachy about it. They handled it with grace and poked fun at it where they could. To borrow your examples...
Dale would dismiss the Q-Anon stuff as a distraction or government-manufactured conspiracy theory and think the subscribers to those theories were crackpots (of course missing the irony). OR he'd fall into it, actually dig into the theories and come up empty-handed and realize it was bullshit and have a crisis ("If this isn't real, what if aliens also aren't real?!").
Bill would fall into the incel crowd with enthusiasm thinking he's found a supportive community. And it would start making him act really shitty toward Peggy or Nancy and Hank and Dale would pull him out of his own ass (and or kick it). OR Bill would realize how pathetic the community is on his own after making an ass of himself in front of Hank, Dale, and Boomhauer.
You’re right. But I can’t help but feel those examples would still be too real. Maybe we’re just so polarized nowadays that I have a hard time laughing at that kind of thing? Then again, Mike...
You’re right. But I can’t help but feel those examples would still be too real. Maybe we’re just so polarized nowadays that I have a hard time laughing at that kind of thing? Then again, Mike Judge has always been great at walking that line between too real to be funny and satire.
He'd fall into it, actually dig into the theories and come up empty-handed and realize it was bullshit and have a crisis ("If this isn't real, what if aliens also aren't real?!").
They touched on this in an episode where Dale finds the appendix to the Warren Report and suddenly everything about the JFK assassination makes sense. He loses faith in conspiracy theories and becomes a supporter of Uncle Sam.
I wish them luck in capturing that lightning in a bottle that the original series had. For me, King of the Hill is like my "The Office" that some people have. If I don't have a TV show in mind then to kill time, I will watch KotH. I've probably watched the series since 2003(?) when it was still airing and sandwiched in between other shows like The Simpsons, Malcolm in the Middle, and Futurama.
I can still remember the first episode I ever watched, just happening to select the channel showing re-runs from the old Dish Network set-up we had. It was King of the Anthill. There was a period of time where my dad and I would watch this show together, it being mine while his was Seinfeld, and we would bond in a way that we can still connect on to this day. Funnily, I could actually say nearly every relationship that I have had in my adult life I have likely subjected them to a full KotH series re-watch, or at least peppered what I was talking about with KotH references. I think it is a great show that really shines through on episodes where the slice-of-life aspect was so relatable that I could believe the characters could exist in real life.
With that said, I'm going to go into this with no expectations. The world we live in today is much different than the world that KotH was created in and I hope they create something that gives the creators fulfillment and pride, even if I end up not liking it personally. I have my fond memories of the original run and they can stand on their own separate from this reboot.
I'll preface this by saying that King of the Hill is my favorite TV show. I'm apprehensive about a new version though. We got 13 seasons of reliable service, and there's not any single season you can point to as being bad. There's a few weirdo episodes in there, but nothing outright bad. So even if it doesn't happen, I won't be too disappointed.
The announcement is short on details. They don't mention anyone coming back, so it could be an entirely new cast or even new characters.
I do think it will be difficult to contextualize it in the modern era, much like Roseanne. It takes place in suburban Texas. We know from the show that almost all of the main characters are extremely conservative.
Imagine what Dale would be like nowadays. He wouldn't be a "wacky" conspiracy theorist who distrusts the government. He would be deep into the Q-Anon rabbit hole. He would absolutely be at the January 6th riot, fully supporting the overthrow of the U.S. government.
Bill wouldn't just be a divorced sad sack. He'd hate women and be an incel.
On a more positive note, maybe they would actually give John Redcorn some more character development. He's one of the best characters on the show, since he seems to be the only one who consistently realizes how dumb some of the other characters are. But a lot of the time (especially in the earlier seasons of the show), he is relegated to showing up and giving some sage advice to the main characters that they then completely misunderstand and misapply.
One thing the show was good at was respecting LGBTQ+ characters. The episode where they find out that Dale's dad is gay is one of my favorites. You can tell Hank, Bill and Boomhauer are uncomfortable about being at the gay rodeo but they aren't spitting vitriol or slurs at the other attendees. Is that how it would play out today? Either way, I'd love to see what they do with more LGBTQ+ characters.
I think the show could touch on some of your examples without ruining the characters. The show ran for over a decade during a really fast-paced era in the US. They touched on a lot of politics and social changes without being preachy about it. They handled it with grace and poked fun at it where they could. To borrow your examples...
Dale would dismiss the Q-Anon stuff as a distraction or government-manufactured conspiracy theory and think the subscribers to those theories were crackpots (of course missing the irony). OR he'd fall into it, actually dig into the theories and come up empty-handed and realize it was bullshit and have a crisis ("If this isn't real, what if aliens also aren't real?!").
Bill would fall into the incel crowd with enthusiasm thinking he's found a supportive community. And it would start making him act really shitty toward Peggy or Nancy and Hank and Dale would pull him out of his own ass (and or kick it). OR Bill would realize how pathetic the community is on his own after making an ass of himself in front of Hank, Dale, and Boomhauer.
You’re right. But I can’t help but feel those examples would still be too real. Maybe we’re just so polarized nowadays that I have a hard time laughing at that kind of thing? Then again, Mike Judge has always been great at walking that line between too real to be funny and satire.
They touched on this in an episode where Dale finds the appendix to the Warren Report and suddenly everything about the JFK assassination makes sense. He loses faith in conspiracy theories and becomes a supporter of Uncle Sam.
Wow, that's really a thing!