(S11E01) What's this? A new season of King of the Hill has begun and they're actually going to air the episodes in a decent timeslot? It's not going to be buried early in the evening where it will be easy to forget about? What hath we done to appease the Gods of TV that they have favored us with this gift? I don't know, but I'm glad to see this series get the timeslot it deserves.
After Luanne got pregnant in the tenth season finale, I assumed the first new episode would center on her, but I was wrong. Instead, Peggy was the center of this episode. I've always liked Peggy, because she's not an easy character to pin down. Her character is eccentric, but not contrived. The credit obviously lies with the show's top notch writing and Kathy Najimy's acting chops -- and it is "acting," not just voice acting. More than any other animated program in FOX's lineup, the characters on King of the Hill feel human. Granted, Family Guy and The Simpsons exist in a more cartoony universe, but even live-action sitcoms will try to create characters with odd quirks right out of the box, rather than letting them naturally develop their own voice. I think Peggy's drag queen friend Carolyn sums it up best when she says that Peggy is just Peggy.
Like most episodes, this one went to places I didn't expect. I don't mean the "surprise" that Carolyn was actually a man, that was obvious from the start, but that it wasn't Hank who helped Peggy to see that she was still feminine in her own special way. I expected some happy ending with Hank taking Peggy out on a romantic night on the town, and that's probably because I'm somewhat conditioned to expect the obvious from television. We've all sat and watched a show and figured out how it was going to end, but King of the Hill usually reaches its conclusion in a way we don't quite expect. Throughout the episode I kept wondering how Peggy was going to be convinced that it's not just drag queens who find her irresistible, and instead ended up with an ending where Peggy learns that she's special because drag queens love her. I liked having my expectations kicked out from under me, and it's nice to have a show this smart and funny back for another season.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-29-2007 @ 12:33AM
shawn said...
King of the Hill normally does end on the right note. And this episode was no exception.
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1-29-2007 @ 8:39AM
KMF said...
I thought this was a great episode and it didn't make Caroline a horredous joke or exaggeration as The Simpsons would have done. Having performed in the drag circuit ( I'm a woman, I did male and female drag)I found the episode fairly accurate. And I liked the ending too. I thought this was a super beginning. And at a great time slot!
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