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Peggy the Boggle Champ Writers: Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger
Director: Chuck Sheetz
===============================================================================
Production Code: 4E09 U.S. Airdate: 4/13/97
Capsule Revision: A - 7/6/97
===============================================================================- TV Guide Synopsis
Peggy's skill with words wins her the privilege
of representing Arlen in the state Boggle champ-
ionship, but her sudden success leaves Hank
feeling lost. Laurie Metcalf ("Roseanne") has a
voice cameo.- Did You Notice...
Jason Hancock:
... the mowed American flag has 19 stripes (10 green and 9 yellow)?
... Peggy keeps a family portrait and a troll doll by her side as she
plays?
... Luanne is wearing an analog watch with dots instead of numbers?
... Luanne's watch reads 1:26pm when she looks at it?
... Peggy takes Hank's P-trap with her to the state tournament?
... Hank and Burnett are the only ones not wearing their pink "COACH"
shirts during the first round?
... Bill, Dale, and Boomhauer take the back roads to Dallas, while Hank
and Peggy take the freeways?
... Hank sits in Mr. D. Moore's chair during Peggy's first match?
... the three cans of $8.00 Alamo Beer and the apple in the hotel room's
refrigerator?
... Bill and Hank were on the same high-school football team?
... the scoreboard is in red LED numbers?Ondre Lombard:
... TV Guide says Laurie Metcalf has a voice cameo despite the fact she has
a predominate role in the story unlike a celebrity who appears briefly?
(hence the word, cameo)
... Boomhauer is on his knees when the Mower Expo commercial ends?
... Min must not be a very good English speller? ("Pate" is the word she
seems to be trying to get credit for, but Peggy doesn't look up P-A-T
words to check Min's finding)
... Hank flips the purse after he's intimidated into going to the mower show?- Previous Episode Similarities [4E04] Chuck Mangione has a voice cameo
- Animation and Continuity Goofs
Closed-captioning has Peggy saying "16 letter cubes" instead of 25. {jh}
Nancy didn't appear to be at the Elks' boggle tournament. Why is Dale there?
The handles on the Plaza doors are horizontal as Hank and Peggy walk up, but they are vertical after they open the door. {jh}
When the time runs out in the very first round of the Dallas championship, the shot after shows Hank and Burnett watching in the TV room. But on the screen, Peggy isn't in her jacket, even though she was wearing it during the round.
If the people who end up working on the Hill home know the true magnitude of Bobby's problem, why are they going to such means to help him instead of telling him to just wipe off the stain? (Perhaps to get some extra money).
The paint in the can looked grey, not eggshell white.
- Freeze Frame Fun
B A M E L E T N D O P O M K K M U Y D Y M N L E P
paddle wheel n. A wheel with steam- driven paddles around its circumference, used to propel a ship. pad*dock (pad'ok) n. A usu. enclosed area in which horses are kept, as for being saddled and displayed before a race. pad*dy (pad'e) n., pl. -dies. An irrigated, marshy, or flooded field in which rice is cultivated. paddy wagon n. A police van for con- veying suspects. pad*lock (pad'lok') n. A detatchable lock with a U-shaped piece that can be inserted through the stape of a hasp and then fas- tened. --pad'lock' v. pa*dre (pa'dra, -dre) n. Informal. 1. A priest. 2. A military chaplain. pae*an (pe'on) n. [covered by Peggy's finger]ing of thanksgiving, praise, or exultation. pa*gan (pa'gon) n. [covered by Peggy's finger] who does not ac- knowledge the god of Christianity, Islam, or Judaism : heathen. --pagan adj.
________
|EXIT 23A|
--------------||______________|
---------------------------- 251 ROSE PAGAN ---------------------------- 252 DANNY CONNER ---------------------------- 253 NANCY BULLOCK ---------------------------- 254 JONATHAN SMITH ---------------------------- 255 PEGGY HILL ---------------------------- 256 BOGGLE PLAYING CHICKEN ----------------------------
MY OTHER CAR IS A LAWNMOWER
- Comments and Other Observations
"Hoo Yeah!" Is Not A Word?
The game of boggle is manufactured by Parker Brothers. It is a word game whereby the object is to find words that connect somehow in a grid or board of letter cubes. An example:
M A X L F V E S Q L L Y G D O P
An example word that is acceptable is "Poll." Without the other letters, notice how Poll connects.
- - - - - - - - - L L - - - O P
Another example: "Faxes"
- A X - F - E S - - - - - - - -
It does not matter how the letters connect, just as long as they connect. Three letter words are worth 1 point each. Four letter words are worth 2 points. Five letter words, 3. And so on. Players must find as many words as they can in a given boggle board before the limited time elapses. Whoever has the most points wins.
"Acquaintanceship" is so long that it seems virtually impossible for Peggy to have found that word in a boggle.
Interestingly enough, I didn't get into boggle until after I saw this episode. And I've still never played the Parker Bros. game. I've learned all I know about boggle from playing the game on the IRC (Internet Relay Chat). A person by the name of Kenrick Mock, with assistance from Michelle Hoyle, developed online bots which simulate games such as Boggle, Jeopardy and others.
Where is Arlen? {mar}
"I'd say that Arlen is around the Wichita Falls area, about 150 miles NW of Dallas, since Peggy drives to Lubbock for shoes (about 200 miles west of Wichita Falls), and they live close enough to Dallas events to either pick up Dallas stations or for the Dallas lawnmower show to advertise on local stations, but far enough away that it takes a couple of hours to drive, and for Hank to be filled with misconceptions about Big D."
[These observations come from a lifetime "Dallasite"]
"I've never seen a lawnmower show, but that type of advertisement is used for all the gun and knife and auto and monster truck shows that come to town." [This advertising technique was also used for the Truckasaurus show in the Simpsons episode "Bart the Daredevil" (7F06). -- {jh}]
{mar}: "There is no 'Dallas Grand Hotel', but the hotel looks similar to the Grand Kempinski, one of the nicer hotels in town. As far as I know, it has never hosted a Boggle championship.
"I guess it's possible that a 'Dallas, 15 miles' sign could be in a rural area, but only if it's to the very edge of the city limits.
"Hank's perceptions of Dallas aren't accurate, even if it's a good idea to keep your doors locked while driving. However, he's right about the Cowboys."
"Don't worry -- I rented it from Blockbuster."
Jason Hancock explains the joke:
"Blockbuster Video is America's largest video store chain. It is also, more or less, the Wal-Mart of video stores. Wal-Mart is known for carrying edited versions of albums containing songs with obscene language because of their family-oriented retail policy. Similarly, Blockbuster is known for not carrying, or carrying edited versions of, NC-17 and R-rated movies because of a similar policy."
M-M-M Good!
John Wayne's real name was Marion Michael Morrisson. He is obviously known for his roles in cowboy westerns.
- Quotes and Scene Summary
% Peggy is teaching Min how to play the word game boggle. Min's dubious % finding is a foriegn noodle soup. The guys are watching TV. Dale % notices the girls playing boggle.
I tell ya, I hate to see Nancy couped up all Sunday playing that boggle.
It's a beautiful day. She ought to be outside hanging my laundry.
-- Dale, "Peggy the Boggle Champ"% Just then, a very persuasive ad for a lawnmower expo in Dallas (which puts % more emphasis on Sunday, rather than Saturday) comes on. The men are % awestruck.
% Peggy checks one of Min's words in the dictionary, and since it didn't % count, she wins again.
Boy. Ant Peg, the words I don't know could fill a dictionary.
-- Luanne, "Peggy the Boggle Champ" Nancy: You know, the Elks are having a boggle tournament to raise bail
money for their treasurer. Maybe you should enter.
Peggy: Me? Oh, fidge, I just play for fun. Min, you owe me $13.
Min: [handing cash] Thank you for boggle lesson, Peggy Hill. Maybe next
week, I teach you Mah-Jongg. [nastily] Bring your checkbook.
-- "Peggy the Boggle Champ" Peggy: Hank, I'm thinking of entering a boggle tournament over at the Elks.
Hank: Boggle? Boy, the Elks will do anything for a dollar. Are they
still playing that game where the cow's gotta drop dung in a square?
Peggy: Boggle is nothing like cow bingo, Hank. Boggle is a game of wits.
Now, cow bingo is a game of strategy.
-- Then what is cow boggle like? "Peggy the Boggle Champ"% At the Elks lodge, Peggy plays boggle. Hank and Dale approach her. Hank has % run out of ways to kill time and he wants to go. This gives Peggy an idea % for a word. "Impatient."
% At the end of a round, Peggy mentions that she only used words that appear in % Patsy Cline lyrics. Later, Peggy tries to find an injured boy's name in the % next boggle.
Dale: Boy, that wife of yours is pretty good. I Guess that's why they
call her your "better half." [laughs]
Hank: Who calls her that??
Dale: [pause] They.
-- "Peggy the Boggle Champ"% Peggy finds Zachary Quinn, Jr.'s name in the boggle, drawing the cheers of % the other Elks.
% Peggy returns home with a big trophy, which she puts next to Hank's MVP % trophy. Bobby notices that Peggy's trophy is bigger than Hank's. But Peggy % is happier that she gets to represent Arlen in the state boggle championship. % Luanne compares it to when Hank went to state in football. Peggy mentions % that it may not be football, but it has over 200 players, and you can have a % coach. Peggy asks Hank if he wants to be her coach. Hank isn't sure he % knows what a boggle coach is suppose to do. Peggy says he doesn't have to % do anything but be there. "Unless you want me to go out to Dallas by % myself."
I don't want you going to Dallas at all! That place is crawling with
crack-heads and debutantes. And half of them play for the Cowboys.
-- Hank, "Peggy the Boggle Champ"% But it's only for the weekend, and they'll be back on Sunday. This reminds % Hank of the persuasive mower expo ad he saw. Outside, Hank tells the guys % he's going to the mower show. Dale asks him how he managed to do it, and he % explains that he "found" a boggle tournament that will keep Peggy busy.
% Just a little before the crack of dawn, Hank honks the horn for Peggy.
Hank: Let's go, Peggy! We gotta get to Dallas before the gangs wake up!
Peggy: Hank! Shh! It's 4 am!
Luanne: [yawns] Can I go back to bed, Ant Peggy? I need to get eight
hours of beauty sleep and then write a paper on it.
-- Leaving for a boggle tournament, "Peggy the Boggle Champ"% Peggy tells Luanne and Bobby not to have a party while they're gone. They % promise. Nancy and Min say goodbye to her in their bathrobes. Nancy gives % Peggy a jacket for the tournament which has patches of businesses that % sponsored her stitched into it. Min says good luck and maybe goodbye. Peggy % doesn't understand. Min explains that where she comes from, you come back a % winner or you don't come back at all. Peggy begins to feel pressure as she % gets into Hank's truck.
% [End of Act One. Time: 5:02]
% Hank and Peggy enter Dallas. Hank locks all the doors and rolls up all the % windows.
% At home, "Old Time Rock n Roll" starts up as Bobby slides into the living % room in naught but underwear and socks. Turns out Luanne is just watching % the movie "Risky Business."
Bobby: Luanne, that movie's got bad words and adult situations.
Luanne: Not anymore. I rented it at Blockbuster.
-- Watching ``Risky Business,'' "Peggy the Boggle Champ"% She also rented Chuck Mangione's fire safety video. Bobby has to tend to % laundry. Luanne offers Bobby a tip about unplugging irons after use.
% At the Dallas Grand Plaza, Hank parks, and refuses service from Valet men.
Peggy: It's okay, Hank. Valet parking is included in the price of the
room.
Hank: [out the side of his mouth] I don't like the looks of this one,
Peggy. He's just itching to take my truck for a joyride.
-- Carjackers in Uniform, "Peggy The Boggle Champ"% Peggy awes at the inside of the hotel, and she's greeted by Joan, the % Hospitality Cooridinator, who introduces her to everyone as the boggle champ % of Arlen. Peggy blushes. Joan gives Peggy her boggle totebag, schedule % of events and even a boggle lei. Two women in grass skirts put a lei of % boggle squares over Peggy's neck. Peggy introduces Hank, and Joan offers him % activities to occupy his time. Hank passes on wallet-making, and Peggy % mentions that Hank is also her coach. Joan, then, gives Hank a pink Coach % shirt.
% At home, Bobby is watching Chuck Mangione's fire safety video.
So take it from me, Chuck Mangione. Unplugging the iron feels so good!
Can ya dig it?
-- Well, if 3rd degree burns is the other option...,
"Peggy the Boggle Champ"% Bobby sets his milk glass on the coffee table--without a coaster. % Luanne and Bobby freak out at the water ring left from the glass on the % table. Luanne feels they let down Hank and Peggy.
They won't be home for forty eight hours! I'll think of something!
Hey I got it!
You think of something.
-- Bobby leaves a water ring on the coffee table while the parents are
in Dallas, "Peggy the Boggle Champ"% Hank goes to check in.
Hank: Checking in. The name's Hank Hill.
Receptionist: [types in the computer] Nope. I have a Peggy Hill.
Hank: Yeah, that's it. Hank and Peggy Hill.
Receptionist: I have a Peggy Hill.
Hank: She's my wife!
Receptionist: Oh, okay. Mr. and Mrs. Peggy Hill.
Hank: Now you listen to me! [bangs on the counter, ringing the
bellboy ring] The name is [bang] Hank [bang] Hill. [bang] Mr.
[bang] Hank [bang] Hill. Peggy married [bang] me! I didn't
marry [bang] her!
[a bunch of bellboys have gathered behind Hank]
What are you looking at??
-- Do not play with the bellboy ring, "Peggy the Boggle Champ"% At the hotel entrance, a glamoured woman walks in with her husband. Joan % informs Peggy that that is Cissy Cobb, Dallas' boggle champion for seven % non-consecutive years. Peggy greets Cissy, who notices Peggy's jacket. % Peggy explains that the Boggle Boosters gave her the jacket and what the % patches are for. Cissy remarks, "How exciting. Why, you're at the very % beginning of a rags-to-riches story." She laughs and walks off with her % husband.
% Bobby is frantically varnishing the table, practically trying to give it a % new top. Luanne looks at the time. Hank and Peggy are gonna be home in % -- 47 hours! Bobby gets nervous and accidentally knocks the varnish can off % of the coffee table. Nothing happens. When Luanne picks up the can, a spot % of varnish drips out onto the carpet. Luanne and Bobby freak out.
% Hank wound up getting a name tag with Peggy's name on it. Cissy's husband, % Burnett, greets Peg, er, Hank Hill. When Hank tries to explain, Burnett % stops him, assuring him there's nothing wrong with a male having a female % name.
Burnett: The Duke himself, John Wayne, was really named Marion.
Hank: You take that back!
-- "Peggy the Boggle Champ"% The capable Hill and Platter kids try to get rid of the varnish spot--with a % vacuum cleaner. Bobby decides to put the vacuum on high, and the power cord % shorts out. Luanne and Bobby freak out.
% Hank and Peggy go into the players arena. Peggy is excited.
Peggy: Oh, Hank. I have dreamt of this moment ever since I reached ages 8
and up.
Hank: Yeah. So I'll see you at dinner. I gotta get to the mower show.
Peggy: Well, you can't leave now! You are my coach! I need you! You of
all people should understand. I am at state! This is my moment.
When I close my eyes, I see myself in the winner's circle and you
are right there next to me. My coach! My man! And we drive back
to Arlen with that big-ass boggle trophy mounted on the hood of
your old truck like some beautiful gold-plated, bare-breasted
Rolls Royce angel!
Hank: Well, when I close _my_ eyes, I see myself at the mower show. And
you're there, too. Like some beauty queen of Yore, wearing a fur
coat, and a, gold, uh, hat. [short pause] Oh, all right, I'll stay.
-- And the Academy Award for excellence in melodramatics goes to...,
"Peggy the Boggle Champ"% Hank, and all the coaches, must go to the TV room to watch the game. Peggy % asks Hank to hold her purse, too. Meanwhile, Dale, Bill and Boomhauer are % on their way to Dallas. Peggy sits at her boggle table, and her opposer is-- % Cissy Cobb. "Well, hello, Patches. You must be here for your boggle % lesson." Peggy shakes up her boggle board. The game begins. Cissy wastes % no time writing down words. Peggy's eyes begin to blur. Nervousness sets % in, and Peggy can't write a thing. Time's up, so Peggy writes _something_.
% In the TV room, Hank reads a magazine while Burnett takes audio notes. % "Hm. Vowel cubes are running cold. Coaches note: it's a good day for % `sometimes Y.'" Hank mentions to Burnett that for $7.50 he could ride the % mower that cut grassy noll. Burnett hushes him.
% Cissy tallied 73 points. The only word Peggy could make out was `dang.' % Cissy lets out a boisterous laugh, and says `dang' isn't a word. It's 73 to % 0.
% Peggy cries in the hotel room.
Peggy: [sobs] I am so stupid!
Hank: Aw, you're not stupid. Heck, you're smarter than me!
Peggy: Oh, big deal!
-- Gee, uh, thanks, "Peggy the Boggle Champ"% Hank tells her she's smarter than anyone else in Arlen. "Well, whoopty doo! % I am the smartest hillbilly in hillbilly town!"
Hank: Hey, you know, Coach used to say something that would fire us up
when we were behind.
Peggy: Yeah? What?
Hank: LOSER! YOU'RE A LOSER! ARE YOU FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF??
WELL YOU SHOULD BE! YOU ARE DIRT! YOU MAKE ME SICK, YOU BIG
BABY! BABY WANT A BOTTLE?! A BIG DIRT BOTTLE!?
Peggy: [bawls] Why are you yelling at me??
Hank: Uh, I'm trying to be your Coach. Uh, it's, it's inspiring.
Peggy: Well thank you, because I feel worse than ever.
Hank: Well, it worked for the team.
Peggy: No it didn't. You went to state and lost.
-- "Peggy the Boggle Champ"% Hank goes to fetch one of those "eight dollar beers."
% [End of Act Two. Time: 13:21]
% Back at the gaming floor, Peggy muses that Hank was right and that she is a % loser. The only competitor below Peggy is the Boggle Playing Chicken. % Another round begins.
% The guys have arrived at the hotel. They find Hank, carrying Peggy's purse % on his shoulder.
Dale: Uh, Hank.
Hank: Oh, hi, guys.
Dale: Uh, *cough*, what are you doing with that purse?
Hank: I'm holding it for Peggy.
Dale: Uh-huh.
-- And look at this cute little name tag, "Peggy the Boggle Champ" Dale: Come on, men. We're missing the mower show. Let's go!
Hank: [sees Peggy playing on the monitor] Well... maybe tomorrow.
Dale: What's going on here, Hank?
Boomhauer: I got a pretty good dang ol' idea what's goin' on, I tell you
what, man y'go-- [makes whipping sounds]
Dale: Two days ago, you were like a little boy. All excited about
the mower show. Now you're this strange man holding a purse.
Which is it, Hank? Are you some kind of man? Or are you a
little boy!
-- He's a strange man in a metamorphasis, "Peggy the Boggle Champ"% Hank succumbs, and heads for the mower show with the boys.
% Peggy finds a word and wins a round--against the Boggle Playing Chicken.
% At the mower show, the guys take a look at "Liberace's Mower"--a lawnmower % with glittery decorations. The exhibit sign says "No Flash Photography," but % Dale disobeys, and the guys soon experience the reason why there is a No % Flash Photography rule. Hank sees a boy pushing a toy lawnmower with a dome % containing bouncing balls. Instead of colored balls, Hank sees boggle letter % squares guiltily.
% The situation at home has gotten out of hand, as a small carpenter team is % in the living room tending to the walls, the coffee table, and the carpet.
Are you sure you can get that ring out? Look, I can't afford anymore
screw-ups. I just spent my last dollar on deodorizing carpet sealing.
-- Using huge measures to solve a not-so-huge problem,
"Peggy the Boggle Champ"% The guys take a look at the "Mower of the Future," but the exhibit only % reminds Hank of boggle.
% Peggy regains her confidence and wins a number of rounds. "I did it! Guess % what, Hank! We are going to the finals!" But no one is in Hank's chair to % watch.
% Boomhauer is playing the virtual reality lawnmower ride, while Hank continues % to wrestle with the guilt for not being there for Peggy. He looks at his % Coach's shirt and walks off. Boomhauer tries to unblock the ride and when he % pulls his hand out, he looks at it through the virtual reality headset, and % he appears to be missing fingers.
Aaaah! I ain't got no fingers!
-- Boomhauer goes on the virtual reality mower ride,
"Peggy the Boggle Champ"% Joan tells Peggy they're going to have to begin the finals, but Peggy wants % to first find Hank. An obnoxious voice tells her that her husband is % probably too embarrassed to watch her beat Peggy again. It's, of course, a % cocky Cissy Cobb. Peggy gets nervous again, and reliant on Hank.
% Broadcasting the boggle finals for the Grand Plaza Hospitality Channel are % Brent Steele and Alexi Gulgarin.
% Peggy looks to Hank's seat and he's no where to be found. Cissy starts % writing words, while Peggy hesitates for Hank. She tries to write a word, % but her pencil breaks. Since there is no coach there to replace Peggy's % pencil, she sharpens it with her teeth and writes a few words down. Time is % up, and Peggy must read her words.
Sad.
Abandon.
Abandons.
Bad.
Man.
-- Peggy's boggle wordlist after she's abandoned by her coach, Hank, in the
finals, "Peggy the Boggle Champ"% Hank arrives at the hotel and returns to the game. It's the final match, and % Peggy is down to her final pencil--which she ends up breaking. But this % time, Hank is there to give her another one. "Where the hell have you been?" % Peggy asks rhetorically. Hank says all that matters is that he's here now. % Peggy regains confidence and effortlessly produces a growing list of words. % Time's up, and Cissy reads her list of words with arrogant confidence. % Caviar. Chinchilla. Harpsicord. Alexi notes that Cissy did not use "Harp" % or "Cord." Peggy reads her list, which comprises of a long list of short % words. With only ten points left to beat Cissy, Cissy sees that Peggy has % wrote `ain't'--which is not a word. Cissy laughs boisterously as Peggy % glares at her. But actually, the word was `Acquaintanceship.' "As in, it % was not my pleasure to make your acquaintanceship." Peggy becomes the new % state boggle champion. Next on the Grand Plaza Hospitality Channel is fire % safety instructions from host Chuck Mangione.
% Peggy got her wish, while Cissy cries. Burnett recites the "encouraging" % rhetoric Hank shouted at Peggy in the hotel. "You know, there's something % Coach said he would do if we ever won the state game," Hank tells Peggy. % "Oh yeah? What's that?" Hank kisses Peggy. On the back of Hank's pants is % a "Mr. Peggy Hill" sticker.
% [End of Act Three. Time: 20:57]
% The crew has grown at the Hill house, and radios playing rock music blare % slightly. But it's too late. Peggy and Hank are home. Hank thinks a party % is underway, and he tells all the workmen to get out before he calls their % parents. Peggy says to Luanne and Bobby, "I don't know how you two could be % so irresponsible. You are both grounded."
What were you thinking?? You've got school tomorrow!
-- Hank tosses out a kid, er, workman who attended Bobby's "party,"
"Peggy the Boggle Champ"- Voice Credits
Starring: Mike Judge (Hank, Boomhauer) Kathy Najimy (Peggy, Joan) Pamela Segall (Bobby) Brittany Murphy (Luanne) Stephen Root (uncredited) (Bill) and Johnny Hardwick (Dale, Mower Expo TV Announcer, Scorekeeper)
Special Guest Voice: Chuck Mangione (Himself) Laurie Metcalf (Cissy Cobb)
Also Starring: Ashley Gardner (Nancy) David Herman (Receptionist, Brent Steele) Toby Huss (Burnett Cobb, Alexi Gulgarin) Lauren Tom (Min)
- Reviews
Jason Hancock: This is bar-none my favorite KotH episode so far. I'm still laughing at the Boggle-playing chicken, and Boomhauer's virtual lawnmowing trip was also a classic. Bobby and Luanne's adventures at home were also funny, and the ending scene where Hank broke up their "party" was the icing on the cake. Grade: A+
Yours truly: A somewhat ho-hum story with a few good blasts of humor. The direction this episode goes in isn't terribly creative or original, but it's satisfactory. The Boggle Playing Chicken was funny and unexpected, however. I rather enjoyed the subplot with Luanne and Bobby at home, and Hank's friends got a few good scenes in this one. Grade: B (8.5/10)
- Contributors
{jh} Jason Hancock {mar} Mark Aaron Richey
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