Season Premiere

SPOILERS

I don't remember the p-code for this episode off hand (5G01? I think that's what it is... ). In any case, though certainly not the best KotH episode, this came off very strong, and was a definite winner in my book.

I might be a tad biased, however, in this review - after watching the SImpsons episode right before this, 4F22, The State of NY vs Homer Simpson, I was so relieved to see GOOD comedy that I might be upping the quality of this show. I did watch this particular episode by itself later in the week, and so I was able to remove the bad taste that the OFF left in my mouth, and still enjoyed this short.

One of the best things for me in this one is that this episode captured the essence of the 2-4th season Simpsons, with a good blend of comedy and drama. Hank's shooting problem was handled nicely, with the flashbacks to his father and his own concerns. It was also nice to see Bobby not being a wimp, and actually find a niche that he can be in. The Hank/Bobby relation continued to grow with this (with the first ep of KotH last year, this relationship felt weak, ala the Homer/Bart one, but several episodes nipped that thought in the bud). Peggy and Luanne were in character for the short bits they had.

Although the subject material was slightly touchy (most people feel very strongly against guns, and while I'm not an advocate of them, I'm not agressively opposed to them either), this was handled in a good way. There have been some in the group that have complained that this show emphasises the use of guns - I believe that there was enough tounge-in-cheekness regarding the use of guns that the show neither advocated or criticized that. (Examples include the gun lodge cabin scenes and posters, and the 'Wake up in the middle of the night and pull the gun from under the bed to shoot the intruder' part of the gun contest. If anything , the issue of guns took a backseat to Hank's problems. Well done on the writers for this.

Particually of note was the fact that everything DIDN't work out for the Hills... that is, they didn't win the prize. If this had been any other sit com, you know that the Hills would have won. But KotH pulled it off nicely, and then resolved it well, with Bobby showing mounds of appriciation for his father, even though they didn't win. This was extrememly well handled, and I appluad the writers for this bit.

The only weak part of the show was when they were about to get ice cream, and they wonders were Peggy was. This didn't make any sense, but, fortunately, it was a minor part of the show, and this 'error' was easily ignored.

There were a few good lines too from this weeks: paraphrasing - Hank: "I can't shoot today, son.. it's a problem with my shaft." Bobby: "Hey, his gun didn't have a shaft..." and then from earlier. "It's night, you're in bed, and you don't have a gun. How do you shoot that intruder?!"

Oh, and PLEASE, no more Bobby in his underwear! AIE!!! :-)

Overall, while not a laugh riot show, ala White Plastic Female, it is certainly one to appriciate the setting and characters that KotH has set down. A very strong character-driven plot, with enough moments to smile and laugh at, and a good use of a touchy subject without taking a side in it. Grade: A-.

On 25 Sep 1997, Michael K. Neylon wrote:

5E01: How to Fire a Rifle Without Really Trying.

I watched it by myself later in the week as well. The irreverence and bad taste in The Simpsons somewhat left me unprepared for the greatness that is King of the Hill, which is why I wasn't terribly moved the first time I saw 5E01.

Luanne? In character? She didn't need to be. She said one line (rather annoyingly in fact. Brittany, work on Luanne's voice.) and that was it. There was good drama in the episode accentuated by excellent "camera" work. When Hank lapses into his childhood crippling in the psychologist's therapy room, there is a nice zoom on him. Pauses when there need to be also help.

If anything, I think the gun issue is the first example of King of the Hill handling an issue in such a fashion that it gets people discussing it, and thinking about it. One thing that bothers me about The Simpsons is that its satire and humor isn't too concerned with triggering emotions and opinions on things. But getting back to the issue, it was handled rather nicely, particularly because Hank and Bobby never really use guns to shoot live things, but rather to just sharpshoot. The guns are tools that help Hank and Bobby come together, and also give the episode an opportunity to satirize.

Got a smidge sappy for me, but it was a decent ending. I like how the episode for once deals with Hank trying to impress his son, instead of the son trying to impress his father. IMO, when a child can do better than their parent, it indicates a good job on the part of the parent, and therefore, it might not have been conveyed, but this might've left Hank feeling satisfied.

I was wondering myself what that was about. I guess I laughed in confusion.

Fine. No more Bobby in his underwear. We get a buck naked Hank next week.

Plastic White Female.

Ditto.

Ondre

So if it's not excruciatingly obvious what the "joke" is, it's an ERROR?

Okay, pay attention. The contest is over, Bobby's happy, Hank's relieved, so they walk off into the sunset. Viewer subconsciously expects "fadeout". A few seconds pass. Bobby says he wants ice cream. Hank concurs. More silence. Viewer expects "NOW they'll fadeout". A few more seconds. Hank wonders aloud where they parked. Bobby says "over this way". Viewer HOPEFULLY begins to see the joke at this point. One more moment of silence. Bobby points out "we forgot Mom". Hank says "let's go get her". Fadeout.

It's the sort of thing that separates good comic writing from "series of jokes". To think of it as an "error" implies not seeing the forest for the trees.

j c

In article , [email] wrote:

Yes. Most wacky. Loved it.

Dang ol' -N!

Preivously, on 'alt.tv.king-of-hill',

"Error" was the wrong word in my review. I never meant to imply that if it wasn't funny for me, it wasn't funny for everyone. *I* just didn't find the joke funny or anything to smile at. But that's just me. And, in any case, my opinion of this episode was in no way tainted by this last scene.

[email] (Michael K. Neylon) wrote:

I'm glad to see I'm not alone in recognizing what "satire" is. But that brings up the question, "did the writers do it to make the 'gun lovers' look foolish or just because it was funny?"

Any OTHER sitcom? Does the word "Boggle" ring a bell? (Or "acquaintanceship"?)

I thought it was a takeoff on the proverbial "walking into the sunset" ending. (Another example of "if this had been any other sitcom...")

Preivously, on 'alt.tv.king-of-hill',

True (and that episode did come to mind while writing this). However, if this had been another sitcom, you could have bet your first born on the Hills winning the tourney. Between this and the Boggle episode, we know the Hills are not perfect and not always winners, but at least remain a strong family no matter the outcome (which is much more true to RL..)

I think I used 'error' in the wrong scene here. Mainly, the scene didn't do anything for me, but I know that the writers put it in intentially, so *shrug*, I guess it works for them. (And, again, the ending didn't affect my opinion of this particular episode one bit).