Search Movie Review Archives

How could one of the best written satires get overlooked? “King of the Hill” has always stood in the shadow of “The Simpsons” and that’s rather unfair. For all its brilliance, “King of the Hill” managed to incorporate satire and compassion into a inviting package. Mike Judge’s TV series sadly never captured the public’s imagination the way “The Simpsons” did. My guess is that it had to do more with the marketing of the characters of the show than it did the show itself. The third season is every bit the gem the first two were and more. Hank Hill, his wife Peggy, son bobby and niece Luanne have much more in common with the average American family than Homer and Bart. The third season had many gems among them “And They Call It Bobby Love”, Love Hurts…And So Does Art”, “The Wedding of Bobby Hill” and “Revenge of the Lutefish” point to TV animation as the best form for satire and comedy. It’s a long way from Bugs Bunny much less “The Simpsons”, but “King of the Hill” still stands as one of the best satires on Television. ---

Sadly, the first two sets sold so poorly that Fox had a decision to make. Either A) issue the series with all the original music intact or B) put together featurettes, commentary tracks and outtakes for this set. Personally, I opt for the former as “King of the Hill” is presented with all the original music from the first airing of the series. I love extras as they make older series worth purchasing on DVD if you recorded them previously but, truth be told, I’d much rather have them in their original state than altered with a couple of featurettes and commentary tracks. Evidently this set is selling better than the first two more expensive releases so, perhaps, we’ll actually get the rest of the seasons. While I would prefer extras on the next couple of boxed sets, I’ll continue to settle for a beautiful transfer with the episodes the way they were meant to be seen. ---