| 
Technical Information
Studio:
Fox Home Entertainment
Year of Theatrical Release: n/a
Disc Format: 3
single-sided, Dual Layer
Image Format: Full
Frame
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Region Encoding: 1
Sound Format: Dolby
Digital 2.0 (pro logic)
Running Time: Each
episode runs approximately 20 minutes
Director: Various
Stars: Mike
Judge, Kathy Najimy, Brittany Murphy, Pamela Segall
MPAA Rating: n/a
Disc Supplements:
- Audio commentaries
- Making Of featurette
- Deleted scenes
- Animatics
- Animation guide
- Meet the Hills character studies
- Barenaked Ladies music video
- TV spots
|
| |
|
It was probably inevitable, given the success
of The Simpsons, that another stab at a prime time animated
sitcom would happen. Probably what no one saw coming was that
the creator of Beavis and Butthead, one of the most controversial
things on television at that time, would be the one given the
prime time green light.
Perhaps even more perplexing is that Mike
Judge would create a show that is bitingly funny, fiercely honest
and yet suitable for broadcast television (perhaps even more
so than The Simpsons). That's not to say that King of the Hill
is wholesome family entertainment, but very rarely does it go
for the vulgar jokes.
The show is set in a small Texas town and
populated by an array of freaks and weirdoes. At the center
of it all is the Hill family. Hank Hill is the so-called "king"
and he's a middle-aged, close-minded southerner. Anything that
deviates from his narrow perception of normal is cause for panic
and anxiety.
Hank's wife, Peggy, is more tolerant, but
only slightly so. She, too, is from the generation that just
doesn't talk about certain things. In fact, one of the first
season's funniest episodes, Square Peg, involves Peggy trying
to trick herself into saying the word "penis" for
a sex education class (as I type this sentence, I realize that
I am going to wind up receiving a ton of search engine traffic
from those looking for porn -- sorry guys).
Also living in the Hill household is Bobby,
Hank and Peg's only child, and Luanne, Hank's troubled niece
who winds up living with the Hill's. Luanne is fairly fresh
out of school, from a severely broken home and, by Hank's strict
standards, quite a bit on the wild side. In Hank's eyes, the
mere fact that Luanne would so much as step into the bathroom
(regardless of the reason) without closing the door behind her
is proof that she's a troubled girl.
The show also throws in an array of oddball
neighbors to, at times, irritate Hank and also offer him an
outlet for his rantings. My personal favorite member of the
supporting cast is Dale Gribbler, a conspiracy theory nut who
completely fails to notice that his wife is having an affair
practically right under his nose.
Like The Simpsons, King of the Hill boasts
some excellent writing, making for a first season that, despite
some unevenness at times, is nearly consistently funny. Some
of the episodes, such as the above mentioned Square Peg, and
Hank's Unmentionable Problem (concerning Hank's sudden inability
to go to the bathroom) stand out as the best of the season,
there are no real lemons here. Although most of the episodes
deal directly with the Hill family, almost all of the major
supporting characters get their chance to shine through a variety
of subplots.
If there is any real flaw in the series is
that's sometimes the animation (which is completed over seas)
is a bit shaky, creating an uneven and occasionally flat-out
poor look. But the sometimes shoddy artwork never really takes
away from the writing.
It should be noted that King of the Hill was
a mid-season addition to the Fox lineup, so the first season
only contains 13 episodes. Still, that's more than enough for
an introduction to the world of Hank Hill and makes for a good
appetizer for additional seasons, which only get funnier and
funnier.
:::back to
top |
From what I could tell, the video
quality was decent. As I mentioned in the main part of the review,
there are some bits of poor animation, but they are hardly an issue
with the DVD presentation. There are a few compression flaws here
and there and some slight edge enhancement at times, but overall,
this isn't a bad transfer. Colors seem to be fairly accurate and
the drawings are always crisp and clear.
:::back to top |
The audio in this set is, surprisingly,
only adequate. The overall dynamic range seems a little clipped,
giving the dialog a lightly tinny sound. There is very little use
of the surround channels and quite a lot of it only seems to be
sound bleeding from the front channels. Still, the dialog is always
easy to understand, which is the most important thing. This isn't
a great sounding set, but it gets the job done.
:::back to top |
Fox has put together a pretty decent
set of extras for King of the Hill and a lot of them are fairly
well done.
By far, the best of the bunch is
a Making Of featurette that runs about a half hour.
Athough mostly a talking head feature, there are some quality interviews
with all of the major players behind the series, including creators
Mike Judge and Greg Daniels (a former writer for The Simpsons) and
most of the show's vocal talents.
Next up are 7 audio commentaries
scattered throughout the episodes. The more serious of
the commentaries feature Greg Daniels and episode director Klay
Hall. These two offer up insights into some of what went into getting
the series on the air and the day-to-day grind of producing prime
time animation. The remainder of the commentaries feature the show's
vocal talents lending insights in character.. Although a bit on
the cheesy side, there is a fun-factor in this sort of extra.
Each of the three discs also features
deleted scenes from various episodes. This is something
as a surprise for me, as I wouldn't have thought that a show under
strict weekly time limits would produce animation that runs long.
Still, some of these scenes are very funny. Also with the deleted
scenes are animatics, or roughly produced animation
storyboards to help pace the show.
Also included are two very interesting
interactive features. The first, Meet The Hills,
takes a look at all of the main characters and their unique personality
traits. The second, and an extra that I found to be highly entertaining,
is an Animation Guide. Think of this as a "bible"
for the animators, telling them what and what not to do when it
comes to creating the world of King of the Hill. This guide handles
everything from how to handle reflections in glass to how the characters
should eat their food. You'll notice that many of these rules weren't
in place for the first season and therefore are broken throughout
the episodes.
FInishing things off are some TV
spots and a Barenaked Ladies music video.
:::back to top |
I'll be honest in saying that King of the Hill
may not be a show for everyone. I wasn't even sure what I thought
of it until I had watched a dozen or so episodes. However, the writing
and the characters have grown on me and though it doesn't put me
on the floor with laughter as consistently as The Simpsons, each
episode does make for an entertaining half hour of comedy.
:::back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Until Spy Kids came along,
I would have had a hard time imagining Mike Judge being involved in
anything that was safe for the entire family. King of the Hill is
no exception. The humor, though rarely vulgar, is often of an adult
nature. The show isn't bad for the older kids, but keep the youngsters
away. |
|
|
|
|
|
| -- By Robert Wurth. Copyright
© 2003. |
|
|
 |
