King of the Hill "Enrique-cilable Differences" Talkback (2/20/05)

[Peter Paltridge]

Erm...well, okay. Leave it to Fox to give a new KOTH a decent timeslot and let it be this episode. Hank was a jerk, Enrique was scarily out of character (though that was kind of the point), and they kind of did this plot already last December--and better.
It was still well-written though, despite its flaws, so I'll give it a C. It's been a good season.

 

[Stewie]

It has been a good season. They've stopped following the formula where 'Bobby gets into some strange hobby which Hank doesn't approve of, then Hank gets into it even more than Bobby.' Tonight was kind of boring. The thing with Bobby and Joseph wanting to watch the hottest new Fox reality show, Daytona 500, was okay, but a joke without a punchline. And Hank being uncomfortable discussing feelings and personal lives with anyone (and everyone) is a funny character trait, but not enough to fill an episode. It's as though they dropped the original concept but kept a few of the jokes, then stretched those jokes into an entire episode.

I liked Hank's remark about Mexicans not talking about feelings. "That's great!"

 

[Lehteb]

I think this is the best episode of the season so far. It was a lot better than the usual scenario where everybody gets mad at Hank for something that's so obviously not his fault.

One thing I've been hating so far is that even though Luanne moved back in with the Hills last season, the writers STILL ignore her! She's only been seen this season three times (out of the current seven episodes).

And it looks like the KotH crew have finally started taking whacks at FOX as well. I found it ironic that Hank said FOX is only good for football, considering that KotH has been getting delayed by football since last season.
Apparently, reality television doesn't sit well with the animation community; why else would they be mocking them in Drawn Together?

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

It didn't occur to me until somebody else pointed it out that the concept was similar to the Christmas episode. I liked this one better, though.

I didn't think Hank was really a jerk; his point was that he and Enrique weren't really friends and Enrique was just using Hank's family to live out his "fantasy life" of a happy family instead of facing up to his problems. If I have a problem it's that Hank was, once again, proven right. I think the show now has a tendency to come down too strongly on the side of Hank's solution to a problem instead of letting him be 50% right and 50% wrong like he was in some of the earlier episodes.

One thing I liked was the visuals; there were some good close-ups, angles, and lighting in the scene where Enrique tries to get in. A KotH animator recently said that the show has benefited from some new young talent among the animators; this might be the kind of thing he's talking about.

 

[simpspin]

I liked the episodes "Lean on me" plot and I liked how Hank tried to remain hands off throughout the whole ordeal, but the funniest line was Dale's: "When I dissappear, you'll have the perfect neighbor: Half Man, Half Driveway!".

Much better than the "Simpsons Gay'ole Time" tonight.

 

[Peter Paltridge]

One thing I've been hating so far is that even though Luanne moved back in with the Hills last season, the writers STILL ignore her! She's only been seen this season three times (out of the current seven episodes)

Only seven episodes though. Fox has 22 to burn off; one or two Luanne-themed shows have to be in there somewhere. Brittany Murphy isn't being put in THAT many movies...

I'm with you; I love Luanne. I wish I had been taping the face she made tonight so I could avatar it.

 

[Scythemantis]

This episode made me realize what it is that keeps me from really enjoying King of the Hill - the storylines almost always center around some sort of social/psychological discomfort, and it only makes me, in turn, feel anxious. An unbearably awkward situation that magically resolves itself when the family ignores it is not terribly funny to me, and I can't even tell if that "resolution" is supposed to be a cynical punchline or a serious message.

 

[Ekkostar]

Apparently, reality television doesn't sit well with the animation community; why else would they be mocking them in Drawn Together?

Agreed. One of the funniest parts of the Robot Chicken pilot was the parody of Fox reality shows called "One Sided Fist-Fights" or something simiar.

As for the KOTH episode, the whole situation involving Hank's driveway was rather funny, especially when Enrique gets thrown into the wet pavement, screwing up Hank, Boomhour, Dale and Bill's nice job.
I liked when Bobby and Joseph were trying to figure out Hank's password on the V-Chip block. It was so obvious...

 

[Classic Speedy]

Aw shoot, I missed this one. Was this episode on after Family Guy? Because the 7 PM episode was a repeat of "Death Buys a Timeshare".

 

[Animelee]

Yeah, this was the episode after Family Guy.

All I really have to say is that I liked the episode. I always thought to myself why they never gave Enrique his own episode and let us know more about him, but last night really surprised me. Luanne was shooting out the hilarious one-liners as usual, heh.

 

[Fone Bone]

This episode made me realize what it is that keeps me from really enjoying King of the Hill - the storylines almost always center around some sort of social/psychological discomfort, and it only makes me, in turn, feel anxious. An unbearably awkward situation that magically resolves itself when the family ignores it is not terribly funny to me, and I can't even tell if that "resolution" is supposed to be a cynical punchline or a serious message.

I love King of the Hill but that IS it's biggest fault. A lot of the situations in the episodes are uncomfortable to watch.

I really disliked this episode. If Hank had just told Enrique to stop being a baby and be a man I could have understood that. But he just ignored him and pretended he wasn't there. I also got a subtley racist vibe from Hank which I'm sure was intentional (he's made racist comments in the past).

A huge cop-out episode. *1/2.

 

[Christopher Glennon]

This episode made me realize what it is that keeps me from really enjoying King of the Hill - the storylines almost always center around some sort of social/psychological discomfort, and it only makes me, in turn, feel anxious. An unbearably awkward situation that magically resolves itself when the family ignores it is not terribly funny to me, and I can't even tell if that "resolution" is supposed to be a cynical punchline or a serious message.

I don't know. I know what you're saying, but I would've disliked the episode if Hank went all "You know Enrique, we've worked together for 20 years and now that you're hurting emotionally, I'm going to do whatever it takes to make you feel better. For propane!" Hank acted perfectly in character in this episode. Peggy likes to butt in, but Hank will typically make someone fix a car or something when they're unhappy.

I liked the Bobby/Joseph subplot, even if it was too short. Joseph's joke about reality shows and The Swan was funny, and so was Bobby figuring out the code.