Rate/Review King of the Hill: "Bad News, Bill"

[TriforceBun]

Bobby finds support from his new baseball coach, while Hank gets lambasted for not encouraging his son enough. Rate/review here!

[Gatorgod]

Had a good feel to it. Bobby got saved by Hank again. Good stuff! 4/5

[Kiyosuki]

There was something so oldschool about this episode. Just the pacing, the subject, Hank's behavior...it was all so oldschool. But at the same time it felt like it was closing a loose end too. I always wondered of the fact Hank does kinda sell Bobby short would ever be the focus and it is here. But it's not done in some overblown way.

When Bobby's out there at the end, and the other kids turn all distorted (almost mildly anime-ish I thought)...that was a really cool scene. It looked cool, but I thought it really got that awkward panic feeling you got as a kid in situations like that. I felt for the kid.

Great stuff.

[WBadger]

king of the hill is turning out to be the second best animated series on fox.

good episode. i gave it a 5/5

[Dave Shutton]

I enjoyed it, but Bill's voice really got on my nerves in this one, the smuggness was really obnoxious.

[arii]

I also felt like this was closing up a loose end with the ending... Hank giving Bobby some encouragement in his comedy and all, I can't recall right now if that's ever really been done in the series before, but even if it has, the way this episode ended felt like it was closing up a loose end in regards to their relationship. It was sweet.

I liked the episode. Loved Bill in it (I love how whenever he seems to get a boost of confidence he just runs wild with it) and enjoyed Hank throughout. It only felt a little "done" to me before in that Hank gets persecuted relentlessly but in the end he's right and saves the day... but whatever. Solid enough. This is still a great show.

[The Sovereign]

I also felt like this was closing up a loose end with the ending... Hank giving Bobby some encouragement in his comedy and all, I can't recall right now if that's ever really been done in the series before, but even if it has, the way this episode ended felt like it was closing up a loose end in regards to their relationship. It was sweet.

The Propanics was an example of that

[Mr Johannson]

Young Bobby playing teeball was funny, as was Bill. But the ending bothered me a little. It might just be me, but I was getting the impression that Bobby was actually getting good at baseball (or at least competent), yet it turned out he was just as bad as ever.

[Sniper Squirrel]

It was kind of a low point of the season for me, I'm getting kind of sick of the "Bobby sucks at everything and Hank bails him out at the last minute" storylines

[Jrock241]

I'm not sure if this has been posted but HERE is some news about the show, and possible airing of futher episodes. Includes news of Dollhouse and Prison Break also.

As for what the artical says; I don't think they plan on fully bringing it back, but just to simply have a few extra episodes to fill space when Sit Down Shut Up and Cleveland Show gets cancelled.

[Revolver]

Yeah, there's already a thread about that.

[Redem]

It was kind of a low point of the season for me, I'm getting kind of sick of the "Bobby sucks at everything and Hank bails him out at the last minute" storylines

King of the hill a metaphore for Goverment and the financial world ?

[Semaj]

It was kind of a low point of the season for me, I'm getting kind of sick of the "Bobby sucks at everything and Hank bails him out at the last minute" storylines

Not so much a low-point for me, but they sorta went back to that "Hank is always right" model. They didn't give a fairly good reason why Bobby started to suck at baseball when he was getting the encouragement he allegedly wasn't getting.

2.5/5

[Kiyosuki]

Young Bobby playing teeball was funny, as was Bill. But the ending bothered me a little. It might just be me, but I was getting the impression that Bobby was actually getting good at baseball (or at least competent), yet it turned out he was just as bad as ever.

Yeah that was the one single thing that bugged me. I wasn't expecting Bobby to suddenly become Babe Ruth or something, but he seemed decent...but then suddenly he sucks for the sake of having Hank be right. I shrugged it off because how it all melts down was such a cool scene to me so I was willing to let it go, but I think it would have been better if he were just average...but were still not as accepted by his peers as he'd have liked to think. Then Hank's little message would have been more level headed. Like Hank has a point, but he still wrongly underestimated his own kid. A compromise. Would have been nice for a final season(ish). The way it was though makes it look a little like the universe bends to Hank's whim to make it so he's right or something, even if he's not completely right to begin with...so he gets that "I toldja so" moment and once again Hank's the wisest man on earth.

But I stil thought it was an all around nice episode.

[TriforceBun]

I didn't mind Hank being correct here--some people are simply not good at some things, especially compared to others. I took the theme presented in this episode as "talent should be nurtured, but it has to be there in the first place." Bobby really doesn't have to be great at baseball, and sometimes, even after a lot of practicing, a kid still wouldn't be.

I like how King of the Hill subverts the ideas that most shows would've approached. Despite the somewhat predictable nature of Hank knowing what was best for Bobby, there was still a "happy medium" tucked away--he WAS too discouraging to the boy in the first half, but once it got to the point where Bobby was sure he'd be playing for the Yankees, it showed the results of encouragement sometimes going too far. Sometimes a kid just can't get a skill down, regardless of the effort he puts into it.

So I agreed with the overall message of the show, and found it rather refreshing, as Hank getting looked down upon for not supporting his son is a simple, in-character idea that hasn't really been handled on the show before (or any show, really). I think The Simpsons could actually make a great episode with this premise too--imagine if some of the Springfield residents feel that Bart could be destined for greater things if Homer had more faith in him.

Anyway, I liked the show and really enjoyed the story. It could've used more laughs, but I got a kick out of Hank's threats to Bill. Another solid KotH, and another KotH that I've enjoyed more than the rest of the night's programming.

4/5

[Nico32]

Very funny, very entertaining, and thought it flowed well. only thing I didn't like was how Bill was acting as well as the coach. 4/5

[Semaj]

I think The Simpsons could actually make a great episode with this premise too--imagine if some of the Springfield residents feel that Bart could be destined for greater things if Homer had more faith in him.

They did in "Bart Star".

[TriforceBun]

^^Ah, good catch. That one completely slipped my mind. One of the better S9 episodes, in my opinion.