propane [proh-peyn]
noun
1. A colorless, flammable gas, C 3 H 8 , of the alkane series, occurring in petroleum and natural gas: used chiefly as a fuel and in organic synthesis.
straight man [strehyt-man]
noun
an entertainer who plays the part of a foil for a comic partner.
EX. "I sell propane and propane accessories."-Hank Hill, King of the Hill
King of the Hill is a show about Hank
Hill, a propane salesman, living in Texas with his family and
friends, where he usually is responsible for getting himself or his
friends out of some sort of trouble. The show is an underrated gem of not only animation but situational comedy; the fact that some people think the show boring or don't get the humor speaks to the show's original premise and its unforgiving commitment to adhering to the show's concept. The appeal of the show can be broken down into two factors; sincerity and cultural comedy.
The show is sincere; our protagonist is not some dope, the show rarely has any flights of fantasy, and no one in the show is inherently evil or perfectly good. The characters are all likeable, despite their mistakes, and over time they grow and evolve with each other. There is a sense in this show's universe, which mostly takes place in Arlen, Texas, that the world is changing and, rather than fighting it, the shows characters are adapting with the times. While the characters can't be called realistic, they can't be called caricatures. To understand this sincerity, it would be most prudent to look at Hank Hill.
Hank starts out the show as a somewhat stereotypical, close-minded, and aggressive red neck, but the show quickly fixes this image and through his actions we understand the man. He is a conservative, traditionalist, who is trying to operate honestly and fairly in a world that seems to be changing whether he likes/understands it all or not. Hank's anger recedes as the show progresses, he becomes more and more understanding, and by the end of the show he is the person everyone goes to for advice; because he always tells the person the right thing to do and the right way to do it. The show doesn't try to toss too many morals at you; it mostly deals in common sense and most problems can be fixed with common sense. Hank is like some modern sage; a joke that Hank's Buddhist neighbor Khan makes a couple of times in the show when not harassing him or mocking him. Unlike your Homer Simpson or Peter Griffin, Hank Hill is a good guy and he is funny because he is a comic foil, the straight man that we all sympathize with, as everyone acts like idiots around him.
As for the cultural comedy, there is something about riding lawn mowers, an honest salesman, standing on gravel and shooting the s***, and the way the characters talk/react to the environment around them that speaks to anyone who has grown up or spent large amounts of time in the South or around people from the South. My dad owned two riding lawn mowers so his buddy could help him cut the lawn. I've heard awkward conversations between traditional conservatives, rednecks even, where they're trying to sound more progressive or understanding, despite generations of ignorance and prejudice; there is something funny about a bunch of rednecks talking about how much they like Rihanna. I've lived in a pretty small city for the last six years and, over that time, my dad and mom have gotten to no a lot of the local "characters"; heck I have a few characters in my family, most of whom live down here, and these are the people I come from. For people like myself, the people of King of the Hill exist somewhere and in a lot of somewheres.
The thing about King of the Hill is that, unlike Quahog or Springfield, Arlen could exist and Hank Hill could exist. That is what makes King of the Hill the closest reflection of real-life I've ever seen in animated sitcom and that is what makes it special.
