What episode epitomizes the show?

As someone who's also unsuccesfully tried to convert people to this show, I think this is a very interesting question.

As you said, the humor is very character driven so it's difficult for someone just jumping in to understand what's so funny about this show. They might see a Peggy-centric episode and dislike it, or watch one about Bill and love it. Another great thing about this show is the subtle nuances that you don't really notice until multiple viewings, such as Hank commenting about a big oak tree being cut down that is for some reason in the middle of a baseball park or Peggy proudly framing a diploma to "Pomp and Circumstance" only to reveal she was playing it on a cassette deck.

For question 1 I'm going to have to rewatch some epidodes and come back to this comment. For someone who's never seen the show I would recomend the episode that got me hooked, Bobby Goes Nuts. It's one of the series most beloved episodes and Pamela Adlon won an emmy for voicing Bobby. I think it has enough mainstream appeal but also exemplifies the humor and heart this show is known by the fans for. It's also the highest rated episode on IMDB. For the record, I love both of the episodes you mentioned. I think most people would like "A Firefighting We Will Go", which is the 2nd highest-rated episode, but like you said it's very 3 Stooges-esque and not like any others.




Formerly Eclectic_Flamingo

Stick to the first couple of seasons since the characters are still being developed and the plots are simpler.

A friend of mine recently got me into this show and now I've watched the first 11 and a half seasons. Might be different for others but the three episodes which got me interested were:

1) The Exterminator.

2) The Buck stops here.

3) Of Mice and Little Green Men.

"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the War Room!"

You either get it or you don't. You have to pay attention to every line to appreciate the humor and humanity. It's the little things: when Bobby yells for Peggy to come into his bedroom and she says "What is it, I've got soup in the microwave" the only response is laughter because of the absurdity of the line.

The Pilot was amazingly a good start.. and a strong setup for the characters. Which is pretty darn amazing as most shows roughly stumble out of the gate. But I was surprised to see that King of the Hill pretty much knew what it was from episode 1.

Jumpin Crack Bass is a great episode.. and I LOVED the episode "Ho Yeah" with Rene Zellwegger turning Hank into the accidental pimp.

I think chasing bobby really sets the show for me, great episode about hank bobby and his truck!

i would say 9 prettyd arn agry men about the mower focus group is best for newbies, great humor

The thing about this show - which I still don't really get, I suppose - is that it's VERY mediocre.

What I mean is, whatever level a viewer is assessing it on, there's something better.

When you have 'The Simpsons', 'Family Guy', 'South Park', 'Dilbert' and who knows how many others, then you have non-cartoon sitcoms like 'Seinfeld', 'Curb Your Enthusiasm', even 'The IT Crowd' and such, not to mention the older stuff, like 'Black Adder', 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' (plus the movies), you have a tough job convincing almost anyone to choose THIS particular show to watch.

There are shows with more and better humor, faster pace, more energy, more immersion, better art..

(this show's art is interesting exactly because it's so unimpressive, and yet somewhat competent at the same time - it almost has no personality, as if the creators wanted to draw 'as realistic visuals as possible', without having the talent to really pull it off, but also not having a vision to make it quirky, unique or individualistic, so it's 'familiar but bland').

There are shows that have more unique stories, more individualistic art, better animation, and so on.

Then there are shows that are more edgy, have a deeper meaning, poke fun at more political or topical stuff, are more relatable and so on. There's more beauty in other shows (it's hard to find many characters that are actually beautiful to look at - even the main characters look like drawn by someone that has neither sense of beauty nor talent to draw - just look at Bobby, who would want a kid (or even a friend) that looks like that?)..

The problem might be that this show sort of falls inbetween the cracks of all the other shows and movies that exist. Why watch this, when The Simpsons did some story better? Why watch this, when South Park's version of the same joke is more edgy and poignant, and its artstyle more quirky and individualistic (lending the viewer the opportunity for escapism better)?

I really liked the episode where the monks thought Bobby was the next incarnation of the Delai Lama. Very sweet conclusion.

I only saw it for the first time just recently.