TalKing of the Hill - A Firefighting We Will Go
Added 2023-08-21 04:00:02 +0000 UTCThings are heating up on King of the Hill as the guys become volunteer firefighters in an episode that's equal parts The Three Stooges and Rashomon. And it all centers around an arson-based mystery where any of them could have been the culprit—well, except Hank. Also, Peggy succumbs to a debilitating groin injury! It's all happening on this month's TalKing of the Hill, where we chase our French bread pizza dinners with marshmallow desserts.
We recorded this one about a month before the passing of Johnny Hardwick, so we'll cover that on the next episode.
Comments
RIP Johnny Hardwick. Dale is among my favorite comedy characters of all time.
CMatt
2023-08-28 02:08:47 +0000 UTCThe office/pinball story is quite relatable. I worked at a place where they sat us software engineers near the sales folks who cold-called potential clients all day. It was impossible to concentrate on anything.
Andrew O.
2023-08-27 00:31:09 +0000 UTCThis episode always makes me think of my dad's cousin Jed. Jed lived in Maine and he was pretty much a stereotypical Maine hick. In the town where my great grandfather bought his hunting camp they had only volunteer firefighters, which may be why there was a massive fire in the 40s that destroyed basically everything except my grandpa's camp and the church next door. Anyway, Jed lived there and he was on the volunteer force. One night, me and my dad were up and we're just sitting around eating dinner and we hear Jed's ATV come rolling in. He busts through the front door with all of his firefighter equipment on in a disheveled manner to tell us "Hey! The old mill is burning down!" We just stared at him for what felt like an uncomfortable amount of time before he finally just said "Well, gotta go!" and hopped onto his ATV which he had mounted a little red flag on and took off leaving my dad and I to share a laugh. That place never stood a chance of being saved that night. There were a lot of Jed stories though, and he's no longer with us, but at least I can remember how excited he was to go play fireman that one night. Another firefighter story, and one probably more interesting to most, is that I've known a few firefighters. My grandfather's brother was one and he tried to get my grandfather onto the force, but he couldn't pass the physical part of the test where you have to climb a ladder and retrieve a dummy and carry it back down. He was kind of a little guy. My 7th grade social studies teacher told the class a similar story and he wasn't able to pass it either. His buddy Steve did, but he later decided to pursue a different career. His buddy ended up being Steve Buscemi and this was right after Fargo came out so I think that's why he was all excited to share the story, even though he added that Fargo was a movie we probably weren't old enough to see. He should have just mentioned Billy Madison.
Joe Hodgson
2023-08-24 13:30:40 +0000 UTCre: women firefighters: when I was growing up, my dad was a firefighter in a rural, conservative area, and one of his department's most prized firefighters was this short little woman who was on another shift. why? because she could crawl through small openings easily and get into cars with no problem. hell, my favorite partner when I was an EMT was a very petite woman and you'd be surprised at how little her size hindered her. EMS and fire are team jobs, and everyone fills a role.
Pikachu Ferrari
2023-08-24 07:17:08 +0000 UTCWalking tacos are the one school lunch I remember fondly. Not that it was actually that good, but it was kind of fun. Oh, also potato smiles. Those ruled.
Kollin Asdfghjkl
2023-08-22 17:22:40 +0000 UTCSpeaking of Velma, when’s the Velma episode?
Michael Branson
2023-08-22 15:53:24 +0000 UTCHank is their leader
Sean Riley
2023-08-22 14:32:54 +0000 UTCObligatory Johnny Hardwick tribute - I just LOVE the way he says Dale’s line “I’ll open up the hydrant” with that little smug grunt at the end, like he’s enjoying the spotlight of being asked, when we know he has no clue what he’s doing. Also, minor Cinema Sin on that scene - Bill would have been instantly killed by the water pressure from the hydrant. But eh. I also thought Bill breaking Hank’s glasses was a reference to the rare occasion when Larry or Curly would talk back to Moe and of course immediately regret it. I have never thought Bill was really eating the pizzas face first with his hands behind his back. Like it's a double joke - Dale’s recollection has Bill being disgusting burying his face into pizzas, and then Bill (having such low self esteem) also sees himself the same way in his flashback, plus balder and fatter. And Chet Elderson as the culprit for burning down the firehouse by plugging in the sign? How long had passed since his death and the fire? Shouldn’t someone else take the blame for leaving it on all that time if Chet had been the one to plug it in? Dang ole draggin’ Chet’s name through the mud! This is also one of my favorite KOTH episodes. The only thing I found truly outrageous within the KOTH universe is pantsing Chet in the funeral scene. I remember when KOTH was in regular rotation on I think Spike TV about a decade ago, they ran an online poll a few times asking people to choose their top 5 favorite episodes that would then be played in a countdown from 5 to 1, and this episode won each poll. It may not be the best overall episode, but it’s definitely the most fun.
Steven Bellah
2023-08-22 04:46:30 +0000 UTCMy grandpa was an angry sometimes drunk Vietnam veteran who didn't laugh at much. But I remember he would be rolling in the floor laughing at the Stooges.
Andrew Wiley
2023-08-22 02:59:28 +0000 UTCAs a kid who never had cable (my parents got it after I went to college), one of the best days of my life was when I found a Monty Python’s Flying Circus marathon on PBS. I loved all of it, even the jokes I didn’t understand because you had to be British. Also, boobs in a TV comedy, on PBS?! I bought the enormous DVD set the first time I saw it. Interestingly, Three Stooges shorts were also a staple of the not cable having kid- i instinctually understood those as a live action cartoon and watched it whenever it was on.
Kevin OReilly
2023-08-22 00:11:38 +0000 UTCBob is not alone in his view that the Three Stooges are due for a reevaluation. Sometimes people just want the laugh, and if you saw the other two-reelers the Columbia Shorts Department was putting out, you'll appreciate them even more. (although Bob's wrong on early Marx Bros.)
Thad Komorowski
2023-08-21 23:50:09 +0000 UTCAgreed. Having finally more or less finished the whole run, I concur with Bob's opinion that S3 is the best KOTH season. The "Three Blind Mice" cue had me laughing like little else has in recent years.
Thad Komorowski
2023-08-21 23:47:00 +0000 UTCBoomhauer’s version of the incident is flawless
Mike
2023-08-21 22:39:46 +0000 UTCBoomhauer wants to narc on Dale then lets him off the hook because it was too much effort. Boomhauer, the Texas Ranger… Man, ACAB I’ll tell you whut
Ben
2023-08-21 22:33:06 +0000 UTCI'm trying not to go all "Cinema Sins!" in this comment, but if we try to follow the rough timespan of this episode (which I can't imagine is more than a few weeks,) there's no way Hank and co. would ever get to drive the truck, wear SCBA gear, or be the SOLE people on the fire station. I come from a LONG line of firefighters. At various times, I've had five uncles, four cousins, and a brother were on the volunteer fire dept. in my hometown. Plus, My father and grandfather were both Chief of the volunteer fire dept for over 15 years (not at the same time, of course) and, being a small, rural Vermont town, it was the ONLY fire dept. Only a couple of the cities around here have paid, full-time firefighters. In fact, I was even a volunteer firefighter (but in a different town) for about 8 months in my early 20's. Typically, for the first 6 months you are on probation, and typically called "Proby" (pronounced probe-y) and are taking the first intro firefighting classes, and while you go on fire calls, you generally aren't going to do much of substance. You might haul equipment for other firefighters, help hold hose, and other menial tasks. But you won't drive the truck, wear the full SCBA gear (oxygen tank and mask), or be in charge of the fire hydrants or engine pumps.
Andrew Bouvier
2023-08-21 16:44:10 +0000 UTCMy reaction to seeing this was "wait, they can make Frito pies in the oven??" because I have only ever seen them in bags (and I've been on the west coast my whole life).
nina matsumoto
2023-08-21 16:29:58 +0000 UTCLots to say on this one as a former Texan! For Frito Pie, a really good brand I can recommend is Gardein. They have a really great plant-based chili that became my go-to when I went meatless and closely imitates the taste of a brand like Wolf or Hormel that would go on a chili dog. You get more of the in-the-bag serving at state fairs or sporting events but oven-baked like the way Hank brings it in this episode is the way to go. I'll usually add a little minced garlic. No beans! As for the Vengeance movie, that came out right about the time I was getting ready to leave TX for the midwest. That trailer played in front of a few movies during my final months there and it was such a muted response from all the Texans in the audience aside from the occasional polite chuckle. Felt like BJ Novak going down a list of "Oh! It's Whataburger! Look! They're drinking Dr. Pepper! Guns! Line-dancing! Not clapping for UT because it's from liberal Austin!" God. And I say this as someone whose favorite movie is True Stories which, on it's face, is a similar plot concept in which David Byrne visits a small town in Texas and hangs with the locals as he experience that side of America. But David Byrne BJ Novak is not and Vengeance had this underlying "awww look at them" tone to it that came across as condescending to me. I did feel a little sad for him when it bombed as hard as it did but i'm sure he'll be fine.
Blake R.
2023-08-21 14:46:11 +0000 UTCSo I'm a Three Stooges (NES) appreciator. Did a perfect boxing level run and made enough money to save the orphanage when I was a kid. When you only have a few games for a console, you tend to replay them too much. It was also the only game my dad would sit down and watch me play, so that was nice. He helped with the trivia sections. As unforgiving as it is, it has a ton of nostalgia value to me, and I still have the cartridge.
glowstickjuice
2023-08-21 13:37:54 +0000 UTCColor me shocked that the coastal elites haven’t tried a classic in-the-bag Frito Pie! Mainstay state fair snack here in North Texas.
Saya Clarke
2023-08-21 12:24:45 +0000 UTCOne of the greatest episodes of KOTH!
SilkiePJ
2023-08-21 05:07:41 +0000 UTCThis is probably one of my favorite if not favorite episode of KOTH
Gene Owl
2023-08-21 04:02:06 +0000 UTC
