Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20535 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-02-26
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 461 minutes

Synopsis
By the fifth season of this popular animated sitcom, fans have become well-acquainted with the tics and idiosyncrasies of the lovable Hill family, and the level of hilarity they've come to expect is certainly maintained. Created by Mike Judge (BEAVIS & BUTTHEAD) and Greg Daniels (THE SIMPSONS, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE), the show features its titular ‘king’ in the less-than-grand personage of Hank Hill (voiced by Judge), a propane salesman in Arlen Texas. He lives with his level-headed wife Peggy, and their awkward and overweight son Bobby. Peggy's sexy but clueless niece Luanne cohabitates with the family as well. Hank passes his free time with a motley crew of friends, and shaping Bobby into a more manly man. This season, Hank helps Bobby get a job as Buck Strickland's caddy, but disapproves when the two hit it off and Buck becomes a bad influence. Hank also takes Luanne under his wing, helping her to make an informed voting decision. Meanwhile, Peggy's sweet job at the high school turns into a living hell, when everyone gets mad at her for flunking a sports star.

Customer Reviews

A darn good season, I tell you what
While not quite reaching the lofty heights of seasons prior, season five of "King of the Hill" still has far more than its fair share of laughs.

Season opener "The Perils of Polling" is a brilliant political satire, and one of the finest politically themed episode of any American sitcom around. "Ho Yeah!" sees Hank get involved in the shenanigans of a prostitute and her pimp, in typically oblivious fashion. "Chasing Bobby" is a fine example of the Hank-Bobby relationship at its very best; while for an example of out-and-out comedy, one needs look no further than the excellent "Hank's Back Story". The show's trademark subtle humour combined with a realistic, almost dramedy-like tone remains present throughout.

Episode list (there isn't currently one amongst the product detail):

The Perils of Polling
The Buck Stops Here
I Don't Want to Wait For Our Lives To Be Over...
Spin the Choice
Peggy Makes the Big Leagues
When Cotton Comes Marching Home
What Makes Bobby Run?
'Twas the Nut Before Christmas
Chasing Bobby
Yankee Hankie
Hank and the Great Glass Elevator
Now Who's the Dummy?
Ho Yeah!
The Exterminator
Luanne Virgin 2.0
Hank's Choice
It's Not Easy Being Green
The Trouble with Gribbles
Hank's Back Story
Kidney Boy and Hamster Girl: A Love Story

No use preaching to the converted, though - if you're a fan of KOTH, you'll already have added this to your virtual basket. If you've never seen the show (which would be no surprise, given the near-nonexistance of it on mainstream TV channels in a decent timeslot), season 1 would be a better place to start.

The best series available so far
King of the Hill has always been brilliant. It is a perfect mix of brilliant characters, perfect casting, well timed but subtle humour and great attention to detail. Like the old Simpsons episodes, it takes believable situations and manages to make sometimes cringeworthy but always funny. However, the Simpsons writers seem to have completely run out of ideas and the formula has been ruined. Greg Daniels, one of the Simpsons' best writers writes for King of the Hill now

Anyway, a lot of series 4 of KOTH had a sort of bad atmosphere to it, a lot of episodes about Peggy's recovery from a failed sky-dive and Cotton's baby, this series has far more laugh-out-loud moments. The characters are brilliant as usual (Bill being my favourite, seems to be less-depressed this series, Dale makes some hilarious quotes, Bobby continues to worry Hank) although Peggy seems to be even more egotistical than ever and it actually makes me angry, that's how well-designed the characters are

There are too many stand-out episodes to name, all 4 discs are packed with quality watching. Although as with most of the series available, there are no extras, 20 episodes for this price is still brilliant value and it's very well presented

Either you're a King of the Hill fan or you're not. If you like animated sitcoms without in-your-face jokes and predictable storylines, then this is definitely for you.

If you haven't seen it and you're expecting another bleddy Family Guy...

...steer well clear

Excellent Show, Shame About The DVD
I have been a fan of King Of The Hill from the first series, when it was on Channel 4 on a Friday night - in college my friends and I would watch it, and laugh at the antics of Dale, Bill, Boomhower and of course Hank Hill, the man of the house married to Peggy, a temp teacher with attitude. There's also Bobby, their son, who likes to dance around, be funny and hang around with the neighbour's kids.

This show is very funny, and very different from Family Guy and The Simpsons - because it's not trying to be funny, but accidentally is funny; Hank just says something and you'll laugh, though Dale really is just funny - his crazy theories are just laugh out loud funny. Of course, the show wouldn't be what it is without Bill Dowtree acting like a loony, and Hank's father, Cotton is mad!

Louanne is also very funny but very dim, some really good episodes involving her were in series 5, and they're some of the best I have seen.

This series is very funny, episodes like the one where Hank moons a senator, the polling station episode, and the one where Bill has a Christmas themed home nearly all year round are just hilarious - and yet there are more sombre moments, like Hank crying, Cotton not being able to cope, and post natal depression, so yes, Mike Judge does try to include some rather sensitive subjects, yet doesn't shy away from them with comedy but tries to tackle them head on. Hank's belief that George W Bush is the best is funny too, and he's very Republican in his attitudes and doesn't really fit in with modern values. This is a stark contrast to Homer Simpson, who is immature, just like Peter Griffin, but this doesn't mean I don't like them, I love those shows, it's just King Of The Hill has something special those don't have, and it's nice to see something outside the usual anime circle.

There's also a lot of celebrity voices in this show, which is cool, even Renee Zelwegger gets a role in this, and the episode with Snoop Dog was so funny.

This DVD is not so funny though, no extras, and some of the disks refused to work in my player. I found out later it's due to the mastering; they won't play on hard disk DVD recorder units! So I have to watch them on another system, but at least I could do that. There are no commentaries, which is disappointing. This is quite poor compared to series 1 and 2, which were great. Also I am feeling rather annoyed at the decision to cancel making the rest of the series (6-13) on DVD due to poor sales. This is a disgrace. Also you have to see anti-piracy messages on all disks, I think we got the idea the first time round really.

Excellent episodes, and kudos to Mike and the team, shame Fox has no respect for their work :(