Episode Capsule for 4E08 - "Shins of the Father"
Ondre Lombard
This capsule is also available on the WWW through the URL
http://www.cyberverse.com/~piero/olombard/4E08.html (for now).
Shins of the Father Writers: Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland
Director: Martin Archer, Jr.
===============================================================================
Production Code: 4E08 U.S. Airdate: 3/16/97
Capsule Revision: A - 5/10/97
===============================================================================
- TV Guide Synopsis
Fox's mid-season hit (which has been getting
higher ratings than its lead-in, The Simpsons)
serves up a standout episode, as the Hills make
room for Hank's daddy, Cotton.
Although Cotton Hill gave his shins for his
country during WWII (leaving his feet stitched
to his knees), he's larger-than-life in the eyes of
Hank and Bobby. Peggy, however, is less than
impressed with Cotton's crude behavior, espe-
cially when Bobby begins to emulate him. The result:
a hapless Hank finds himself right in the middle of a
familial clash between the father he worships and the
wife who simply cannot tolerate dear old Dad.
Voices include Mike Judge, Kathy Najimy, Toby Huss
and Lauren Tom.
- Did You Notice...
Jason Hancock:
... this is the first time we see Cotton in the present, unless you count
Peggy's dream sequence in 4E07?
... Bill eats with a three-pronged fork?
... the calendar, with a picture of the Alamo, on the kitchen wall behind
Bobby?
... Luanne calls Cotton "Grandpa Hill," even though Cotton's not her
grandfather? (cf. 4E04)
... Cotton drinks four bottles of beer at the bar?
... the dartboard in the barroom behind Bobby?
... Dale and Bill had lots of hair in the seventies?
... Bobby calls Kahn Jr. "Connie"?
... Bobby says "PBS" when he apparently means "PMS"?
... this is the first episode since 4E01 with the "normal" closing
credits?
Ondre Lombard:
... Luanne never speaks at Bobby's party?
- Movie, TV and Other References
+ Superman
- Kryptonite, the substance Bobby says the pinata must be made of, is a
reference to the comic books
+ "Charlie's Angels"
- 1976-1981 TV series Cotton and Bobby are watching
+ The Three Stooges
- Cotton compares Shelley Hack (latter-year Angel from Charlie's Angels)
to Shemp Howard, the replacement for Curly Howard.
- Previous Episode Similarities
[4E01] Luanne fixes Hank's truck (cf. Cotton's car)
[4E02] Hank is seen at his job; Bobby is seen at school
[4E01] [4E02] [4E03] Appearances of Cotton Hill
- Animation and Continuity Goofs
Cotton grabs the plate he breaks out of thin air. {ol}
In 4E01 and 4E02, Cotton had white hair during Hank's childhood. Now he's
shown as having brown hair while Hank was in high school. {jh}
In the shot right after Bobby gets up, the half-eaten meat on his lunchtray
turns into something else. Also, his napkin disappears. {ol}
The clock on the wall disappears after Bobby's teacher comes into the
cafeteria. {jh}
In the shot where Bobby says, "Ain't that right, fellas?", the meat which
turned into something else is no longer on his tray, which is now empty. {ol}
In the same shot, Joseph's food disappears as well, and so does his fork.
{ol}
- Freeze Frame Fun
>> Cotton's invitation to the party {jh}:
____________________________
| [RETURN TO SENDER] [stamp]|
| |
| GRANDPA COTTON HILL |
| HELL U.S.A. |
|____________________________|
>> People at Bobby's party
Bill, Kid from 4E02, Neighborhood Woman from 4E06, Min, Nancy, Kahn, Dale,
Boomhauer, Joseph, Kahn, Jr., Cotton, Didi, Luanne.
- Comments and Other Observations
Angie Dickinson and "King of the Hill" ages
Angie Dickinson's birthday is September 30th, 1931, which would make this
episode occur in the fall. That would make Bobby's birthday September
29th, 1984 (if he is just turning 12 again). Hank must have had Bobby when
he was 30, assuming that if Hank was 12 during his "Order of the
Straight Arrow" in 1966, he would've been born in 1954, making him 42 now.
Dickinson was born in Kulm, North Dakota. Her real name being Angeline
Brown. Her most famous works would probably be the 1974-1978 TV series
"Police Woman," and the movie "Big Bad Mama" (and its sequel) about a mother
who winds up becoming a bootlegging criminal on the lam.
- Quotes and Scene Summary
% Preperations for Bobby's birthday party. Peggy blows up a balloon and hands
% it to Bobby. Bobby tries to tie it up, but winds up letting most of the air
% out. He gives the balloon to Luanne, and she ties it up with the rest of the
% deflated balloons.
% Hank is perplexed by a returned letter.
Hank : Hey, my Dad's invitation to the party got returned. [reading the
address] "Grandpa Cotton Hill, Hell, U.S.A."? Bobby, why'd you
write this? You know Grandpa lives in Houston.
Bobby: Mom says he's The Devil.
Hank : Peggy, how can you tell Bobby that?
Peggy: I said ``evil,'' Hank. How you get ``Devil'' from that is beyond
me.
-- "Shins of the Father"
% Bobby doesn't want Grandpa Cotton Hill at his party because he'll just make
% things worse for him. Hank asks why. "He's got big plastic teeth, he
% screams all the time, his legs don't work..." answers Bobby. Hank tells him
% not to make fun of Grandpa Cotton Hill because he lost his shins defending
% Texas in WWII.
Hank : Now, son, pick up that phone and invite your Granddad to your
birthday party.
Bobby: Okay. [dials the phone] Hi, Grandpa!
Hank : [sigh] Bobby, if you're gonna fake dial, you gotta hit more than
three numbers.
-- "Shins of the Father"
% Opening intro/song.
% Bill is horsing around at the birthday party in swimming trunks. He slides
% on a water slide and breaks through the fence. "Uh, I've got a splinter
% here."
% Bobby's friends are displeased with the party and aren't shy about saying so.
This party's boring. Everybody hates you.
-- Dooley critiques Bobby's birthday party, "Shins of the Father"
Min : Why so piss off, Peggy Hill?
Peggy: Oh, nothing, just Hank's father. He's driving in for the party.
Nancy: Oh lord. That crazy Cotton Hill?
Woman: I heard after Hank's mother left Cotton, he married his 16-year-old
nurse.
Peggy: Didi is 39, thank you very much. Although, parts of her are much
younger.
-- Cotton's plastic women, "Shins of the Father"
% Bobby whines to Hank about the cool reception he's been getting by his peers.
% Hank suggests he burp the alphabet, but that's Bobby's big finale.
[laughs] Man, whatyoutalkin''bout, whatyoutalkin''bout, I tell you what,
fat kids' always funny one, man, dang ol' John Candy, John Belushi. Knife
and fork...(?)
-- Boomhauer, "Shins of the Father"
% Hank offers the guys burgers. Bill asks for the grilled steak, but Hank is
% making that specially for Cotton Hill.
Dale: Cotton's coming? Heh heh. Wo-ho, if I was you, Kahn, I'd amscray
before he gets here.
Bill: Yeah, if he finds out you're from Japan, you know...
Kahn: How many times I tell you, stupid? I'm - La - otian!
-- Let's see if we can't pound that into your tiny brain,
"Shins of the Father"
% Burping the alphabet isn't saving Bobby, who has hit the letter `V.' But
% he's saved when Cotton Hill rides into the backyard on a horse.
Hank : Ah Dad, you crazy son of a gun! You really outdid yourself this
time!
Cotton: Well, you know me, I'm larger than life.
[gets off the horse]
[the camera has to pull down so you can see him]
-- It's a pun, get it? Eh? Eh? "Shins of the Father"
% When Joseph gawks at Cotton's crippled legs, Cotton tells him that the
% Japanese blew off his shins in WWII. At any rate, the horse was rented for
% four hours. Bill takes the first ride and the kids follow the horse.
Cotton: Hey, Hank's wife.
Peggy : How long have you been here, Cotton? I didn't notice you s--
Cotton: Didi! Come on out here and gab with Hank's wife.
[a well-endowed blonde walks up]
Lookee here, Hank. What'you think of your mama's new ta-tas?
Hank : [shielding his eyes] She is not my mother. Hell, we went to
kindergarten together.
Didi : Hey Hank. Do you still like . . . fingerpainting?
-- A personality so dull, it couldn't cut butter, "Shins of the Father"
Joseph: Everyone thinks your party's cool, Bobby!
Bill : [eating a cake] I'm having fun!
Dooley: Your wife divorced you.
Bill : [hangs his head down depressed while eating]
-- The kid with enough sunshine for everybody, "Shins of the Father"
% Cotton pays Kahn to get him a mai tai. Kahn is insulted, but Hank tells
% Cotton that Kahn's his new neighbor. "He's Japanese," Dale slips to Cotton.
% But Cotton recognizes Kahn as being Laotian and walks away. Kahn is
% surprised.
% Bobby thinks Cotton's present is a watergun, but it really is a shotgun.
% Peggy takes the gun away from Bobby. Cotton asks Hank to "tell your woman to
% give him back his gun." Peggy takes offense and stands up for herself. Hank
% tries to calm her down and decides to move the party to the pinata.
% Bobby fails to hit the pinata. Peggy asks Hank to lower it so he has a
% chance to hit it. Lower the pinata goes until it's on the ground, but Bobby
% still can't break it. Dale cuts open a slot in the pinata with a knife, but
% Bobby still can't break it. "It must be made of Kryptonite or something!"
% resolves Bobby. Cotton just shoots the pinata with the shotgun he gave
% Bobby. Peggy is startled. "Good lord, Cotton! You gave him a loaded
% shotgun?" "Well, you don't give a toy without batteries."
% Peggy apologizes for Cotton to Bobby, while they both clean dishes. Cotton
% asks Bobby over to him and tells him to take off the washing gloves,
% disdaining dishwashing as "woman's work."
Didi : Cotton, I'll do the dishes. I like to.
Cotton: Permission granted. Put an apron over your new bosom, too.
[to Bobby] Don't tell her, but I got 'em cheap. Both lefties.
-- Valu-breast, "Shins of the Father"
Cotton: So Bobby, what'cha gonna do with your life?
Bobby : I'm gonna be a prop comic! I'm working on this bit where I stick a
green bean up my nose!
Cotton: Well now, that sounds promising. Hank, Bobby and me have decided
he's gonna stick vegetables up his nose.
-- Oriface comedy, the American Dream, "Shins of the Father"
% ...and won't take over the family gas station. "Dad, I don't work in a gas
% station. I sell Propane and Propane accessories." Cotton draws Hank into a
% roughhouse, but when Cotton breaks a dish, Peggy decides he should leave.
% When the car won't start, Cotton decides to stay. Peggy, however, insists
% Hank could fix the problem. Luanne has an idea of what the problem is, but
% Cotton refuses her help because she's a girl, so he'll wait till Hank's
% non-existant gas station opens tomorrow. No beds, so Cotton can't stay. But
% he says, "I can sleep in a drawer after what they did to me overseas." Bobby
% offers to sleep on the couch, and it's okay with Hank, but not okay with
% Peggy, who doesn't want Cotton spending another minute in the house.
Hank : Aw, you just don't understand him, Peg. See, he's a flamboyant
character, like a peacock. That's why men love him. But women
don't like his style because you all are like the peahen. More
subdued and drab.
Peggy: You just can not see your father for who he is.
Hank : Well, Bobby and I both want him to stay. So that means you're
outvoted.
Peggy: Oh yeah? Well, Luanne hates him too. That means we're even.
Hank : Well, Jesus loves him, so I win.
-- Surprise witnesses, "Shins of the Father"
% Hank tells Cotton he can stay. Cotton tells Didi the news, and orders Kahn
% to bring him his bags. Kahn breaks in watering his lawn to glower at Cotton.
% [End of Act One. Time: 7:11]
% Breakfast time with Peggy's unwanted company. Cotton decides to drive Bobby
% to school and asks Hank if his car is fixed. "I just woke up," responds
% Hank. Cotton scoffs, noting that by 7 am in the Army, he could've dug ten
% graves by now.
% Peggy serves breakfast. But Cotton ungratefully makes an issue out of the
% lack of sausage on his plate. Peggy doesn't have time for this because she
% has to get ready for work. "See, Bobby: woman works, man loses his sausage,"
% teaches Cotton. Peggy closes by saying, "You know, Cotton, I'd love to
% debate this with you, but I am just a little busy living here in the latter
% half of the twentieth century."
% Hank gives Cotton the keys to his truck so he can take Bobby to school, while
% he fixes the car. Meantime, Cotton bothers Luanne.
Cotton: You're all skin and bones, girlie! Put some corn pone on them
hips!
[rakes corn pone onto Luanne's plate]
Luanne: I don't want any, Grandpa Hill. Don't wanna get fat.
Cotton: That's not for you to worry about. You will never know if you are
attractive. It's up to a man to tell you that.
[rakes his entire breakfast onto Luanne's plate]
You keep eatin', and I'll tell you when to stop.
[Luanne gets up, Cotton slaps her on the butt]
Luanne: [indignant] Touch me again, and you'll be wearing that corn pone,
old man.
Cotton: Oooooo-wee! Spicy!
-- "Shins of the Father"
% Bobby asks Cotton if it's okay that Cotton took Bobby to a cafe bar instead
% of school. "It's a holiday, ain't it? It's Angie Dickinson's birthday!"
% Cotton invites Bobby to order food--something Hank never lets Bobby do.
% Bobby politely tries to call a waitress without being a bother, but Cotton
% teaches Bobby the chauvinistic way to get waitress assistance: he slaps the
% waitress on the butt and says, "Hey Missy! How 'bout some sammiches?" The
% waitress storms off in disgust and Bobby and Cotton laugh.
% Hank is puzzled behind the mysterious disappearance of a car part in Cotton's
% car.
Sometimes things just disappear for no logical reason.
One day, my cousin woke up -- his kidney was gone.
At the same time, five hundred miles away, a woman in Phoenix contracted
diabetes.
-- Dale, keeping us abreast on mysterious conspiracies, "Shins of the
Father"
% Luanne fixed the car.
Hank : My Dad sure knows how to take care of his cars. When I was a baby,
he had my Mama make me a chammy jumpsuit and I used to crawl around
on the hood and buff it till it shined like Christmas.
Bill : Your Dad, heh, I swear...
Dale : How about when he took you down to the Hotel Arlen?
Bill : Aw yeah...
Dale : Remember that, Hank?
[flashback to a seedy whorehouse hotel, 1970s]
Cotton: Hank, you won the big game. So -- I'm buying you and your friends
hookers! [pushes young Hank over to a hooker] Now, go on boy,
pick yourself out a live one!
Hooker: Hey there, Mr. Quarterback!
[Young Hank runs away frightened and nervous]
[back to present]
Hank : Heh. Not every Dad would do something like that to his son, I
mean... for his son.
-- Unearthing painful memories, "Shins of the Father"
% Hank pops himself a beer in the kitchen, where Peggy shows him the missing
% car part that was wrapped in Cotton's "little bitty pants, under a big pile
% of lice." Hank is miffed with disbelief, but Peggy knows the obvious fact
% that Cotton sabotaged his own car so he could "stay here and drive me crazy."
% Hank says that Cotton just wants to spend time with the family, and Peggy's
% made it so hard for him. "You're right. It's my fault. Why oh WHY didn't I
% make that poor man his sausage?" Since the car is fixed anyway, Cotton can
% leave after tonight.
% Cotton and Bobby are watching "Charlie's Angels"--without pants on.
"Charlie": Good morning, Angels. Do I have an assignment for you.
Angels : Good morning, Charlie.
Cotton : Aah, aah damn! It's a Shelley Hack! That's like getting a
Shemp.
-- Watching "Charlie's Angels," "Shins of the Father"
Hank : What in the hell is going on here? Where are your pants?
Cotton: Too hot. Took 'em off.
Bobby : A man doesn't have to wear pants around the house if he doesn't
want to.
Cotton: Yeah, what you got them blue jeans on for? Let's go! Take 'em
off.
Hank : I don't wanna take them off!
Cotton: Bobby -- take your daddy's pants off.
-- "Shins of the Father"
Peggy : Okee dokee, Cotton. Hank fixed your car. I guess you'll be
wanting to head back right about now?
Hank : Peggy...
Didi : Well, um, maybe we should think about getting back, huh?
Cotton: [sounding threatening] What did you say?? What did you say!?
[Peggy glowers at Cotton, expecting the worst]
[Cotton takes out his hearing aid, turns it up, puts it back in]
Now, what did you say?
Didi : [shouting] WE CAN LEAVE. HANK FIXED THE CAR.
-- "Shins of the Father"
% Peggy notes that actually, Luanne fixed it. Cotton laughs at the very
% concept of a girl fixing a car. "That's like a pig trying to read." Peggy
% is extremely offended. When Hank reminds Cotton that it's time to go, Cotton
% decides that he won't be leaving, and he'll be staying for a few days.
% Didi serves Cotton his dinner on a TV table.. Cotton orders Didi to get him
% his beer by slapping her on the behind. Bobby follows his example, leading
% Peggy and Cotton into a struggle for dinner in the kitchen vs. dinner in
% front of the TV. Peggy asks Hank for support, but Hank, torn, nervously
% decides maybe it'd be okay for a change to eat in front the TV. So, Bobby,
% calling Peggy "woman", orders her to get his dinner and slaps Peggy on the
% butt.
% [End of Act Two. Time: 13:05]
Hank : I don't know where you got the idea you could slap your mother's
behind! [shuts Bobby's door]
Peggy: I'll tell you where he got the idea. From your father. And, it's
all your fault for not nipping it in the bud.
Hank : What do you want me to do? I can't change my father!
Peggy: Well, he certainly won't listen to me, now will he? You're both
men. You're both peacocks, remember?
Hank : What are you... turning into some kind of feminist?
Peggy: I am not a feminist, Hank. I am Peggy Hill. A citizen of the
Republic of Texas. I work hard, I sweat hard and I love hard and I
gotta smell good and look pretty while doing it. So, I comb my
hair, I re-apply lipstick thirty times a day, [Hank looks at her
weirdly] I do your dishes, I wash your clothes and I clean the
house. Not because I have to, Hank, but because of a mutual,
unspoken agreement that I have never brought up, because I am too
much of a lady.
[leaves with laundry hamper]
Hank : Thirty times a day?
-- Still stuck on that one, "Shins of the Father"
% Cotton hangs out with Hank's friends.
Cotton: Yeah, I kinda like it here. What kinda work could a guy get in
this town?
Dale : Uh, are you allergic to asbes-tose?
Cotton: Hell no.
-- Now what is it? "Shins of the Father"
% Hank tries to approach Cotton about the things he's been telling Bobby, but
% Cotton would rather talk about something else. Like how he lost his shins
% defending the U.S.
% At the age of 14, Cotton lied to sign up with the army for Uncle Sam. A
% battleship headed for the Pacific Theater went down because of a torpedo.
% Cotton could only save three of his friends, one of which he had to sacrifice
% to sharks after a Tojo-0 started shooting at them. After making it to an
% island, Cotton witnessed Japanese soldiers spitting on the U.S. flag. He
% rushed them, but ended up getting his shins shot off by soldiers. Finally,
% he woke up to find his feet being sown to his knees. "Now, what was it you
% wanted to talk to me about, Hank?" Hank succumbs to the guilt trip, and
% drops it.
% Bobby is following Cotton's examples in the school cafeteria.
Bobby : [taking a cake off Kahn Jr.'s tray] You had enough cake, Connie.
Kahn, Jr.: What are you doing?
Bobby : A man's gotta tell a woman when to stop eating! You're lookin'
kinda chunky.
[Kahn, Jr. snatches back her cake and walks off]
Hoo! She's moody! Must be PBS.
-- "Shins of the Father"
% Bobby decides to leave to "see a man about a horse." When the female
% teacher tells him to bus his tray, Bobby calls it women's work and gets the
% other boys to join him until it turns into a riot of food fighting.
% At work, Hank tries to choose who to stand by.
Hank: Well, she's got a point. But he's a war hero. She's my wife, but
he's got no shins.
Man : Uh, I'm just trying to get a little propane here.
-- Choosing between his sexist father and his loving wife Peggy,
"Shins of the Father"
% Hank answers the phone. Peggy's called to tell him that Bobby started a
% sexist riot at school. Hank is outraged. But Peggy tells him it's too late,
% because Cotton's taken him to the Hotel Arlen.
% The Hotel Arlen is no longer a whorehouse. It's now a place for the Women
% Trial Lawyers Association. Cotton congratulates Bobby for what he did, and
% tells him he's buying him a hooker. Peggy and Hank run in and tell Bobby to
% come with them. Cotton is shocked by Hank's actions and tries to use his
% shins as a guilt trip again, but this time, it's not working. Hank says he's
% sorry about Cotton's tragedy, but he doesn't want Bobby to grow up with
% Cotton's sexist values. After Hank's equality speech, Cotton tells Hank that
% Peggy is making him say these things, but Hank says he means it and tells
% Cotton that Didi is in the car, all packed up, and that it's time for him to
% leave. Cotton sadly says, "Well... I never thought I'd see the day when my
% own son would stop loving me." Cotton begins to sadly walk away, then turns
% around and shouts, "It's about time! Love's for sissies! Ain't that right,
% you house of hookers??" Cotton parts, asking that the "hookers" don't jack
% up the price when he comes back next year.
% In the car, Hank tries to mend the damage Cotton did to Bobby's mind.
Hank : Bobby, you gotta try and forget all that gobbily-gook your Grandpa
told you. You listen to your mother. She knows best.
Bobby: But she's a woman. How can she know better than Grandpa?
Hank : Well, because she's a lot smarter than him for one. Your mother's
probably got a better head on her shoulders than anybody in Arlen.
Bobby: Better than Bill? Or Dale? Or Boomhauer?
Hank : Geez, Bobby, why not compare her to a babboon in the zoo?
-- "Shins of the Father"
% Bobby says, "But I thought they were your best friends." Hank says Peggy is
% his best friend, and that he hopes Bobby will be able to find a girl to be
% his best friend, too. Bobby asks, "You think that'll really happen to me?"
You just have to remember one thing. Women were not put on this Earth to
serve you and me. Now, what do you say we get an ice cream?
[sexy waitresses in skimpy uniforms skate around Hank's car, one of whom
take Hank and Bobby's orders]
-- A paradoxical lesson from Hank Hill to Bobby, "Shins of the Father"
[End of Act Three. Time: 19:49]
- Voice Credits
Starring:
Mike Judge (Hank, Dooley, Boomhauer)
Kathy Najimy (Peggy, Neighborhood Woman, Hooker)
Pamela Segall (Bobby)
Brittany Murphy (Joseph, Luanne)
Stephen Root (uncredited) (Bill)
and
Johnny Hardwick (Dale, Propane Customer)
Also Starring:
Ashley Gardner (Nancy, Didi, Teacher)
Toby Huss (Kahn, Cotton Hill)
Lauren Tom (Min, Kahn, Jr.)
- Reviews
Jason Hancock:
Another solid outing. Cotton was funny, although the woman-slapping stuff
got old after a while. My favorite scenes would have to be the birthday
party and the lunchroom riot. The World War II story was also nicely
done. Grade: B+
Yours truly:
A strong, humorous story which was surprisingly not ruined by its moral.
Contributors
{jh} Jason Hancock
Legal Disclaimer
King of the Hill - Capsule 4E08 copyright 1997 Ondre Lombard
(wak...@wcat.com) Episode summaries and capsule sections not to be
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