Tim Goodman on "King of the Hill"

I've been reading Tim Goodman's television cricitism, first for the San Francisco Examiner, now for the Chronicle, for about a dozen years now. He's no Joan Didion, but his writing is clear, sometimes funny, and he has a wonderful sense of the populist possibilities of television. He's also the rare critic (in any field) who engages comedy and drama on equal terms. He was an early and vocal supporter of some of my favorite series of the past ten years-- Sportsnight, News Radio, The Dana Carvey Show, Arrested Development. In fact, he was such a vocal supporter of the last of those that his name was dropped into an episode early in season two.

He has a really nice appreciation of "King of the Hill" in today's Chron.

What makes this collection of oddball Arlen folk work is that Judge and his writers always reveal the humanity in each character. And the absurdity. It truly is the small things that make you laugh the hardest (and most frequently) in this show, because it is so wonderfully nuanced.

For example, Hank and Peggy only have one child because, well, Hank's got "a narrow urethra." And instead of taking a sledgehammer to the whole Southern thing, Judge (who grew up in Texas and lovingly spoofs it throughout) tends to opt for something like Bobby going to Tom Landry Middle School.

There is a sweetness to the skewering, an impressive balance between gigantic, opposing targets and a sense of Americana that is at once ironic and heartfelt.

King of the Hill might not inspire a cult like The Family Guy or Futurama, but it's a better program than both -- one of the best on television. At it's heart, it's a perfectly executed family sitcom. Deeply flawed, deeply lovable characters in a deeply flawed, deeply lovable context. Perhaps it suffers in intellectual circles by not being mean to the south or to southerners, but it's tops in my book. Nice to hear someone say so.

Like this post? Click here to subscribe to the blog.