King of the Hill (The Simpsons episode)
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| The Simpsons episode | |
| "King of the Hill" | |
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| Episode no. | 201 |
| Prod. code | 5F16 |
| Orig. Airdate | May 3, 1998 |
| Show Runner(s) | Mike Scully |
| Written by | John Swartzwelder |
| Directed by | Steven Dean Moore |
| Chalkboard | None |
| Couch gag | The family appears in a snow globe |
| Guest star | Brendan Fraser as Brad Steven Weber as Neil |
| DVD commentary by | Mike Scully Richard Appel Steven Dean Moore |
| Season 9 September 21, 1997 – May 17, 1998 |
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| List of all Simpsons episodes... | |
"King of the Hill" (not to be confused with the animated series of the same name), is the 23rd episode of The Simpsons' ninth season. The episode first aired on May 3, 1998.
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[edit] Synopsis
The family goes to the church picnic, but when Homer plays capture the flag, he fails to make it. Feeling terrible about being unfit, he decides to exercise, running and doing his exercises in a gym late at night. He has trouble at first in the gym, but thanks to a visit from Rainier Wolfcastle, Homer becomes a strong man. This prompts two men—Brad and Neil—from a health bar company, Powersauce, to enlist Homer to do a publicity stunt for Powersauce by climbing Springfield's tallest mountain, the Murderhorn, because, according to Bart, Homer "eats $50 worth of Powersauce bars a day". Although Grampa suggests that Homer not do the stunt, telling him how he climbed with C.W. McAllister in 1928, and how he is knocked down the mountain by him. He manages to do it anyway, with two sherpas chosen to be Homer's guides.
When Homer climbs the mountain, he has trouble climbing, and can only reach the mountain's halfway point. He sleeps in his sleeping bag, and is surprised to find out that the sherpas have dragged him in his sleeping bag up the mountain while Homer sleeps. In response, he fires the sherpas and goes up the mountain alone, until Brad and Neil inform Homer that Powersauce is just junk, and are actually made of old apple cores and Chinese newspapers, and that he should not depend upon the bars. He still continues up the mountain, and almost makes it to the top. Feeling like he wants to give up and impress Bart, he plants a flag saying "Simpson" (the same one Homer used when he played Capture the Flag) at a point on the mountain. The peak collapses, and he slides back down to the ground (using the body of the late C.W. McAllister, Grampa's partner when he climbed the mountain in 1928. Grandpa was actually the one who betrayed him, and even tried to eat him), with Bart telling Homer that he is the "coolest dad ever".
[edit] Cultural references
- The PowerSauce bar is similar to the real-life PowerBar.
- Homer getting egged is like a scene in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
- The episode has the same name as the television show King of the Hill, a show co-created by Greg Daniels a former producer and writer for The Simpsons.
- Comic Book Guy refers to his port-o-potty as the Fortress of Solitude, the famous retreat of Superman.
- The name of the mountain, the Murderhorn, is an obvious pastiche of the Matterhorn in the Alps.
- After being told the ingredients to the PowerSauce bar, Homer Simpson reads that Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping died. Deng had died a year earlier.
[edit] Trivia
- C.W. McCallister, who climbs the Murderhorn with Abe Simpson, could be related to The Sea Captain, as they share the same surname.
- At the time this episode first aired, "King of the Hill" aired immediately after "The Simpsons".
[edit] External links
- "King of the Hill (The Simpsons episode)" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
