Rich Hank, Poor Hank

"Rich Hank, Poor Hank" is the 157th episode in the Fox animated comedy King of the Hill. It was broadcast as the 8th episode in the 8th season,a holdover from season 7, and was the last King of the Hill episode to use traditional cel animation. From this point on, the show is digitally inked and painted. The episode's title is a parody of the novel Rich Man, Poor Man. This episode is rated TV-PG.

Plot

Hank takes Bobby wallet-shopping, only to find frustration in how Bobby champions flaunting wealth rather than respectable, modest functionality. When Bobby asks him about how much money he makes. Hank disgustedly tells Bobby that his income is none of his son's business. Later, Bobby overhears Hank telling Peggy about his $1000 annual bonus from work, but mistakenly gets the idea that Hank makes that much per day, leading him to assume that his family is actually incredibly wealthy.

Bobby relays his suspicions to Joseph and Connie, and the rumor that Hank is wealthy spreads through Rainey Street like wildfire. Hank is completely unaware of the spreading rumors, and grows increasingly confused about why people keep asking him for money he doesn't have; even John Redcorn comes into his office soliciting funding for a proposed New Age retirement home for aging baby boomers. Meanwhile, Hank tries to teach Bobby the value of a dollar by giving him his allowance and then taking it back by charging him for expenses. Incensed, Bobby steals Hank's emergency credit card and takes Connie and Joseph on a reckless shopping spree, thinking that whatever he spends is only 'a drop in the bucket' to his 'rich miser' father.

The credit card company picks up on the activity and alerts Hank, tracing a transaction in progress to the mall. Hank goes to the mall to catch the credit card thief red-handed, and is furious when the thief turns out to be none other than Bobby. Frustrated, he explains to Bobby that he is not a millionaire, and finally shows him the family finances. They return all of the items which Bobby had purchased, save for a jet ski. They contemplate selling it at the nearby lake, but the only customer interested in buying is a bratty rich kid named Eric who complains loudly to his father that the jet ski, not coming straight from a dealer, is probably broken. To demonstrate the vehicle's performance, Hank takes it for a ride, and discovers how fun it is. Between this revelation and how ungrateful the spoiled kid is acting toward himself and Bobby and to his own father, Hank decides not to sell the jet ski right away, but rather carry it on his credit card for a while.

External links

• "Rich Hank, Poor Hank" at the Internet Movie Database