(S11E03) Since I write these little reviews for both The Simpsons and King of the Hill, it's almost impossible for me not to compare them, at least in my head. I don't consider one series better than the other, but what sets King of the Hill apart from its animated brethren on Sunday nights is that it adheres to a much stricter reality than shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy, where the world can be skewed and aspects of a character's personality can be altered or amplified if the story calls for it.

On King of the Hill, much like in real life, people don't change, so the humor is derived from how each person deals with whatever life throws at them. In this episode where Bill worries about the Dautrive name dying with him, we already know Bill is a lonely guy who can't seem to get his life back together after his wife left him all those years ago, so right from the start we're emotionally invested in his character. An episode like this wouldn't have worked as well in an earlier season, but ten years down the road we know these characters, and we actually care what happens to them.