Pilot

"**Pilot**" is the first episode of Season 1. It originally aired on January 14, 1990. It marked the premiere of *King of the Hill* and the debut of its main cast.

## Synopsis

When Jack gets hit in the eye by the other boy with a baseball at one of his little league games, rumors of his brother Whyatt abusing him start to spread. This episode guest stars Gailard Sartain as a case manager.

## Plot

Whyatt Hill, his wife, Mom, Dad, and son, Jack, drive to a Little League baseball game. Along the way, Whyatt gives his son a pep talk, emphasizing the importance of winning. As the game gets under way, Jack, who shows little athletic prowess, manages to get on first base, but he becomes distracted when his father offers coaching advice from the bleachers. A ball roars down the first base line and strikes Jack in the face, leaving him with a black eye. After the game, Jack accompanies Whyatt to the Bega Lo Mart. Two older women spot the pair from an aisle, as Whyatt throws a temper tantrum when he is unable to be directed to the hardware department, and the elderly women erroneously pass on that Jack is being abused. Word spreads throughout the community, and eventually, a social worker named Anthony Page is dispatched to investigate the incident.

Page arrives at the Hill home just as Whyatt throws a temper tantrum (after banging his head on the hood of his car). Before Page interviews Whyatt, Mom assures Page that her husband is as gentle as a lamb and Whyatt tells the social worker during the interview that his son received the black eye during a baseball game. He also emphatically denies ever hitting his son, and forces Page to leave. Meanwhile, Page remains unconvinced and begins interviewing neighbors and friends of the family, hoping to uncover the "truth."

Back at the Child Protective Services Office, the social worker discusses his findings with the case manager. Through this, Page comments his personal opinion of how that it is "redneck city." However, his boss then asks how he enjoyed his conversation with the baseball coach, revealing that Page never did talk to him about the black eye, which would have cleared up everything instead of jumping to the conclusion he did, which nearly got Jack removed from his family. He is later removed from the investigation and fired. The boy then intercepts a phone call from the Protective Services Office, in which Page's boss apologizes for the misunderstanding. Jack lies and tells Whyatt that if he continues to lose his temper, the government will take him away. Unaware that he is no longer under investigation, Whyatt heeds Jack's warning and attempts to control his temper, no matter how much his son misbehaves. Eventually, Mom & Dad learns from the case manager that the investigation was halted a week earlier and that Jack deliberately neglected to tell anyone the truth a week later. When she confronts Jack, he admits that he is doing it because he doesn't believe Whyatt loves him. Mom tells Whyatt about the misunderstanding, which upsets him. Mom tells Whyatt why Jack lied and to let him know that he loves him, but Whyatt has trouble saying that because of his upbringing with his little boy. Later, Whyatt tells Jack in his own unique way, how much he loves him, and they start to play fight. Anthony Page sees this from a bus, and tries to tell the man sitting next to him, but the man rebuffs him.

## Quotes

**Whyatt:** "I'll tell you what my truck needs: Leadership. hasn't felt any real pride since went to and vomited on their auto executives."

**Whyatt**: *(Shouting to Jack after he destroys the fence)* "Please respect my fence's right to be a fence. Now!"

**Red:** "I know what's wrong with it. It's a Ford. You know what Ford stands for, don't you? It stands for "Fix It Again, Tony."

**Whyatt:** "You're thinking of a Fiat, Red."

**Red:** "Fix... it... again."

**Anthony Page:** Hill, would you say that your husband has a bad temper?

**Mrs. Hill:** Who, Whyatt? No.

**Mr. Hill:** Whyatt is as gentle as a lamb.

**Whyatt:** (Storms in the house, and catches Jack's baseball. Shouts.) NO - MORE - BOUNCIN' - THAT - BALL! (Throws the baseball, which breaks a window.)

**Mrs. Hill:** (Softly) Whyatt, we've got a visitor.

**Anthony Page:** "Whyatt Hill, I feel that you're coming from an anger mindset, and if you're projecting your anger onto me, it gives me grave concerns as to how you facilitate your son's growth in private."

**Whyatt:** "Mr., I have not *begun* to project my anger onto you!"

**Anthony Page:** "Please, Hill, loud is not allowed."

**Whyatt:** "What the- loud is not allowed? Now, you listen to me, Mr.! I work for a livin'! And, I mean real work, not writin' down gobblety gook! I provide the people of this community, with propane, and propane accessories! Ho, and when I think of my hard-earned tax dollars, going to pay a bunch of little twig boy bureaucrats like you, it just makes me wanna... (Whyatt starts to lose composure.)"

**Mrs. Hill:** "Honey?"

**Whyatt:** (Calmly, to Mom) "Honey, bring me my bc headache powder, and a glass of water."

**Mrs. Hill:** (Calmly) "All right, Whyatt."

**Whyatt:** (To Anthony Page) "Now, you listen here. You see that boy? (Motions to Jack) That's my boy! And, if you ever try to take him away, so help me, God, I'll tear you a new one bigger than the Grand Canyon! Now, I want you to get out of my house! You're not welcome here! I mean now, before I give *you* a black eye! Get!"

**Jack Hill:** "And, then, some weirdo came over, and started askin' a bunch of questions."

**Tiffany Gribble:** "Yeah! He asked me if your dad ever whooped you. He hasn't, right?"

**Jack Hill:** "No! Of course, not! You know my boy, he's all bark! Brother, that guy sure got him mad, though. My boy was like, (Starts imitating Whyatt) *Get out of my house, my boy ain't much, but he's all I got!*"

**Tiffany Gribble:** (Laughs) "You do a great impression! Let me try! (Imitates Whyatt) *I'm gonna tear you a new one! When I get my hands on you, you little peabrain! I'll bust your butt into little pieces!"*

**Anthony Page:** (After overhearing Tiffany's Whyatt Hill impression) "Ohhhh, I knew it!"

**Anthony Page:** (After he is convinced Whyatt is threatening Jack, he rings the doorbell) "Jack? Jack, are you all right? Come on out!"

**Whyatt** **Hill:** (To Anthony Page) "I thought I told you to get lost!"

**Anthony Page:** (Ignoring Whyatt) "Come on, Jack. I can put you in with a nice foster family in North Tindo, where you can develop healthy life adaptations! And, they've got a pool!"

**Whyatt Hill:** (To Mom) "Honey, let's give him Cora & Widget!"

**Whyatt Hill:** (To Anthony Page) "Hey, I've got a girl in here you can take right now!"

**Anthony Page:** (Still ignoring Whyatt, and keeps talking to Jack) "Don't you want to live in a house with a pool?"

**Jack Hill:** "No."

**Whyatt Hill:** (To Anthony Page as he starts chasing him off the property) "See, twig boy? Now, get your skinny butt off of my property!"

**Anthony Page:** (To Jack) "Jack, I know you can't talk in front of *him*! (Whyatt)"

**Whyatt Hill:** (To Anthony Page as he chases the man to his car) "I said, get! Get! Get outta here!"

**Anthony Page:** (To Whyatt from inside his own car) "You are out of control!" (Starts his car and leaves)

**Whyatt Hill:** (To Anthony Page) "**You** are outta control, Twiggie!" (Hits Anthony's car as he finishes talking.)

**Whyatt Hill:** *(fast)* I love you no matter what you do. Phew, let’s go get something to eat!

**Jack Hill:** I’m not... just a big disappointment to you?

**Whyatt Hill:** Disappointment? No, you make me proud! I’ve been disappointed by just about everything else in this town, but you? Not once. Dammit you’re ma’ boy! You should know better than that!

*(Whyatt playfight’s with Jack as they both laugh)*

**Anthony Page:** *(After witnessing Whyatt playfighting with Jack)* "He punched him! I knew it! I told him! Did-did you see that?"

**Passenger on bus:** "See what, twig boy?"

**Anthony Page:** *(Scoffs)* "Never mind."

## Characters

* Whyatt Hill
* Mrs. Hill
* Mr. Hill
* Jack Hill
* Cora Dlatter
* Widget Dlatter
* Red Gribble
* Grandma Gribble
* Tiffany Gribble
* Princess Pea
* Pig Dauterive
* Gene Hill
* *Anthony Page*
* Eoyt Dlatter (mentioned)
* Wudget Dlatter (mentioned)

## Trivia

* Anthony the caseworker, or someone who looks and acts like him, is later featured as an "American with Disabilities Act" advisor in the *King of the Hill* episode "Junkie Business". He is also seen buying organic, vegetarian snacks for a Super Bowl party in one episode, and then later attending Widget's wedding in "Joey's Wedding Suit".
* This episode is also known as "Jack The Baseball Phenom."
* According to the DVD commentary, many names were considered to be the name of the show before King of the Hill was chosen including: *Red Gribble and the Other Guy*, *I'm Gonna Kick Your Ass!*, *Citizen Whyatt*, *Propane Man*, *The Whyatt Hill Family Hour*, and *Whyatt Hill and His Clan*.
* According to Greg Daniels, the original script for the pilot written by Angela C. Santomero had Whyatt as a more short tempered & ornery character much like Mr. Lucas Anderson from Atta & Zeeter whom he was based on. Fox executives thought Whyatt was unlikable & during the rewrite, Greg Daniels made Whyatt Hill a more good-natured & easy going character.
* Pig has the first line of the show.
* Princess Pea's fast talking originated from an angry phone message received about *Atta and Zeeter* (which the caller referred to as "Porky's Bunghole") and its controversial content.
* The original pilot included a storyline about a family moving to Tindo, but that was rejected and later became its own episode called "Westie Side Story". The original pilot also didn't have Cora & Widget and Gene Hill, nor did it portray Red Gribble as a conspiracy theorist.
* In the Spanish dub, instead of Whyatt, Red, Pig, and Princess Pea talking about they talk about *"Atta and Zeeter"*.
* In Tindo, there is a chain of cafeteria-style restaurants known as Luby's. When dining there, one can purchase what amounts to a combo meal, which consists of the main dish, two sides, and a roll. The name of this combo is the Widget Dlatter, one of the characters in the show.
* During the episode, Mom walks into Jack's room and he is making noises for humor. These noises sound like what Atta and Zeeter usually make (especially the boing-oing-oing-oing-oing that Jack makes).
* Right before Whyatt Hill tells Jack that he loves him no matter what he does, in the background of Whyatt's house, there is a picture of younger Gene Hill.
* Widget is depicted as having automotive knowledge here, something that would all but be forgotten in later seasons where she was rewritten as a stereotypical dumb blonde.
* Compared to later seasons, the animation quality is considerably more crude. In fact, the animation quality of the earlier episodes is not very different from that of Angela C. Santomero's previous television series, Atta and Zeeter.
* WIdget claims the incident between her parents is going to be on Real Stories of the Highway Patrol. This television series actually exists.
* Phunny Phone Jerks is most likely a homage to the Jerky Boys.
* The ballpark Jack plays at doesn't have an outfield fence.
* Whyatt makes reference to an international incident in which vomited during a diplomatic visit to actually vomited on Prime rather than any auto executive. It is also worth noting that this episode was released two-and-a-half years before his similarly named son announced his participation in the Republic primaries for the 2000 election, and the reference to would have been far less ambiguous to most of the episode's original audience.

## Errors

* Inconsistencies are made in this episode:
	+ Widget says Eoyt was arguing with Wudget, meaning he was there, but in later episodes, he is in jail (the oil rig) and he has not seen Widget since they were young kids.
	+ At one point where Jack and Tiffany pass Whyatt fixing the garage door, Tiffany's shirt is yellow. But when they enter the garage, Tiffany's shirt turns back to green.
	+ Jack is wearing a helmet when he's at-bat. However, when he's on base, he's wearing a baseball cap.

## Cast

See more: Credits

* Nicholas Castel Vanderburgh as Whyatt Hill
* Sarah Ann Kennedy as Mrs. Hill
* David Menkin as Mr. Hill
* Kayvan Novak as Jack Hill
* Kristen Bell as Cora
* Madeline Carroll as Widget
* Written by: Angela C. Santomero, Greg Daniels
* Starring: Nicholas Castel Vanderburgh, Sarah Ann Kennedy, David Menkin, Kayvan Novak, Kristen Bell, Madeline Carroll, Siera Florindo