Deep in the Heart of Hank Hill
The Laotian couple, Khan and Ming, are not very likable.
To me, they're not completely unlikable. I think on the surface, the guy seems like [a jerk], but when you get to know him, he has some good qualities. This season, we have one episode where Khan is accused of being a banana–the Asian version of an Oreo.
When Beavis and Butthead was on, the program was blamed for inspiring arsonists. Are you nervous about depicting anything controversial on King of the Hill?
I don't really remember a case where I would say, "No, I shouldn't do that 'cause I learned my lesson from that other thing." In King of the Hill, it's a little easier to deal with [controversial] issues because you have Hank. The show's on his side; he's a common-sense guy. I think Beavis and Butthead was pretty widely misunderstood. Some people just didn't get that it was satire. The comic book [versions] were guilty of what a lot of people were accusing the show of–just gross-out, obnoxious stuff that wasn't funny. But they came out after the show; I just licensed it to Marvel Comics.
King of the Hill has crossed over into politics–the governor of North Carolina talks about reaching out to King of the Hill Democrats.
I think it's kind of cool. I didn't exactly know what it meant at first. But then I could see–Hank's not hip, he works a regular job, lives in the middle of the country, and we don't make fun of him. The show is on his side. And in a weird way, that feels like a kind of rebellious thing to do in Hollywood these days. Usually if you have the guy who's the propane salesman, he's the butt of the joke. We take this regular, unhip person and treat him with dignity. So I'm not surprised someone would say that's the kind of person we have to try to appeal to. Because it's almost like a silent majority again.
And Hank is himself not a fan of the Texan in the White House. In one episode, he decided not to vote for Bush after getting a feeble handshake from the candidate.
I wish we hadn't done that episode, just because I didn't want to become so overtly political with the show. But a lot of that episode I liked. I thought it was kind of funny he doesn't want to vote for a guy with a weak handshake.
People talk about the death of the sitcom and never mention the brilliance of your show. Does that bother you?
I dunno–I try not to worry. If you have to complain that no one's talking about me enough, then it means you don't have a good enough show.
That sounds very Hank Hill.
I guess.
Since you made the movie Office Space, in which Jennifer Aniston decorates her waitress uniform with lots of "flair"–pin-on doodads and such–I have to ask, are you wearing any "flair"?
I don't have 15 pieces of flair. [Pauses.] I have to come up with a better answer for that. –Marc Silver
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