King of the Hill (season 5)

King of the Hill (season 5)
DVD cover
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	20
Release
Original network	Fox Broadcasting Company
Original release	October 1, 2000 – May 13, 2001

The fifth season of King of the Hill originally aired Sundays at 7:30–8:00 p.m. (EST) from October 1, 2000 to May 13, 2001.^[1][2] The Region 1 DVD was released on November 22, 2005. The Region 2 DVD was released on February 26, 2007. The Region 4 DVD was released on April 28, 2008.

This season is noted for being much darker than other seasons.

Production

The showrunner for the season was Richard Appel.^[3] Several of the show's original writers, such as Paul Lieberstein, left in the middle of the season.^[3] Mike Judge, by some accounts, was not happy with the surrealism in this season, and felt that the writers were looking down on Hank and his way of life.^[3] Bobby and his friends growing up was a minor theme for the season.^[3]

Episodes

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code
85	1	"The Perils of Polling"	Kyounghee Lim & Boohwan Lim	Jim Dauterive	October 1, 2000	5ABE02
When Hank takes Luanne to an election fair, Hank meets George W. Bush and shakes his hand, only to discover that Bush's handshake is weak, giving Hank doubts about voting for him. Meanwhile, Luanne becomes infatuated with Communist candidate Robert Parigi.
86	2	"The Buck Stops Here"	Mike DiMartino	Norm Hiscock	November 5, 2000	5ABE01
Bobby becomes a golf caddy for Buck Strickland, who takes him along for the ride on a gambling junket. Hank and Peggy are disturbed when Buck's habits rub off on Bobby. Brad Renfro guest stars.
87	3	"I Don't Want to Wait for Our Lives to Be Over, I Want to Know Right Now, Will It Be... Sorry. Do Do Doo Do Do, Do Do Doo Do Do, Do Do Doo Do Do, Doo..."	Adam Kuhlman	Paul Lieberstein	November 12, 2000	4ABE24
With Bobby's 13th birthday approaching, Joseph comes back from summer vacation having grown six inches. Bobby is upset that everyone still treats him like a little kid, and Joseph is being driven crazy by the onset of puberty. Meanwhile, Hank tries to build coffins for himself and Peggy. NOTE: As of this episode, Joseph Gribble is now voiced by Breckin Meyer instead of Brittany Murphy.
88	4	"Spin the Choice"	Allan Jacobsen	Paul Lieberstein	November 19, 2000	5ABE05
Despite Hank's promise to let him carve the turkey this year, Bobby boycotts Thanksgiving after receiving history lessons from John Redcorn that expose the shameful history behind it. Meanwhile, Peggy creates a pointless new game called "Spin the Choice" when everyone gets sick of playing Boggle with her every year.
89	5	"Peggy Makes the Big Leagues"	Dominic Polcino	Johnny Hardwick	November 26, 2000	5ABE04
Peggy substitute-teaches at Arlen High School, but arouses the enmity of nearly all (including Hank and her fellow teachers) when she gives the school's unacademic football star (guest voiced by Brendan Fraser) a failing grade.
90	6	"When Cotton Comes Marching Home"	Tricia Garcia	Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland	December 3, 2000	5ABE03
Cotton moves to the VFW, and wants to march in the Veterans Day parade, but his boss denies him the time off from his degrading restroom attendant job.
91	7	"What Makes Bobby Run?"	Cyndi Tang-Loveland	Alex Gregory & Peter Huyck	December 10, 2000	5ABE07
When Bobby becomes the school mascot, the "Landry Longhorn," he is deemed a coward after he runs away from a traditional half-time beating by the opposing team's band.
92	8	"Twas the Nut Before Christmas"	Jeff Myers	John Altschuler & Dave Krinsky	December 17, 2000	5ABE08
In the third Christmas episode, Bill's holiday loneliness leads to him opening a "Christmas village" in his yard, but things get out of hand when he takes on a twenty-something petty criminal (voiced by Ryan Phillippe) as a surrogate son.
93	9	"Chasing Bobby"	A. Lioi	Garland Testa	January 21, 2001	5ABE10
When Hank becomes unusually emotional, especially while seeing a chick flick, Peggy believes it is because of a father-son void in his life, but Hank reveals that it is because of his truck, which is clearly on its last hinges.
94	10	"Yankee Hankee"	Adam Kuhlman	Kit Boss	February 4, 2001	5ABE06
Hank's application for a "native Texan" license plate leads him to the utterly shocking news that he was born in a women's bathroom at Yankee Stadium in New York City, while Cotton and his cronies hatched a hare-brained scheme to assassinate Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
95	11	"Hank and the Great Glass Elevator"	Gary McCarver	Jonathan Collier	February 11, 2001	5ABE12
On a daytrip to Austin for Bill's 40th birthday, Hank moons the former Governor of Texas, Ann Richards, leading Bill to take the blame and eventually enter a relationship with her. Bill's time with her leads to a fateful encounter with the last person he would ever expect to see again: his ex-wife, Lenore. Meanwhile, Peggy and Bobby try hamburgers grilled on a charcoal-powered barbecue for the first time—and run afoul of Hank's none-too-subtle loyalties when he discovers their stockpile of charcoal briquettes upon returning.
96	12	"Now Who's the Dummy?"	Dominic Polcino	Johnny Hardwick	February 18, 2001	5ABE14
Bobby acquires a ventriloquist's dummy named Chip Block, which dredges up childhood anxieties for Dale. Meanwhile, Hank becomes overly attached to Chip due to the dummy's "knowledge" of sports.
97	13	"Ho Yeah!"	Tricia Garcia	Alex Gregory & Peter Huyck	February 25, 2001	5ABE15
Tammi (guest voiced by Renée Zellweger), a prostitute from The OKC hires on at Strickland Propane, moves in with the Hills, and encourages Peggy to add spice to her own life, but things heat up when Tammi's ex-pimp Alabaster Jones (guest voiced by Snoop Dogg) comes to Arlen and mistakes Hank for a pimp trying to steal Tammi away from him.
98	14	"The Exterminator"	Shaun Cashman	Dean Young	March 4, 2001	5ABE09
Dale goes from exterminating bugs to killing careers after a doctor tells Dale that the pesticides he's working with are taking a toll on his body and will kill him before he reaches 50 and Dale is forced to work an office job. Guest stars Lisa Kudrow as Amy Pittman.
99	15	"Luanne Virgin 2.0"	Adam Kuhlman	Kit Boss	March 11, 2001	5ABE16
When Luanne reveals to Hank that she is no longer a virgin (after her latest boyfriend breaks up with her), Hank puts Luanne in the church's "born-again virgin" program, where Luanne meets a sexually insecure man (guest-voiced by Owen Wilson) and Peggy confesses that she had sex with a man (who turned out to be a homosexual) before she met Hank.
100	16	"Hank's Choice"	Kyounghee Lim & Boohwan Lim	Jon Vitti	April 1, 2001	5ABE11
When it turns out that Bobby is allergic to Ladybird, he ends up living in Ladybird's luxurious new doghouse while Ladybird continues living in the house, which makes the Hills a laughingstock with the neighbors.
101	17	"It's Not Easy Being Green"	Jeff Myers	John Altschuler & Dave Krinsky	April 8, 2001	5ABE18
Bobby gets into helping the environment, which threatens to reveal a 30-year-old secret kept by Hank, Dale, and Bill. Guest stars Paul Giamatti as Mr. McKay.
102	18	"The Trouble with Gribbles"	Shaun Cashman	Jim Dauterive	April 22, 2001	5ABE19
Nancy fears losing her job after the network considers hiring Luanne because she's younger and prettier. When Nancy decides to get plastic surgery to keep her job, Dale decides to sue his favorite tobacco company (Manitoba Cigarettes) so he can win money for the operation, but Nancy mistakes Dale trying to get evidence that Manitoba Cigarettes caused Nancy to lose her looks as a sign that Dale feels the same way about her as the network executives.
103	19	"Hank's Back Story"	Cyndi Tang-Loveland	Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland	May 6, 2001	5ABE17
Hank is diagnosed with "diminished gluteal syndrome" (a condition in which the butt shrinks in size and puts pressure on the spine) and is faced with choosing his health over his dignity when the doctor prescribes him a prosthetic posterior to wear.
104	20	"Kidney Boy and Hamster Girl: A Love Story"	Gary McCarver	Garland Testa	May 13, 2001	5ABE22
Bobby pretends to be a high school student with a kidney disorder that stunted his growth, and helps the student body win a radio station contest, with ska band No Doubt performing at the high school prom as the prize. Meanwhile, Dale gets a port-a-potty for the alley so no one will have to go into the house to use the bathroom.

References

1. TV Listings for October 1, 2000
2. TV Listings for May 13, 2001
3. https://www.macleans.ca/authors/jaime-weinman/a-koth-kronology/