"A Bill Full of Dollars" is the sixth episode of the 13th season of King of the Hill and the 241st overall episode. It was originally aired on November 16, 2008. This episode was written by Dan McGrath and directed by Steve Robertson.
Summary[]
When Peggy needs money for a high-definition TV, she starts investing in stock with Minh and Dale. As they struggle to make a decent profit, they stumble on a gold mine in the form of Bill.
Plot[]
Bill feels unappreciated when nobody will listen to him, not even his friends. Meanwhile, at the Hill residence Peggy and Bobby are annoyed at their TV quality and decide they want a new flat-screen high-definition TV. They suggest the idea to Hank who is not welcome to the idea. Peggy offers to pay for it herself but Hank states that she has not sold a house in weeks which means he has to pay for it, which he does not want to do.
At the Souphanousinphones' house, Peggy is out to prove her husband wrong and tries to find another way to make money. Minh shows Peggy a stock market TV show, which is loosely based on the CNBC program "Mad Money" hosted by Jim Cramer. This gives Peggy the idea of playing the stock market. Minh and Dale also join her, however a week later they lose all the money in their initial investment. To improve their odds they decide to study the consumer habits of an "every man" at a local supermarket and after a bit of searching, they find that Bill (who happened to be grocery shopping) perfectly fits the description of "the average American consumer" and decide to make him the subject of their study. They then follow him to Mega Lo Mart and watch him shop there too, also watching him and other people eat at That's-A-Real Italiano.
After a while of notes and study of Bill's shopping habits, they finally begin to make money from their investments, which allows Peggy to buy the flat screen TV at Big Jim's Giant Screen Super Circus. However, when Hank asks Peggy how she got the TV she tells Hank how she used Bill without his knowledge. Hank, disappointed with his wife, tells her that she needs to tell Bill what has been going on. At the restaurant Sugarfoot's, Peggy, Minh, and Dale inform Bill of what happened, but he tells them that he does not mind as he finally has people who will listen to him. Later in an attempt at doubling their money, Peggy, Minh, and Dale take Bill to a tech expo for new information on which upcoming electronic products will appeal best to the "every man". In front of a selection of digital cameras, they demand Bill to choose one. However, Bill gets nervous and flustered as he cannot decide under pressure. Dale cites the Hawthorne effect or observer effect and labels Bill as "broken" and essentially useless for Peggy, Minh, and Dale's purposes. The three of them then leave the expo without a now upset Bill.
At Minh's house, the group watches the TV show again for fresh ideas as they cannot use Bill anymore. They soon discover that after they left the expo Bill, in a vain attempt to regain Peggy and company's affection, put a second mortgage on his house for an investment, only to lose the money when the investment soured. Realizing that Bill may come looking for help, Peggy and the others start avoiding him.
Meanwhile, at the Hill residence, while Hank and Bobby are having a difficult time figuring out the new TV's advanced features, Hank hears Bill in the backyard and after hearing his dilemma, he confronts his wife and the others about what they should do about Bill. They eventually decide to sell their holdings and the TV (which they could never figure out how to use) to pay for Bill's mortgage. They only come up with a fraction of what Bill needs but decide to give it to him anyway. Bill, while grateful for the support from his friends, surprises everyone by announcing that he is in the clear as he filed for bankruptcy and therefore does not need the money. As he tries to leave, Mr. Strickland (who bought the new TV from Hank and was picking it up) and everyone else is interested in the concept of bankruptcy and wants to hear more. Finally pleased that he has people who are interested in what he has to say, Bill happily tells them about the process.
Characters[]
- Hank Hill
- Peggy Hill
- Bobby Hill
- Dale Gribble
- Bill Dauterive
- Jeff Boomhauer
- Minh Souphanousinphone
- DOW Genius
- Buck Strickland
- Darrin
- Tim (non-speaking)
- Hipster woman (non-speaking, from "Lady and Gentrification")
- Nancy Gribble (mentioned)
Stinger Quote[]
- Bill: "Hank's going to become a... tugboat captain."
Trivia[]
- The episode title is a play on the 1964 film A Fistful of Dollars.
- This episode shows that Dale has a fake brand of cigars called Shackleton Cigars.
- The financial show Peggy, Dale, and Minh watch is a take on "Mad Money" and its host Jim Cramer.
- Hank mentions being able to see the "CSI lady" just fine on the TV. He may be referring to the character played by Marg Helgenberger, who lent her voice to the episode "Hank's Back Story".
- Hank's refusal at first for not getting a new TV is a clear reference to "Meet the Manger Babies" when he revealed that his TV is the last one ever made in the U.S. and refused to buy one made from other countries.
- Tim, who is seen throughout the series working at Mega Lo Mart, is seen working at Pink & White in this episode.
- Continuity error: Peggy bought a new TV in the episode "Suite Smells of Excess" after breaking the old one. At the time, she opted for a non-HD TV because Luanne thought HD was reality.
Quotes[]
To be added.