"Bobby On Track" is the one hundred-eighty-fifth episode of King of the Hill. It first aired on May 8, 2005. The episode was written by Aron Abrams and Gregory Thompson, and directed by Tricia Garcia.
Summary[]
When Bobby's lack of athleticism causes him to quit a fun-run at the very beginning, he finds himself the newest member of the middle school track team. Although Bobby and the track team suddenly become increasingly successful, Hank is deeply disturbed by the team coach's true reason for having Bobby on the team.
Plot[]
At school, Bobby's class is presenting science projects when Principal Moss enters the room to hand out forms for an upcoming fun-run to raise money for the school. At dinner, Bobby informs his parents of his participation in the run. Hank becomes overjoyed at hearing Bobby will run the 5K and promises to be at the event to film his son.
Saturday quickly arrives and Hank is helping Bobby to prep for the race. He soon departs when the runners are called to the starting line, the run begins but Bobby quickly becomes winded just a few feet into the run. He phones his father who is waiting at the finish line to pick him up at a coffee shop next to the starting line. As they drive home, Hank voices how he is not pleased Bobby did not get far into the run and let down his sponsors. When they get home, Hank gives Bobby a pedometer and tells Bobby to walk the equivalent of a 5K (3.1 miles) by the end of the day. Bobby does make an attempt to walk the distance at the mall but quickly begins to slack off and only puts half a mile on the pedometer.
With Hank not pleased by Bobby's lack of effort, he takes Bobby to the school track and forces him to start running laps. As Bobby runs, the boys track team arrives, and Bobby is spotted by the coach who makes a surprising offer to bring Bobby onto the team. Both Hank and Bobby are surprised by the offer, but Bobby ultimately decides to give it a try. He meets the members of the team who are quick to threaten Bobby not to get in their way and ruin their chances at victory. After Bobby's first practice, he tells Hank how he suspects his teammates do not like him but accepts Hank's theory that the other members are just hazing him in a manner similar to how the guys did to new members of the football team.
At the first meet, Coach Palmer catches Chang flirting with a girl instead of warming up. When Chang makes light of the situation, Coach Palmer benches Chang and puts Bobby in to throw the shotput in his place. When Bobby fails to throw the shotput more than a foot, the coach and team see this as Chang's mistake rather than Bobby's. At home, Bobby informs Hank of his involvement during the meet and that the team won. Hank, filled with pride at hearing Bobby played instead of being on the bench, offers to open a bottle of sport drink for them to share that he's been saving for some time. At the next track meet, Coach Palmer puts Bobby in to run a relay after catching one of the runners eating candy. When Bobby is so slow that the race ends and the next one is being prepped while he's still running, Coach Palmer warns the team that being subbed by Bobby will be their punishment if they are caught slacking off; the threat automatically taking effect as the boys begin putting in their best effort.
At the next meet, Hank is able to attend the event but becomes confused when Dale points out Bobby participating in the high hurdles relay. At seeing Bobby's humiliating performance, Hank decides to speak with Coach Palmer and learns that the coach is using Bobby to humiliate the teammate he's replaced for the event. Although this has caused the team to have great success, Hank is still uneasy at hearing how Bobby is truly contributing to the team. Hank later tells Bobby this information, but Bobby sees it as a good thing rather than a bad thing as he comes to believe being a motivator is his life's purpose.
During the district finals meet, Hank becomes angered at seeing Bobby napping and decides to pull him from the meet. As Coach Palmer tries to stop Hank, one of the runners approaches and reveals he hyper-extended in fear from thinking he was going to be replaced by Bobby when he saw them talking. With the race about to start and no replacements are available, Coach Palmer is forced to use Bobby. Bobby right away tries to say this is a bad idea but gets a positive pep talk from Hank about what he needs to do.
The race begins and the first three Tom Landry runners put themselves at a large head start. While Bobby is able to successfully grab the baton, his slow speed allows the other runners to catch up and pass him. However, the faster runner's trip and fall over one another and this gives Bobby the chance to retake the lead. He is able to gut it out to the end and win the race, naming Tom Landry as the district champs.
Characters[]
- Hank Hill
- Peggy Hill
- Bobby Hill
- Bill Dauterive
- Dale Gribble
- Boomhauer
- Coach Palmer
- Ramon Alejandro
- Chane Wassanasong
- Carl Moss
- Stuart Dooley
- Joseph Gribble
- Science teacher
- Lady Bird
- Susie (non-speaking)
- Leventhal (non-speaking)
- Judy (non-speaking)
- Tom (non-speaking)
- Clark Peters (non-speaking)
- Joe Jack (mentioned)
- Buck Strickland (mentioned)
Stinger Quote[]
- Dale: "Oh, the humanity."