"Rich Hank, Poor Hank" is the one hundred-fifty-seventh episode of King of the Hill. It was first aired on January 4, 2004. The episode was written by Etan Cohen and directed by Tricia Garcia.
Summary[]
Bobby thinks Hank is secretly a rich miser after hearing Peggy talking about Hank's new $1000 bonus, and Bobby and Joseph steal Hank's emergency credit card to go on a shopping spree.
Plot[]
When Hank takes Bobby wallet-shopping at Shelwyn's, Bobby asks him about how much money he makes. Hank disgustedly tells Bobby that his income is none of his son's business. Later, Bobby overhears Hank telling Peggy about his $1000 annual bonus from work but mistakenly gets the idea that Hank makes that much per day. Along with a lockbox in the garage that says "oil receipts", Bobby puts 2 + 2 together and surmises Hank is an incredibly rich Texas oil baron.
Bobby relays his suspicions to Joseph and Connie, and the rumor that Hank is wealthy spreads through Rainey Street like wildfire after Connie suggests that some rich people are very stingy. At Emerson Hardware, Dale asks Hank to buy him a ratchet set or nightclub. At Arlen Pet Depot, Bobby tells Hank that he should take Ladybird to ride a burro into the Grand Canyon because they deserve it. Bobby then tells Hank he will get a pinball machine, Slurpee machine, a white tiger to have the time of his life. Hank is oblivious to the rumor mill and grows increasingly confused about why people keep asking him for money he does not have. Hank tries to teach Bobby the value of a dollar by showing how much money Bobby spent and subtracting it from his allowance. At the same time, Bill grouses how the four have to take turns buying beer instead of Hank treating them all. Hank then suggests that Bobby could make money by taking littered cans to the recycling center and covers for the heavy duty bags he needs by taking the remaining two dollars from his allowance. This only reinforces Bobby's misjudgment that his father is being stingy.
Feeling cheated out of the life he thinks he should have, Bobby steals Hank's emergency credit card and goes to the Shops at the Arboretum, treating Joseph and Connie to a wild shopping spree. John Redcorn, who is also at the mall, notices this and mistakenly believes that the rumors about Hank's wealth are true. Redcorn then shows up at Strickland Propane telling Hank of his idea to capitalize on the aging of American baby boomers by building a New Age-themed retirement community, with Hank as the majority investor. Hank rejects his proposal and believes everyone has gone crazy with money ideas.
The credit card company picks up on the activity and alerts Hank, tracing a transaction in progress to the mall. Hank puts a hold on his card and goes to the mall to catch the credit card thief red-handed, and is furious when the thief turns out to be none other than Bobby. Frustrated, he explains to Bobby that he is not a millionaire, and finally shows him the family finances, with a spreadsheet revealing that the Hill family pays $745.83 on their monthly mortgage.
Hank clarifies Bobby's earlier misconceptions: the $1000 check was an annual bonus, and the strongbox of oil receipts was a collection of receipts what Hank has spent on the truck, such as oil changes. Bobby's punishment is to do extra chores until he pays off the debt of the jet ski. They return all of the items which Bobby had purchased, save for a nonrefundable jet ski. Bobby seems contrite for his sins, understanding that he deserves it for stealing his credit card and mistaking Hank to be wealthy. He works hard at his punishment and also adopts Hank's idea of the value of a hard day's work and a dollar.
Hank contemplates selling the jet ski at Lake Arlen Rentals, but the only customer interested in buying is a bratty rich kid named Eric who complains loudly to his father that the jet ski, not coming straight from a dealer, is probably broken. To demonstrate the vehicle's performance, Hank takes it for a ride and discovers how fun it is. On the shoreline, Bobby tries to make money towards working off his debt by doing an odd job for Eric, who sees it as Bobby demeaning himself. This is witnessed by Hank, who after seeing the rich brat's attitude towards his own father and Bobby, refuses to sell the jet ski. Later, Hank takes Bobby for a ride on the jet ski and admits he is glad that Bobby learned his lesson about earnest work and not behaving like the rich kid.
Characters[]
- Hank Hill
- Peggy Hill
- Bobby Hill
- Ladybird
- Dale Gribble
- Bill Dauterive
- Jeff Boomhauer
- Joseph Gribble
- Connie Souphanousinphone
- Nancy Gribble
- John Redcorn
- Shelwyn's cashier
- Mustached taxi driver
- Ryan (non-speaking)
- Southwest Mutual Representative
- Emiglio
- Eric
- Eric's father
- Julia Roberts (mentioned, pictured)
- Ja Rule (mentioned)
- Howard Hughes (mentioned)
- Reverend Karen Stroup (mentioned)
- Redcorn's female acquaintance (voiced by Ashley Gardner)
- Narrator on TV (voiced by David Herman)
Stinger Quote[]
- Bobby: "Dad, give me a big wad of cash!"
Trivia[]
- The episode's title is a play on the book Rich Dad Poor Dad.
- Julia Roberts is pictured in a science-fictional movie poster titled Where Apes Fear to Tread, wearing a spacesuit and holding a chimpanzee's hand and standing in front of a rocket ship. According to Bobby, she makes $20 million a picture.
- This episode is the 4th and last King of the Hill episode in Season 8 to use traditional cell animation. From that point onward, the show was digitally inked and painted.
Gallery[]
