"Talking Shop" is the one hundred-seventy-first episode of King of the Hill. It was first aired on May 23, 2004. The episode was written by Garland Testa and directed by Anthony Lioi. Lindsay Lohan, Alyson Hannigan and Laura Prepon guest star.
Summary[]
In a desperate and sleazy attempt to meet girls, Bobby joins peer counseling. Although warned beforehand that he cannot get romantically involved with the girls he is helping, Bobby quickly breaks the rule and becomes the obsessive focus of an emotionally unstable girl. Meanwhile, Hank gets Bobby a broken-down car, believing that his son is taking automotive shop class instead of peer counseling.
Plot[]
At school, Joseph Gribble and Bobby Hill are desperately trying to get girlfriends but come off as creepy due to their plan of standing directly outside the girls' bathroom door while thinking it will stir up conversation. Defeated, the boys head to class where their teacher is explaining the students will be made to choose electives. Getting the list of classes, Bobby thinks this will be the key for him and Joseph to meet new girls since he thinks their bad luck with the ladies is because they've known the same girls for years and their reputations are well known among them. Even though Joseph accurately points out how he himself is odd and Bobby is chubby and not very bright, Bobby dismisses this being the reason they are striking out and thinks they just need a new environment with new people.
That night at the Hill residence, Bobby asks Hank if he should take peer counseling or Hawaiian dance class as his elective. Right away, Hank dismisses both electives and states Bobby should take auto shop class as it could help Bobby in the long run and be a good way to meet girls when he is older by knowing what to do instead of having to call others for help. Begrudgingly, Bobby agrees. The next morning, Hank is telling the guys that his son will be taking auto shop class. The guys praise this announcement, and Hank comes up with the idea to buy Bobby a junk car that the two of them can fix together.
At school, Bobby and Joseph are in line to sign-up for auto shop with rowdy and over eager boys. They leave the line when Connie calls them from the peer counseling line. Seeing the line consists of all girls, Bobby right away changes his mind about taking shop and switches to peer counseling. Joseph questions what Bobby will do when Hank finds out, but the latter feels confident his father will not learn of this since he will be too engrossed in football season. The class advisor, April, approaches and is pleasantly surprised to see boys wanting to join but dismisses Joseph when he makes an awkward comment.
After Hank and the guys run away from an elderly woman selling a car in good condition under the label of it being junk, Bobby enters the peer counseling room and does his best to seem attentive and polite. He and the girls are given a list of people they will give individual help to, and Bobby is thrilled to see Jenny Medina on his list, claiming he has been wanting to go out with her for a while. Hearing this, Connie immediately informs Bobby that he is not allowed to date his clients or other counselors. Doubting his friend, Bobby asks April if this is true and is shocked to hear her confirm that counselors are strictly forbidden to date the people they help as the counselors are in a position of power giving help to vulnerable girls and would be taking advantage of the situation.
At lunch, Bobby tells Joseph how peer counseling forbids dating and suggests he make the switch to Hawaiian Dance. Joseph informs him that all electives are closed with auto shop the only one still accepting students. Later, Bobby enters his new office when he gets a call informing him that Jenny Medina has arrived for her session. Despite having been warned about not dating his clients, Bobby hastily tidies his desk and waits for Jenny. She enters and, after a moment of awkward silence, Jenny explains how she has a friend who had invited her to a sleepover but the others at the party tried the hand in the water prank on her. She asks if she should get revenge by telling others that her friend's father is an alcoholic. Because he cannot give any actual advice, Bobby asks what she thinks she should do. Figuring she will go ahead and tell, Jenny admits she feels better and leaves after making another appointment.
Down to his fourth and final client, Bobby right away does not make a good impression when Stacey Gibson recognizes him as the one who got caught in the soccer net and had to be cut free. Stacey talks about how she has to debate capital punishment in her next class and is considering ditching because she does not care about the topic. Bobby once more uses the method of asking the client what they should do but Stacey aggressively replies that she is at counseling because she does not know what to do. Demanding an answer from him, Bobby quickly states she should ditch. After school, Bobby is getting his bike when Stacey approaches and informs him that she not only ditched the class but the rest of the day and may do it again the next day. Their attention is quickly drawn to a fight taking place a few yards away. Seeing that Dooley has Randy Miller on the ground, Stacey urges Bobby to do something. Nervously, Bobby approaches and manages to talk Dooley out of the fight when he figures out that the bully just wanted someone to notice his new shoes. Stacey is highly impressed by what happened and this immediately goes right to Bobby's head as he now believes he is gifted.
At a junk yard, the guys find a decrepit car that Hank deems to be perfect for restoration. At Connie's house, Bobby is telling her what happened with the fight, but Connie again reminds him that he is going against the counseling rules. Not backing down, Bobby guesses that Connie must be tired of always following rules because she might be craving the love he would have given the son he wanted. In Hank's garage, Hank is excited for Bobby to see the car but then has to keep the guys from fixing it when they desperately try to fix it right away. At school, Bobby is letting his newfound power get out of control when he tells Jenny that he can counsel her over the weekend, specifically on a date at the movies. This works as Jenny agrees to the date. During lunch, Stacey sits at Bobby's table and brings up a problem with her boyfriend Tony Hesperia. Without even hearing her situation, Bobby tells her to dump her boyfriend and to focus more on herself.
That night, Bobby goes into the garage and finds his dad with the junk car. Hank reveals that the car is for Bobby and how they will restore it to working order with the knowledge Bobby has gained in auto shop. After giving a wrong answer for a tool, Bobby uses his counseling to surmise that Hank's obsession with cars is a way to cope about his relationship with Cotton. Hank once more stands firm about Bobby staying away from peer counseling and needing to know auto mechanics. In class the following day, the students are giving reports when Stacey is called to do hers next. To the shock of Bobby and the class, she ditches her original report to publicly dump her boyfriend, Tony, and declares her love and devotion to Bobby. She causes such a scene that she has to be dragged out of class by Emily as Bobby is mocked by his classmates and targeted by Tony.
When approaching his locker, Bobby finds it and the floor covered in hearts with a written declaration of Stacey and Bobby being together. Seeing Stacey down the hall with gifts and balloons, Bobby ducks into the boys' bathroom and hides in a stall. However, this does not stop Stacey as she boldly enters and does a quick search. When she leaves, Bobby thinks it is clear and exits the bathroom only to find Stacey there. She proudly gifts him some mix CDs and a new portable CD player. Although he tries to get out of picking "their song" by turning the CDs down, he does try to keep the CD player and walk away but Stacey does not let him leave so easily. Realizing he has no other choice but to tell the truth, Bobby admits that he already has interest in someone else and does not see Stacey in the same way. Hearing his rejection, Stacey becomes angry at how she feels to have been led on and takes the CD player back.
Frightened, Bobby runs to his office and becomes nervous when he hears that someone wants to meet with him. Arming himself with a tissue box, Bobby is relieved when he sees the person is Joseph with some potential arson concerns. Letting Joseph know what's going on with Stacey, the two become terrified when Bobby gets a page that Stacey is present. After both boys leave through the window, Bobby finds April and confesses to what he has done and how he has a date with a client. Angry that he carelessly broke the rules and is demanding help, April leaves Bobby to face his problem alone. Nervously, Bobby tries to leave but runs into Jenny when doing so. To his dismay, Jenny reveals that she has heard what was going on with Stacey and how Bobby is behind it. Not wanting any part of that, Jenny breaks off their date.
During dinner, Peggy notices Bobby's distracted behavior when Bobby notices Stacey in the backyard. As he tries to play her off, Stacey begins throwing eggs at the house and gets Hank and Peggy's attention. Bobby fesses up that he never signed up for auto shop and that Stacey is a client from peer counseling. Understandably upset at the lie, Hank tells Bobby to go to the garage and, although getting hit with an egg, asks Stacey to do the same once she is done. In the garage, Hank has the two work things out while doing light work on the car. Bobby apologizes for leading Stacey on but is disappointed when she admits the only thing of him that she was attracted to was his sense of power as a counselor. After she states that she will try to get back with Tony, Stacey leaves. Now without any girls and kicked out of peer counseling, Bobby feels that he is right back where he started. Hank tries to cheer him up by reminding Bobby he has a car that will surely get him attention once he knows how to restore it.
Characters[]
- Hank Hill
- Peggy Hill
- Bobby Hill
- Joseph Gribble
- Dale Gribble
- Bill Dauterive
- Jeff Boomhauer
- April
- Connie Souphanousinphone
- Jenny Medina
- Stacey Gibson
- Ramon Alejandro
- Stuart Dooley
- Randy Miller
- Emily
- Tony Hesperia
- Eugene Grandy (non-speaking)
- Shawn (non-speaking)
Stinger Quote[]
- Boy at school: "And that is why I like air."
Trivia[]
- "That little fella' from the Fantasy Island" was Hervé Villechaize, who committed suicide in 1993.
- This episode marks Mr. Grandy final appearance in the series.
Quotes[]
- Stacey: Hi, Bobby.
- Bobby: (Screams)
- Stacey: I was thinking about you at lunch, so I went home and I burned you some mix CDs. I didn't know if you had a player, so I bought you a Discman. Do you want pick out our song?
- Bobby: It wouldn't be right for me to accept the CDs. But maybe I can meet you halfway and keep the Discman. Thanks.
- Stacey: Hey, you know what I realized? We have, like, no pictures together. You want to go to Sears, get a bunch taken?
- Bobby: Uh... (Clears throat) Stacey, here is the thing. As a counselor, my ethics mean everything to me. And since I'm already dating one of my clients...
- Stacey: But... I broke up with Tony to date you.
- Hank: I'll buy him an old junker car and we can restore her together. We'll stay up late fixing her up, just me and my boy. Then one day, when we're all finished, Bobby will get in that car and he'll drive away. And then I can die a happy man. Yep.
- Bill: Yep.
- Boomhauer: M-hm.
- Dale: That's actually kind of sad, Hank.
- Bobby: The brain is a fascinating organ. It's the biggest organ you have.
- Stacey: Actually, I think it's your skin.
- Bobby: Well, maybe that's your problem -- you don't give your brain the respect it deserves.
- Stacey: Wow. That's deep.
- Bobby: It really is.
Gallery[]
