"The Trouble with Gribbles" is the one hundred and second episode of King of the Hill. It was first aired on April 22, 2001. The episode was written by Jim Dauterive and directed by Shaun Cashman.
Summary[]
Nancy loses her job to Luanne, and plans to get a facelift to look younger—which Dale pays for by suing his favorite cigarette company.
Plot[]
When Nancy turns 40, Dale takes her to La Grunta Inn & Resort to pamper her at the spa for her birthday. At the same time though, the television station replaces her with Luanne, who is much younger. Subsequently, Nancy tells Dale that she wants a facelift. Dale plans to pay for it by filing suit against the makers of his favorite brand, Manitoba Cigarettes, claiming that second-hand smoke has made his Nancy unattractive.
Seeing that his house was bugged through a talking robot fish, Dale purposely acted like he felt Nancy was ugly as a good use for evidence in court. This backfired however, causing Nancy to temporarily "leave" Dale and live with the Hills.
Characters[]
- Hank Hill
- Peggy Hill
- Bobby Hill
- Luanne Platter
- Dale Gribble
- Nancy Gribble
- Jeff Boomhauer (non-speaking)
- Bill Dauterive
- The Manger Babies
- Obediah the Donkey
- Sir Reginald Featherbottom III the Penguin
- Gurgle Gurgle the Octopus
- Burl Arlington (debut)
- Don Ringle (non-speaking)
- Tom Chick (debut)
- Monsignor Martinez (non-speaking)
- Newscast Director
- Dr. Mark Seldon
- Jeremy Toblik
- Small Claims Judge
- Reynolds Penland
- Legal team members for Manitoba Tobacco Corporation
- Private Investigator
- Federal District Judge
- Jennifer Aniston (mentioned)
- Denise Richards (mentioned)
- Mira Sorvino (pictured)
- Mina Suvari (pictured)
- Chloë Sevigny (pictured)
- Cindy Crawford (mentioned)
- Julia Roberts (mentioned)
Quotes[]
- Smokin' Sammy Salmon, the singing Manitoba fish: ♪ (playing calypso beat) ♪ Manitoba is the brand to smoke ♪ / ♪ You'll enjoy it toke for toke ♪ / ♪ Don't worry, keep smoking ♪
Trivia[]
- The episode title is a play on the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Trouble with Tribbles".
- Robert Stack, who is a special guest voice in this episode, portrayed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) Agent Flemming in the 1996 adult animated comedy film Beavis and Butt-Head Do America based on the MTV animated television series Beavis and Butt-Head, co-written and directed by series creator Mike Judge.
- Smokin' Sammy Salmon The Singing Manitoba Fish is a parody of the popular novelty toy Big Mouth Billy Bass.
- When Dale plays the radio very loud to cover up his speech, the radio plays the chorus from the Moody Blues song Nights in White Satin.
- Dale reveals that Nancy is a terrible actress and her portrayal of Liza Dolittle "did little" for the critics. This is a reference to fictional character Eliza Dolittle from the 1956 musical My Fair Lady.
- Celebrities that Dale mentions from People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" issue, include Jennifer Aniston, Denise Richards, Mira Sorvino, Mina Suvari, Chloë Sevigny, Cindy Crawford, and Julia Roberts.
- Jennifer Aniston voiced Pepperoni Sue in the future Season 7 episode "Queasy Rider".
- Jennifer Aniston's Friends television character, Rachel Green, was featured in Season 4 "High Anxiety" on a poster hanging in the Drug Counselor's office.
Gallery[]
