"What Happens at the National Propane Gas Convention in Memphis Stays at the National Propane Gas Convention in Memphis" is the 244th episode of King of the Hill. It aired Sunday, February 15, 2009. The episode was written by Jim Dauterive and directed by Ronald Rubio.
Summary[]
Buck Strickland is invited to the National Propane Gas Convention as the newest inductee into the Propane Hall of Flame, and reunites with his long-lost illegitimate son, which worries Hank.
Plot[]
Hank, Joe Jack, Donna, and Enrique become concerned that Buck Strickland has been in his office for hours. Hank decides to go in, but when he opens the door, Buck pops out and announces he is the newest inductee to the "Propane Hall of Flame". He also asks Hank to introduce him at his induction ceremony at the Propane Gas Convention in Memphis next week, much to Hank's honor. Hank soon starts to worry that Buck will be drinking and visiting strip clubs while he is there. At the convention inside the Futura Hotel, Hank keeps a close eye on Buck. When Buck sees that his stand is not where he wanted it, Hank checks the map and realizes there is another Strickland Propane location they were not aware of. Buck is outraged, talks to the man at the booth, and discovers it is his illegitimate son he has neglected all his life. Buck, feeling he needs to make up for all the years he has neglected his son, offers to buy him a drink, and they go off with Hank scared of the consequences.
Hank soon feels he needs to take his responsibilities of keeping them apart. Buck is told he needs to be present at 3 p.m. to receive "The Rainbow Blazer" jacket. Hank gets even more worried. Peggy also shows up at a brunch and talks to a lady, hearing about the "Platinum Circle", four wives of propane legends, eventually learning that a seat is open after one wife became a widow and took over her dead husband's business interests. When Buck doesn't show up at 3 p.m., Hank receives the jacket from the manager, and the manager says she entrusts Hank with the jacket until the induction the next night. When Peggy sees an open seat at a poker table where the Platinum Circle is playing, she sits down and introduces herself. One woman is unimpressed with her husband's achievements but then digresses and tells Peggy that since she has the guts to sit there, she can stay. Buck continues to ignore Hank and goes off with his son.
The next morning, Hank determinedly takes the jacket to Buck's hotel room and tries to put guilt on Buck. He tells Buck that if he wants to wear the jacket, he must be at the induction at 8 pm. Buck, grief-ridden, says he'll straighten up. But as Hank is leaving, Buck finds his son right after he's had sex with the manager and attacks him. Hank bursts into the room and says he is done saving Buck from himself. Hank, saddened, starts drinking heavily right before the induction. Hank then gets onstage where he goes on a drunken rant about how Buck Strickland has screwed him over and how he's a horrible boss. He ends the rant by puking on Tru Wigant, whose husband is the President of the National Propane Gas Consortium. Peggy is then kicked out of the circle and Hank is under investigation for his unprofessional public behavior, to be facing punishment as determined.
The next morning, Peggy finds Buck and his son and threatens them if they do not fix the situation. Buck soon realizes that although Hank was the one who did the drunken tirade, he is the one ultimately responsible as Hank is his employee and he was goofing off when he should have been at the induction. Buck calls the board and says his hospitality suite is open before they adjudicate on Hank's matter. Meanwhile, Peggy apologizes to the Platinum Circle and proposes a spa facial treatment as a peace offering. When the board members get to Buck's penthouse, they are welcomed with alcohol and prostitutes. The board members realize it's a trap and try to escape, but end up getting seduced by the women and having their pictures taken in compromising positions. Buck offers an ultimatum: either Hank is spared from punishment or their good names get run into the mud with evidence that they were being unfaithful. The board agrees to spare Hank, Jody calls Peggy to call off the plot to have the board members' wives come to the room to find their husbands with other women, and Peggy takes the wives to the spa like she originally promised.
Immediately afterward, Hank reports for adjudication, expecting his propane career to be over. The board's punishment is as follows: admonishment for showing lousy judgment. Hank is surprised by this leniency and the board says that while the lapse of judgment was wrong, his 20 years of faithful work and good judgment outweigh that. The board members present two Rainbow Blazers, and Hank realizes he is now inducted into the Hall of Flame. While Buck and Jody Strickland agree that they need to keep away from each other due to their bad habits, in the end, the father-son bond proves too much as they drive off with two pretty girls.
Bobby and Joseph play a minor role in this episode, during which they successfully manage to sit in every chair in the hotel. Then the episode plays "Cat's in the Cradle." by Harry Chapin.
Characters[]
- Hank Hill
- Peggy Hill
- Dale Gribble
- Bill Dauterive
- Boomhauer
- Bobby Hill
- Joseph Gribble
- Buck Strickland
- Donna
- Joe Jack
- Enrique
- Melanie Scovall
- John
- Jody "Ray Roy" Strickland
- Randi
- Tru Wigant
- Wendy Fortner (non-speaking)
- Jane Ann Kuykendall (non-speaking)
- Maria (non-speaking)
- Bebe Wren (mentioned)
- Buddy Wren (mentioned, deceased)
- Pollard Wigant
- Elvis Presley (mentioned, deceased)
- Jesse Presley (mentioned, deceased)
- Futura Hotel bartender
- Master of ceremonies (voiced by Toby Huss)
- Jody "Ray Roy" Strickland's mother (mentioned)
- Charlie Fortner (non-speaking)
- Mr. Kuykendall and National Propane Gas Consortium board members
- Six unnamed prostitutes
Stinger Quote[]
- Buck Strickland: "My breath stinks like blood and peppermints."
Trivia[]
- The name of this episode is based on the famous Las Vegas tourism slogan "What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas".
- This is the second longest official episode title in the series, at 19 words. However, the Season 5 DVD lists the episode "I Don't Want To Wait For Our Lives To Be Over, I Want To Know Right Now, Will It Be... Sorry. Do Do Doo Do Do, Do Do Doo Do Do, Do Do Doo Do Do, Doo..." with a total of 37 words, though it is commonly shortened to "I Don't Want to Wait...".
- Previously, in "The Buck Stops Here", Buck mentioned having a son when he married a different woman in a different town. "His name is Roy/Ray something like that, after sixteen years, I'm too embarrassed to ask".
Quotes[]
Hank: I have tried all my might to save you from yourself, Mr. Strickland. But, not anymore, you should be a shamed of yourselves. And that includes you Miss Scovall. You have not horoned Propane.
Hank: "I'm not going to say- (sigh) (slurred) Hell I am going to say what I'm gonna say what I have been wantin' to say: Buck Strickland is a monster! A drunk monster- Buck Strickland is nothing but a (muffled) lecherous, (clear) disgusting... bastard-making bastard!"
(Pause).
Hank: "And now I'm going to vomit."
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Dia-BILL-ic Shock · Earthy Girls are Easy · Square-Footed Monster · Lost in MySpace · No Bobby Left Behind · A Bill Full of Dollars · Straight as an Arrow · Lucky See, Monkey Do · What Happens at the National Propane Gas Convention in Memphis Stays at the National Propane Gas Convention in Memphis · Master of Puppets · Bwah My Nose · Uncool Customer · Nancy Does Dallas · Born Again on the Fourth of July · Serves Me Right for Giving General George S. Patton the Bathroom Key · Bad News Bill · Manger Baby Einstein · Uh-oh, Canada · The Boy Can't Help It · The Honeymooners · Bill Gathers Moss · When Joseph Met Lori, and Made Out with Her in the Janitor's Closet · Just Another Manic Kahn-Day · To Sirloin With Love | ||