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98-463: According to Judith Brueske, the favorite place from which to view the lights is a widened shoulder on Highway 90 about nine miles east of Marfa . The lights are most often reported as distant spots of brightness, distinguishable from ranch lights and automobile headlights on Highway 67 (between Marfa and Presidio , to the south) primarily by their aberrant movements." Robert and Judy Wagers define "Classic Marfa Lights" as being seen south-southwest of

196-535: A water stop . The population of Marfa peaked in the 1930s and as of the 2020 United States Census the population is 1,788. Today Marfa is a tourist destination and a major center for minimalist art . Major attractions include Building 98 , the Chinati Foundation , and the Marfa lights . Marfa was founded in the early 1880s as a railroad water stop . The town was named "Marfa" (Russian for "Martha") at

294-535: A few years, he bought two large hangars and some smaller buildings and began to install his art permanently. This had started with his building in New York but the buildings in Marfa allowed him to install his works on a larger scale. In 1976, he bought the first of two ranches that became his primary places of residence, continuing a long love affair with the desert landscape surrounding Marfa. Later, with assistance from

392-535: A household in the city was $ 24,712, and for a family was $ 32,328. Males had a median income of $ 25,804 versus $ 18,382 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 14,636. About 15.7% of families and 20.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 24.6% of those under age 18 and 26.9% of those age 65 or over. The area around Marfa is known as a cultural center for contemporary artists and artisans. In 1971, Minimalist artist Donald Judd moved to Marfa from New York. After renting summer houses for

490-466: A laugh when the "So Weird' group out goes out into a forest area that does not even exist anywhere in or near our town." "Marfa" is the eighth track on Texas symphonic rock band Mother Falcon 's second studio album, You Knew . It is also the name of songs by Wildcat! Wildcat! , S. Carey , and Paul Cauthen ("Marfa Lights"). Marfa is featured in Ben Lerner 's 2014 novel 10:04 . Marfa

588-518: A matter of hours. In the episode "Harlottown", the location is revealed to be somewhere on the Chisholm Trail . In all cases, the general location for Arlen coincides with the eastern half of the state as opposed to the western half, the latter being predominately desert. The Hills and other major characters reside on the fictional Rainey Street in Arlen. Hank's friend and neighbor Bill Dauterive

686-524: A new wave of artists has moved to Marfa to live and work. As a result, new gallery spaces have opened in the downtown area. The Crowley Theater and its annex host public events with seating for over 175 as a public service to nonprofit foundations. Furthermore, The Lannan Foundation has established a writers-in-residency program, a Marfa theater group has formed, and a multifunctional art space called Ballroom Marfa has begun to show art films, host musical performances, and exhibit other art installations. The city

784-477: A photograph of the Marfa lights by a local rancher. Bunnell lists 34 Marfa lights sightings from 1945 through 2008. Monitoring stations were put in place starting in 2003. He has identified "an average of 9.5 MLs on 5.25 nights per year", but believes that the monitoring stations may only be finding half of the Marfa lights in Mitchell Flat. Skeptic Brian Dunning notes that the designated "View Park" for

882-404: A revival on Hulu was officially confirmed to be ordered. Judge, Najimy, Root, Adlon and Tom are all expected to reprise their roles. With Murphy's and Petty's deaths, it was not announced how the characters of Luanne and Lucky would be handled, and it was unknown if Huss would return as Kahn. On May 1, 2023, Root had stated that the new revival will also have a time jump taking place years after

980-587: A small Texas town based on an amalgamation of Dallas suburbs, including Garland , where he had lived, and Richardson . Judge conceived the idea for the show, drew the main characters, and wrote a pilot script. The Fox Broadcasting Company was uncertain of the viability of Judge's concept for an animated comedy based in reality and set in the American South, so the network teamed the animator with Greg Daniels , an experienced prime-time TV writer who had previously worked on The Simpsons . Daniels rewrote

1078-461: A snaggle-toothed layabout who lives on the settlements he has earned from a frivolous lawsuit. Hank has a healthy relationship with his mother, Tilly ( Tammy Wynette , later Beth Grant and K Callan ), a kind woman who lives in Arizona . Hank is, at first, uncomfortable with his mother dating Gary Kasner ( Carl Reiner ), a Jewish man, but he warms up to Gary as their relationship progresses. Hank

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1176-523: A song called "Marfa Lights" on their 2015 album "A Place Of Long Years". Notes Bibliography Marfa, Texas Marfa is a city in the high desert of the Trans-Pecos in far West Texas , United States, between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park , at an elevation of 4685 feet. It is the county seat of Presidio County .The city was founded in the early 1880s as

1274-463: A time-lapse. Meanwhile, the four continue drinking beer and a nearby recycling bin fills with their empty cans. When Peggy brings a bag of garbage out to Hank, the other three leave and the playback returns to normal speed (which was sped up for the first half of the last few seconds of the intro from seasons 4–13) as he takes it to the trash can and gathers with Peggy and Bobby in a parody of American Gothic . The opening theme, "Yahoos and Triangles",

1372-742: A week, passes through the city, but does not stop; the nearest station is located in Alpine , 26 mi (42 km) northeast. Greyhound Lines operates an intercity bus service from the Western Union office. Commercial air service is available at either Midland International Air and Space Port ( IATA : MAF , ICAO : KMAF , FAA LID : MAF ) or El Paso International Airport ( IATA : ELP , ICAO : KELP , FAA LID : ELP ). The airports are, respectively, 182 miles (292 km) northeast, and 189 miles (304 km) northwest. Marfa Municipal Airport ( IATA : MRF , ICAO : KMRF , FAA LID : MRF )

1470-525: A young candy striper . Together, Cotton and Didi have a son, "G.H." ("Good Hank"), who bears a striking resemblance to Bobby. Other main characters include Hank's friends and their families. Dale Gribble ( Johnny Hardwick ) is the Hills' chain-smoking, balding , conspiracy-theorist next-door neighbor and Hank's best friend. As a result of his paranoia, Dale does not trust the government or "the system". He owns his own pest control business, Dale's Dead Bug, and

1568-516: Is a Sergeant and barber in the United States Army who idolizes Hank. Bill's loneliness often results in him being easily taken advantage of by strangers until his friends come to his rescue. Throughout the series, he finds near-success with women, including former Texas Governor Ann Richards . He frequently expresses an unrequited attraction to Peggy, which she occasionally uses to her advantage. Boomhauer (Judge), who also lives in

1666-561: Is a barber at Fort Blanda, an army post (similar to Fort Hood ) near Arlen. Most of the children in the show attend the fictional Tom Landry Middle School: other schools depicted are Arlen High (home of the Longhorns) and Staubach Elementary. Early in the series, the school is referred to as being in the Heimlich County School District (according to markings on the school buses), though in later seasons this

1764-571: Is a county-operated public-use airport 3 miles (5 km) to the north of the city in unincorporated Presidio County. King of the Hill King of the Hill is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels that initially aired on Fox from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, with four more episodes airing in syndication from May 3 to 6, 2010. The series also got moved to Adult Swim nine months before Fox canceled

1862-463: Is a lot like its protagonist, Texas propane salesman Hank Hill: it isn't flashy, never gets a lot of attention, but does its job year in and year out... Mike Judge makes Hank Hill funny in his pained Boy Scout rectitude without making him a figure of fun for it, and with its canvas of mega-stores and Laotian yuppies, the show sees modern America's fine detail like an electron microscope." At the show's conclusion, Poniewozik opined that it had "quietly been

1960-529: Is also 37 miles (60 km) from Prada Marfa , a pop art exhibit, and is home to Cobra Rock Boot Company and The Wrong Store. Marfa Myths, an annual music festival and multidisciplinary cultural program, was founded in 2014 by the nonprofit contemporary arts foundation Ballroom Marfa and Brooklyn-based music label Mexican Summer . The festival brings together a diversity of emerging and established artists and musicians to work creatively and collaboratively across music, film, and visual arts contexts. The festival

2058-623: Is also a licensed bounty hunter and President of the Arlen Gun Club. Dale is married to Nancy Hicks-Gribble (Gardner), a weather reporter and later an anchorwoman for the Channel 84 news. Dale and Nancy's only child, Joseph (Murphy, later Breckin Meyer ), is best friends with Bobby Hill. He plays quarterback for the football team, enjoys destructive activities like setting ants on fire, and becomes somewhat girl-crazy as he gets older. Joseph

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2156-495: Is changed to Arlen Independent School District. The school's mascot is a longhorn steer. King of the Hill received critical acclaim over its 13-year run. Early reviews of the show were positive, and it was named as one of the best new shows of 1997 by Entertainment Weekly , Time and TV Guide . Diane Holloway at the Chicago Tribune considered it the "most Texan television series since Dallas ", and praised

2254-424: Is confident, frequently to the point of lacking self-awareness. Hank and Peggy's only child, Bobby Hill ( Pamela Adlon ), is a student at Tom Landry Middle School. His characteristic lack of athleticism and interests in prop comedy and cooking are mystifying to his more conventional father but are encouraged by his mother. Throughout the series, Peggy's naïve and emotional niece Luanne Platter ( Brittany Murphy ),

2352-469: Is dismayed by his mother's choice to break up with Gary to marry a man she has only known for a few weeks, Chuck Garrison, but eventually finds Chuck as likable as Gary. In contrast, Hank has a strained relationship with his father, Cotton Hill ( Toby Huss ), a cantankerous World War II veteran who lost his shins to Japanese machine gun fire and verbally abused Tilly during their marriage, leading to their divorce. Cotton later marries Didi ( Ashley Gardner ),

2450-591: Is home to National Public Radio -affiliated station KRTS . Marfa houses the offices of the Big Bend Sentinel , serving Marfa, and International / Internacional , serving Presidio, in one building. The former is a weekly newspaper covering the areas of Marfa, Fort Davis, Presidio, and far West Texas. Marfa Magazine is a yearly publication distributed from Marfa, founded and operated by Johnny Calderon Jr. It focuses on issues and general information about Marfa, Alpine, and Fort Davis. On October 1, 2009,

2548-580: Is inherently embedded in the landscape of Far West Texas and deeply engaged with Marfa's cultural history and present-day community. Building 98 , also located in Marfa, is a project of the International Woman's Foundation, which has operated an artist-in-residency program since 2002. The International Woman's Foundation was responsible for placing Fort D.A. Russell on the National Register of Historic Places as an effort to preserve

2646-437: Is not Dale's biological son, but was instead born from Nancy's 14-year-long affair with John Redcorn ( Victor Aaron ; later Jonathan Joss ), a Native American healer who has given Nancy therapeutic massages for her headaches for years; their affair and Joseph's real parentage have long been common knowledge among Nancy's neighbors, who have all seemingly agreed to keep it a secret from Dale. Dale has expressed suspicion that he

2744-405: Is not Joseph's biological father, but believes that Nancy was impregnated by aliens but using his DNA. Even so, he clearly loves his son. Across the alley from the Hills lives Bill Dauterive ( Stephen Root ). Known as the "Billdozer" in his high school football glory days, Bill is now overweight, bald, and clinically depressed, still struggling to get over his divorce with his ex-wife Lenore. Bill

2842-471: Is not explicitly stated, a single line early in the series indicates he is an electrician living on worker's comp. In a montage leading to the conclusion of the final episode, a Texas Ranger badge falls open on his dresser. His given name, Jeff, is not revealed until the 13th and final season. In the series' first season, the Souphanousinphones, a Laotian-American family, move in next door to

2940-615: Is performed by the Arizona rock band The Refreshments . Variations of the theme are used for special episodes, including season finales and Christmas episodes. King of the Hill is set in the fictional town of Arlen, Texas, an amalgamation of numerous Dallas–Fort Worth suburbs including Garland , Richardson , Arlington and Allen . In addition to drawing inspiration from the Dallas region, Judge has described Arlen as "a town like Humble " (a suburb of Houston ). Time magazine praised

3038-568: Is served by the Marfa Independent School District . Within it, Marfa Elementary School and Marfa Junior/Senior High School serve the city. Hispanic students attended the segregated Blackwell School from 1909 to 1965. The school was authorized to be a National Historic Site in 2022. Marfa International School, a private school, opened in 2012, serving students in grades 1–8, with scholarships available based on need. However, it closed in 2016. Presidio County

Marfa lights - Misplaced Pages Continue

3136-746: Is the home of Marfa's German POW murals. The facility also features the George Sugarman sculpture courtyard. Marfa is the location of the Marfa lights , visible on clear nights between Marfa and the Paisano Pass when one is facing southwest (toward the Chinati Mountains). According to the Handbook of Texas Online , "at times they appear colored as they twinkle in the distance. They move about, split apart, melt together, disappear, and reappear. Presidio County residents have watched

3234-685: Is within the Odessa College District for community college. Marfa and the surrounding area are served by the Marfa Public Library, which houses a diverse collection in a variety of formats. The library began in 1947 when the Marfa Lions Club and the Marfa Study Club agreed to establish a library for the citizens of the area. The library was originally housed in the historic U.S.O. building, but

3332-473: The 10th , 11th , and 12th seasons and had begun to rise in the overall Nielsen ratings (up to the 105th most watched series on television, from 118th in season 8 ), Fox abruptly announced in 2008 that King of the Hill had been cancelled. The cancellation coincided with the announcement that Seth MacFarlane , creator of Family Guy and American Dad! , would be creating a Family Guy spin-off called The Cleveland Show , which would take over King of

3430-567: The Apache . Other settlers told him they often saw the lights, but that when they investigated they found no ashes or other evidence of a campsite. Joe and Anne Humphreys next reported seeing the lights in 1885. The first published account of the lights appeared in the July 1957 issue of Coronet magazine. In 1976 Elton Miles's Tales of the Big Bend included stories dating to the 19th century and

3528-450: The Star hub. The show aired in broadcast syndication from 2001 to 2019. From September 2004 to December 2008, FX aired the series daily nationwide. The show later aired on Cartoon Network's late-night programming block Adult Swim from January 1, 2009, to June 29, 2018. The series then aired short-lived reruns on Comedy Central and CMT from July 24, 2018, until November 2019, when

3626-410: The de facto leader for his friends and family. His wife Peggy Hill, née Platter ( Kathy Najimy ), a native of Montana , is a substitute Spanish teacher, though she has a poor grasp of the language. Peggy also finds employment and avocation as a freelance newspaper columnist for The Arlen Bystander as well as a Boggle champion, a notary public , a softball pitcher, and a real estate agent. She

3724-445: The diurnal temperature variation is substantial. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 1,788 people, 802 households, and 300 families residing in the city. As of the 2010 United States Census , 1,981 people, 864 households, and 555 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,354 inhabitants per square mile (523/km ). The 1,126 housing units averaged 719.1 per square mile (276.9/km ). The racial makeup of

3822-403: The fifth and sixth seasons , Mike Judge and Greg Daniels became less involved with the show. They eventually refocused on it, even while Daniels became increasingly involved with other projects. Judge and Daniels' reduced involvement with the show resulted in the series' format turning more episodic and formulaic. Beginning in season seven, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, who had worked on

3920-508: The "last bipartisan TV comedy", with writer Bert Clere noting the program "imbued all of its characters with a rich humanity that made their foibles deeply sympathetic. In this, King of the Hill was far ahead of its time, and the broader TV landscape has yet to catch up." As of 2014, King of the Hill was ranked No. 27 on IGN's "Top 100 Animated TV Series". The publication also ranked it as No. 66 on their "The Top 100 Best TV Shows of All Time" list in 2023. In 2013, TV Guide ranked King of

4018-457: The "lights of Marfa" in the song " No Spare Parts " from the 2011 re-release of their 1978 album Some Girls . Country music artist Paul Cauthen wrote " Marfa Lights ," a love song inspired by the lights, for his 2016 album " My Gospel ." In the 2019 Simpsons episode " Mad About the Toy ", the family visits Marfa. Lisa tries to explain the lights but is prevented by Marge . The Union Trade had

Marfa lights - Misplaced Pages Continue

4116-468: The Dia Art Foundation in New York, Judd acquired decommissioned Fort D.A. Russell , and in 1979 began transforming the fort's buildings into art spaces. Judd's vision was to house large collections of individual artists' work on permanent display, as a sort of antimuseum. Judd believed the prevailing model of many museums , where various art exhibits are shown for limited times, does not allow

4214-538: The Hill are involved in the show, although Judge is not. It premiered on September 29, 2019, and ended on June 20, 2021 due to Fox cancelling the series after two seasons. Because it was scheduled to lead off Fox's Sunday-night animated programming lineup , portions of King of the Hill episodes were often pre-empted by sporting events that ran into overtime (the show was pre-empted more often than not by NFL football); in season nine especially, whole episodes were pre-empted. Ultimately, enough episodes were pre-empted that

4312-464: The Hill as one of the top 60 Greatest TV Cartoons of All Time. The first six seasons were released on DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment from 2003 to 2006. The seventh season was originally planned to be released in late 2006, but most likely due to poor sales of the DVDs, the release was cancelled. However, 8 years later in 2014, Olive Films acquired the sub-license to release future seasons of

4410-407: The Hill depicts an "average" family and their lives in a typical American town. It documents the Hills' day-to-day-lives in the small Texas town of Arlen, exploring themes such as parent-child relationships, friendship , loyalty , and justice . In early 1995, during the successful first run of Beavis and Butt-Head on MTV, Mike Judge decided to create another animated series, this one set in

4508-606: The Hill during his time making the MTV series Beavis and Butt-Head , which he also created and voiced in. After pitching the pilot to Fox, Judge was paired with Greg Daniels , an experienced writer who previously worked on The Simpsons . The series debuted on the Fox network as a mid-season replacement in 1997, quickly becoming a success. The series' popularity led to worldwide syndication, and cable reruns currently air on FXX and Adult Swim , having aired on FX and Comedy Central in

4606-418: The Hill , although he would not rule out the possibility of it returning. In August 2017, it was revealed that Judge and Daniels had talked with Fox executives about a potential revival . In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes the following March, Judge said he would want the revived series to include aged characters, such as an older Bobby. In March 2020, Daniels revealed that he and Judge had an idea for

4704-477: The Hill's time slot. Hopes to keep the show afloat surfaced as sources indicated that ABC (which was already airing Judge's new animated comedy, The Goode Family ) was interested in securing the rights to the show, but in January 2009, ABC president Steve McPherson said he had "no plans to pick up the animated comedy." On April 30, 2009, it was announced that Fox ordered at least two more episodes to give

4802-438: The Hill's mild yet extremely funny depiction of small-town Texas life is refreshingly worlds away from conventional prime-time animation." The fifth and thirteenth seasons received more critical praise, with a 100% approval rating. In 2007, James Poniewozik included it on Time' s list of the 100 Greatest TV Shows, writing: "The most acutely observed, realistic sitcom about regional American life bar none, this animated series

4900-600: The Hill's neighborhood, is a slim womanizer whose fast, non-fluent, and jumbled speech can be hard to understand for the audience despite being easily understood by his friends and most other characters. He is shown to be able to sing clearly and speak fluent Spanish and French. During a perspective flashback in the Season 3 episode "A Fire Fighting We Will Go", Boomhauer sees himself speaking normally while everyone else speaks in Boomhauer's manner of speaking. Though his occupation

4998-519: The Hills. The family consists of the materialistic Kahn (Huss), his class-conscious wife Minh ( Lauren Tom ), and their teenage daughter, Kahn Jr., who goes by the name "Connie" (Tom). Kahn—who fled poverty in Laos to become a successful systems analyst in America—is often at odds with his neighbors, believing them to be "hillbillies" and "rednecks" due to their lower socioeconomic status (despite evidence to

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5096-786: The Marfa Lights Viewing Center (MLVC). They define the left margin of the viewing area as being aligned along the Big Bend Telephone Company tower as viewed from the MLVC, and the right margin as Chinati Peak as viewed from the MLVC. Referring to the Marfa Lights View Park east of Marfa (coordinates: 30°16'30"N 103°52'59"W), James Bunnell describes Marfa lights as "orbs of light", which change in intensity and color, which can move or remain stationary, splitting or merging. He describes

5194-424: The Marfa lights viewing station. They recorded a number of lights that "could have been mistaken for lights of unknown origin", but in each case the movements of the lights and the data from their equipment could be easily explained as automobile headlights or small fires. They concluded that due to the rarity of observation of "genuine" Marfa lights, those with odd behaviour not explainable as car lights, more research

5292-675: The Mexico-U.S. border. Marfa is in northeastern Presidio County within the Chihuahuan Desert . The town is approximately 20 miles south of Fort Davis on Texas Route 17 and about 18 miles west of Alpine on US Route 67 . According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 1.6 sq mi (4.1 km ), all land. Marfa experiences a semi-arid climate ( BSk ) with hot summers and cool winters. Due to its elevation and aridity,

5390-489: The United States Army's chemical mortar battalions . Marfa experienced economic issues after the war ended and after a drought impaired agricultural output. Artist Donald Judd arrived in 1973 and began buying properties to renovate, which resulted in bohemian interest in the community. In 2012 Vanity Fair described it as a "playground" for "art-world pioneers and pilgrims". Marfa is about 60 miles from

5488-563: The absurdity of everyday life while simultaneously celebrating it." She also noted that "the show saw its fair share of silly conceits and contrived setups—and got fairly repetitive in the final seasons." Writers have examined the show through a political lens. "It's not a political show", said Mike Judge in 1997. "It's more a populist, common sense point of view." In 2005, Matt Bai of The New York Times Magazine called it "the most subtle and complex portrayal of small-town voters on television." A 2016 reappraisal from The Atlantic dubbed it

5586-453: The authentic portrayal as the "most acutely observed, realistic sitcom about regional American life bar none". In the episode "Hank's Cowboy Movie", the town's entrance sign lists its population as 145,300. Though Arlen is inspired by various Texas suburban communities, its specific location in Texas is never specified in the series. Similar to the location of Springfield on The Simpsons ,

5684-674: The best family comedy on TV", calling the show's ending "one of the most moving things I've seen on TV this year." Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger described it as "sweeter and more human than the great majority of live-action sitcoms that overlapped its run." Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club described it as a "steadfast, down-to-earth series" and contrasted it with other contemporary cartoons: " King Of The Hill ' s characters aren't funny because they tell perfectly crafted jokes or make pop-culture references or constantly get themselves into ridiculous situations; they're funny because they have real hopes, flaws, and limitations that satirize

5782-554: The city council voted to no longer have a local police department. At the time, the Presidio County Sheriff's Department and Texas Highway Patrol provided law enforcement for the city, as well as the county as a whole. As of 2019, however, the Marfa Police Department has been re-established, and five officers, including a chief and lieutenant, oversee law enforcement within the city limits. Marfa

5880-505: The city was 30% White, 0.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.05% Asian, 7.50% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 68.7% of the population. Of 863 households, 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were not families. About 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.3% had someone living alone who

5978-435: The clash of Hank Hill's social conservatism and interlopers' liberalism, Daniels focused on character development to provide an emotional context for the series' numerous cultural conflicts. Judge was ultimately so pleased with Daniels' contributions, he chose to credit him as a co-creator, rather than give him the "developer" credit usually reserved for individuals brought onto a pilot written by someone else. After its debut,

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6076-433: The contrary). Minh often becomes involved in activities with Peggy and Nancy, whom she looks down on as uncivilized and ignorant, despite considering them her best friends. Connie has been pushed by her father to become a child prodigy and excels at a variety of things from academics to music, though she rejects her father's materialism and judgmental nature. She develops a relationship with Bobby that blossoms into romance over

6174-436: The daughter of Peggy's scheming brother Hoyt ( Johnny Knoxville ) and his alcoholic ex-wife, Leanne (Adlon), lives with the Hill family. Hank originally encourages her to move out, but over time accepts her as a member of the household. Luanne attends beauty school and hosts a Christian-themed puppet show for a local cable access TV station. Luanne engages in a relationship with and marries Elroy "Lucky" Kleinschmidt ( Tom Petty ),

6272-540: The early years of the series, such as Luanne's becoming more independent and educated after Buckley's death, and the aging of characters being acknowledged (a rare narrative occurrence for an animated series). Bless the Harts , an animated series created for Fox, loosely shares a universe with King of the Hill , and features the Mega-Lo-Mart in the show. Story editors Christy Stratton and Emily Spivey for King of

6370-465: The editor after he submitted the story to the newspaper, and therefore "No one cared. The story we had suited Marfa just fine." The town grew quickly during the 1920s. The Marfa Army Air Field served as a training facility for several thousand pilots during World War II, including the American actor Robert Sterling , before closing in 1945. The base was also used as the training ground for many of

6468-406: The female minister of Arlen First Methodist. Following the show's slice of life format, which is consistently present throughout its run, the show presents itself as being more down-to-earth than competing animated comedies, e.g. Family Guy , due to its realism and bases its plots and humor from mundane topics. Critics also note the great deal of humanity shown throughout the show. King of

6566-471: The first half of the series before the two decide to remain friends. Connie often accompanies Bobby and Joseph on their adventures. Other minor characters include Buck Strickland (voiced by Stephen Root), Hank's licentious boss at Strickland Propane; Joe Jack (Huss) and Enrique ( Danny Trejo ), Hank's co-workers at Strickland; Carl Moss ( Dennis Burkley ), Bobby's principal at Tom Landry Middle School; and Reverend Karen Stroup ( Mary Tyler Moore , later Gardner),

6664-478: The forming of a new company called Bandera Entertainment , with a revival of King of the Hill being one of several series in development. During a panel at Comic-Con 2022, Judge stated that the show "has a very good chance of coming back." In September 2022, Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn confirmed that the series would not air on Fox, with the reason being that Fox prefers to have full ownership of whatever new shows they air. On January 31, 2023,

6762-513: The forming of a new company called Bandera Entertainment , with a revival of King of the Hill being one of several series in development. On January 31, 2023, it was announced that Hulu picked up the revival. King of the Hill is set in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas . The show centers on the Hill family, headed by the ever-responsible, calm, hard-working, loyal, disciplined, and honest propane and propane accessory salesman Hank Hill ( Mike Judge ). The punning title refers to Hank as

6860-399: The head of the family as well as metaphorically to the children's game King of the Hill . Hank is employed as the assistant manager at Strickland Propane, selling " propane and propane accessories", a frequent catchphrase . He often finds his traditional conservative values challenged by the changing world around him, though his common decency always sees him through. Hank typically serves as

6958-420: The historic importance of the site. The facility's studio galleries host artists who desire to exhibit work in the region at a premier venue. In late September 2012 through early April 2013, the foundation held a major retrospective of the works of Wilhelmina Weber Furlong at Building 98 featuring over 75 unseen works of the early American woman modernist. Building 98 is located at historic Fort D. A. Russell; it

7056-513: The latter later that year. As of May 2018, all episodes were again removed from Google Play and iTunes. On November 1, 2018, all episodes became available for streaming on Hulu in the US. In some countries, the series was unavailable to stream or buy digitally, since Hulu is only available in the United States. However in 2022, the series was made available internationally on Disney+ through

7154-414: The lights as being usually yellow-orange, but also occasionally other hues including green, blue, and red. He states that they usually fly above desert vegetation but below mesas in the background. The first historical record of the Marfa lights was in 1883 when a young cowhand, Robert Reed Ellison, saw a flickering light while he was driving cattle through Paisano Pass and wondered if it was the campfire of

7252-671: The lights for over a hundred years." The first historical record of them dates to 1883. Presidio County has built a viewing station 9 miles east of town on US 67 near the site of the old air base. Each year, enthusiasts gather for the annual Marfa Lights Festival. Various movie productions have filmed in and around parts of Marfa. The 1950 film High Lonesome and the 1956 Warner Bros. film Giant were filmed in Marfa. In August 2006, two films were partially shot in Marfa: There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men . Larry Clark 's 2012 film Marfa Girl

7350-551: The lights, a roadside park on the south side of U.S. Route 90 about 9 miles (14 km) east of Marfa, is at the site of Marfa Army Airfield , where tens of thousands of personnel were stationed between 1942 and 1947, training American and Allied pilots. This massive field was then used for years as a regional airport, with daily airline service. Since Marfa AAF and its satellite fields are each constantly patrolled by sentries, they consider it unlikely that any unusual phenomena would remain unobserved and unmentioned. According to Dunning,

7448-612: The likeliest explanation is that the lights are a sort of mirage caused by sharp temperature gradients between cold and warm layers of air. Marfa is at an elevation of 4,688 ft (1,429 m) above sea level, and temperature differentials of 40–50 °F (22–28 °C) between high and low temperatures are quite common. In May 2004 a group from the Society of Physics Students at the University of Texas at Dallas spent four days investigating and recording lights observed southwest of

7546-473: The location of Arlen within Texas is arbitrary based on the needs of a particular episode's plot, and multiple episodes give conflicting information as to Arlen's geographic location within the state. For example, one episode indicates that it is just north of the Brazos River in central Texas. Other episodes place it near Houston or Dallas, while others feature trips to Mexico and back taking place within

7644-458: The majority of the series' 10th season —initially intended to be the final season, consisted of unaired ninth-season episodes. The 11th season was also meant to be the last, with a planned finale televised before it was renewed. The 13th-season episode " Lucky See, Monkey Do " became the first episode of the series to be produced in widescreen high definition when it aired on February 8, 2009. Although ratings remained consistent throughout

7742-796: The past. The show became one of Fox's longest-running series, with a total of 259 episodes over the course of its 13 seasons. Four episodes from the final season were planned to air on Fox, but later premiered in nightly syndication in May 2010. King of the Hill was met with universal acclaim and has since garnered a strong cult following . It was named by Time magazine in its 2007 list of "The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time". The series has won two Emmy Awards and has been nominated for seven. Its celebrity guest stars include Texas Governor Ann Richards , Chuck Mangione , Tom Petty , Alan Rickman , Michael Keaton , Johnny Depp , and numerous country music artists. On January 18, 2022, Judge and Daniels announced

7840-451: The pilot script and created important characters who did not appear in Judge's first draft, including Luanne and Cotton. Daniels also reworked some of the supporting characters (whom the pair characterized as originally having been generic, "snaggle-toothed hillbillies"), such as making Dale Gribble a conspiracy theorist . While Judge's writing tended to emphasize political humor, specifically

7938-456: The reboot. Daniels stated, "We do have a plan for it and it's pretty funny. So maybe one day." In March 2021, writer Brent Forrester stated that a reboot was currently underway, stating in a tweet , "I am sure Greg Daniels and Mike Judge will murder me for sharing this but... HELL YES. They are in hot negotiations to bring back King of the Hill ." The reboot will possibly feature "aged-up characters". In January 2022, Judge and Daniels announced

8036-410: The series became a large success for Fox and was named one of the best television series of the year by various publications, including Entertainment Weekly , Time , and TV Guide . For the 1997–1998 season, the series became one of Fox's highest-rated programs and even outperformed The Simpsons in the ratings that season, ranking 15th with an average of 16.3 million viewers per episode. During

8134-583: The series finale where Bobby is "older". Hardwick was also confirmed to reprise his role as Dale Gribble, but died in August 2023 before any new episodes made it to air. It was later revealed that Hardwick had recorded "a couple" of episodes prior to his death. In the opening sequence, Hank joins Dale, Bill, and Boomhauer in the alley behind his house. When he opens his can of beer, the playback speed increases greatly and depicts other main and secondary characters carrying out various daily activities around them in

8232-456: The series since season two, took it over completely, tending to emphasize Judge's concept that the series was built around sociopolitical humor rather than character-driven humor. Although Fox insisted that the series lack character development or story arcs (a demand made of the network's other animated series, so that they can be shown out of order in syndication), Judge and Daniels had managed to develop minor arcs and story elements throughout

8330-563: The series was pulled from their lineups. However, the series joined FXX 's lineup on September 20, 2021; shortly thereafter, Adult Swim regained partial syndication, and so FXX and Adult Swim share the syndication rights as of November 22, 2021. A video game based on the series was released on November 13, 2000, for the PC. The player goes on a hunting trip with Hank and the gang where the player must hunt for various animals. The game received mixed to negative reviews. The characters also appeared in

8428-419: The series. The series centers on the Hills, an American family who live in the fictional city of Arlen, Texas , as well as their neighbors, co-workers, relatives, classmates, friends, and acquaintances. The show's realistic approach seeks humor in the conventional and mundane aspects of everyday life, such as blue-collar workers , substitute teachers , and the trials of puberty . Judge began creating King of

8526-476: The show a finale. The show's 14th season was originally supposed to air sometime in the 2009–2010 season , but Fox later announced that it would not air the episodes, opting instead for syndication. On August 10, 2009, however, Fox released a statement that the network would air a series finale on September 13, 2009. During the panel discussion for the return of Beavis and Butt-Head at Comic-Con 2011, Mike Judge said that there were no plans to revive King of

8624-500: The show's "sly sense of humor and subversive sensibility." At the Los Angeles Times , writer Howard Rosenberg suggested that the show "totes a few smiles, but [there's] little to bowl you over, and it takes a spell getting used to." The show's first season received an approval rating of 83% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes , based on eigthteen reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. Its consensus reads, "King of

8722-450: The show, and seasons seven and eight were released on November 18, of that same year, with nine and ten released on April 7, 2015, eleven released on August 25, 2015, twelve released on September 22, 2015, and thirteen released (also Blu-ray) on October 20, 2015. Netflix and Fox streamed all episodes, but stopped streaming on October 1, 2013, and in early 2017, the series was removed from iTunes and Google Play , though it returned to

8820-692: The suggestion of the wife of a railroad executive. Although some historians have hypothesized that the name came from a character in Fyodor Dostoevsky 's novel The Brothers Karamazov , Marfa was actually named after Marfa Strogoff, a character in Jules Verne 's novel Michael Strogoff . According to Sterry Butcher of the Texas Monthly , a writer researched the Karamazov story and deemed it false, but did not receive any letters to

8918-491: The view park using traffic volume-monitoring equipment, video cameras, binoculars, and chase cars. Their report made the following conclusions: They came to the conclusion that all the lights observed over a four-night period southwest of the view park could be reliably attributed to automobile headlights traveling along U.S. 67 between Marfa and Presidio, Texas. For 20 nights in May 2008, scientists from Texas State University used spectroscopy equipment to observe lights from

9016-550: The viewer an understanding of the artist or their work as they had intended. Following Judd's death in 1994, two foundations have worked to maintain his legacy: the Chinati Foundation and Judd Foundation . Since its inauguration in 1986, Chinati has held an open-house event that attracts visitors from around the world to visit Marfa's art. Between 1997 and 2008, both foundations cosponsored this event. The Chinati Foundation now occupies more than 30 buildings in Marfa and has permanently displayed work by 13 artists. In recent years,

9114-443: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.99. The age distribution of the population shows 24.9% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.9 males. The median income for

9212-534: Was also the filming location for the music video of the xx song “ On Hold .” Marfa is featured in the 2019 Simpsons episode " Mad About the Toy ." In the Disney Channel series of "So Weird" in the first season episode in 1999, titled "Will o' the Wisp". The group goes to Marfa, Texas for a music venue. Fi & Jack go out one night outside Marfa, Texas to see if they can view the famous Marfa Lights. It

9310-586: Was filmed exclusively in Marfa. Also, Far Marfa , written and directed by Cory Van Dyke, made its debut in 2012. Morley Safer presented a 60 Minutes segment in on August 4, 2013, titled "Marfa, Texas, the Capital of Quirkiness." In 2017, Marfa was featured as the setting of the Amazon series I Love Dick , an adaptation of Chris Kraus 's 1997 novel, which was set in Pasadena, California . Marfa

9408-713: Was moved to a city-owned building after the city took over the project. After meeting the requirements of the Texas State Library , it became a member of the Texas Trans-Pecos Library System. The present library building was donated to the City of Marfa in 1973 by the first chairperson, Laura Bailey, and her husband Bishop. Future expansions and renovations to the current building are also planned. Amtrak 's Sunset Limited , which operates between New Orleans and Los Angeles three days

9506-505: Was necessary to determine their nature. The lights have been featured and mentioned in various media, including the television show Unsolved Mysteries and an episode of King of the Hill ( "Of Mice and Little Green Men" ) and in an episode of the Disney Channel Original Series So Weird . A book by David Morrell , 2009's The Shimmer , was inspired by the lights. The Rolling Stones mention

9604-545: Was not filmed in Marfa, Texas but filmed a location near their studios in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada location. Apparently, the writers and production staff knew nothing about the area of Marfa, Texas when filming this episode. Fi & Jack are in a forest area with large trees trying to view the "Marfa Lights". In fact, Marfa, Texas is located in a desert area which there is no forest of any kind. The local Marfa Chamber of Commerce and Marfa City Hall Council said, "We got

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