| "And They Call It Bobby Love" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| King of the Hill episode | |||
| Episodeno. | Season 3 Episode 2 | ||
| Directed by | Cyndi Tang-Loveland | ||
| Written by | Norm Hiscock | ||
| Production code | 3ABE01 | ||
| Original air date | September 22, 1998 (1998-09-22) | ||
| Guest appearances | |||
| Chuck Mangione as himself Joanna Gleason as Marie's mother Sarah Michelle Gellar as Marie | |||
| Episode chronology | |||
| |||
| King of the Hillseason 3 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"And They Call It Bobby Love" is the second episode of thethird season of theAmericananimated seriesKing of the Hill and the 37th episode overall. Written byNorm Hiscock and directed byCyndi Tang-Loveland, it originally aired on theFox network on September 22, 1998. The plot follows protagonistHank Hill's sonBobby's relationship with Marie, a girl whosevegetarian lifestyle clashes strongly with the Hill family's traditionallyomnivorous diet, notably with Hank's infatuation with grilling meat. Asubplot involves Hank, Dale, Bill, and Boomhauer acquiring an abandoned couch and subsequently adding it to their beer-drinking area of the neighborhood alley.
The episode's title references a lyric from the chorus of thePaul Anka song "Puppy Love". It is the only episode of the series to win aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour).
Bobby begins a relationship with Marie, avegetarian, andHank and the guys find an abandoned couch in their alleyway.
Over the course of his relationship with his newfound girlfriend, Bobby experiences his first kiss, but their relationship quickly sours as Bobby's affection for Marie is revealed to be much greater than her affection for him. As a result, Bobby and Marie decide to end their relationship, and Bobby's reaction to it is strongly negative. To cheer up their son, Hank and Peggy take Bobby to thePanhandler Steakhouse where he sees Marie also having dinner with her parents. He takes on the restaurant's standing challenge to eat a 72-ounce (2 kg)steak in under an hour, simultaneously spiting Marie and finding catharsis by eating the entire steak in just 37 minutes as everyone in the restaurant watches. He later vomits from overeating, which Connie initially feared might be his still reacting to the break-up.
Meanwhile, Hank, Dale, Bill, and Boomhauer discover an abandoned couch in the alley, which they are initially against using as a backdrop for their daily ritual of drinking beer and chatting. As the days progress, they grow to like drinking in their usual spot while sitting on the couch. The couch is also where Bobby and Marie kissed, somewhat to Bill's annoyance. The couch disappears near the end of the episode, but it is ultimately revealed that Bill has moved the couch into his living room.
The episode was nominated and won for the category ofPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour) at the51st Primetime Emmy Awards show on September 12, 1999.[1][2]The A.V. Club had it on a list of "10 episodes that madeKing of the Hill one of the most human cartoons ever" with Genevieve Koski saying the steak eating scene "remains one of the best scenes in the show’s history."[3]