The Best Dale Gribble Episodes from King of the Hill

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Judge, M & Daniels, G. (1997-2010). King of the Hill . Fox Broadcasting Company. Link to Image.

"Sh-sh-shah!"
Dale Gribble, King of the Hill

Dale Gribble (voiced by Johnny Hardwick 1958-2023) was a fictional character on the Fox animated series King of the Hill who appeared in 259 episodes from 1997 to 2010. Dale was an exterminator, bounty hunter, chain smoker, conspiracy theorist and gun fanatic. Dale Gribble was one of the funniest and outlandish characters on King of the Hill who was always doing something or saying something outrageous. This list examines some of his best episodes.

1. Soldier of Misfortune

Judge, M & Daniels, G. King of the Hill (1997-2010). “Soldier of Misfortune” (Video). Fox Broadcasting Company.
Link to YouTube.
Episode Details: Season 6, Episode 2
Air Date: 9 December 2001
Written by: J.B. Cook
Directed by: Anthony Lioi
Best Quote:

"Pocket sand!"
Dale Gribble, "Soldier of Misfortune", King of the Hill

In "Soldier of Misfortune" Dale is running for re-election at his local gun club. He is popular and has several friends in the club that he likes to entertain with exaggerated stories of his own bravado. One day, while telling his gun club friends the story about the time he assassinated a Central American dictator, Dale starts gesturing animatedly and accidentally discharges his gun. This angers his friends. The next day, Dale discovers that his rival at the club, Mad Dog, has decided to run against him for president.

His confidence shaken, Dale is no longer certain that his friends will vote for him after he acted reckless with his gun. To help Dale gain his confidence back, his friend Hank pretends to be someone named "Mr Big" and hires Dale as a Soldier of Fortune. He gives Dale a task to pick up a briefcase and deliver it somewhere, but Dale messes the job up. Unable to control his anxiety, he becomes convinced that the briefcase must contain drugs and that Mr Big is out to kill him. In all of the chaos, Hank and the rest of Dale's friends get captured by Mad Dog and held prisoner at the gun club. Dale must use all of his skills as a Soldier of Fortune to save his friends and his gun club from Mad Dog.

"Solider of Misfortune" is a great episode that shows what a paranoid and delusional character that Dale can be. He has a habit of getting caught up in far fetched and extreme conspiracy theories and likes to tell stories about himself that paint him as braver and smarter than he actually is in real life. His crazed antics while collecting the briefcase on behalf of "Mr Big" is one of his most memorable moments in King of the Hill. When he wrestles with a man for the case and throws a pocketful of sand in his face, it is pure Gribble madness.

2. The Texas Skilsaw Massacre

Judge, M & Daniels, G. King of the Hill (1997-2010). “The Texas Skilsaw Massacre” (Video). Fox Broadcasting Company. Link to YouTube.
Episode Details: Season 7, Episode 7
Air Date: 15 December 2002
Written by: Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland
Directed by: Shaun Cashman
Best Quote:

"You should be flattered. Think of it as a two-way friendship tube. I can escape to your house when the Feds come a-knockin', and you can slip over to mine when some jealous husband comes looking for you."
Dale's antics frustrate Hank, "The Texas Skilsaw Massacre", King of the Hill

Hank and Dale have been best friends since they were kids in school together. This is amusing since the two of them could not be more different. Hank is a hard-working, traditional American. He is stern, conservative, holds traditional family values and is known for his old-fashioned viewpoints. Dale, on the other hand, is selfish, childish, boastful, lazy and paranoid. He fails at everything Hank excels at and is successful at everything that Hank struggles with.

In "The Texas Skilsaw Massacre" Dale and Hank's friendship is stretched to breaking point. The episode begins with Hank falling through his kitchen floor into an underground tunnel. Dale admits to building the tunnel and calls it a "two-way friendship tube" connecting their houses. Outraged, Hank forbids Dale from helping to repair the damage. After their house is deemed structurally unfit, the Hills are forced to stay with the Gribbles, forcing Hank to have to endure more of Dale's annoying habits. While Hank is working to fix his kitchen, Dale arrives with complaints about him and his family living in his house. Hank tries to ignore him, but Dale gets too close to him while he is cutting wood with a circular saw, causing Hank to accidentally cut off Dale's right index finger.

Hank insists that it was an accident, but Dale refuses to believe him. Hank tells anyone who will listen that it was Dale who carelessly put his finger in front of the blade, but no one believes him. A judge issues a restraining order against Hank and sentences him to anger management, believing him to have rage issues. Hank rejects this notion, and insists he doesn't have a rage problem, he has an idiot problem. Hank goes along to the classes, as ordered, and finds them patronising. He soon graduates from the class and has his restraining order lifted. He goes back to his friends and discovers that Dale, Bill and Boomhauer have now dug a "three-way friendship tube" between each of their houses. This angers Hank because he had warned his friends not to dig any more tunnels.

When Hank spots a garbage truck heading down the road, he knows the weight of the vehicle will probably cause the tunnel to collapse and kill his friends. He tried to calmly tell them to come out but they refuse to budge. Now desperate, Hank loses his temper and yells at his friends to leave the tunnel. Dale, Bill and Boomhauer quickly leave the tunnel, seconds before the truck crushes it. Dale is not a good friend to Hank in this episode. His actions in this episode make me wonder why Hank bothers to have anything to do with him. Hank is a good friend to Dale, which is far more than he deserves.

3. Mutual of Omabwah

Judge, M & Daniels, G. King of the Hill (1997-2010). “Mutual of Omabwah” (Video). Fox Broadcasting Company.
Link to YouTube.
Episode Details: Season 9, Episode 8
Air Date: 6 March 2005
Written by: Tony Gama-Lobo and Rebecca May
Directed by: Dominic Polcino
Best Quote:

"Joseph, I'm having some sort of reaction. But I'm only allergic to shellfish and... bees. Joseph, I - oh. You were never here, were you? This could be bad."
Dale Gribble, "Mutual of Omabwah", King of the Hill

In the episode "Mutual of Omabwah" Dale brings home a swarm of bees he was paid to exterminate and decides to keep them and take up beekeeping as a way of making extra money. He sets up a stall at the local farmers market to sell his "freshly secreted honey" to local hippies. When he finds out that the trendy, fashionable women who attend the market would rather buy bee stings as a natural healing remedy, he capitalises on the idea and decides to start selling bee stings. His scheme quickly proves successful.

Later on in the episode, after Dale falls and hurts his arm, he decides to heal himself with bee stings. He proceeds to prick himself with a handful of bees, but soon realises that the stings have done nothing to help his fractured arm. He kicks over the case of bees in a rage, releasing the swarm which then comes after him. He runs over to Hank's house and pounds on the door, but a terrified Bobby refuses to let him in. Hank helps Dale escape the bees by encouraging him to run to his van. Once safely inside the car, Dale remembers that he is allergic to bees, so Hank and Bobby take him to hospital. I love Dale's storyline in this episode. My favourite moment is when he remembers that he is allergic to bees. He gives a dramatic pause and then whispers "bees…" in a voice filled with regret.

4. Night and Deity

Judge, M & Daniels, G. King of the Hill (1997-2010). “Night and Deity” (Video). Fox Broadcasting Company. Link to YouTube.
Episode Details: Season 7, Episode 21
Air Date: 11 May 2003
Written by: Garland Testa
Directed by: Garland Testa
Best Quote:

"I've taken two oaths in my life: One to the NRA, and the other to Nancy Hicks Gribble, nee Nancy Hicks. I stood in front of God and all my friends, vowing to be an honourable and truthful man. So I'm not gonna lie to you, I have felt a small, insect-like attraction for you. But my wife is the greatest woman there ever was!"
Dale turns down Sheila's affections, "Night and Deity", King of the Hill

One of the longest reoccurring jokes on King of the Hill is that Dale, who prides himself on being a conspiracy theorist, is often unable to figure out what is happening right in front of him, even in the face of overwhelming and obvious evidence. Dale has never figured out that is wife, Nancy Hicks-Gribble, had an affair with John Redcorn for nearly fourteen years and that his son, Joseph, is not his biological son. Dale's naivete and ignorance of his wife's affair and the fact this son strongly resembles John Redcorn can sometimes be painful to watch. Dale ignores the evidence of his wife's affair because of his love and trust in her. This is another joke from the writers. It can be easy to fool Dale if that person is someone he trusts.

In the episode "Night and Deity" a pigeon infestation in the alley forces Dale to call in another exterminator known as the "Pigeon God of Heimlich County" to help after his efforts to remove the birds fail. When Sheila the exterminator arrives in the neighbourhood, Dale is awe-struck. Sheila is the woman of Dale's dreams: beautiful, skilled at exterminating, and shares the same interests that he does. It doesn't take long for Nancy to notice the effect that Sheila has on Dale and that she has romantic feelings for him. She tells Peggy that she doesn't think it would be right for her to tell Dale not to cheat on her, after she cheated on him for years with John Redcorn. Nancy tries to spend more time with Dale, but struggles to feel comfortable working with him on exterminating jobs. When she finally begs him to stop seeing Sheila, Dale mentions John Redcorn, and reminds her that he never stopped her from seeing him which makes Nancy feel ashamed. The joke in the scene being that Dale thinks he is just friends with Sheila. He can't see that she has feelings for him, just like he never saw that there was anything going on between Nancy and John Redcorn.

Later in the episode, Sheila reveals to Dale that she has feelings for him, which causes Dale to react in outrage. He holds up his wedding ring and reminds her that he is married and admits that even though he feels an attraction towards her, his wife is the greatest woman he's ever known, and he won't break the vow he made to her to be an honourable and truthful man. "Night and Deity" shows a sweeter, softer side to Dale and explores the relationship that he has with his wife. One of my favourite scenes is when he asks Nancy if she knew Sheila had a thing for him, and she reacts with mock surprise. Dale replies "Yeah, she was all over me. It was weird. She knows I'm married!" he then invites Nancy to sit with him on the couch and watch TV with him, which she accepts.

5. My Own Private Rodeo

Judge, M & Daniels, G. King of the Hill (1997-2010). “My Own Private Rodeo” (Video). Fox Broadcasting Company.
Link to YouTube.
Episode Details: Season 6, Episode 18
Air Date: 28 April 2002
Written by: Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck
Directed by: Cyndi Tang-Loveland
Best Quote:

"Prepare to be destroyed by the deadliest of all martial arts - monkey style! (Makes monkey- like battle gestures) Pressure point! Gouge the eyes! Grab the tongue! Achilles tendon!"
Dale threatens his father, "My Own Private Rodeo", King of the Hill

In the episode "My Own Private Rodeo" Dale and Nancy decide to renew their wedding vows to celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversary. Nancy still hasn't revealed to Dale that she was unfaithful to him so she wants to renew her vows to Dale as a way for her to start over after years of adultery. Nancy is eager for the ceremony to go perfectly, so she asks Hank if he can track down Dale's estranged father, Bug, and invite him. Dale and Bug haven't spoken to each other in over twenty years. Dale cut his father out of his life after Bug grabbed his wife, Nancy, and kissed her at their wedding. Hank is reluctant to track down Bug at first, but after Nancy insists that he give it a try, he agrees to find him and invite him to the ceremony. Nancy feels so guilty about cheating on Dale, she hopes if he can forgive Bug, he can forgive her for being unfaithful.

Hank, Bill and Boomhauer track down Bug and discover that he is gay and has been spending his time working at the Lonestar Gay Rodeo. Hank goes to Bug and asks if he would be interested in making amends with his son. Bug explains to Hank that he was still struggling with his sexuality 20 years ago. He kissed Nancy because he'd been about to kiss a Filipino caterer, then Dale walked into the room, so he panicked and grabbed the closest thing in a dress. Bug agrees to return to Arlen and speak with Dale. When his father turns up on his doorstep, Dale is uncertain at first, then decides to reconcile with him.

Bug tries several times to tell Dale that he is gay, but Dale remains completely oblivious to his sexuality, and even comments that he believes his father has "pleased hundreds of women". Bug tries several more times to explain to Dale he is gay, but instead of seeing what is right in front of him, Dale becomes convinced that his father must be a secret government agent. It is only after Bug kisses his boyfriend in front of Dale that he relents and accepts him for who he is. The episode ends with Dale commenting that he has no problem with his father being a homosexual because he believes John Redcorn to be gay and he's been friends with him for years. I love the twist in this episode that Dale is not homophobic and believes John Redcorn to be gay, which would explain why he does not suspect him as being Joseph's biological father.

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