Get Some Laughs With ‘King Of The Hill’
Have you met the backward, suburban family of “King of the Hill” (FOX Sunday at 8:30)? The Hills are best described as the faux pas family full of the kind of etiquette mess-ups that would have Miss Manners biting at her white gloves.
It’s “The Simpsons” meets “Beavis and Butthead” in the Texas ‘burbs - clever, cutting-edge humor styled in a way that would have made Walt Disney blanch.
The Hills’ indiscretions will find you giggling and getting some vicarious pleasure over the family’s ignorance-is-bliss behavior.
In this week’s episode, patriarch Hank takes his young son Bobby and friends on an outdoor scouting adventure.
The idyllic outing turns into a hilarious parody of environmental groups after Bobby clubs an endangered bird and environmentalists come after him.
Highlights
“Who Makes You Laugh? 2,” ABC tonight at 10: Whoopi Goldberg, Jay Leno, Tom Arnold, Richard Lewis, Dave Thomas and Martin Short are among the comedians who answer the question in the show’s title.
“Mad TV,” FOX tonight at 11: Rodney Dangerfield makes an appearance in this comedy-sketch show.
“Saturday Night Live,” NBC at 11:30: A compilation of highlights from the 1996-97 season.
“Nature,” KSPS Sunday at 7: “Incredible Suckers” goes about one mile under the sea to report on cephalopods, a group containing squid and octopuses.
These cephalopods, the documentary contends, can solve puzzles and communicate. They may even be smarter than dolphins and whales. Repeat.
“Pro Bowl,” ABC Sunday at 5: The creme de la creme of the NFL do battle in Honolulu. Last year the NFC won this matchup.
If you haven’t maxed out on football, here’s one more chance.
“The Client” (1994), NBC Sunday at 8:30: This tale, based on John Grisham’s best seller (and which spawned a TV series), is a suspenser about a young Memphis boy (Brad Renfro) who discovers a missing senator’s body. He gets assistance from Susan Sarandon as a down-on-her-luck attorney.
The dialogue is crisp, especially when Sarandon battles with Tommy Lee Jones as an aggressive prosecutor. Jones wants the boy to testify in court; Sarandon wants to keep him alive.
Stick with this one to the end. Jones delivers a memorable performance when his character gets a long-awaited comeuppance.
“Breach of Faith: Family of Cops II” (1997), CBS Sunday at 9: Charles Bronson reprises his role of Inspector Paul Fein in this sequel to 1995’s “Family of Cops.” Here Fein and family (Joe Penny, Sebastian Spence) shoot their way through the two hours as they square off against Russian mobsters.
“Masterpiece Theatre,” KSPS Sunday at 8: The stage play “Breaking the Code” makes a notable transition to the small screen.
Star Derek Jacobi is the one to thank. He excellently re-creates his stage role as the brilliant mathematician who suffers the consequences of being too honest about his sexuality.
Cable Calls
“Jumanji” (1995), SHOW tonight at 8: This fantasy-adventure tale, based on the children’s book of the same name, gets into trouble with its too-fast pacing and a frenetic performance by Robin Williams.
Williams plays a curious middle-aged man imprisoned by a magical board game. He’s set free by two orphans (Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce) who must keep on playing the game to offset the perils that each roll of the dice brings.
This tale, co-starring Bonnie Hunt and David Alan Grier, never scored big at the box office.
“The Great Escapes of World War II,” A&E Sunday at 5 and 9: Edward Asner narrates this chronicle of such daring escapes as the one from Stalag Luft III, which was the topic of the Steve McQueen movie “The Great Escape” (1963). More than 600 prisoners participated in the break, which took nearly a year to plan.
Several of the survivors of the escape are interviewed, as is Betty Floody, the widow of the so-called tunnel king, Wally Floody. Wally designed the tunnel that 76 men managed to escape through.
“End of Summer” (1997), SHOW Sunday at 8: This exceedingly slow-moving romance tale features Jacqueline Bisset as a spinster pining for a successful businessman (Peter Weller). Set in the 1890s at a posh summer resort, there’s not much chemistry between the two leads.
Julian Sands and Amy Locane manage to steam up the screen, however, during love scenes.
Sands plays a corrupt member of the clergy in search of dollars and power. Locane is a young woman who likes to flaunt her assets.
The costumes and antique cars are far more scintillating than the old-time dialogue.
“Sideshow,” TLC Sunday at 6: This documentary takes you behind the scenes of a sideshow to show you the weird and not-so weird. Included is a history of the sideshow, rare photos, and interviews with performers and their children.
Movie Marquee
“Groundhog Day” (1993), ABC tonight at 8: This feel-good movie is for anyone looking for a comedic romance tale. Bill Murray plays an insensitive weatherman sentenced to repeat the same 24 hours over and over until he finally gets his life turned around.
Andie MacDowell helps him learn humility; Chris Elliot is a hoot as Larry.
It’s repetitive at times, but given the night’s choices, I’d tune in “Groundhog Day.”