"My Own Private Rodeo" is the 18th episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...

''. It originally aired on the

Fox network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...

in the United States on April 28, 2002. It was a nominee for the GLAAD Media Awards for " Outstanding Individual Episode (In a Series Without a Regular Gay Character)" and by the Writers Guild of America Award for Animation.

Plot

Dale and Nancy Gribble are planning on renewing their wedding vows. Nancy has recently ended her affair with

John Redcorn John Redcorn III (born October 17, 1961) is a fictional character in the Fox animated series ''King of the Hill''. He is invariably addressed or referred to as "John Redcorn" or "Mr. Redcorn" by every character in the series, and is never address ...

and hopes to use the ceremony as a fresh start; she hopes Dale will invite his father Bug, from whom he has been estranged since he forcibly kissed Nancy at their wedding reception.

Hank Hank is a male given name. It may have been inspired by the Dutch name Henk,The Origins of 10 Nicknam ...

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

, and

Boomhauer Jeffrey Dexter Boomhauer III (born April 7, 1953), most commonly referred to as Boomhauer () is a fictional character in the Fox animated series '' King of the Hill'', voiced by series creator Mike Judge, known for his fast-paced and nearly-inco ...

decide to track Bug down in order to help him make amends with his son, finding him at a

gay rodeo ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

. After the show, Hank goes to Bug, who reveals the truth: twenty years ago, he was still closeted, and he kissed Nancy to avoid appearing attracted to a man. The conversation is interrupted by Juan Pedro, Bug's lover, who is upset upon learning that Bug had a son and did not tell him. Eventually, Bug returns to

Arlen Arlen may refer to: * Arlen (given name), a list of people * Arlen (surname), a list of people * Arlen Realty and Development Corporation, an American real estate investment trust founded in 1959 * Arlen, Texas, a fictional town in the United S ...

and asks for Dale's forgiveness, without telling Dale he is gay. Dale reconciles with his father but is completely oblivious to his homosexuality. Bug notices Joseph's lack of resemblance to Dale or Nancy and asks if Joseph is "adopted". She reluctantly admits that his true father is John Redcorn, but is no more willing to admit the truth than Bug is willing to admit to Dale that he is gay. Bug finally decides to admit the truth. Dale's explanation of Juan Pedro being his "partner" and working with him at a gay rodeo are misconstrued by Dale as his father being a government agent, which breaks his heart once again. Dale deserts the renewal ceremony and heads to the gay rodeo, intending to blow his father's cover. After Dale sees Bug at the rodeo, he informs his father that he knows he's a government agent and that he will let everybody at the event know. Bug then says there has been a terrible misunderstanding and that he is gay. Still not trusting Bug, Dale then goes into the rodeo pen and announces that Bug is spying on them and Bug ties him down. After a struggle, Bug finally makes up with Juan Pedro and kisses him in front of Dale, who relents and lets them attend the ceremony. As they dance together at the reception, Nancy asks Dale if he's really OK with his father's sexuality. Dale asserts that it's a non-issue since he's never had a problem with John Redcorn being gay.

Original plot

Charles Nelson Reilly Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

voiced the part of Bug in the original storyline. In this version, Dale suffers from a

toothache Toothache, also known as dental pain,Segen JC. (2002). ''McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine''. The McGraw-Hill Companies. is pain in the teeth or their supporting structures, caused by dental diseases or pain referred to the t ...

and refuses to go to a dentist, fearing a

tracking device A tracking system, also known as a locating system, is used for the observing of persons or objects on the move and supplying a timely ordered sequence of location data for further processing. It is important to be aware of human tracking, fu ...

would be implanted in him by his father's cohorts. Most of the episode's events, like Hank going to the rodeo, remain the same, but the ending is different in that Bug, feeling Dale would reject him if he told the truth, covers his sexuality by explaining he is monitoring the gay rodeo's activities. Relieved, Dale has his father hold his hand while he goes to the dentist.http://www.queertv.btininternet.co.uk/ijk.htm After the script was re-written, David Herman was hired to do Bug's voice.

References

{{King of the Hill King of the Hill episodes 2002 American television episodes American LGBT-related television episodes LGBT-related animated television episodes