ustxtxb_obs_2007_12_14_50_00019-00000_000.pdf

BALE 00E5 NOT FLIP HIS SHAbES UP bON’T bRAW PEGGY TOO SHAPELY Sexy Peggy EYE CONTACT Hank is not making eye contact with any of the guys in this drawing. Don’t hare characters gazing off into space unless that is the acting you desire. If our drawing is off just a bit, the mistake can get exaggerated as it goes through the animation -“”””ik process in Korea go gap vow .$140 attitur saauosN’t 00 It woLD might think it’s anthropology:’ The savvy exchange on Nov. 11 lasted three hours, and the questions kept coming. One last questiona statement, reallyfrom a professor in the English Department stumped Dauterive: “‘King of the Hill’ is urban globalization … but contextually is it like ‘Mad Men’ or `The Sopranos?”‘ “Oh man:’ answered Dauterive. “You’re talking academic:’ But the Texas State conference was indeed celebrating the hoisting of “King of the Hill” to academic eminence: Dauterive has donated boxes of archives documenting 11 years of behind-the scenes, madcap writing and production for student research. “For young people who want to be writers, it’s a way to see it is possible. It shows the hard work involved, including all the many false starts, discarded ideasand a lot of bad writing too:’ Dauterive said. “You give yourself permission to be bad and keep writing until it’s good. You can see that process here:’ Dauterive began bequeathing his work in 1999, but when “King of the Hill” seemed to hit the end of its run after 10 seasons in 2005, he began shipping boxes of the show’s material to the university in earnest. “Essentially, the show was canceled, and our writers took other jobs. I thought it was going to the underground salt mines of Nebraska, a fate the show didn’t deserve, being a cultural touchstone for Texas in a particular point in time he said. The show has survived a bit longer than Dauterive expected. His donated materials form a treasure trove for fans and researchers who want to understand a bit more about Texas, and how a simple animated show captured the state’s character as well, or better, than scores of others that have tried. Much of the bequest was exhibited from Sept. 1 through Dec. 14 at the Alkek Library, where the prestigious Wittliff Gallery of Southwestern & Mexican Photography also showcases the making of another fabled Texas televised saga: “Lonesome Dove:’ “This is what I pay good money for to come to college. Thanks a million!” one student wrote on the ledger after admir ing the Hill exhibit. It’s arranged into seven parts from episodes, production materials, marketing ideas, photographs, drawings, artifacts, and guide books that were drafted to outline the show’s general principles and keep writers from veering off course. The guide books include The Death of Common Sense, billed as the basis for Hank’s common-sense philosophy, and The Book of Virtues, which inspires Peggy’s know-it-all ponderings. There are also imagined “interview questions” reporters might pose to the characters, asking about the intricacies of selling propane, of sentimental relationships, and of world politics. \(In 1997, Texas Monthly named Hank Hill one of the “Texas Twenty”one of “the most impressive, intriguing and influential “King of the Hill” was the brainchild of writer Mike Judge, now a mercurial Austinite who created the MTV hit series “Beavis and Butthead.” Judge partnered with Greg Daniels, a writer for “The Simpsons,” which also airs on Fox. Neither Judge nor Daniels, who now directs the hit show “The Office,” was at the exhibit’s reception and conference. “Again, I apologize for not being Mike Judge,” Dauterive repeatedly told the audience. Judge is credited with the relatively simple concept of giving a well-inten DECEMBER 14, 2007 THE TEXAS OBSERVER 19