The sun sets on the alley

Some don't last beyond the initial four-show test, while others spend more than a decade on the air.

On Sunday, America saw the final episode in the 13-year history of the Hill family on King of the Hill.

Who would have thought a spinoff of MTV's Beavis and Butthead would have lasted so long on network television?

With a total of 255 episodes, the Hill's outlasted many popular prime-time favorites like Friends (236), Everybody Loves Raymond (210) and Seinfeld (180).

King of the Hill portrayed a close-to-reality family living in Texas with their odd and unique friends, which everyone can relate to.

The patriarch of the family, Hank Hill, was an uptight assistant manager at a propane store following a high school football career. While hesitant to change and slightly closed off to new and modern things, he was a stand-up man and father who looked out for the best interest of his friends and family.

Hank's wife, Peggy, was an on-again/off-again musings writer for the hometown newspaper, the Arlen Bystander. Insecure with her own shortcomings, she always seemed to come up with off-the-cuff ideas and schemes that continued to make things interesting.

Then there was their son, Bobby, who was outgoing and lazy at the same time, continuously doing things to make Hank say, "That boy ain't right."

Together with their friends' quirks and eccentricities, the Hill's, Dale (government paranoia), Boomhauer (womanizer), Bill (divorced military hairstylist with self-confidence issues), along with Hank's dad Cotton, who was a misogynist who had his shins blown off in World War II and claimed to have "killed 50 men," entertained families across the nation each Sunday.

Not only did King of the Hill beat the odds by being a spinoff with greater success than the original show it came from, it projected real-life issues that most "normal" Americans could relate to.

So from a fellow Texan, I bid adieu to everyone in the animated, and fictitious, town of Arlen, and extend a thank you for all the years of enjoyment and laughter.