Square Peg

Square Peg is the second episode of King of the Hill, 2nd episode overall. The episode was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) at the 49th Primetime Emmy Awards and guest stars Mary Scheer as Gracie.

Synopsis
Bobby returns home from school with a permission slip. Hank scolds Bobby when he realizes the school is seeking permission to send his son to a Sex Ed class. He and Peggy Hill agree that "the birds and the bees" should be taught at home. But Hank quickly nominates Peggy, who was recently voted Substitute Teacher of the Year, to do the honors. With great trepidation, Peggy approaches her son and broaches the subject of sex. When Bobby mentions the word "penis," Peggy goes blank and leaves the room. Left with little choice, Hank decides he will teach his son the same way his own father instructed him: by watching animals mate at a local dairy farm. But Hank is horrified to realize that, through a miracle of modern technology, cows are inseminated by machine. Hank and Peggy have a change of heart and decide the topic is best left in the hands of professionals. But when the high school's Sex Ed teacher resigns after Hank's friend Dale phones in an anonymous death threat, Peggy is drafted to teach the class.

Peggy prepares for the job by reading a variety of books on the subject. Word of her new position spreads quickly, and the entire family becomes the target of derogatory remarks. The perceived "dirtiness" of Peggy's task even affects her love life, as Hank recoils after she suggests they have sex. While preparing for the class, Peggy musters the courage to blurt out the word "vagina." Fed up, Hank tells Peggy he will not sign the permission slip (which requires both parents' signatures)

Hank takes Bobby to work with him on the day Peggy is scheduled to teach the Sex Ed class, thus exposing him to the casual sexism of the workplace. While discussing the touchy subject matter with his son, Hank defends Peggy's use of words describing the human anatomy and suddenly realizes how courageous his wife truly is. He brings Bobby to school and allows him to attend the Sex Ed class. Meanwhile, Peggy, nervous and tentative, enters the classroom and addresses the students. Just when she was going to break, Hank and Bobby enter the classroom which gives Peggy confidence to teach Sex Ed. Sadly, every kid did not get their permission slips signed and nobody was left to teach except Bobby. But even with that, Peggy still teaches Bobby about Sex Ed.

Trivia

 * This episode was nominated for the 1997 Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less).
 * First appearance of Stuart Dooley.
 * First appearance of Hank's workplace - Strickland Propane.
 * This is not the only time that the word "penis" becomes part of the dialogue in the show. In Season 13's "Bwah My Nose!", one of the patients in the plastic surgeon's waiting room informs Hank, who's been obsessing about not damaging his nose after having it fixed, "I used to have a penis."
 * When Peggy reluctantly enters Bobby's room to have an educational talk about the "facts of life" with him, it can clearly be heard in the background from Bobby's television, that Bobby is watching Barney & Friends, a real life children's television show.
 * Hank points out that the permission slip must be signed by both parents. This leaves out children who live in one parent household or may not live with their parents.
 * While Hank is driving Bobby to United Dairy Milk Conglomerate, they can be seen passing by Whataburger and Dairy Queen, which marks the first appearance of both.

Errors

 * When Peggy is shouting sexual body parts in the mirror at one point she shouts, "Uvula!" The uvula is actually the thing that hangs down in the back of the throat and is obviously not used in the reproductive process. However, she may have had it confused with "vulva".