Respect Authority

Stop the daggone presses.

Fox, who, to be frank, doesn’t usually seem this concerned with the caliber of its television, said this week it will not renew long-running animated show King of the Hill, instead airing the final episode sometime during the 2009-10 season.

Shockingly, King of the Hill has already put out some 250 episodes, despite the fact that show was never actually that funny. Perhaps more shockingly, while Fox was quick to put the kibosh on Family Guy (ultimately a move they regretted and retracted), a contract for American Dad WAS renewed this week, no questions asked. At least I understand why longest-running-animated-sitcom The Simpsons was given another season — whoever drops the axe on that one is going to Hell on principle.

Although I suspect the decision had more to do with ratings than national sentiment, perhaps this could be a sign of good things to come. Fewer Americans being entertained by cartoons about rednecks, beer and unwanted pregnancies? Are society’s values changing? Are we really starting to understand the lunacy of putting our country in the hands of people who list “big-game hunting” and “Miller Lite” among their hobbies?

Methinks not. Instead, the bar on inane television has simply sunk lower.