King of the Hill Episode 5.18 The Trouble with Gribbles

Dale fights a big tobacco company and becomes a victim of their hardball tactics

Nancy Gribble hits the big four-oh and for an on-air weather "personality," that's not a good thing. When Dale whisks her away for a romantic spa treatment, Luanne is asked to fill in at the TV station during a freak hailstorm. Luanne's young, exuberant approach is a hit with viewers and Nancy is demoted to weekend weather.

Dale offers to get Nancy a facelift, but lacks the funds. He devises a plan to sue a big tobacco company, claiming that second-hand smoke caused Nancy's advanced aging. In a scenario reminiscent of "The Insider," the tobacco company uses harsh tactics to get Dale to drop the suit. When Dale discovers a bugging device in his house, he starts berating Nancy as much as possible - to make their case more sympathetic. He fails, however, to tell Nancy why he's being so mean.

Finally, Nancy can't take the criticism and leaves Dale. At first, Dale sees this as a great victory for his lawsuit. Ultimately, however, Dale realizes that a settlement isn't worth losing Nancy. His apology wins her back, and his efforts get her reinstated at work.