Propane Boom
Episode KH223
Original Air Date: 5/17/98

Hank loses his job when Strickland Propane is unable to compete with Mega Lo Mart.

While watching television, Hank sees a commercial featuring Mega Lo Mart spokesman Chuck Mangione as he announces that the store is now selling propane. Hank can hardly contain his anger. The next morning, Mr. Strickland tells his employees that, although the company cannot compete with Mega Lo Mart's prices, they can deliver a personal touch, a program dubbed "Service With a Hug." But the stunt does little to keep Strickland's customers from straying. One evening, as Hank and Peggy lie in bed, Luanne asks if she can borrow three hundred dollars to pay her tuition at the beauty academy. Hank approves the loan. But the following day, Mr. Strickland tells Hank he is closing the local branch in a desperate effort to save the entire company.

Furious at Mega Lo Mart for costing him his job, Hank begins discarding everything and anything purchased at the store. Meanwhile, Luanne realizes the promised $300 loan is no more, jeopardizing her dream of becoming a famous Hollywood makeup artist. Desperate for work, Hank begins perusing the "help wanted" classified ads. Answering one such ad, he finds himself inside the conference room of a roadside motel. But when he realizes that the job is selling steak knives, he rejects the offer. When a weary and tired Hank returns home, he notices Luanne studying a book about propane. Luanne explains that she has decided to apply for a job selling propane at Mega Lo Mart (Buckley, a store employee, promised her the job) so she can pay for her education. Hank disapproves of the idea and storms off. But the pressure on Hank proves too much to bear, and when Luanne walks into the Mega Lo Mart to take the propane test, she discovers that Buckley hired Hank for the job.

Hank apologizes to Luanne for taking the job, telling her he could not stand another moment of being stuck at home watching daytime television. But Luanne vents her rage using some of the Manger Baby puppets, and later decides to break up with Buckley. Back at the Mega Lo Mart, Hank discovers that two of his coworkers, Mark and Ray, were also forced out of their old jobs due to competition from the discount store. A bond forms between the men, especially when they come under attack from much younger employees who hold positions of authority. Later, Hank spots Buckley dragging a propane tank across the floor by the valve.

He warns Buckley that doing so could trigger a gas leak. Buckley changes the subject, telling Hank he was supposed to set up Chuck Mangione's dressing room for a performance in the store's parking lot. A short time later, Hank talks Ray, Mark and another worker into disrupting the concert by blowing kazoos. When Mangione takes the stage, Hank enters the store's break room to retrieve something more powerful than a kazoo--an air horn. But while walking towards the store's exit, Hank stops and sniffs the air. His eyes widen in horror.

Suddenly, a huge explosion rips through the store, engulfing Mangione in a fireball. As debris rains down from the heavens, Boomhauer dials 911 for help. To Be Continued...