We're taking a quick look at Ted Wassanasong: businessman, hypocrite, and military coup planner. You, yes you, can support us on Patreon: / squirreltactics
I don't think he actually converted, I think he was just going to the church to rub shoulders. This seems pretty consistent with the rest of his philosophy, which is "put on whatever show you have to, but keep your core values the same underneath".
@@trianglemoebiusI don't think he was a Devoted Buhdist either, he might be a Closeted Aitheist who only joins a faith for opportunities. I think it's also telling that his Explicit reason for wanting to liberating Laois is that they aren't taken seriously by white people. It implies he's okay with the Comunist Goverment being in power so long as he is respected in America.
I find Ted to be the most loathsome character in the show. Guilt-tripping Kahn for living a comfortable, if foreign lifestyle and then trying to get him to join a rebel military group and go on a suicide mission is beyond low.
What I find ironic about Ted calling Kahn “westernized” is that there a few episodes Kahn speaking Laotian. Ted is so westernized he sounds like he’s from the Midwest.
I think they actually mentin Ted taking speech classes to sound more American at one point.. or I might be remembering my friend telling me that "HE IS REAL! THAT IS A REAL THING IN AMERICA! All they do is learn the accent, and forget their roots!" he was very angry about it, and I understand why. Fake people are so annoying, and not trustworthy for anything.
Youre wrong there. His father in law was a general loyal to the royal lao family and not the communist party. When the war ended, lao people who sided with the royal family were given refuge in the US like how south vietnamese were resettled in the US.
And the general being based on Vang Pao, who is a Royalist General. Also implied that Kahn might have been Hmong (at least coming from poor background in highlands and probably marry Minh to be part of Cambodian royalist elite…until the civil war).
Chang is an underrated character. While he is an obnoxious bully to the younger cast, a majority of his actions are a response to his parents actions. It doesn't excuse anything but it does show enough of what his home life is like, and implies his relationship with his parents. Kahn would constantly brag about Connie but if presented to him, in any situation to win favor, Ted would claim Bobby is his son and reject Chang if it meant he could secure a deal. Having Chang be Bobby's Kahn equivalent in the reboot would be great. I also hope we can get flashbacks to the kids high school days just like in the OG series with Hank and the gang.
@@squirreltactics Being a hoity-toity mover-and-shaker, maybe such an illustrious "humanitarian" business magnate sending his handsome, intelligent, charismatic son to slum it in a lowly public school improves his public image. A bit of "man of the people" flavor. "We may _seem_ like a bunch of fancy snobs, but we're really just like you: Every morning, Chang's valet brushes his teeth, cooks him breakfast, and drives him straight to our beloved Tom Landry Middle School, just like you and your kids! GO LONGHORNS!" Plus, his son being a big fish in a small pond lets him shine bright without risking the possibility that sending him to a fancy private "pond", _full_ of handsome, intelligent, and charismatic "big fish" could make him lose some of his apparent luster.
There's been a lot of discourse on whether Kahn should be voiced by an Asian VA or still portrayed by Toby Huss. However you feel on the issue, one thing is certain is that Ted should absolutely be voiced by a white guy as the ultimate banana.
the only people that care about a fictional Laotian cartoon character being voiced by a white guy are the cancerous left that have been destroying the US since the mid 1850s
wait a sec. which is worst, a laotian actor portraying himself through Ted as a bigotted bully, a hypocrite and a pain in the ass, or a white guy playing a laotian playing a pain in the ass? If he is meant to be offensive and annoying is he more annoying being voiced by the right ethnicity or another ethnciity?
Voice actors job is to ACT. All this BS is just virtue signaling for diversity points. Nobody complains when a black guy voices a white guy or an asian.
Kahn shouldnt be voiced by an Asian VA. after all, he's an asian american texan. to make him Laotian would defeat the whole point of his cultural change. dude's a banana and thats fine. also the accent is fine and people just want him to be voiced by an asian to gain representation points which is stupid. this is theater. people of different ethnicities should be allowed to play characters of other ethnicities. if Phil LaMarr can voice a japanese samurai, Toby Huss should be able to voice Kahn. it's like people whining that Diane from BoJack should be voiced by a vietnamese when in the show it's pointed out that the character, despite being vietnamese, grew up in New Jersey and doesnt fit in with her root country. i had a vietnamese english teacher who sounded just like Diane and i'd take Alison Brie's voice over some fresh off the boat asian accent. point being, these characters are written the way they are and their voice actors found a way to match their personalities.
One thing I love about KOTH is that they're willing to throw shade at everything, pet vets, propane dealers, cops, criminals, hillbillies and hypocritical foreigners, they do it in a way that's respectful but also funny.
It's really amazing how they're able to capture just how shitty almost every common person is while also not being overly cynical about it. Everyone gets their 5 minutes of shame in the show except for truly innocent characters like Bobby or Luanne and the viewer doesn't end up feeling awful by the end of it.
@@claymathewselevator8121 Maybe Ted was sifting through his memory banks from when he (probably) studied Hank's resume to get to know him, and picked out a random job instead of knowing The One. I doubt Ted cares/knows about propane other than perhaps market pricing.
I don't think they can be conscripted while in foreign territory (they most likely have US citizenship) and Ted doesn't have the authority being rebels. So don't see many opportunities for it to come up in conversations.
@@ianfinrir8724 his father-in-law is a general so maybe he pulled some strings to keep Kahn out. And even if he was in the military there might not have been any conflicts at the time so it might not have been considered a big deal. South Korea also have forced conscription and don't seem to mind. Kinda hilarious to think that many of those kpop groups have military training. 😆
@@ianfinrir8724 Either that or a farmer like his falther in law keeps mocking him for. He did survive Cambodia. Though my dad joined the military at around 15 or something so who knows.
I am starting to think Ted represents the toxic values of the American Dream while Hank Hill and his neighbors represent the good nature of the American Dream. Khan influenced by Ted is what makes him behave awfully.
Khan behaves awfully more out of his insecurities. If there were no Ted he’d still have issues. He wants Khan Jr. to get into the Rice enrichment program, mostly because of how the prestige reflects on him. His own co-workers don’t like him and prefer that he work from home. His own father in law resents him.
Strangely a underrated character. He does well in life and does it legally while finding loopholes. The only thing i see in Reboot is Ted and his wife struggling with their son...Probably spoiling the boy too much and becomes a drain on their finances/reputation in S Arlen where we get Ted seeking advice from Hank and Khan given their kids turned out fine/okay as adults, but Chang cannot seem to get it right and all wealth/education/connections make Chang into something like Buck Strickland- a businessmen witg gambling, addicted to good times, and objectify women.
……until you think about it for a while. It’s a giant smiling dude in total control of an entire miniaturized town. He’s not the comptroller, not the mayor…. He’s GOD. It’s terrifying… and 100% something that a man like Ted would do.
Literally watched the episode where Ted bought the house across the street from everyone last night while zonked out. Now I get home and here you are. Feels like a fever dream!
I don’t know but part of me wonder if it’s just writer assuming “Buddhists” (the writers seem to be Korean, who aren’t Buddhist majority and either irreligious or Christian) and maybe parody on Steven Seagal since the timeline matched with his Lama reincarnation headline. That or feel that making fun of latter is too low brow (or at least not wanting to add clueless middle class white person with questionable understanding of Buddhism).
@@AleTitan Buck was at least willing to take a rudimentary social interest in Hank's personal life...Ted can't even remember that Hank works for one of the primary fuel supply depots in Arlen...
Yes, and at least Buck,even if a rapscalian and a huckster has some redeeming qualities an is honest about..like the episode where Hank realizes an says hmm what coincidence the restaurant and Bucks mistress Debbie's apt. are next door to each other and Buck says, naaw Hank ain't no coincidence to it...I like to eat and I like to hump so I built Sugarfoots next to the singles complex ! 😆🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Ted is a straight up asshole but if anything shows why Khan is the way he is. His behavior towards Hank feels like a coping mechanism to hiw Ted treats him, coming off that Khan feels the superiority he believes he needs while pestering Hank to feel above him when in reality if Khan didn't force himself to adhere to Ted's self-glorification standards, tye the (Hank and Khan) could have been better friends long ago. The truth of the matter is, every culture has a Ted. It doesn't matter where your bloodlines flow, we all know a Ted. Someone who's 'pride' for their culture only goes as far as what type of power they can grab from it and everyone else is just pawns to get that power. Ted's a ladder puller; he views others outside his culture as inferior but still knows how to play up and treats other Loations as the steps he needs to get where he believes he belongs but will pull that ladder back up, keeping people like Khan struggling.
Wow. Amen, sister I recently wrote a post in one of these about Khan vs Ted in terms of deplorability, and it was a similar sentiment, but yours was better.
@@kent5627Another thing I noticed is as the series goes on, you see Khan hanging out with Hank and the guys more openly, because he can actually be himself around them. With Ted, he's sucking up so much it's painful.
well not really once you remember this is the same guy who switched religions because he thought it was more politically beneficial (gave him connections to major arlen figures), the boosters had people like buck or lain pratley who are big business owners in arlen
@@christopherauzenne5023yeah he seems like the guy who gives money to football team but doesn’t attend games or even like team but uses them for own gain in other places
Ted seems like the kind of guy who'd be just as desperate as Khan after Chane goes to some Ivy League school and inevitably ends up in jail for sexual assault, battery or god knows what else and he loses his status in the community for it.
Good Lord! I wouldn't think he'd go that far. My guess is he'd be so used to getting his way as a big fish in a small pond, but when people in college start pushing back, he begins getting into fights and getting his butt handed to him.
@@Kaboomboo That's a fair assessment! Honestly, probably a better one. I went more with the 'sexual assault' angle because he felt kinda skeevy in the show. Also because it feels like we get a new story about stuff like that happening every week. Though the 'getting his butt handed to him' thing is definitely true because of what happened during the "That's my purse, I don't know you!" episode.
The hilarious irony about them forbidding Chang to date Connie is that Connie despises Chang and has no interest in dating him. Which would probably piss them off if they ever found out.
Ted is truly a toxic person he's just as bad as cotton to me even though kahn at times isn't a nice person he's definitely not as horrible as ted i loved seeing kahn stand up for himself sadly people like ted truly exist
It's interesting how Ted is like a picture-perfect caricature of the bourgeoisie noble caste that modern-day ML Laos would tell its people to fear and hate. Almost like Ted was probably born in a higher caste before being forced to emigrate, meanwhile Khan and Minh left for perceived economic opportunity (and likely Minh being connected to a general on the losing side of the war based on her father's caste-based remarks toward Khan).
The whole "reincarnated lama" thing is so weird, since Laos has Theravada Buddhism, and lamas are specifically associated with certain schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
Part of me wonder if it was based on Steven Seagal. Like the broadcast date kinda match with headline about Seagal’s reincarnation as Lama. Writers and maybe Mike Judge assuming Buddhism as monolith. That or parodying Seagal would be seen as low brow (plus not wanting character bloat) even if he wasn’t a laughing stock at the time.
@@powerist209 I don't really see a lot of parallels with Seagal, but I'd grant that maybe "lamas" were in the public mind in America around this time. A lot of people I meet assume all Buddhism is modeled after the features of that specific school of Tibetan Buddhism.
@@connorscanlan2167 Well, considering the timeframe, the idea of white or non-Buddhist being reincarnated Lama kinda fit with headlines on Steven Seagal, even if it was somewhat sketchy (think political favor like a batshit Mongolphile Russian aristocrat Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, who was acclaimed as Buddhist Lama reincarnation by Mongolian faction to get him to fight against communists despite Roman not being Buddhist--on top of being proud Lutheran even if he like that teaching--like AT ALL).
COMPLETELY offtoic: 0:45 When I saw that clip I teared up with nostalgic joy, PETE & PETE was one of my favorite 90s Nick shows, and Artie was one of my favorite characters. Intrerestingly, in Seinfeld there was a deleted scene in that episode where Huss plays a guy who owns a Nobody Beats thee Wis franchise, and dances around going "I'm the Wiz!" using the same mannerisms he used as Artie.
the algorithm really did me a huge favor when it showed me this channel, you guys make amazing mini essays, i could watch a one hour video while i sleep of you talking about koth lmao
Kahn's a punk, but him realizing he's him & not Tedd at the pool party is one of the best moments in the show. Having Kahn on Koth felt like the show an expansion pack tho lol
5:14 Yeah, but before he worked, he sold propane. Dale said But Hank, you did use to sell tractors. So before propane, he was used to selling blue jeans, and before that, he was selling tractors.
Yes but problem is too many people in the west want to act like its only relegated to one culture. That's probably why so many Hispanics in my culture don't think twice about the racist things they say about blacks. In fact the only time I've seen media touch on that was in the cardboard cutout episode of malcolm in the middle
I don’t know if that’s quite fair to the Reverend as he’s not really a bad person per se just burnt out; unlike Ted who’s just an asshole. That being said I do see the parallels.
@@thedukeofchutney468 Wassanasongs more resemble Helen Lovejoy then Timothy. Also you can't blame the poor Reverend from being burnt out. He constantly has for the deal with Ned and Homer
I love how at the end of this one it sounds like Dale is on his conspiracy nonsense but he's actually just speaking truth and even Ted just tells him "Correct." Unfortunately that exact type of government corruption is a huge problem here.
Good question. And, though he wasn't very fleshed out character-wise, I bet Lane Pratley was probably just as bad as either of them, we just never got to see his shenanigans.
Buck is. Ted has class and uses his intelligence. Buck is business smart, but does shady gambling and chases after women. Ted is a better pillar of community than Buck in comparison.
@@lewisdutra6104 albeit Buck doesn’t have the arrogance of Ted. Plus compared to Ted, at least Buck was personable with Hank even when he was doing shady things to him. Ted couldn’t even be bothered to remember what Hank does for a living, even after Hank told him in polite small talk outright… In the same night no less.
@@lewisdutra6104 Ted chases after women too. I don't think he ever wears his wedding ring and he made a comment once about a wine being like the au pair you chase into the kitchen then slaps you.
7:20 8:35 Oh my god! I hate when people do that. I'm black and the amount of times other black people haved called me an oreo because I talk a certain way is annoying as hell. People will throw insults like oreo or banana as a way to get others to bend their ideas and I say: Blackness is what I make it.
I never thought about what a hypocrite Ted is. He calls Kahn a banana yet at least Kahn uses his real Laotian name.I was glad to see Kahn actually stand up to him in that episode.
I've been wanting to run something by you. Nancy stopped cheating on Dale pretty early on in the series, but in the episode where Hank and Bobby go to Arizona to take Tilly her furniture, Dale, Bill and Boomhauer stow away. When Nancy reports Dale missing the cop comes over and when Peggy and Luanne knock on the door Nancy has her robe drawn tight with her arms like she had to cover up quickly and the cop is holding his notebook over his crotch. It appears to me that were getting dirty. What do you think?
You're right. Livin' on Reds, Vitamin C and Propane aired on Dec 14, 2003, it was season 8, episode 7 Nancy Boys aired on April 30th, 2000, It was Season 4, Episode 21 So either they got the continuity wrong again, or Nancy relapsed into seeing John Redcorn again.
@@c0ntriLnah, she's just a w-hore. I think one of either happened. She was actually just making a police report cause she just woke up amd hadn't changed, or she actually slept with the sheriff. Look at how the sheriff is holding his hands across his pants in that scene.
Nah, it just looks like she was tired/stressed out do to Dale missing, also she mentions earlier in the episode that he's missing so it makes sense she's filing a missing persons report
"Hot danger, hot danger!" I thought that was a real song for a while. Probably my favorite episode was "The Redneck on Rainey Street" and honestly, after spending most his life trying to become a Tad Wassanasong, I couldn't rightly blame Kahn for saying "F this sh1t" and temporarily converting to redneckism.
A character dynamic that is more fleshed than on why Dale is a friend of the rest of fence leaning guys Bill Hank and Boomhauer make since yet without Dale it wouldn't feel like a typical Texas friend group aka exactly what Mike Judge wanted Seriously Ted and Kahn deserve a spin off
The four grew up together, went to the same school, was (for the most part) all part of the same HS football team. They all continued to live in the same area and just stayed friends. Order of the Straight Arrow shows them together super young, It's Not Easy Being Green shows them around Junior/Senior age just before graduation.
Hank did sell tractors and tractor accessories many years ago though there wasn't any easy way that the bs artist ted wassanasong (IDC if I spelt his name correctly for his actions dishonor his ancestors and he isn't worthy of their family name). Edit: I did spell ted's family name though I refuse to capitalize it for the same reason.
"Boba Tea Shop" Wonder if this would have been another funny "You're a banana" joke; "Khan, don't you drink boba tea? Don't you know what boba is?" "I'm pretty sure Boba is a bounty hunter . . ." :3
I don't know why especially since I just yesterday watched the groin kicking and Dali Llama episodes but I thought Ted was the son and Chain (I have no other way to spell that) was the father. my only reasoning is that when immigrants first moved here they gave their native born children more Americanized names.
I know some of the audio is in mono, but at first I thought I was having some kind of stroke. I've never heard sound of that quality coming out of my tv, it sounded like it was coming from inside my own head. Very strange lol.
12:23 I bet even Mike Judge was also a train enthusiast, especially since those two railroads (Santa Fe and Southern Pacific) dominated Texas for decades.
I was actually incorrect on that, Mike Judge is his voice. Some sources claim it was Artie but I dug deeper and yep it's Mike Judge. Artie did voice Kahn and Cotton though.
"Forgive me for saying this but Peggy Hill, you are hot." OK, that is by far the funniest thing he's said in the whole series. As much as I hate Ted? The only line I agree with him on is "I own these things but they don't own me". Moderation is important for material goods just as much as consumables like food & drinks.
Many People have different views on the American dream and my American dream is different because all I want is to be successful by having a good job and living somewhere nice and safe and mostly having a successful life
Ted might have a 9 rivers membership, but Khan gets to go home to Minh every night. So I think Khan wins. Also I'd much rather my child be like Connie than like Chane, so Khan wins there too.
Weird, something about this video cause the audio of some of the show segments to corrupt and become unhearable; But only on wireless earbuds. Wired and speaker is fine. Anyone else having this problem?
The issue is a mono conversion issue, I didn't realize that the editing software didn't actually convert mono sound to stereo but rather just puts all the sound into one channel and either silence or weird sounds out of the other. Luckily I figured out how to avoid it once I realized the root of the problem.