Raising Hope - General Discussion

[Trini]

I wish the TWoP boards were still around. Raising Hope is in syndication, and now I'm finally catching those Season 3 episodes I missed. Somehow I'd completely missed that Greg Garcia got the couple from Yes, Dear to be in an episode! That was a fun surprise.

[spaulding]

I really miss this show too.  I appreciate it now more than when it was on Fox. 

 

Jimmy and Christine from Yes, Dear were on a couple of episodes.  So was Greg's boss.  There were some Yes, Dear moments on Raising Hope too.  In one episode, Yes, Dear was on TV in the background. 

 

I watched a lot of Yes, Dear episodes when it was on Nick a few months ago.  I wish that it was available on DVD.

[BizBuzz]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

[Trini]

Ha! I just saw the episode that was a My Name is Earl reunion. Greg loves his callbacks!

[Maharincess]

I love that episode. I sing the song to my granddaughter all the time. She thinks its hilarious.

"When you're alone, when you're home all alone...."

I can't believe there's somebody else out there who likes Yes Dear! I loved that show.

[arc]

Even just this past week, I occasionally think about how the original name for the show was "Keep Hope Alive".

[Maharincess]

I like that name so much better. I wonder why they changed it.

I miss this show. I wish they'd given it another season. A lot of shows get new viewers once they go into syndication.

I can't stand Modern Family, this show was so much better than that stupid show is (same with that Big Bang crap show). Raising Hope was fresh and original, every other show is just more of the same.

[arc]

I like that name so much better. I wonder why they changed it.

I like it better too, but if I had to guess, it's a darker name and implies an even dumber and more hapless Jimmy (or all the Chances) than what we got in S1.

[Kel Varnsen]

I like it better too, but if I had to guess, it's a darker name and implies an even dumber and more hapless Jimmy (or all the Chances) than what we got in S1.

Yea I can see why they made the change. I mean with the original name it is kind of implying that a baby might die.

[Trini]

So it's back to Season 1 in the syndication rotation. "Say Cheese" is one of my favorite episodes! They managed to get some great reaction shots from Hope!

[amensisterfriend]

I was just saying on another thread how much I still love and miss this show! I think it was really uneven, but when it was 'on', it was actually one of my very favorite comedies ever. And Burt/Virginia are easily one of my very favorite couples ever to grace the screen. 

 

S1 is probably still my favorite, but I was really happily surprised upon rewatch to see how much I loved S4. It's true that the focus was more heavily on Burt/Virginia, but I absolutely adore those characters and actors, so that was a plus for me. I never needed or wanted every storyline to center directly around 'raising Hope', though I totally understand why straying from that theme would bug people. I also really appreciated the lack of romantic angst in S4---Jimmy/Sabrina weren't a special favorite of mine, but I liked them as a married couple more than I expected to, and watching Sabrina become a mom to Hope and integrate further into the Chance family was a lot more enjoyable for me more than the 'will they ever finally get together?!' conflicts we got between them in earlier seasons. Sabrina actually grew on me a lot, and I loved her scenes with Virginia.

 

This show was just so warm and mood-boosting and funny in this unique, offbeat way not easily found on other sitcoms.  

[Trini]

Saw "Jimmy's Fake Girlfriend" again. This was another episode that was both really funny AND really sweet! And it's one that I liked everything from beginning to end.

[spaceytraci1208]

I just discovered this show today! Such a funny show...I always miss sitcoms in their initial run.

[spaulding]

I just discovered this show today! Such a funny show...I always miss sitcoms in their initial run.

 

Sometimes, I'm glad that I miss a show in its initial run.  It's terrible to wonder if the show will be renewed.  Every season of Community, it was always a toss up if it would be renewed.  I read TV by the Numbers every week to figure out if Community was going to make it.  It's a horrible feeling.

 

I miss this show, especially Burt.  I never thought that I would miss a Garret Dillahunt character more than Cromartie from the Sarah Connor Chronicles. 

 

I love Toy Story and Family Secrets, which really shows the heart of this show.  The Chance family wasn't as wacky and Jimmy wasn't a moron as in the later seasons.

 

Even just this past week, I occasionally think about how the original name for the show was "Keep Hope Alive".

 

I wish the original title was used.  It sounds a bit dark, but this show wasn't a family show, was it?  I always thought it was an adult show.

 

The original title would have had a nice tie-in with It's a Hopeful Life, which was about a dark life without Hope. 

[Maharincess]

My favorite episode was Jimmy Loves Sabrina. Where he puts on the play to tell Sabrina that he loves her.

When Virginia is singing You Light Up My Life I get goosebumps every time.

This was a great show.

[BooksRule]

I haven't watched this show in a while (some channel I get shows it, so I need to find out which one and re-watch), but one of my favorite episodes was one of the first ones in season one--'Dream hoarders'.  That's the one where Hope gets stuck in the garage (greenhouse?), which is full of Virginia's 'hoard'.  They have to use Maw Maw's mad Jenga skills to move the stuff to get her out.  That scene, with Leachman directing the action--to the song 'Istanbul (not Constantinople) is hysterical.

Edited October 11, 2015 by BooksRule

[SarahPrtr]

I loved the twin girls who played Hope, Bailey and Riley Cregut.  They were so adorable and had all the reactions down pat.  I wish they were in more scenes in seasons 2,3 and 4.  They were part of the episodes and storylines in season 1, but in the later seasons, they were used more as props and I was disappointed in that.  They could do more and talk, so I wish they could have been in the show more.

[SoMuchTV]

RIP Cloris Leachman. (Hope autocorrect didn’t mangle that too badly). So disappointed that no memorial I’ve seen so far has mentioned her role here. 

[Trini]

2 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

RIP Cloris Leachman. (Hope autocorrect didn’t mangle that too badly). So disappointed that no memorial I’ve seen so far has mentioned her role here. 

RIP.

Not to morbid or insensitive, but I was hoping she'd outlive Betty White to pay off the joke they made about them in the show. 😞

[Kiddvideo]

Burt is so funny. I’ve been watching repeats on Hulu. They were talking about Hope maybe being a sociopath because she giggled when her fish died and is the daughter of a serial killer. Burt’s reaction, “I love her, but I gotta admit when I’m alone with her I always have an exit strategy.” 😂

[hiisa]

Ive been rewatching. The first season is HYSTERICAL but the second is not as funny and the 3rd season is just bad. And yet I cant look away. 

 

Also....I think Ive been legit mad at Burt and Virginia since season 2 when Jimmy learned he had all of this talent (a brilliant pianist with an amazing singing voice...I need to look up what happened to that kid. He was good) and a jealous Burt beaned Jimmy with a golf club and he lost his talent and his memory and they fed him all of the pills in their medicine cabinet and assumed hed be fine. I know they are poor and stupid and thats the joke but come on! 

Also, they went to the Burt and Virginia are really bad parents who mean well a few times too many. But considering they seem to have completely run out of ideas well before season 3 started Im not surprised. 

[hiisa]

Ok I have finished my binge. I wish I hadnt binged it. I think I wouldn't have been so annoyed if I hadnt.  I love the Burt/Virginia relationship but so much of Virginias relationships with people outside of Burt is her just being a jerk. I hated how competitive she was with Sabrina. Sabrina was just trying to be a good mother and a good wife and Virginia would be awful to her.  Most of the time it would result in a cute moment at the end, but goodness. Also, I didn't need every ep in season 4 to be about Jimmy/Sabrina/Hope but they might as well have called it a spin off and written them off. They were barely in it! And considering how irritated I was with Virginia by the end I *hated* that the series finale was about her.

The next time I rewatch its season one (which was perfect) and select episodes from the rest of the series.

[Trini]

On 2/12/2022 at 6:44 PM, hiisa said:

Also, I didn't need every ep in season 4 to be about Jimmy/Sabrina/Hope but they might as well have called it a spin off and written them off. They were barely in it!

Ugh - yeah, I've seen this happen in than one sitcom; the writers start giving more to the supporting characters than the actual leads.

[SoMuchTV]

Bumping this thread to suggest that fans of Raising Hope (or My Name is Earl, which I couldn’t find a thread for) might enjoy this show.  It’s on Freevee, previously known as IMDb tv, which is included with Prime. 

[SoMuchTV]

18 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Bumping this thread to suggest that fans of Raising Hope (or My Name is Earl, which I couldn’t find a thread for) might enjoy this show.  It’s on Freevee, previously known as IMDb tv, which is included with Prime. 

Just adding, since it’s not clear from what you can see in the quote, but it’s directed by Greg Garcia, and stars include Martha Plimpton and Garret Dillahunt. 

[Trini]

I watched the pilot again recently, and it's still hilarious to me even though I know all the jokes! One of the best sitcom pilots I've ever seen.