{DVD Review} Raising Hope: Season 1

Fox's sophomore sitcom, Raising Hope, follows the Chance family as they adapt to having a new baby in their already crowded household. Jimmy Chance (Lucas Neff) is the titular baby's father. Hope came to live with Jimmy unexpectedly - after her mother was convicted (and executed) as a serial killer. I admit, the premise sounds a little ominous but it's actually pretty comical watching the whole story play out.

Jimmy still lives with his parents - Burt (Garret Dillahunt, Winter's Bone) and Virginia (Martha Plimpton, The Goonies). Burt ownsa landscaping business and Virginia is a rent-a-maid. They know all about young parenting, since Jimmy was born when they were in high school. The matriarch of the family is Maw-Maw (Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore), Virginia's grandmother - Hope's great-great-grandmother. Add in the character of Sabrina (Shannon Woodware, The Haunting of Molly Hartley) - whom Jimmy likes - a clerk from the local grocery store and you have a rounded-out cast of pretty zany characters!

We LOVE Raising Hope! Hubby and I got hooked last year midway through the season, so we missed quite a few episodes at the start - and when L was born, our TV watching was disrupted for several weeks. It was great to be able to watch all of the episodes in season one in consecutive order!  We're trying to stay caught up with the current season, but we don't have DVR so it's still tough! 

All of the characters are so kooky - it makes for some hilarious moments. I'm a sucker for romance, so I like Jimmy and Sabrina's story - while my hubby loves Maw-Maw.  You never know what she's going to say or do! Our favorite episode in season one was the Christmas episode, "A Toy Story." The story unfolds as Virginia wants Hope to play the baby Jesus in the live Nativity, meanwhile, Jimmy wants to get Hope a coveted Baby Sneezes doll. It's funny and sweet all at the same time. Raising Hope is especially timely for us, since L is about six months younger than the character of Hope.

I don't know that I would classify Hope as appropriate for all ages as there is some content that I probably wouldn't want my kids to see (frequent mentions of a serial killer, drinking, smoking, etc).  But if you are willing to look past this, it's definitely an entertaining show - even if you're watching after the kids go to bed.

Make sure you check out Raising Hope Season One on DVD (currently priced at $25.99 on Amazon) and tune in to Fox to keep up with season two!

Thank you to Fox for providing my review sample!  I received no other compensation and all views expressed are my own.

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