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| Raising Hope |
And I'm doing the happy dance!
This series, which airs on Fox and is created by Greg Garcia (My Name Is Earl
), has been one of the few good surprises this year. Just like Earl, Hope delivers a different brand of humor --- a cross between smart, sick and stupid. It's an unlikely combination, I know...but it's not so difficult to get that, once you start watching the series. Raising Hope is about a young man, Jimmy, who gets a woman pregnant after a one-night stand. Only, she became a convicted felon (killed or injured most of her boyfriends), carried her term and gave birth in prison. Forced to raise his daughter without her mother, Jimmy, who lives with his parents (who had Jimmy when they were 15) and his grandmother with Alzheimer's, hopes to give Hope a normal life. But it seems so impossible and challenging to do, because his parents are completely White Trash and grandma's the mayor of Looney Bin. Also? Jimmy's not a very bright boy.
The great thing about him though is that he is full of, well... hope and positivity. And this is what makes this show not only funny, but charming and heartwarming.
It comes as no surprise to me that Fox decides to give this a full season order. There's a gem of a series in here. And it's also well-received and doing decently in the ratings.
Here's a clip from this week's episode featuring Maw Maw, Jimmy's Grandma, playing Jenga with Virginia's stuff (Virginia is Jimmy's Mom). Virginia apparently hoards every kind of knick knack that her clients throw away, as she cleans houses for a living.
And there's something you need to know about Maw Maw before you watch this clip: 1) Her dementia sometimes makes her forget to wear a shirt over her bra; 2) she can expertly play Jenga with the right background music.
They had to use Maw Maw's Jenga skills here because this is the only way to get Hope, who crawled under all of Virginia's stuff.
So, why aren't you watching Raising Hope yet?
