Top 35 Shows of 2013: No 32 Raising Hope

Clinically Insane. Or clinically insane like a fox?

Raising Hope is a sweet show. Raising Hope is a ridiculously funny show. Raising Hope should be a much bigger show than it is.  It can go broad in its comedy or sometimes incredibly weird. Even in episodes which don’t work there is always something funny to laugh at.

After an uneven S2 the series really got its groove back with the second half of S3 when Jimmy and Sabrina got married and since then it has been pretty much comedy gold every week.

The show has always been strongest when it focuses on Burt/Virginia and Jimmy/Sabrina relationships, Martha Plimpton and Garret Dillahunt just work so well together and it is always fun seeing what crazy they bring every week and how Jimmy and Sabrina react to it.

At its heart though Raising Hope can be incredibly touching, I love how Sabrina has become a real mother to Hope and how in return Virginia has become a mother to Sabrina. This is a show which can have characters shout at each other and scheme against one another (oh some of the things Jimmy’s parents did to him as a child!) but ultimately in the end the characters still love each other and you can truly see it.

Therefore it really is a shame that Fox hasn’t treated the series very well lately, delaying its start until November, pushing it to Fridays and now showing double episodes to finish up the season earlier. The ratings have plummeted and I’m afraid this could be the end for the show and really it is such a delight week after week I don’t want to say goodbye to these goofballs.

Favourite episodes: Modern Wedding / Déjà Vu Man

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