Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

<img src="http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/316/raisinghopecastphotos02.jpg" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/><br/>By <a target="_new" href="http://profile.imageshack.us/user/djariya">djariya</a> at 2010-09-03

Synopsis:



Going to try to watch episode at some point on Tuesday. Nice to see all the postive reaction.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

I'm still loving this show just as much as last week. I hope it does well again in the ratings.

I imagine there is some group or organization of parents out there who are so outraged that this show shows some of the stuff it does. First, the car seat tumbling across the car, and now Jimmy and Burt taking the baby with them to do lawn maintenance. It's so obviously dangerous and reckless, but it was just so funny seeing them try to make do.

This show does a good job of taking something that is very obvious and still making the joke work well. Case in point, Virginia putting expiration stickers on the bread. As soon as you saw it, you knew it was going to be Virginia, but it was still such a funny scene. And I loved the exchange that happened right after:

Virginia: "His name's Dancin' Dan and he's..."
Jimmy: "And he is not our cousin. He is not our cousin."

Virginia's mispronunciation of words is so subtly brilliant. I liked how she kept trying to make Sabrina and her boyfriend's relationship look flawed and after it didn't work three times she just gave up and patted Jimmy on the back.

I loved how Jimmy was asking anyone and everyone to come with him back to his house to avoid being alone with Sabrina's cousin. Odd that two shows I watch (the other being It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia) both featured female characters with a dead tooth in the the first episodes.

Nice joke with Sabrina blowing the dust off the Deuce Biggalo: European Gigallo DVD.

[Funny piece of trivia: The creative minds of this show originally had Jimmy's cousin being male, but changed Jimmy's cousin to female and cast Kate Micucci in the role. Eventually, Jimmy's cousin was turned back to male and the current guy playing him was cast.]

I actually didn't see Sabrina having a boyfriend coming, so I give the writers credit for that one. Makes the relationship between Jimmy and Sabrina more interesting and less predictable, especially if they've been together for several years and he's "doing something" with his life.

Funny that at the end of the episode Hope only smiled at Jimmy because the chocolate was on his tooth.

The cast is doing such a great job with the characters. They're flawed, but endearing and I genuinely like them all.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

^ Completely agree with almost everything you said. I didn't really have any expectations for this show going into it, but this show definitely delivers the laughs and hopefully doesn't suffer the fate like most of fox's other shows.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

I really enjoy this show - I really appreciate the leisurely pace that doesn't seem to think that if we don't go over the top RIGHT NOW we will lose the audience. Reminds me of Malcolm in the Middle grown up crossed with My Name Is Earl.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

I really love this show. Great writing, great actors, and a great sense of identity. This show knows exactly who it wants to be and never strays. It's confident and creative, taking what could be a cliche (one-night stand produces baby, parent has to raise said baby) and turning it into an insightful and touching show.

-pray- Please don't get canceled...please don't get canceled...

I think I mentioned that last week, but if not, that's exactly what I was thinking when I first watched the show last week.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

Chalk up another one in for a full season on this show. I am enjoying it quite a bit. I wish Earl was still on the air, but this soothes the pain somewhat well.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

:lol:

This episode wasn't the wall-to-wall laughfest of the first, but this show is definitely a keeper.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

This show if hilarious. :lol:

Virginia: "Nice Dumper" :lol:
Virginia: "Maybe she's a Bitch" (Hope!!)

That Daycare song was awesome. :lol:

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

Burt walking in, seeing Cloris Leachman breast feeding, and getting the dry heaves cracked me up.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

I love too that the Daycare was for babies, the elderly, and dogs. And none of them were separated either.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

This is minor on the list of things this show has shown, but I keep noticing how the car seat is facing the wrong way. Babies are supposed to be rear-facing during the first year. I can't decide if that's just for cinematic reasons or a subtle example of their parenting incompetence.
Anyway, I'm in for the season too. Gotta give my wife props for wanting to see this. It wasn't even on my radar.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

I watched Modern Family thanks to the people on this board. I'm just not good at being patient and no one from that cast interested me other than Julie Bowen and I assumed she'd get lost in such a large ensemble for a sitcom.

Now I'm really glad that I've been watching from episode one, but I just don't get what people are seeing in this.

I find both of the comedies (Running Wilde being the other) so very average, even below HIMYM, which does bring the funny enough and it's a sweet show when it's not funny and I like everyone in the cast a lot, other than the guy who plays Ted.

I'll probably keep trying to like these, but I can feel myself wanting to just dvr them already and I'm already behind there, so I can see them getting lost if they end up there too.

I really think Mike and Molly (fat jokes and all) brings more funny than either show.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

This episode was awesome beginning to end. No question. Hope it sticks around for a good run. Everybody is brilliant.

And those opening credits are fantastic. :lol:

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

To me, this show feels like My Name Is Earl 2.0. And I mean that as a compliment.

Greg Garcia went from creating Yes, Dear, which was your basic late 90's, early 2000's sit-com schlock, to doing Earl, to putting this out. Earl was pretty big leap in terms of quality, and was pretty original.

Raising Hope is an evolution from what he did with Earl. That show had a heart, and Hope has a pretty big one in there as well. Same kind of economic class, same kind of quirky town full of odd characters. But there is one major difference: Hope isn't limited by the list dynamic. Earl was kind of stuck with the same kind of story structure week to week. Hope is free of that issue and can breathe a bit better.

This episode was better than the pilot, just so many great moments.

Loved the smoking bubble.
Burt was awesome throughout the episode. I loved his reaction to seeing the dead tooth. He doesn't say anything, but he's in the background running his tongue over his own teeth with his mouth closed. Just a great little gag that isn't going to be noticed by everyone, but hilarious if you see it. Then he was great in the bedroom later.
I loved that Virginia just came out and asked Shelly about the tooth. Too often on TV shows those kind of gags are just left out there without explanation. Right there the question that is on everybody's mind is asked by somebody. And the answer was great too.

This is by far my biggest surprise show of the fall. I don't know if its my favorite new show (Hawaii Five-O is right up there), but it's definitely my favorite new comedy. No other new comedy is even close to this one.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

So this show is created by the same guy that made Earl. No wonder it has the same vibe.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

Agreed on both counts. Unfortunately I didn't realize the show was from Greg Garcia, otherwise I would have set a season pass before last night.
As it is I'm sorry I missed the first episode :( - but I'm in now.

Funny stuff.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

It's all different kinds of humor. Modern Family is a hilarious, gag-a-second type of comedy - but it seems one MF comes along every 5 years or so (and generally fail, I'm glad MF is getting great ratings). Sitcoms like Mike/Molly, Big Bang and Two/Half Men go extremely broad to try and keep people laughing, it works for some people, not for me.

Raising Hope works for me because it establishes the characters as real people, in situations that are goofy but not necessarily out of the realm of possible. It has a much slower pace than most Sitcoms but tends to keep me entertained with character even when the scene itself isn't hilarious. The people on the show are more than just vessels to deliver jokes, this is actually pretty rare imo. So while it isn't as funny as Modern Family, it also isn't nearly as hollow as most. Nice mix, but not to everybody's taste.

Also like the little things, like the mom requesting a Shamrock Shake and a McRib for her last meal. Of course, this is all based on 2 episodes, it can very easily go down hill from here, but recent statements make it seem like Fox is very much behind it.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

First of all, I want to get daycare for $60 a week, especially for a child under 1.

I loved how the ending, which seemed so cliche in having the baby smile at Jimmy, was a bit different in having him have an apparently dead tooth.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

Have you still not seen the first episode? It's on Hulu, just go watch it there.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

:thumbsup:

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

Really? Look at the lady doing the daycare. :lol:

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

If I was the guy, I would have just taken one for the team and gave that snaggletooth girl a weekly banging to keep the free daycare.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

Watched this last night. Very funny show with some heart. I laughed a lot. The "Don't Bite" song was hilarious. Definitely have to watch this again next week.

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

Love this show!

Re: Raising Hope -- "Dead Tooth" -- 09/28/10
 

Good news: The ratings went up this week.

They went from 7.48 million viewers and a 3.1 in 18-49 last week to 7.63 million and a 3.2 this week. The fact that the numbers went up even slightly is a great sign.

In 18-49, Hope finished 5th on the night, only behind Glee, NCIS, NCIS: LA, and Dancing With The Stars.

Fox has to be pretty happy with that.