Raising Hope

- Season 2

(2011)

Watching his 13-year-old self play the piano and singly beautifully, on home video, Jimmy sees through the claim that it was just a pianola, now broken. Virginia owns up to feeling guilty for having strangled Jimmy's talent, estranging him from his schoolmates, until a golf club from the air knocks Jimmy down and the musical talent out of him, later the subject of another confession. After consulting Dr. Finklestein, the Chances try to reconstruct the past, including Maw Maw's cruel and unorthodox tutoring methods, hoping Jimmy's memory may be restored. It seems to do...

Burt accidentally discovers that Sabrina's father Cap is really rich and tells the home front. They now hope to 'coach' her into sharing some of the Collins wealth, but she replies to have chosen to earn her own, modest income at the supermarket, an insane waste beyond the needy, greedy Chances' comprehension. Eager for rich friends, Jimmy convinces her to take him and his parents along to her sister's engagement party. Cap takes to Jimmy, who sides with him against her petty class struggle insults. As a reward, he sends a Japanese smart toilet like Virginia adores, ...

Jimmy is envious of Sabrina's smart-phone, yet anxious to sabotage a message on it from 'rival' Wayne. To Jimmy's surprise, Virginia 'welcomes' pony-tailed hippie Jack by knocking him unconscious with a portable TV as Burt's kidnapper twenty years ago, but Burt protests and confesses that the kidnapping was a scam; he set it up to spend some careless time traveling without 'chain and bolt'. Also surprising Burt, Virginia confesses that she gradually enjoyed protection and 'comfort' from measly cop Ross enough to consider a proposal from him just when Burt's return (...

Virginia's nemesis, spoiled cousin Delilah, invites the whole family to Las Vegas for her high-profile wedding with an air force hero. Jimmy asks Sabrina along, as she always wanted to 'go wild once'. Burt is allowed to come but without cash, given his gambling record. Instead he and Jimmy earn cash doing odd and dubious jobs, but make a pittance. Virginia fails utterly to sabotage Delilah's wedding. Burt hoped to make up for his pauper wedding by renewing his vows here, but comes up with a budget comfortable alternative.

Virginia, Burt, Jimmy, Sabrina, Maw Maw and Hope camp out on the front lawn after their house becomes tented for termites, but getting caught in the rain is the least of their problems. After learning that Hope hit a boy at day care, the family attempts to stop arguing out of fear that she will follow in her serial killer mom's footsteps.

A thirteen-year-old kid makes a run for Sabrina, which drives Jimmy absolutely crazy. Meanwhile, Maw Maw swallows her gold tooth and Burt and Virginia contemplate retrieving it.

Jimmy, Virginia, Burt, Sabrina, Maw Maw and Hope borrow a house to impress Burt's wealthy parents who have decided at the last minute to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family. Things get interesting when the real homeowners return early, and Burt's folks get a taste of what life is really like for Burt and Virginia.

The Chances dream of winning riches and fame at the National Invention Convention Extravaganza, whose star Andrew Dice Clay is announced to a stop in town. Each family member is supposed to come up with one brilliant novelty, but only greediest Virginia actually does so alone, sponges under the armpits to save deodorant. Jimmy dares not offend Sabrina by turning down her 'improvement', which actually wrecks his idea, a mob operated by a crawling baby. Burt and half-wit neighbor protégé Andrew come up with bro-gurt, macho flavors of yogurt. Competition day proves ...

Jimmy's close relationship with daughter Hope has him sewing dresses, baking cookies, and wearing fancy hats at tea parties until Burt yells at him to "Stop being a girl!". In an attempt to be a little more 'dangerous' he decides to spend some time with Frank. Strangely enough waking up in Franks house after a night of partying lets Jimmy discover a new side to Frank, one that he really wants to bond with to the rest of the families horror. Discovering they were bullied by the same guy back in school, Jimmy and Frank set off on a quest for revenge that has some pretty...

A remarkably recognizable movie forces the Chances to have a look at their own family life. For Jimmy, Maw-Maw's spirit takes him on a frightening journey to an alternative future, if he hadn't met Hope's mother and hence remained childless. the consequences prove surprisingly grave for just about every relative and even his supermarket colleagues.

Based on a block assembly toy, Jimmy and parents proudly assume Hope inherited her serial ma's IQ. Afraid of looking stupid to Sabrina as his daughter outsmarts him, Jimmy decides to return to high-school. Refusing to be left as the family's dumbest, his parents follow suit. Old teacher Mr. Swift remembers all three formerly abusive, unmotivated dropouts and enjoys humiliating them in class. Tutoring by Sabrina, Frank and Mawmaw helps Jimmy, Burt and Virginia, but only enough to pass in a few courses each. To avoid utter failure, they decide to cheat so at least Jimmy...

Tired of losing family possession to the pawn shop, Burt is tempted to resume gambling. Unlike his officially addicted period, he's on a winning streak. Virginia sees that as a handicap in curing him, but Jimmy and she end up playing and winning too, so the bookies want to cut them off. However the pivotal moment comes when Sabrina accuses them of missing Hope's first school play.

Burt's annual tax return frenzy leads to a sneer about 'mere' cleaners making Virginia meanly blow all his stacked firm finances documentation into a mess. Desperate, he turns to Barney, who suggests hiring a manager and hesitantly accepts the job. Barney hires two eccentric Asian acrobats, who demonstrate the bliss and frustration of not being the boss anymore. Stil vexed, Virginia seeks an independent career of her own and chooses as example the tarot reader Sabrina and her fiancé Wyatt turn to. As their questions concern a move to Africa, Jimmy is desperate to get ...

Bored and increasingly desperate for a distraction even they can afford, Burt and Virginia try out various hobbies, until they agree improvisation acting fits them scoundrels. When Jimmy feels Sabrina a lost cause after her engagement with Wyatt, they also advise making her jealous of an imaginary perfect girl. Jimmy fails to wriggle out of a double date, so he needs to hire Mary-Louise from the acting class to play one. That proves harder but also more rewarding then expected.

As Jimmy and Sabrina's relationship continues to grow, they both begin to realize that they've been hiding some of their habits from each other. They agree to let their guards down and start acting like themselves completely, but when Sabrina reveals an unusual childhood phobia, Jimmy decides to help her overcome her fear in a startling way. Meanwhile, Burt reveals a habit he's been keeping from Virginia for years.

In a revolutionary mood, Sabrina starts a wide protest, but once the police arrives her followers invoke excuses one by one, even Jimmy deserts. Stubbornly provoking arrest, she lands in a prison. Her block is handled by jealous, frustrated jailer Rikki Hargrove, who feels deserted by her since their girl scouts days and seizes her chance to make Sabrina sweat. Hell-bent on preserving mayor Suzie Hellmann as Hope's sole female role model, Virginia saves the corrupt crazy bitch's bacon. As a reward, Burt extracts three wishes for the family. He squanders his on a stop ...

When a raccoon decides to take residency under the Chance's porch, Virginia and Sabrina work together to try and lure the critter out. Meanwhile, Hope's misbehavior has become such a problem that Virginia and Burt suggest that it might be time for Jimmy to spank her, since it worked so well for them when he was younger. However, when Burt reveals a secret to Jimmy about his childhood, it answers unsolved mysteries and prompts a new outlook on teamwork and parenting.

Virginia finds a way to earn some fast cash. Jimmy and Sabrina worry about the safety of Hope's toys and crib.

Natesville parish's charitable group's insufferable chairperson Sara Louise expected another term by acclamation, but against better judgment and spousal warnings Burt decides to stand against her. So he can't refuse the perilous duty of minding blind church organist Carl's 'guide pig', which alas doesn't survive his consistent Chance incompetence. So the family desperately tries to do with a similar-looking, untrained hog Burt bought. When it can finally be returned, Sara Louise decides to steal all the glory - or is there any?

Sabrina's new study buddy Philip is a gorgeous hunk, so Virginia convinces Jimmy he must be considered a likely rival, probably harder to eliminate than Wyatt. A dirty trick with text messages after stealing her phone does the trick, but only leads to the arrival of another stud, Philip. In the process, Burt gets hold of a tacky 'boobs mobile', which proves a bizarre success with his neighborhood mates. Jimmy comes up with a backup theory based on Sabrina's ample supplies of everything, but learns it's rooted in a family trauma.

Geraldo's stand-in Nancy Grace interviewed the Chance family and friends for a documentary on the Natesville crime cloud since Lucy arrived. As it's finally aired, they, now jealous Sabrina and townsfolk are shocked time and again, how badly evil's shadow struck and even their early family history is shown utterly embarrassing. But the sting is in the tail, a truly terrorizing revelation.

The Chances and Lucy go to war in the court room when Lucy wants to have custody of Hope.