What we have here is a tale of two pilots, so to speak.
The plot? Here goes; Jimmy Chance has had enough of his pool cleaning job and quits. He goes home to write out a plan for his life, but is sidetracked by a trip to the grocery store for "Bubble Gum" ice cream when on the way back he saves a very pretty girl and has a one-night stand with her.
Turns out she's a serial killer who get executed for her crimes, leaving Jimmy with the results of their one-night stand, a baby named Princess Beyonce.
We see the typical choirs a new parent goes through when taking care of a baby and Jimmy (played by Lucas Heff) is a perfect combination of confusion and frustration. His Great Grandmother, "Maw Maw" runs around the house with no shirt on and is portrayed by the great Cloris Leachman. But it's Jimmy's parents Virginia (Martha Plimpton) and Burt (Garret Dillahunt) who are drop dead perfect and form the pillars of comedy on which this show stands.
Raising Hope may not be the best comedy ever made, but it does get a great deal of support from it's predecessor, "My Name is Earl" whose creator Greg Garcia is also behind this show as well.
If you purchase the "Raising Hope" first season DVD you will find the "unaired" pilot which had to go through a few changed before making it on the air. In that version, Sabrina, a pretty girl who Jimmy is smitten with was played by Olenya Rulin of "High School Musical" fame, later to be replaced by Shannon Woodward. Second, Jimmy's live-in cousin in the "aired" pilot was the rumpled, party-loving Mike played by Skylar Stone. In the unaired version, Jimmy's cousin is played by Kate Micucci, who afterwards went on to portray the ukulele strumming Shelly, that runs a day care center.
Overall, the pilot is a funny, sweet, and ultimately satisfying first look into the Chance household and gives a hint of just how funny this series became.
Special Note: The photo seen on this page featuring Jimmy with two 40 ounce beer bottles taped to his hands is from the "Unaired" pilot, something that was cut out before the show went to air.
The plot? Here goes; Jimmy Chance has had enough of his pool cleaning job and quits. He goes home to write out a plan for his life, but is sidetracked by a trip to the grocery store for "Bubble Gum" ice cream when on the way back he saves a very pretty girl and has a one-night stand with her.
Turns out she's a serial killer who get executed for her crimes, leaving Jimmy with the results of their one-night stand, a baby named Princess Beyonce.
We see the typical choirs a new parent goes through when taking care of a baby and Jimmy (played by Lucas Heff) is a perfect combination of confusion and frustration. His Great Grandmother, "Maw Maw" runs around the house with no shirt on and is portrayed by the great Cloris Leachman. But it's Jimmy's parents Virginia (Martha Plimpton) and Burt (Garret Dillahunt) who are drop dead perfect and form the pillars of comedy on which this show stands.
Raising Hope may not be the best comedy ever made, but it does get a great deal of support from it's predecessor, "My Name is Earl" whose creator Greg Garcia is also behind this show as well.
If you purchase the "Raising Hope" first season DVD you will find the "unaired" pilot which had to go through a few changed before making it on the air. In that version, Sabrina, a pretty girl who Jimmy is smitten with was played by Olenya Rulin of "High School Musical" fame, later to be replaced by Shannon Woodward. Second, Jimmy's live-in cousin in the "aired" pilot was the rumpled, party-loving Mike played by Skylar Stone. In the unaired version, Jimmy's cousin is played by Kate Micucci, who afterwards went on to portray the ukulele strumming Shelly, that runs a day care center.
Overall, the pilot is a funny, sweet, and ultimately satisfying first look into the Chance household and gives a hint of just how funny this series became.
Special Note: The photo seen on this page featuring Jimmy with two 40 ounce beer bottles taped to his hands is from the "Unaired" pilot, something that was cut out before the show went to air.
