Raising Hope - Season 1 - DVD

Content: Really, the life of 23-year-old Jimmy Chance (Lucas Neff) is not exciting. He still lives with his parents Virginia (Martha Plimpton) and Burt (Garret Dillahunt), with whom he also works as a pool cleaner and gardener. Jimmy doesn't have much luck with women either, which is why he's all the more pleased when attractive Lucy (Bijou Phillips) jumps in the car with him one night and spends a passionate night with him. Too bad Lucy turns out to be a crazy killer, who is caught by the police a short time later and sentenced to death. Shortly before her execution a few months later, she asks Jimmy to visit her in prison. There he learns that their night together was not without consequences. And so from now on he has to take care of his little daughter Hope. Of course, Jimmy is completely overwhelmed with this task. But with the help of his parents, who try everything to reduce the chaos in the Chase house to a minimum, he wants to manage to become a good father for the little girl. But with his dementia-stricken Grandma Maw Maw (Cloris Leachman) not exactly easy to take care of either, and he also falls in love with supermarket cashier Sabrina (Shannon Woodward), it's already more than questionable after just a few days whether Jimmy is really up to the role as a father.

In 2010, Greg Garcia presented Raising Hope, the follow-up to his comedy series My Name is Earl, which was discontinued in 2009. Garcia's very special signature is also clearly recognizable here from the first moment. For his new series is once again set in the white trash milieu and is filled with characters who are completely dysfunctional and not exactly richly endowed with intelligence, but who are genuinely good and lovable at heart. And also, like Earl, the humor is at times whimsical, at times pure slapstick, a bit crude and yet very heartfelt.

Though this tone seems a bit forced at the beginning. It almost seems as if Garcia has tried too cramped to offer the fans of his old series something similar and yet somehow quite different, with which also a new audience can be won. It's only after a few episodes, when more supporting characters gain importance, that the series finds its very own, very charming character. Although by far not every gag hits the mark, Raising Hope offers damn funny entertainment that also works really well thanks to the likeable cast.

Besides newcomer Lucas Neff, '80s teen star Martha Plimpton (The Goonies) as the very straightforward Mama Virginia, Oscar winner Cloris Leachman (The Last Performance) as the demented Maw Maw, and the previously more villain-focused Garret Dillahunt (Deadwood, Last House on the Left) ensure that the Chance family quickly grows on the viewer despite their many quirks. But the supporting cast, like the charming Shannon Woodward, and prominent guest stars like Earl star Jason Lee as an aging rocker, also make the comedy absolutely worth watching, even in its slightly weaker moments.

Whether it's trying to take a family photo, having a very special Thanksgiving dinner with the parents of killer Lucy, or revealing long-hidden family secrets, there's never really a dull moment with the Chances. If you liked the humor of shows like My Name is Earl or Malcolm in the Middle, you definitely don't want to miss this entertaining first season of Raising Hope. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The technical realization of the series is on a decent TV level. While the sharpness of the very clean image in some scenes could have been quiet a bit better, just the colors leave a very positive impression. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound lets the dialogues come across very powerfully, but the rather centrally mixed action hardly has any real surround moments to offer. For a comedy series, however, this is perfectly adequate. For this there is then also an appropriate at the end: Good!

Extras: On the first and third DVD are still some nice extras for fans of the series included. Starting off on Disc 1 is an audio commentary on the pilot episode with series creator Greg Garcia and his lead actors Lucas Neff, Martha Plimpton and Garret Dillahunt. In addition, you can watch an alternate version of the pilot episode (in English with UT) here.

The rest of the bonus material is on Disc 3. In addition to an extended version of the season finale by nearly four minutes (in English with UT), there are two short documentaries about the cast members of Baby Hope (about 6 min.) and about Virginia Chance's best moments (about 4 min.). A look at the filming of the season finale (approx. 11 min.) offers a pretty good look at the making of the series with a mix of interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and clips from the final episode. A few amusing outtakes (approx. 5 min.), as well as quite a few cut and extended scenes (approx. 19 min.) round out the decent additional offerings.

Conclusion: With Raising Hope, series creator Greg Garcia has created a worthy follow-up to his comedy series My Name is Earl. The characters are similarly dysfunctional and the humor comparably quirky, even if the series is still a little too uptight about irreverence, especially at the beginning, before finding its own genuinely funny tone after a few episodes. The 3-DVD set presents the 22 episodes of the first season in decent TV quality and also offers all fans some amusing extras. If you loved Earl, you'll find the Chance family deliciously amusing as well. Recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp