History Series / RaisingHope

* OperationJealousy: "Jimmy's Fake Girlfriend" almost ''gleefully'' plays with all the tropes associated with this StockPlot. With Jimmy distraught over Sabrina and Wyatt, Virginia forces Jimmy into the ploy by by [[FawltyTowersPlot telling Sabrina personally that he has a new girlfriend]]. Jealous, Sabrina sets up a double date, making them find [[TheBeard aspiring actress Mary Louise to play the role]]. Mary Louise sold Jimmy so well as a boyfriend, [[RomanticFalseLead contrasting Wyatt's obnoxious behavior]], that Sabrina [[LaserGuidedKarma dumped him later that night]]. But NOW [[{{Irony}} he has an extremely happy fake relationship in the way of the girl he actually wants]]. It's at this point Jimmy decides to go for broke and reveal the entire deception (via Mary Louise's improv group), hoping Sabrina will understand and forgive him.

* BrokenAesop: The "Dream Hoarders" episode tells the viewers that they have to have dreams to get by in life. The problem with this is that Virginia and Burt's dream of getting rich was to buy lottery tickets and hoard away furniture for their dream home, while wasting lots of money and getting a horrible hoarding obsession, respectively.

* TheBabyTrap: Inverted ''and'' played sympathetically. [[spoiler: Burt poked a hole in a condom because he wanted to purposely knock Virginia up, since he thought she was out of his league. By the time she finds out, she can't get upset about it because she's happy with the end result.]]
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler: Lucy, who didn't die in the electric chair, and survived thanks to sheer willpower. She ''[[NotQuiteDead apparently]]'' dies at the [[BackForTheDead end of the second season finale]], only to be revealed in the wedding special that she's still alive.]]

** [[Series/YesDear Jimmy and Christine]] appear as [[spoiler: the owners of Burt's and Virginia's sex tape]]. They even mention [[spoiler: Dominic and Logan]]. The previous episode also featured Mr. Savitsky being pitched a script. In another episode [[Series/SonsofAnarchy Filthy Phil]] appears, wearing his kutte.
** [[spoiler: Kenny Loggins]] in the series finale.

** Jimmy's talents in art were shown in the first episode. The first season also has Sabrina taking a creative writing class and really enjoying it. [[spoiler: In the fourth season, they get the idea to work on a children's book together, where Jimmy is drawing the pictures for the story that Sabrina is writing]].

* ForgottenChildhoodFriend: Sabrina finds herself at the mercy of one (played by Shannon Woodward's [[IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine real life best friend]] Music/KatyPerry, no less) when she's arrested. The ending of the episode, however, implies that [[spoiler: Sabrina never knew her and the guard [[DrunkWithPower just does that]] with everyone.]]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** Despite all the heckling Virginia and Burt do to Jimmy, they genuinely love him and a few times even they are surprised that they raised a decent son and flashbacks show that they did everything they could to provide Jimmy with a happy loving home. [[spoiler: They also do everything they can to make sure Jimmy's wedding day goes perfectly. Which also means incapacitating a still-alive Lucy.]]

* HappilyAdopted: Invoked by Jimmy; after finding out that his parents gave him up for adoption when they were younger, he figures he would have had a better life with them after finding out how successful his former adopted brother live since his adopted parents "tried harder" in parent raising.[[spoiler: Too bad that if he was raised by them, he would have been just as racist as them]].

* HollywoodLaw: You cannot [[spoiler: get your death penalty commuted and your conviction for several murders nullified,]] no matter what the guards in the prison do.

* KilledOffForReal: Lucy. [[spoiler: They wrote in a story about her miraculously surviving the execution and being released from jail, only to have her be run over by a bus at the end of the episode.]]
** [[spoiler: Subverted. Turns out, she survived yet again but the brain damage from being hit by a bus has reverted her into a state of perpetual childhood. Lampshaded by Burt to Lucy's father: "Just keep her away from us."]]

** In "I Want My Baby Back, Baby Back, Baby Back", [[spoiler: the judge awards custody of Hope back to Jimmy after Lucy gets (supposedly) killed again and]] the family remarks that:

* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Lucy's father. He's a psychiatrist, Lucy's mother was a patient of his, and they kidnapped Hope twice until they went to jail for it. [[spoiler: In "Modern Wedding", he's been released on good behavior, but his wife is still in jail and he had to smuggle a still-alive but heavily brain-damaged Lucy home and spends most of his time caring for her. He genuinely loves his psychotic daughter, but has questionable methods of reining her in.]]

* OhCrap: Jimmy, the Chance Family and Sabrina all have one in part one of the season 2 finale [[spoiler: when they find out Lucy is still alive.]]

* PosthumousCharacter: Lucy is seen in a few {{flashback}}s and in a videotape she made for "Princess Beyonce" while in prison. [[spoiler: At least before it was revealed she survived her execution]].

** [[spoiler: Virginia sees her cousin Delila this way.]]
** [[spoiler: Sabrina wants so hard ''not'' to be one because her dislike of her father's lifestyle (there are hints of ParentalAbandonment in her backstory), that she almost becomes one ''only to rich people''. Her massive insecurity issues turn her into an incredibly rude and insulting person when around her rich friends.]]

** During "Prodigy", Burt and Virginia note the similarities to an episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', because Jimmy can only play the piano when he's drunk. Except for the final twist that [[spoiler: his music only sounds good to drunk people]].

* VillainBall: [[spoiler: After winning custody of Hope and getting Jimmy back, Lucy just has to chase Sabrina with a knife. [[LaserGuidedKarma Which ultimately leads to Lucy's death.]] ]]
* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: Though she is stopped rather quickly due to InstantSedation, in "If A Ham Falls In The Woods..." Sabrina [[spoiler: ATTACKS A BEAR that had begun to maul an unconscious Jimmy.]]

* WhamEpisode: At the end of "Inside Probe", [[spoiler: Lucy turns out to be alive]].

* WouldHitAGirl: [[spoiler: His former bully now being a woman]] doesn't stop Frank from clocking her good. It CrossesTheLineTwice [[spoiler: when said transgender bully]] proceeds to kick the hell out of both Frank and Jimmy.

%%* StupidStatementDanceMix: Burt's has an awesome one in "Burt Rocks". He loves it.

* GagBoobs: As part of the alternate reality developed thanks to the ItsAWonderfulPlot episode, Sabrina is sporting ''30 pounds of silicone'' on her chest since Howdy's was a strip club instead of a supermarket. It's the only thing Jimmy misses when taken back to his own reality.

* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: Virginia and especially Sabrina are just as likely to suffer AmusingInjuries as Burt and Jimmy.

* RantInducingSlight: After avoiding being hostile during "Killer Hope", Jimmy snaps when he gets a $200 ticket. [[DisproportionateRetribution For having an obstructed view.]]