Raising Hope

Virginia discovers that the "Déjà Vu Man" (a man who spies her and her family) is her real father.

Burt and Virginia graft a scheme to set up a barter system in Natesville after Burt receives a lobster for some work he did. Meanwhile Jimmy is mocked by a co-worker after Sabrina saves his life.

Sabrina is desperate to give Hope a good vacation as Virginia and Burt gave Jimmy fake vacations. They all end up towing a boat to the river for someone, as it’s the only way they can afford a road trip. But once the boat is stolen, Sabrina takes matters into her own hands. Meanwhile Jimmy is shocked by a stuffed animal museum.

Sabrina and Jimmy compete over gaining followers and making videos on Wiki Vids. Meanwhile Virginia and Burt are worried about their health so they visit the Doctor. Virginia’s glasses ruin their sex life and Burt must have a camera fitted up his prostate.

Maxine (Molly Shannon) arrives to "Maxinemise" Howdy’s and ends up firing Barney. Meanwhile Virginia and Burt try to stop Jimmy from competing in the art show.

After officially adopting Hope, Sabrina is thrown a re-birthing ceremony by Jimmy and his friends, due to the fact that there was no big deal made about the adoption. Meanwhile, Virginia and Burt must prove a defendant is innocent, after the real lawyer, Wally Phipps, collapses in court.

In a parody of Hitchcock’s Rear Window, Burt suspects that the Chances’ new back-fence neighbour, Gary (Diedrich Bader), has murdered his wife.

Burt and Virginia misread clues that make them think Jimmy and Sabrina’s sex life is lacking, so they make several secretive attempts to spice it up. When all else fails, they call in Wyatt, Sabrina’s ex.

In this festive Christmas episode, Mayor Hellmann is sent to rehab, and Burt runs for Mayor so that he can give Virginia the honor of lighting the town Christmas tree. But after Burt discovers that there is not enough funding for the Natesville Community Pool, he decides he must cancel the Christmas Celebrations.

After the death of several bees, Burt and Virginia lie their way into working for the kazoo company that supposedly killed the bees, in order to gain evidence. But each eventually becomes attached to the company. Meanwhile, Jimmy is upset by the protest that Sabrina has organised against the company. Barney and Frank clash with the protestors, due to their love for the company’s kazoos. Meanwhile, it is revealed what Maw Maw does every week whilst the Chances are fooling around...watching Breaking Bad!

Virginia’s cousin and rival, Delilah, returns with an impressive story about business success. But it turns out she is broke, and is only trying to trick Maw Maw into signing over her will to her. A lucid Maw Maw sets up a competition wherein the first cousin to treat the other badly will be written out of her will, but it is really a ruse set up to make Virginia accept a promotion at her house cleaning job that she initially didn’t want.

Virginia offers to give Sabrina some much-needed cooking lessons. But when Jimmy proclaims that his wife’s casserole is better than his mom’s, it brings out Virginia’s competitive side and she enters herself and Sabrina in the Hot Dish competition at the Radish Festival. Thinking the tension between mother and daughter-in-law will be eased if they both lose, Burt invites his mother (guest star Shirley Jones) to also enter the contest.

After seeing how Virginia and Burt act at dinner and never fight, Maxine pays to observe their life so that she and Barney can be the ideal couple like them. But Burt and Virginia soon argue over how to use the money. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Sabrina realize they have no real activities together, so they take up fencing.

The international grocery games have come to Natesville, with many of the town’s residents hosting members of the heavily favored Russian team. Barney discovers the U.S. team doping, and decides it’s his duty to put another team together. Barney and Virginia see that Burt is a natural at many grocery store tasks, but Burt is reluctant to compete because of a past secret.

When Burt starts explaining his absences with "double excuses", Virginia says it’s a telltale sign that he’s lying and suspects Burt’s old gambling habit has resurfaced. Later, Virginia thinks Burt is lying to hide an anniversary gift he’s gotten for her. But the real secret is that he’s discovered a lump on his testicle and doesn’t want to worry Virginia about it. Meanwhile, in trying to trap Burt into admitting he’s gambling again, Barney catches the gambling bug himself and loses the store to Frank.

Burt’s habit of never refusing a dare, no matter the danger, is revealed to stem from a long ago dare to climb to the top of the town’s radio tower, which he refused at the time to the ridicule of his and Virginia’s friends. When he agrees to ascend the tower with Virginia, they are surprisingly joined by Jimmy and Sabrina, who have determined their home life is lame. Meanwhile, Maw Maw has found a new love interest in an old stoner named Hubert (Tommy Chong).

Barney invites Burt and Virginia to a "weekend retreat", but it turns out to be a fat farm and he only brought them (along with doctored "before" photos) to inspire the other guests. Sabrina and Jimmy both agree that they’d like to have a child of their own, and they try to time their sexual activity to Sabrina’s current cycle, as she insists on a November baby. Unfortunately, they are stuck watching Maw Maw while Jimmy’s parents are away, and she constantly interrupts them. Later, Frank arrives and does the same.

Virginia and Burt are determined to finally perform their duet at a local telethon, but Virginia is being groomed for the role of assistant regional sales manager and has to spend a lot of time partying with her would-be boss (Judith Light). Meanwhile, Sabrina and Jimmy get worried when Hope isn’t sad over the death of her pet fish.

Virginia questions her beliefs when a ghost appears in their house; Burt realizes that Jim Hughes (Mike O’Malley) has been living in their bomb shelter.

Sabrina thinks Burt and Virginia should adopt a dog to get over their "empty nest" syndrome. A volunteer at the dog pound named Michael (Michael Rapaport) won’t let them own a dog until he conducts a three-day trial in their home. Meanwhile, Jimmy tries to prove he can still attract women after Sabrina suggests women only flirt with him while he’s with Hope.

Jimmy and Sabrina find a maid in the house who used to work for Sabrina’s grandmother, just now returning to work after surgery. While they debate how to confess that they cannot afford her, the two learn that Sabrina’s "Nanna" set up a trust so that the maid could work there for life. Virginia gets a promotion at work that allows Burt the freedom to pursue his passion. After several failed attempts, including a stint as a bounty hunter, Burt realizes that landscaping really is his passion.

Virginia’s dad (Jeffrey Tambor) returns to Natesville with a surprise for his daughter and Burt that includes the wedding ceremony they never had, complete with a performance by Kenny Loggins.