Raising Hope

Jimmy discovers that he was a talented musician (Greyson Chance as an adolescent Jimmy) in his youth, however he was rendered talentless when he was involved in a golf putter accident. Wanting to impress Sabrina and make something out of himself for Hope, Jimmy sets out to recapture his inexplicable abilities with the help of Virginia, Burt, and Maw Maw.

When Burt informs the family of Sabrina’s secret, she introduces them to her father, Cap (Stephen Root). Meanwhile, Jimmy believes that Hope should have friends that are rich so, he asks Sabrina to allow him into her sister’s party.

The Chance family has an unexpected visitor, when Jack (Sean Bridgers), the man who kidnapped Burt twenty years ago, shows up at their doorstep. They then realize that Burt’s disappearance wasn’t all it appeared to be. Meanwhile, Sabrina awaits a phone call from her boyfriend Wyatt, making Jimmy jealous.

Virginia’s cousin Delilah is getting married, so Virginia, Burt, Jimmy and Sabrina head to Las Vegas. Virginia gets embarrassed that she didn’t have a big wedding like her cousin and Jimmy uses the trip to try and get closer to Sabrina.

After discovering that Hope hit a boy at daycare, the family becomes worried that Hope is following in her mother’s footsteps. Meanwhile, the Chances run into problems, when they camp outside, while their home is fumigated for termites.

Jimmy goes head-to-head with a thirteen-year-old kid when he makes a run for Sabrina. Meanwhile, Maw Maw swallows her gold tooth which leaves Virginia and Burt wondering how to retrieve it.

The Chances, along with Sabrina, borrow a house in order to impress Burt’s rich parents (guest stars Lee Majors and Shirley Jones), who have decided to visit the family for Thanksgiving. However, things go awry when the real home-owners return early, and Burt’s parents realize how they really live.

Virginia encourages the family to submit their own inventions in the National Invention Convention Extravaganza, so they could win the cash prize. Burt and Andrew (Ethan Suplee) team up to create unusual flavored yogurt, while Sabrina and Jimmy create a new baby mop.

After being encouraged to be more of a daredevil by Burt, Jimmy jumps at the chance of showing off his bolder side at a party at Frank’s house. Frank and Jimmy realize they have shared a common high school bully. When they try to take him down, they realize their old bully has changed after being confronted by Virginia to change his(now her) ways.

In this It’s a Wonderful Life themed episode, Jimmy is transported into a cinematic dreamlike state and watches on at a world where he never met Lucy. When he returns to reality he realizes that if Hope had never been born, his life wouldn’t be as good. Meanwhile, Virginia, Burt and Maw Maw see a movie that bears a striking resemblance to their day-to-day lives.

When Hope shows signs of being a baby genius, the family pits themselves against one another to earn their GEDs. While attempting to secure his G.E.D., Jimmy finds out that his old high school teacher, Mr. Swift (Fred Willard), is teaching the class.

When Burt starts gambling again to try and win back the items he lost 20 years ago, Jimmy and Virginia get addicted to gambling themselves, which causes them to forget about Shelley’s play that Sabrina wrote and Hope stars in.

Burt hires Barney to help him with his receipts during corporate tax season, and while caught up in the stress Burt accidentally makes a mean comment about Virginia’s job, so she decides to change careers and become a tarot card reader. Meanwhile, Sabrina contemplates moving to Africa with Wyatt, upsetting Jimmy.

Jimmy’s new friend (Ashley Tisdale), from an improvisational class, agrees to pretend to be his girlfriend to make Sabrina jealous. Sabrina breaks up with her boyfriend Wyatt and starts dating Jimmy.

Now that they’re dating, Jimmy and Sabrina realize that they have been keeping secrets from each other, and decide to let their guards down and show their true selves. Meanwhile, Virginia learns that Burt has been keeping a secret from her for years.

Sabrina is arrested after participating in an Occupy Natesville protest and is sentenced to two weeks in prison. One of the prison attendants (Katy Perry) claims to be a friend from her past and will stop at nothing to make Sabrina’s stay in the slammer as dreadful as possible until she remembers their childhood friendship. Meanwhile, the mayor of Natesville grants Virginia three wishes after she helps her avoid a public scandal, but when Jimmy turns down the mayor’s advances, Sabrina’s chances of being exonerated are put at risk.

After a spout of misbehavior, Virginia and Burt try to convince Jimmy to spank Hope. Meanwhile, Virginia and Sabrina try to capture a raccoon from underneath the porch.

Virginia takes a job as a live in house and child sitter to earn money for new toys and a crib for Hope, after realizing that Hope’s current possessions have been recalled. Meanwhile, Jimmy pretends to be his deceased great grandfather, in order to give Maw Maw some nice memories of her married life.

Wanting to gain recognition for his good deeds, Burt decides to run for a position on the church council. However, his opponent (Vivica Fox) tricks him into caring for a pig that is to be given to a blind parishioner. But, when Maw Maw cooks the animal for dinner, Burt’s chances of winning the election are jeopardized.

Jimmy learns that Sabrina has a new study buddy (Travis Van Winkle) and Virginia makes him think that there is more going on between them than just studying. Meanwhile, Burt becomes obsessed with a miniature statue of a woman’s breasts

The episode is shown as a "mockumentary" as Nancy Grace investigates Hope’s serial killer mother, Lucy Carlisle (Bijou Phillips), and what happened when Jimmy met Lucy years ago. The Chance family learns some shocking things about Lucy, such as she survived the execution. Greyson Chance returns as teenaged Jimmy. To be continued...

Repercussions from the investigation land the Chance family in court to keep custody of Hope. Despite the family losing custody of Hope, Lucy, while trying to kill Sabrina, is run over and killed by a tour bus. The Chance family gets Hope back. Various characters from season 1 and 2 return as character witnesses. Jason Lee, Jaime Pressly and Ethan Suplee make guest appearances.