Two things that Raising Hope has always done really well has been to incorporate great guest stars without having the big names steal focus simply for being big names, as well as showcasing the family’s loving but competitive nature. Come on, a father who worries his son is outshining his own musical talents who ends up stripping him of his talents by literally (though accidentally) striking him with a putter! And the next new episode, “Mrs. Smartypants,” will feature both of those strong suits.
Fred Willard guest stars in "Mrs. Smartypants" as a high school teacher with a history with the Chance family who comes back into their lives when Jimmy decides to go back to school and earn his GED. And his parents end up following him into the classroom.
“None of us want to be the dumbest person in the house, so it’s ‘if you’re going to go, then we will to’!” Garret Dillahunt previewed for us when we caught up with him in Los Angeles last week.
Though we had personally assumed Burt and Virginia (Martha Plimpton) had actually graduated, Dillahunt shrugged and said “apparently not.” Well, they did have their hands full with a new baby and all! And the cycle was repeated for Jimmy (Lucas Neff), who decides to better himself when he sees indication of above-average intelligence in his daughter, Hope (Baylie and Rylie Cregut).
Once upon a time, Willard’s character taught Burt and Virginia, and Dillahunt shared we will see moments of that in flashbacks, as well as Jimmy. There is a clear history there, therefore, so when they re-encounter him in present day, they “give him a lot of shit,” Dillahunt laughed.
“He had contacted me about how much he loved the show and how happy he was for us, so then it was just a matter of time to get him on,” Dillahunt said of working with Willard on Raising Hope.
“This is an example of how he is: he’s reading a book; it’s dark, he’s doing his own thing, and I knew he had been on Modern Family, and I love Ty Burrell; I think he’s so talented. So I said ‘So now that you’ve been on both shows, who did you enjoy working with more? Me or Ty Burrell?’ And he said ‘Well, Ty Burrell’s just so much more talented.’ You know, just like that. And we all just fell out. He could be telling the truth, but that’s what I wanted: I served it up, and he just smashed it. He’s an old pro.”
Of Willard’s character, Neff shared: “He’s been a high school teacher for years, and we all went to the same high school, so he sort of has the same relationship with all of us, and high school was a dark period for Jimmy, so I would venture a guess that Jimmy and Teach didn’t get on so well.”
Unfortunately, any old, bad memories that may be stirred up are not so dark or emotionally distressing that Jimmy sees a return to Drakaar Noir, though Neff promised “we will see a return to Drakaar Noir before the end of the season.”
We’re not one to rush these episodes away, but we’ll admit, we can’t wait to hurry up and get to that moment; how about you!?
Raising Hope airs on FOX on Tuesday nights at 9:30pm. “Mrs. Smartypants” airs on January 17th 2012.
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