'Raising Hope:' Less Micucci Music, Please

"Raising Hope" debuted on Fox last fall and revived the charmingly bizarre, yet surprisingly realistic and relatable humor of "My Name is Earl." Greg Garcia, the creator of both shows, again introduced viewers to a likeable cast of quirky characters. The show focuses on the Chance household, with supporting characters popping in from time to time.

With her three-in-one childcare, dog sitting and senior daycare business, Kate Micucci has a small recurring role on the show. As Shelley, she is fun and quirky like all the characters on this show. Listening to her belt out a special ditty for her charges is cute every once in a while, but it often feels forced.

Her love song was funny in "The Cultish Personality," but it did not flow with the storyline. Sabrina and Shelley suddenly appeared on screen with a ukulele and guitar. Cousin Mike announced he wrote a love song to win back his polygamist brother husbands, but the two women did most of the singing.

The show is weird, but this scenario lacked the usual finesse. It felt as though the song lyrics were going to scroll across the screen with a bouncing ball to help viewers sing along.

"The Partridge Family" Jumps the Shark
It is similar to the last season of "The Partridge Family." All the children were older and the show lacked a cute kid. Cue an adorable neighbor boy.

Ricky, played by Rick Segall, had porcelain skin and dark hair like Micucci. (Her current hairstyle is similar to his 1970s hairdo.) In each episode, he wandered into the Partridge's home. The family played instruments and enthusiastically listened as he sung an original song about kid-centric topics, such as being afraid of the dark. Then he would leave and the family would go back to their usual storylines.

Nothing was wrong with Ricky, but the clumsy way the show used his character was disappointing. Many fans regard his singing as the moment the show officially jumped the shark. He did not appear in the latter half of the final season.

Facebook Loves Micucci
Micucci's satirical songs have a strong following. Without a doubt, the actress, comedian, singer, songwriter and artist is extremely talented. Her Facebook fans are complaining about her brief screen time and asking her to sing more songs on "Raising Hope."

Like Ricky, her talent is misused. The show should give her more dialogue and fewer songs. They can create additional "Raising Hope" songs to use as video extras on the show's website or Micucci's personal website, KateMicucci.com.

At the very least, the show needs to do a smoother job incorporating her songs into the plot with appropriate reactions from the other characters. Wouldn't Virginia (Martha Plimpton) have something funny to say about Shelley? Maybe someone should make a Garfunkel and Oates joke.

"Raising Hope" airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on FOX.