Lucas Neff, who plays the father of the possible-future-serial-killer baby on 'Raising Hope,' stopped by 'Good Day LA' (weekdays, 9AM PT on Fox) to hang out with Jillian Barberie, Dorothy Lucey and his sometime co-star Steve Edwards, who's shown his acting range in a few episodes of 'Raising Hope,' appearing as a news anchor.

Dorothy asked if his other co-star Cloris Leachman was afraid of the baby. "Everybody's afraid of this baby," he said. "It's the most terrifying baby on prime-time." 'Hope' is actually played by a set of twins, Bailey and Riley, who Lucas said are "really great listeners."

It's Christmastime on 'Raising Hope.' And on the new episode (Tue., 9PM ET on Fox), Maw Maw (Cloris Leachman) tries her hand at spreading some holiday cheer, via baking a batch of her special Christmas cookies. Only problem: She didn't "bake" them and they're not "cookies," per se.

Jimmy (Lucas Neff) is the first to notice the problem. " ... Um," he says. "These aren't cookies -- they're dirt clods ... with little rocks in them." Meanwhile, her indulgent granddaughter Virginia (Martha Plimpton) tries to smooth things over, via the time-tested "it's Christmas; everyone try to get along" excuse.

As the family members gaze upon the dirt/rock "snickerdoodles" in horror, Virginia provides some not-so-subtle encouragement: "Oh, let her her have this; it's the holidays." True: it is the holidays. And hey -- things could be worse. After all, in the spirit of love and joy, Maw Maw did use little rocks, not big ones. So she's trying, at least ...

This week, 'Raising Hope' goes rock 'n' roll. Like washed up '80s hairband rock 'n' roll.

Guest star Jason Lee -- who starred in creator Greg Garcia's last hit 'My Name Is Earl' -- is playing Smokey Floyd, a has-been rocker who also happens to be Burt's (Garret Dillahunt) musical idol. He's in town "headlining" Grocery-Palooza (Tues., 9PM ET on Fox), if that gives you any indication of how far he's fallen from fame. Need more proof? Just check out Lee's look: that tattered shirt, those python-print pleather pants, that receding hairline and mullet combo. He's almost unrecognizable, so it makes sense that he chose to do this interview in character as Smokey Floyd.

I caught up with old Smokey (who one star says "looks like Bon Jovi's grandpa"), Dillahunt and the rest of the gang at 'Raising Hope' to find out what Grocery-Palooza is all about and how the aging rockstar shakes things up.

Taking a family photo is always kind of a drag. Little kids are running around and not paying attention to the photographer. Someone invariably blinks or looks away from the camera, right when the picture is shot. Plus, there's the stress of having all your relatives in one room at the same time.

And this is what happens if you have a normal family. But the pain is increased a thousandfold if you're part of a completely dysfunctional family ... like, say, the Chance clan on 'Raising Hope' (Tue., 9PM ET on Fox).

[Warning: Spoiler alert.]

'Raising Hope' follows the adventures of the Chance family -- specifically, Mr. Jimmy Chance (Lucas Neff), who must raise an infant daughter with the aid of his pretty useless relatives. As we may have mentioned before, we here at 'TV Squad' have some issues with this particular sitcom. And the latest episode (Tue., 9PM ET on Fox) didn't do much to raise our "hopes."

The thing about 'Raising Hope' is that every episode has the same premise. Although the Chances are supposed to take care of baby Hope, they're actually really bad at it! Guffaws and chuckles are the intended result. But everything is pitched a little too broadly for our taste.

[Warning: Spoiler alert.]

One of the problems with 'Raising Hope' is that the sitcom is burdened with a fairly dopey title. It's about a guy who learns that he has a baby girl named "Hope," who he then must "raise" -- leading to the dumb pun that is the name of the show. The other problem with the sitcom is ... well, lots of stuff.

The set-up is that Jimmy Chance (Lucas Neff) has sex with a woman who turns out to be a murderer. The young lady gives birth to Hope, and then the mom is -- killed in the electric chair. Next, Hope's life is constantly put at risk by the incompetence of Jimmy and his white trash relatives. So already we've got murder, execution, and child endangerment as a combo. Not necessarily a perfect template for a cutesy sitcom.

'Raising Hope' (Tue., 9PM on FOX) is the latest brainchild from Greg Garcia ('My Name Is Earl'), and there are a lot of familiar elements here for fans of 'Earl.' Both feature somewhat dopey families, only 'Hope' centers around the a baby named Hope that Jimmy Chance (Lucas Neff) and his family have to raise.

Get it? 'Raising Hope'? 'Cause they're going to raise the baby named Hope, but maybe the baby will help raise their hope as well? Because their lives kind of suck right now. Man, that is the kind of cleverness you just don't find on network television.

Almost as clever as Jimmy's question at the grocery store. We've seen new parents being overly cautious, but this is taking it to extremes. He prepared the cashier by tellling her that it may be a stupid question, but as she said afterward, "I just wasn't really prepared for that."

Some of them have never had a major role before, and some of them are making their Hollywood debut, but we're betting that these 13 actors and actresses will be among the stars viewers are talking about this TV season ...