Hot in Cleveland

When I heard about this show, I figured it would be "cute." What I was not prepared for was how spot-on it really is. I've lived in the L.A. area off and on for over 20 years, and all the L.A. references are painfully HONEST.

Wendie Malick, Jane Leeves, Valerie Bertinelli and Betty White are hysterical!

The story lines are very realistic ...L.A. is really a very SADLY over-rated place to live, for many reasons. The sunshine is nice, but even that gets boring after a while. Between the high price of living, the traffic and the shallow people, it's really an awful place to live for any "average" person. Ironically, this show comes at a time in my life when I have decided to relocate to my home town of Chicago.

I routinely experience just about all of the ones depicted on this show whenever I go back to Chicago. While it is true that there are shallow people everywhere in the world, L.A. seems to be the U.S. capital of "the beautiful people." Living here is very exclusionary; everything is about money, status, power and looks. If you have those things, you'll be included; if not, you are SOL, no matter how good or nice a person you are.

It is true that in Chicago - and other Midwestern cities, most of the real men are not salaciously panting after women 1/2 their age. It is true that in other places, mature women are appreciated more than merely discarded after the age of 30.

My only regret about this show is that it is not on a major network ... it would get more exposure that way! So glad that it got picked up for more episodes.

If you're a fan, let's all get the word out and keep this show on the air!

Wendy Malick, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Betty White are "Hot in Cleveland" in this new TV Land series produced by "Will and Grace" star Sean Hayes.

It's a slim premise - a soap star (Malick) whose show has been canceled, a new divorcée (Bertinelli), and a makeup artist (Leeves) set off for Paris from Los Angeles only to be grounded in Cleveland.

With bleak prospects waiting for them back home, and noting the attentive looks they get from men in a local bar, they decide to stay a while. The Bertinelli character rents a house, where the caretaker is Elke (Betty White).

So far, this is a very funny show, with marvelous performances. With Malick and Frasier's Daphne starring, that's to be expected. White is amazing - 88 and still going strong and still a master of timing. The weak sister for me is Bertinelli, whose comedy seems forced.

As a baby boomer myself, I like seeing shows relating to my age group featuring older actresses, who, like the Malick character, really do find the going rough in Hollywood, particularly if they're too attractive for character roles. And it is true, particularly in a youth-oriented town like L. A., older women are pretty much invisible to men their own age. It's probably true anywhere, but particularly there.

I'm really enjoying it, and I hope it's picked up for more episodes.

This show takes a few episodes to really find its nitch, but once it settles down things get very good! And after season 1, it just gets funnier. Of course Betty White steals every scene with the great one liners. Give this show a try, hang in there after a few episodes and you wont regret it! There are a lot of funny stories in this show. Well worth it!

Yes, the writing's mediocre, and the laugh track is really annoying - However, there are four actresses here that are fun to watch, and I'd rather watch this than some lame reality show.

When I wake up in the middle of the night and want to watch something I've recorded, I would choose a new "Hot in Cleveland" episode over an episode of something that I've seen three times before. Sure the situations are not realistic, but it's fun to watch Valerie, Wendy, Jane and Betty work at turning those silly scripts into something funny.

P.S. Love the look on Huey Lewis's face as he asks "Victoria":

"Is it magically delicious?"

This is a great show! The three main cast members work perfectly together, and of course Betty White in the show is the VERY sweet icing on this cake. Too bad we only get 8 episodes this season, but that's better than none!

The three best friends land in Cleveland, expecting it to be a boring, uncultured town, and to their delight it's a fun and incredible place with men who find them very attractive, and the feeling is mutual.

They decide to stay, but then they find out that a caretaker named Elka (White) comes with the house. Elka is a perfect foil for the trio.

And all of the women in this new "Fab Four" looking amazing!