Fun Times in Cleveland Again, Still Cleveland!

Three middle-aged friends embark on a whim trip to Paris, but find themselves grounded in Cleveland unexpectedly. Where they were mostly overlooked in their native Los Angeles, they find themselves the target of desire; they have become the big fish in this small pond. Impulse lands them an apartment and a chance to reinvent themselves.


That's the premise of Hit in Cleveland, TV Land's first foray into original programing, and it is also the recap of the first episode. Hot in Cleveland is something of a unique animal; it is something we are very familiar with, yet it is still somehow something new. Do I care if I've seen it before? Not really. In fact, I think that is exactly the point.

Nostalgia porn is a term bandied about lately, referring to Tinseltown's obsession with remaking old properties. It banks on you recalling some idyllic time in your past, albeit incorrectly, and you desire to have those feelings again. Usually the result is the memory is a misrepresentation of what you liked. Hot in Cleveland fulfills your nostalgia, wherever it may lay. Between the four principal cast members, there is over 150 years of Television history.

The show bears many of the traits that we expect from a show on TV Land: The multi-camera format, recognizable collection of sets, and like all the great classics sitcoms, they film in front of a live studio audience. Heck, they even use the classic joke: "You can go." "But its my [in this instance, boat]!"

So, who is everybody?

Valerie Bertinelli plays Melanie Moretti, a woman in the midst of a divorce, and author of 200 Things Every Women Should do Before they Die.

Jane Leeves is Joy Scroggs, eyebrow cultivator to Oprah.

Wendie Malick is Victoria Chase (is Nina van Horn). Aging soap opera actress, the first to play a treble-role, who lost The Emmy to Susan Lucci.

Betty White is Elka Ostrovsky, the caretaker of the house they rent in Cleveland.

No show about Cleveland would be complete without a few things, and Hot in Cleveland delivered where expected. Both Lebron James and Drew Carey were referenced within the first few minutes of the show.

The girls even get a nice tour of the city.

Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video: 2nd Attempt - The best home videos are here
Note: This was not actual show footage. Use this to truly understand why this show works.

There are some great lines peppering the show, and the performances of everyone in the cast are enough to keep me interested for a little while. It is on at least 4 different channels with my cable provider, so you should have no problem finding one of the ample reruns all week.

I leave you with a line from Elka, since I think Betty White is one of a scant few that could even consider delivering such a line. "Escaping from the Nazis was the least of my worries."