Tonight was the second episode of the new sitcom Hot in Cleveland on TV Land. And although the comparisons to The Golden Girls were inevitable, tonight it seemed like the writers were actually tipping their hat to the classic show. There may not have been any cheesecake involved, but the girls all gathered around the kitchen table to talk about female issues–and sex. And here we have Betty White, almost a decade older in real life than Sophia was supposed to be when The Golden Girls first premiered, sitting on a chair in a corner of the kitchen behind the main table where the other girls were talking, just as Sophia used to sit on a stool at the carving counter behind the main table on The Golden Girls. And there was even more familiar territory when Wendie Malick’s character began telling a story about something that happened to her character, an actress, on the soap opera on which she used to star. When Jane Leeves made a comment to the affect of “Go on, finish your story because we’re not going to be able to stop you anyway,” it was like witnessing a St. Olaf story all over again. Perhaps this was just a one-time homage to the other series, but it’s very welcome and I have no problem with this sitcom imitating one of the best….
Of course, the comparisons got me thinking…are these women supposed to be the same age as Dorothy, Blanche and Rose on The Golden Girls? Although age was never specified, it was implied that Blanche was the youngest, and probably in her early 50s when the show began. In real life, Rue was the youngest at 51, while Bea and Betty were both 63. While age isn’t specified on Hot in Cleveland, in real life, Jane Leeves (who Betty White keeps calling the slutty one on the show) is the youngest at 49…Valerie Bertinelli is 50, and Wendie Malick is actually a decade older at 60! And all I can say is DAMN these women look good. I know plastic surgery has become big in Hollywood, but even the oldest of these three women looks like a MILF, while The Golden Girls looked like GILNFs (Grandmother’s I’d Like NOT to F*ck).
