Hot in Cleveland Season 2 Premiere Sizzles

      I liked TVLand's Hot in Cleveland last summer. It was a little corny, but felt like so many other classic sitcoms on the network, that it fit right in. Nice job to the network for making a new series that feels old, but in a good way. Last night was the second season premiere, and things have only improved during the break. The writing is tighter, the cast is more confident in their characters, and the humor got a little racier. Now if only they'd get rid of, or at least turn down considerably, that annoying laugh track!

     Ok, so the laugh track is part of the charm. But when Mary Tyler Moore took the stage in her much-hyped guest star turn at the onset of the episode, it was so loud that it was distracting! I get the audience's reaction; every MTM line was solid gold, especially the immortal "You've got spunk. I can't stand spunk.", which was just one of the references to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which Betty White also starred with her in. But I wanted to enjoy it for myself. Laugh track aside, MTM's stint was every bit as good as I expected it to be, better even, and I found myself wishing she'd done more than those few moments at the beginning. Repeat, anyone?

     Mary aside, the show also showed wisdom by bringing back neighbor Rick (Wayne Knight, Seinfeld). In this first episode, Rick proposes to Joy (Jane Leeves) so that she can get a green card and stay in the U.S. She blows him off, but after joining Elka (Betty White) in prison, sadly, after MTM is released, Joy gets a bit more desperate. Rick anonymously bails them out, though he does make sure Joy finds out who is to thank, and she is soon on her knees asking for his hand in marriage, an arc that should keep Knight coming back for awhile.

     I was surprised at how risque some of the humor was this week, and not just Joy on her knees. The show does deal with sex plenty, that was always one of its facets, but in "Free Elka", this week's premiere, there certainly seemed to be more of than usual. Rick kept talking about his balls. Elka and Rick admit to an affair, which provides several punchlines. Really, anytime Rick was around, lots and lots of sex talk. Not that I'm complaining.

     Of course, not all of the jokes were of the off-color variety. I laughed quite a bit at poor Pete (David Starzyk), who kept trying to tell Melanie (Valerie Bertinelli) that he loves her, too, as she said to him in last summer's finale. Unfortunately, with Pete frequently arresting Melanie's friends, she doesn't have much patience for him. I found the situation bizarrely amusing. It seems Pete is being set up to stay around for a bit, so I'm glad they worked it out when Pete finally accepted his girlfriend's law-breaking friends, and began to let their behavior slide. I just hope he doesn't lose his job.

     I was also pleased to see Elka show some real compassion. I worship Betty White, and have before it became recently trendy again, but Elka is often portrayed fairly mean-spirited, especially towards Joy, whom she doesn't care for. This week, Elka and Joy used their time behind bars to bond, rather than trade barbs. It was a welcome step towards cementing the friendship of the four central women, as Elka is definitely part of their group by this point.

     Victoria (Wendie Malick) was the lone actress who wasn't really featured as much this week. That's OK; she'll surely get her turn. The series is generally pretty balanced to its four stars, all of which are, in fact, stars. Victoria was around, she just didn't have a rich solo story. I guess with everything else going on, it was just Victoria's turn to take a breather.

     Hot in Cleveland airs on TVLand Wenesday nights at 10 p.m.

Article first published as TV Review: Hot in Cleveland Season 2 Premiere Sizzles on Blogcritics.

For frequent mini-reviews and occasional TV news, follow Jerome on Twitter.

Hot in Cleveland just lukewarm

    TVLand is trying their hand at making a sitcom instead of just airing old ones from the other networks.  Their first project of the type, Hot in Cleveland, feels incredibly dated.  Which may not be a bad thing.  Considering who TVLand's target audience is, Hot in Cleveland should fit in nicely.  Perhaps it's the humor, or the bottled laugh track, or the "filmed in front of a life studio audience" line at the beginning.  There isn't just one element, but the show definitely feels like it aired in the 1980's, or maybe the early 1990's at the latest.

     The cast is charming.  Melanie (Valerie Bertinelli, One Day at a Time, Touched By an Angel) is the one who fits best in the old mold, even though each of the four main actresses has already had success in the sitcom medium.  She is also the catalyst for the series's main plot.  Recently divorced, she is with two friends on a trip to Paris when their plane is held over in Northern Ohio.  Stopping at a local bar, Melanie and her friends soon realize that they are quite attractive when compared with the local women, and much more valued than they are in their home city of Los Angeles.  It is a premise that teases at our country's divide.  Plenty of L.A. and New York City denizens see the entire country between them, to borrow a phrase from a well known comedian, as one giant red state.  Different culture exists outside of those two large cities, and it's fun to see it acknowledged the way it is.

     Melanie's friends decide to stay with her when she rents a house in Cleveland.  Joy (Jane Leeves, Frasier) is a mess, in the second episode dating a young man that she thinks might be her son.  Victoria (Wendie Malick, Just Shoot Me!) recently had her long-running soap opera canceled, so she has nothing better to do.  The first episode was all about the set up, but as the characters get more fleshed out, we find their true vulnerabilities.  Such as Victoria pretending to like the giant supermarket because fans fawn over her when she goes.  Why doesn't L.A. or NYC have big chain stores?  Why would these women not shop at them?  Again, cultural divide.

     Rounding out the cast is the 'caretaker' that came with the rented house, Elka (Betty White, The Golden Girls, Mary Tyler Moore, Boston Legal, etc.).  Despite the odd name, Elka has no accent.  She's just a grandmotherly type in a track seat with no obvious family around.  Elka gets all the good jokes, and let's be honest here.  Despite the talent and credentials the other three women bring to the show, most viewers will tune in for White, an American comedy legend.

     The chemistry is charming.  It's no Golden Girls, but it'll do for now.  It's television fast food: comfortable, tastes good, but without a lot of substance.  Yet, there is not necessarily anything wrong with that, and Hot in Cleveland does better than most at fulfilling the empty calorie content.

     Hot in Cleveland airs Wednesday nights at 10pm on TVLand.