Afraid to love Hot in Cleveland
For America's sake, let's hope Betty White has John Wooden genes
My sister tells me that analogies have been removed from the verbal portion of the SAT. So for those of you who've forgotten them in the years since you took the dreaded test, and especially for those of you who will never have to possess the same command of the English language as former generations were required to, let's have a little refresher.
Thrusting 88-year-old Betty White into our daily lives with her own TV show is to the American public as buying a 17-year-old dog is to a child. Simple math dictates that White could die — just as everyone's fallen completely in love with her all over again. The average life expectancy in America is 77.6 years after all.
Look, I adore Betty White as much as anyone. I hope she pulls a John Wooden and lasts another decade plus. And her late-life career rebirth has already lasted longer the entire career lifespan of many sitcom actors.
But remember how upset everyone was when Rue McClanahan died? And she had been basking in relative obscurity. What with White's Saturday Night Live appearance, her vying to host the Emmys AND the Oscars, and her new sitcom, Hot in Cleveland, Betty is inescapable.
Hot In Cleveland premiered last night on TV Land, claiming it's notGolden Girls 2.0, despite featuring four actresses "of a certain age." White joins Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick in a comedy about three women who, while perhaps not cougar quality on Los Angeles, are "Hot in Cleveland." White plays a house mom of sorts to the three women, who opt to stay in Ohio after ending up there on a fluke.
And like everything else Betty White touches these days, it's already turned into something of a hit. The first episode was TV Land's highest-rated show ever, drawing 4.75 million viewers.
Still, I for one will not be tuning in. Call me overly cautious, but I think it's best to not get too attached.
