Throwback Thursday: Hot in Cleveland (2010-2015)

According to our cultural beliefs, women of a certain age are disposable. They are no longer young, are past (or nearly past) childbearing age, and can be replaced with a newer model.

The TV Land sitcom, Hot in Cleveland, aired from 2010 to 2015. Melanie (Valerie Bertinelli), Joy (Jane Leeves), and Victoria (Wendie Malick) are three forty-something women who are flying from Los Angeles to Paris. When their plane makes an unexpected stop in Cleveland, they decide to stay and take advantage of the social and romantic opportunities that are not available in California.

Moving in with Elka (the late Betty White), the women are introduced to everything (and everyone) the city has to offer.

I didn’t regularly watch Hot in Cleveland, but when I did, I found myself laughing. It was funny, entertaining, and proved once more that women over 40 are just as vibrant and full of life as their younger counterparts.

If I had to pick a favorite aspect of the show, it was Betty White. Still sharp as a tack, she never failed to make the audience laugh.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

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Flashback Friday-Kids Baking Championship (2015-Present)

Excellence in a specific area in adulthood requires years of hard work and study. Excellence in this same area as a child is something to cherish.

Kids Baking Championship has aired on Food Network since 2015. Hosted and judged by Duff Goldman and Valerie Bertinelli, this competition reality show puts its young contestants through their paces. Judged on their dishes based on presentation, taste, and quality, at the end of the season, one contestant is named the winner.

I don’t watch this show very often, but when I do, I am impressed. The level of skill, passion, and talent that these kids have is impressive. I also appreciate that because of the age of the contestants, there is a gentler approach to the competition.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Throwback Thursday-One Day At A Time (1975-1984)

In the 1970’s, the world was changing. Women were starting to throw off the chains that kept their foremothers in literal slavery and were blazing new paths of their own making. Just as he did with his previous series, show runner Norman Lear looked to the changing culture to add to his list of hit shows.

In 1975, One Day At A Time premiered. On the air for nine years, the premise of the show centered around Anne Romano (Bonnie Franklin), a single divorced mother raising her teenage daughters by herself. Julie (Mackenzie Phillips) is the drama queen. Barbara (Valerie Bertinelli) is the tomboy. The man in their lives is Dwayne F. Schneider (Pat Harrington Jr.), their building’s super who becomes one of the family.

For it’s time, One Day At A Time was quite progressive. It was and still is very funny. It was also a show where the lead characters were mostly female and not dependent on the male characters to define who they were. Beloved by television audiences, it was one of the staples of the television schedule while it was on the air.

I recommend it.