Older stars golden for TV Land shows

The network that built its reputation on recycling vintage sitcoms is now recycling vintage TV and film stars.

Veteran actors such as Betty White, George Segal and Jessica Walter are starring in new half-hour comedies made in the old-school style.

TV Land's "Hot in Cleveland," co-starring White and Valerie Bertinelli, became a surprise hit for the niche network last season.

It returned with new episodes last week and continues tonight at 10.

It's followed at 10:30 by a new sitcom, "Retired at 35." It co-stars Segal and Walter as a retired couple in Florida with a 35-year-old son who moves back in just as they are splitting up.

In addition to these senior citizen regulars, there are guest stars from TV history.

Shelley Long ("Cheers") shows up briefly tonight on "Retired at 35" as a date for Segal's character. Mary Tyler Moore was a guest on "Hot in Cleveland" last week.

John Schneider ("Dukes of Hazzard") and Bonnie Franklin ("One Day at a Time") have guest roles on "Hot" tonight. This will be a reunion for Franklin and Bertinelli, who played Franklin's daughter on "One Day at a Time."

"Hot" and "Retired" are aimed at cashing in on baby boomers' nostalgia, with "Hot in Cleveland" being the better of the two.

"Hot" stars Bertinelli, 50, Wendie Malick, 60 ("Just Shoot Me"), and Jane Leeves, 49 ("Frasier"), as three aging beauties from Los Angeles who have relocated to Cleveland where they are still considered hotties. White, 89, is their sassy and eccentric housekeeper.

"Hot" is fun to watch because of the bawdy double-entendres, White's wisecracks and stories that celebrate older women.

"Retired" comes up short because it doesn't celebrate older folks, it makes fun of them.

Segal plays Alan, a befuddled coot who is thrown back on the dating scene when his wife, Elaine (Walter), decides life with him is no longer interesting.

They split just as their son David (Johnathan McClain) leaves New York City to move into their Florida retirement community. David is trying to reconcile his parents and deal with his father reverting to juvenile behavior.

COSBY KID: It's a middle-aged Tempestt Bledsoe, 37, who takes over the hosting chores on the Style network's "Clean House" at 10 tonight.

Bledsoe (Vanessa Huxtable on "The Cosby Show") replaces the annoying Niecy Nash, who has left to pursue other TV gigs. The Style network doesn't get much attention but this series about people who have cluttered up their homes has a following.

MISSING OLBERMANN: While it wasn't as dramatic as the Howard Beale "I'm mad as hell" moment in "Network," Keith Olbermann's sudden, dramatic on-air departure from MSNBC's "Countdown" last week shocked his fans and thrilled his conservative rivals.

Was he grandstanding after getting the boot from MSNBC? Or is this part of a calculated career move? Will he resurface in a better role? Will he go back to sports? Has he finally become Howard Beale? Is MSNBC going in a different direction - or any direction?

Olbermann tweeted to fans on Monday that "reports of the death of my career are greatly exaggerated." So look for him to come back somewhere.

Smart, arrogant, funny and unflinching in his liberalism, Olbermann is entertaining. He could have been the liberal answer to Fox News' Bill O'Reilly. But MSNBC executives didn't seem to fully appreciate the Keithster. MSNBC is almost a ratings contender. It just needs to play a full-frontal liberal version of Fox's "fair and balanced" game.