Hot in Cleveland - Season Six

Somewhere between "The Golden Girls" and "Sex in the City" is "Hot in Cleveland," TV Land's first original sitcom, now bringing its sixth and final season to DVD.

Though the multiple-camera sitcom filmed before a live studio audience has gone out of fashion since the time when Bea Arthur and Betty White delighted us with their bawdy series about seniors in Florida, this half-hour comedy plugs away at the form, and the results are reliably funny.

Part of the reason this show still makes us laugh after six years is its strong, experienced cast. Valerie Bertinelli has been a regular in our homes since the '70s when she starred in "One Day at a Time." Here she plays Melanie, a divorced mother of college-aged kids who co-hosts a "He Said/She Said" radio program with "MadTV's" Will Sasso.

This call-in program is similar to the one featured on another legendary sitcom, "Frasier," in which Bertinelli's co-star Jane Leeves starred. On that show Leeves played a demure housekeeper, but in this show she's a livelong bachelorette who enjoys hooking up using dating apps and drinking copious amounts of wine.

Wendie Malick, whom you'll remember from "Just Shoot Me," is one of those reliable television constants. Her characters are all pretty much alike, but she can sure deliver a punch line. In this show she's Victoria Chase, a serial divorc�e and award winning daytime television star whose nemesis' include Susan Lucci, Melanie Griffith and Helen Mirren.

But the most famous and consistently working actress in this ensemble is the legendary Betty White. Having worked on television since the late 1940s, this actress still charms audiences and has a league of young fans that look forward to her work. She channels her "Golden Girls" co-star Estelle Getty in this series as the brash, bawdy Polish caretaker who embraces life and never says "no" to new experiences.

Created by Suzanne Martin ("Frasier," "Ellen") and executive produced by Sean Hayes ("Will and Grace,") both Emmy Award-winners, this DVD collection includes all 23 episodes of the sixth season. And it includes guest star performances from Robert Wagner, Mario Lopez, Bob Newhart, Thomas Gibson, Huey Lewis, George Takei, Carol Burnett and more.

Sure this season will strip these women of the singular singleness that has made us love them for so long and marry them off into conventional, little relationships. But until we get to the hour-long series finale, there will be plenty of slip-ups, self-denial and shamelessly satisfying sex.

"Hot in Cleveland: The Season Six"
DVD $29.99
www.tvland.com/shows/hot-in-cleveland