User Reviews

The premise is silly. A guy from N.Y. visits his parents in Florida and winds up quitting his job to stay there. What is he doing, becoming part of the Medicare jet-set?

All of a sudden, Jessica Walter, the mother, is separated from her husband, George Segal. Then, we get to setting up Segal with a date from Bingo. When he balks at this, the son comes in and then the father is interested in the woman. What's even crazier is who the daughter of the woman turns out to be.

Too much criss-crossing here. At 35, our guy is not ready for retirement and it will be hard to dig up material to keep this premise going. Of course, he can always find work down in Florida. What's the unemployment rate there? If the show continues like this, expect the cast to join the unemployment line as well.

The latest new sitcom from TV Land, Retired at 35 revolves around David, a harried executive whose company manufactures "food-related wood products" (toothpicks, Popsicle sticks, etc.). On a visit to his parents in Florida, the constant interruptions of his mother's birthday party by David's boss lead him to quit. On the heels of this life-changing announcement, David's mother announces a life-changer of her own; she's moving to Europe so she can paint naked men.

"Retired at 35" doesn't miss very many sitcom clichés in its first episode. Fans of "Three's Company" will recognize David's parents Alan and Elaine as a retread of the Ropers, right down to the dumb and inappropriate sex talk in front of their children. David's sister is yet another in a long line of "Mom and Dad always liked you best" younger sisters. Alan's friend Richard perfectly captures the show's level of humor when he describes Cialis and marijuana as "a toke and a poke". And then there's Paul, the sister's "is he gay or not" boyfriend. Really? In 2011 we're still getting a Bearnaise sauce-cooking, do I look fat in these jeans Monroe Ficus character?

Don't waste your time. There's nothing in this show that you haven't seen done, and done better, a hundred times before.

Full disclosure: a friend of my daughter's lives in Los Angeles and played an extra on this show. She wasn't in the first episode but I watched it on-demand since I'm a huge fan of Hot In Cleveland anyway. I really enjoyed it. There's a lot happening in the first episode I saw and it takes a minute to all fall into place, but I thought the characters were charming and played very well. I've loved George Segal since Who's Afraid Of Virginia Wolf and The Owl And The Pussycat and he'll always be a movie star to me, but I'm glad to see him back on television too. I also love Jessica Walter and think she's wonderful. She leaves to go to Spain in the pilot, but according to the ads (and my daughter's friend who said she was there on the set) she comes back, which is good because I think she and George Segal together will be fun to watch. I also really enjoyed the actor who played the lead. I don't know his other work but he's adorable in the pilot and his relationship with George Segal is fun to watch. You really believe him and he makes you want to root for things to work out for his character. (And his reaction to when he ends up in bed with the older lady is one of the funniest thing in the show, it made me laugh out loud.)

I can see how someone might not like it as much if they don't enjoy this type of comedy, but I miss these kind of family shows. I've tried shows like The Office and even Arrested Development but I just can't get into them. They can seem mean sometimes. (I do enjoy 30 Rock from time to time because I think Tina Fey is adorable.) But if you like this kind of old fashioned sitcom, I think you'll enjoy this. (My son is too young to remember all the old shows, but he watched it with me and liked it too.) And I think with the Jessica Walter character returning, it can only get better and I plan to watch it (or record it ;) ) when it comes on. I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

I watched all twenty episodes and was bummed when TVLand canceled it. I enjoyed the show. I thought the plot was okay, the acting is decent, and I have always liked George Segal. The premise that a 35 year old would retire (quit), move to Florida where his parents are living separated,then mooches off of them is actually not that far fetched in the current and recently past economy. Many adult children have in fact had to move back in with their parent(s). This short lived series just takes it to a comedic level. Then there is the lumpy adolescently gifted side kick who is always getting the son in to schemes that don't pan out. All in all I think this is a good show and I hope TVLand is showing reruns now to see if there is enough of an audience to start airing new episodes.

The premise of this show was good , it had a lot of potential but ended up falling flat on it's face. It works every cliché that comedies in the 50's and 60's used to do . Whether a line or gag is funny doesn't matter as the laugh track is used for just about every other spoken line. And most of the lines aren't funny. I've caught the first few episodes and the writers seem to think that George Segal and Jessica Walters hamming it up is funny which it is not. The son also comes across as nothing more than a pouty teenager who wants his own room etc. The supporting characters do nothing to help and are simply there to fill the room.

I cannot see this show lasting more than a season or two when even shows that have been off the air for years are getting higher ratings in reruns.