When watching the new TV Land sitcom premiering at 10:30 tonight, “Retired at 35,” I couldn’t help but think of “Seinfeld.”

Not because “Retired” is anywhere near funny as Jerry’s TV classic, but because the two old pros starring in it, George Segal and Jessica Walter, remind me of Seinfeld’s parents, Morty and Helen.

I can just envision some TV writer thinking the “Seinfeld” dynamic could be tweaked and made into a sitcom.

Segal and Walter play a married couple living in Florida who are bored and annoyed with each other. Their son, David (Johnathan McClain), is a hotshot businessman in New York City (where Jerry lived) who suddenly “retires” and stays in Florida to watch his parents’ marriage unravel and recover.

The oversexed material is old but Segal and Walter do the best they can and make it somewhat palatable. McClain, meanwhile, is burdened with playing a dull character who isn’t remotely believable.

Anyone in his uncomfortable predicament would head back East in a New York minute even if his boring job is to sell food-related wood.

The semi-enjoyable “Retired” follows the 10 p.m. second season premiere of “Hot in Cleveland,” one of the projects that made ageless Betty White the entertainer of the year in 2010. Her co-stars are Amherst’s Wendie Malick, Jane Leeves of “Frasier” and Valerie Bertinelli, who may be amused by being overshadowed by White. 

The opening prison cell cameo scene between White and her old sitcom teammate Mary Tyler Moore(see above) is the highlight of another oversexed episode that features former “Seinfeld” semi-regular Wayne Knight making a series of tasteless anatomical jokes.

Old fans of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” may get an early kick out of Moore’s mouthing of a classic line that Lou Grant (Ed Asner) initially said about Mary Richards (Moore).

White seems to have more to do than usual, apparently because the show’s writers think anything she says or does is funny – especially if it is borderline offensive. Having said that, I do like White’s final sarcastic line about men and marriage.

Taken together, the TV Land series seem to be giving viewers the message that seniors like sex and sex jokes just as much as the MTV generation.   

Ratings: “Retired”: 2 and a half stars; “Cleveland”: 2 and a half stars

* All the speculation about the future of “American Idol” in the Buffalo News Tuesday was very interesting but it seemed to downplay the importance of the departure of judge Simon Cowell. For many viewers, he  was the biggest reason to watch. Or the only reason.

* Had to laugh at Fox’s promos Sunday that called the new animated series “Bob’s Burgers” a hit after one episode aired. The second episode Sunday drew half the rating of the opener on WUTV-29, the local Fox affiliate.

* I expect that NBC would call the new David E. Kelley legal series “Harry’s Law” a hit based on its ratings in Buffalo for the opener. The series starring Kathy Bates had a 12.9 rating Monday on WGRZ-TV opposite repeats of “Hawaii Five-0” and “Castle.” That incredible rating — despite terrible local and national reviews — illustrates how much Kelley’s sense of humor has been missed since “Boston Legal” left the air. But how many viewers come back for episode two will give a clearer indication of whether the lame show is a hit.

For comparison sake, “The Golden Globes” had a 13.5 rating on Channel 2 on Sunday over three hours.

* So 79-year-old TV legend Regis Philbin is retiring almost a year after 77-year-old Larry King semi-retired and 44 years after the son in “Retired at 35.” I guess the late 70s is the new 65 in TV Land.

pergament@msn.com

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