Review of The Betty White Show

A brief career stopover for Betty White and Georgia Engel after "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and John Hillerman between "Ellery Queen" and "Magnum PI," this was a cheap-looking sitcom on videotape set backstage at a TV show clearly modeled on "Police Woman." Betty's character was toward the Sue-Ann end of her spectrum; the catty insults were directed at her ex-husband (Hillerman), the director of the show, and at her young, beautiful, ambitious costar (Caren Kaye). I guess you can throw in an homage to "All About Eve" too. Like a lot of late 70s videocoms, it looked cheap and cheesy, with tacky sets and slapdash details like costumes and supporting players. The talented stars, however, plus some good one-liners made it better than it seemed. A bit of effort might have made this a success, but it only lasted half a season.