The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Backstory: "Golden Girls" was a huge hit on Saturday nights for NBC and programmers wanted to expand on that success to create an entire night of comedy. (If you think "spin-off" is a dirty word you'll probably want to stop reading here.) The second season finale of GG features a married couple (Paul Dooley & Rita Moreno) who had never been on the show before dealing with the future of their marriage now that their children had grown up and moved out. Dooley & Moreno had zero chemistry and the idea of a show based on such a depressing mess must have scared producers sober, so they "re-tooled." The next season "Empty Nest" premiered right after "Golden Girls" with lightweight goon Richard Mulligan as Harry, a widowed doctor with two adult daughters still living in his home. (NOTE: This is the only part of the series that bothered me: How can you call a show 'Empty Nest' in which both adult daughters live at home? I guess producers liked the premise but found the execution too depressing. The title "Full House" would have made just as much sense.)Dinah Manoff was the semi-bangable neurotic and Kristy McNicol the semi-bangable tough cookie. Park Overall is Harry's nurse/receptionist with a Southern accent and husky voice. David Leisure plays neighbor Charlie, a variant on his smooth-talking, lying "Joe Isuzu" character. A Golden Girl stops by twice a season to borrow an egg and remind us they live right next door and life goes on..."Empty Nest" had decent laughs, decent performances... it was a pleasant filler to pass the time. I long for the days when television could afford to be this gentle... today most shows begin with the discovery of a corpse and end with confessions of lurid sex. It's cheap, and common, and inspires less viewer loyalty than a goofy sitcom in which the dog's name appears in the credits. Farewell "Empty Nest"...GRADE: B-

Empty Nest was one of my favorite sitcoms growing up, I was exposed to Empty Nest as a preteen quite simply because I was a fan of The Golden Girls. Empty Nest was a sort of quasi-spin off of The Golden Girls. A little piece of trivia but you can actually see the original concept of Empty Nest during Season 2 of The Golden Girls in the episode "Empty Nest". The original concept had veteran character actors Rita Rudner and Paul Dooley playing a couple coping with their children all leaving home. Thank god they didn't go with this original concept as it was dreadful. After poor audience response they re-tooled the show as a showcase for Mulligan, a successful widower doctor with two very different daughters still living at home.Late in Season 2 the character of Barbara (Kristy McNicol) was written off the show allegedly because McNicol was diagnosed with Severe Bipolar Disorder. Thankfully though we would be reunited with the character of Barbara in the shows series finale. Her departure however was rather unfortunate as she was a good counter to the character of Carol, who was a neurotic psychological mess. Park Overall was the true firecracker of the show. She was easily the funniest character and her scenes seemed to always elevate an episode.Empty Nest was part of the infamous "Miami Trilogy" which aired for several years on NBC Saturday nights. Empty Nest, The Golden Girls, and Nurses (All shows created by Susan Harris by the way) were all part of the same "universe", so to speak. They all took place in the same Miami, various characters from the shows lived & worked near or with one another and guest spots among characters appearing on the other shows was not uncommon. Even Estelle Getty (The Golden Girls feisty elderly lady Sophia) joined the cast in it's final 2 seasons. However during these last two seasons the show "Jumped The Shark" when main character Dr. Harry Weston left his job at the hospital and started a free clinic in a "not-so-nice" neighborhood with fellow doctor, Marsha Warfield (Of Night Court fame). Empty Nest remains one of my favorite sitcoms from that era. I have heard mixed things about a possible DVD release. Despite the show lasting 7 seasons and consistently being in the Nielsen Top 10 a DVD release is probably unlikely any time in the near future considering the show has become all but forgotten. I won't forget though.

It's difficult to find great comedy without being to risky for some people. Shows such as Seinfeld, Golden Girls, and Empty Nest can always light a smile on anybody.I really liked David Leisure's character on this show "Charlie". He would just walk in the neighbors house grab a beer and off he went. He was so stupid and inept, he was funny. Park Overall and Marsha Warfield added character to the show as well.It did what TV supposed to do, make you laugh and forget about your problems. Richard Mulligans passing was a great loss.

Park Overall made this one. Flipping through channels and hearing her speak was enough to get me started watching the show.The early shows were the best. Barbara (Kristy McNichol) was needed to offset the neurotic Carol (Dinah Manoff). The show lost a lot when McNichol left.It also lost a lot when Richard Mulligan as Dr. Harry Weston retired from his practice and started working in the storefront clinic. It was never the same after that, and Marsha Warfield as Dr. Maxine Douglas added little to it.