Empty Nest was a great show at first. The first three seasons were its best seasons with the late Richard Mulligan having great chemistry with his fiesty but charming secretary Laverne Todd(Park Overall) and his sleazy but likable neighbor Charley Dietz(David Leisure) and his two daughters Barbara(Kristy McNichol) and Carol(Dinah Manoff). More on the insufferable tart known as Carol Weston later. If this show ended after its first three seasons I would understand the fondness people have for it because I love those seasons too. Seasons 4 & 5 are painfully average. They have their moments and a few solid episodes here and there but the seasons as a whole are just okay. Lisa Rieffel was in a few episodes as Emily Weston Harry Weston's daughter coming home from College but was only in 14 episodes and was forgotton about afterwards. If Empty Nest ended after season 5 it would be undestandable why its remembered fondly. It had 3 great seasons but it was followed by two average seasons. Fair enough but unfortanately for us Empty Nest went on for two more seasons!. Seasons 6 & 7 are legitimately awful! Estelle Getty and Marsha Warfield are main characters in this show now. Both are great comedic talents that were funny consistently elsewhere but their humor on this show was hit and miss. The theme was changed after Season 3. The original theme was laid back and it complemented the laid back tone of this show. I loved it but the theme for the later seasons is terrible and it doesnt fit the laid back tone the show has always had. The different guest appearances in Seasons 6 &7 reeks of throwing whatever at the wall to see what sticks. Obvious TV executives meddling at its worst. Laverne and Charley were flanderized by now and Carol... Let talk about Carol Weston. Carol was never endearing or likable as a character and by the later seasons she was so annoying she flatlines every episode she is in. Try to watch every episode where she has the most screen time(or any screen time for that matter) without bursting a blood vessel..you wont make it. Barbara Weston can be moody at times but she was strong willed and very likable but Carol Weston has always been a neurotic, insufferable nutball through THE ENTIRE SHOW RUN. Carol makes this show hard to revisit by herself. In short Empty Nest started with three great seasons(Seasons 1-3), two average seasons(4-5) and two awful seasons(6-7). Even with all that said this show still deserve a DVD release. I'll just take the first three seasons and be on my merry way thank you.
Review of Empty Nest
