ONTD

PASADENA - Betty White thinks it's time for senior citizens to get even.

And who's going to say no to Betty White, America's favorite senior citizen, who turns 90 on Jan. 17?

Starting on Jan. 16, she will be hosting NBC's new "Betty White's Off Your Rockers," which might be subtitled "Revenge of the Octos."

It's a "Candid Camera"-style show that White says simply reverses the long-standing tradition of young folks playing practical jokes on gullible old folks.

"This show is seniors pranking the younger people," White told TV critics here Friday. "It says we've got a sense of humor, too - warped as it may be."

"Off Their Rockers" features random bizarre situations, such as a senior citizen bowling with a cantaloupe in the flower shop or playing pool with items in a supermarket display.

In one scene, a senior balloon vendor hands a bunch of helium balloons to a younger woman and they lift her off the ground.

A lot of the gags are verbal, with seniors making blunt remarks, sexual and otherwise, that the recipient clearly did not expect from a sweet old person.

White, who says she grew up as a fan of "Candid Camera," will contribute short sketches to "Off Their Rockers," but not be involved in the pranks.

"I leave it to the production team," she said. "I'm too busy with the other stuff."

That includes her hit sitcom "Hot in Cleveland" as well as a continuing stream of guest appearances.

NBC will precede the premiere "Off Their Rockers" with a 90th birthday tribute, which will be taped Sunday with long-time White colleagues like Valerie Harper and Ed Asner.

It will naturally be 90 minutes long.

Asked how TV is different today than when she started her career in the 1950s, White said the main difference is the audience.

"Today they've heard all the jokes, they know all the plots," she said. "They're a much tougher audience.

"I'd say they're more sophisticated, except then I show you a show like this."

White said, as she has said before, that she considers herself "the luckiest broad on two feet" to have good health and continuing popularity.

She also said she will keep taking offers as long as they come in.

"They won't last forever," she said. "Who knows whether they'll still want me when I'm 100?"