How to restore time machine backup to a new machine running a different version of the Mac OS? The hard disk in my wife's iMac, which was running Leopard, just died. She has an up to date Time Machine backup. I want to restore the backup to her new MacBook Pro, which is running Lion. 

I understand the conventional way to restore a TM backup to a new machine is to boot from the installer CD but the MBP won't boot from either a Leopard or Snow Leopard install disk. For obvious reasons I don't have a Lion CD.

What is the recommended restore path?
In the Applications directory, there is a subdirectory called Utilities. In Utilities you'll find Migration Assistant. Or just use spotlight to launch it.

Migration Assistant has the option to restore from another machine, a Time Machine Backup, or another disk.

Make sure the TM disk is plugged in to your wife's new machine, and you should be able to select it from a list of volumes.