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Moonlighting - Seasons 1 & 2
: I loved this show since I saw the pilot on March 3, 1985. I have been lucky enough to meet and interview many people connected with this ground-breaking series.
In anticipation of the DVD release and if you want to relive those Moonlighting days, just log onto the fan site www.moonlighting21.com and read our online publication Moonlighting Strangers. We have behind the scene information from those who were there--the cast and crew. We also feature articles on the evolution of the scripts, insight on the music used in the episodes, fan fiction, charities supported by the ML cast and crew and lots more.
Seasons 1 and 2 of Moonlighting had many great eps, including The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice, Knowing Her, Witness for the Execution, The Lady in the Iron Mask, The Next Murder You Hear, etc. Get insight on many of your favorite episodes that you will get no where else. Thanks.
I still have what I consider to be the best episodes of "Moonlighting" on tape (albeit, Beta tapes). So when I watched the first two seasons of Glen Gordon Caron's seminal dramedy series that first aired in 1985 and saw the rest of the show I found myself wishing that we did some television shows the way they do in Great Britain. A "series" across the pond is what we call a season here, and a show like "Coupling," for example, might do only six episodes in a season. Well, the first season of "Moonlighting" only had five episodes after the pilot movie, and like most series the other writers had problems getting a handle on the show's uniqueness. Only "The Next Murder You Hear," written by Peter Silverman, is on the same level as the pilot. "Moonlighting" was pretty good, but it had its low points and imagine how great it would have been if these were the six episodes that made up the second season:
(8) "Brother, Can You Spare a Blonde?" (Written by Caron), in which David's brother Ritchie (Charles Rocket) stops by for a visit; (10) "Money Talks, Maddie Walks") (Written by Kerry Ehrin & Ali Marie Matheson), where Maddie finds out that the accountant who embezzled her fortune is running a casino down South American way; (11) "The Dream Sequences Always Rings Twice" (Written by Debra Frank & Carl Sautter) is the monochromatic episode, introduced by Orson Welles, where we get Maddie and David's different takes on an unsolved murder mystery from 1946; (15) "Portrait of Maddie" (Written by Ehrin & Matheson) in which a painting of Maddie is a clue to a stolen masterpiece and an episode which features the longest period of time without dialogue in the show's history; (21) "Every Father's Daughter is a Virgin" (Written by Bruce Franklin Singer) has Maddie's mother (Eva Marie Saint) and father (Robert Webber) paying a visit, and David finding out something about Maddie's father she does not want to know; and (22) "Witness for the Execution" (Written by Jeff Reno & Ron Osborn) surprises us by coming up with a reason for David and Maddie to finally kiss.
This is not to say that there are not other episodes in the running (e.g., "My Fair David" and "In God We Strongly Suspect") and if somebody wants to argue there should be eight episodes or even ten (add "Atlas Belched" and "Funeral for a Door Nail") I will not say thee nay. But given the problems they had shooting their 140 pages scripts and getting new episodes on each week, I cannot help but think that the show would have been even greater if we they had not wasted precious time on less than stellar episodes, such as the painful "Camille" that wastes Whoopi Goldberg and Judd Nelson in a story that abuses the show's post modernistic tendency to break the fourth wall.
For my money "M*A*S*H" became the original television dramedy with its first season episode "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet." As a Detective Comedy/Drama "Moonlighting" is clearly a dramedy as well, but a large part of its uniqueness as a television series was because of it being decidedly postmodern. There was the verbal self-reflexivity in which David and Maddie were clearly aware they were television characters, the musical self-reflexivity where "Moonlighting" employed an incongruous juxtaposition of the musical soundtrack and the action on screen (using "The William Tell Overture" for the chase scene at the end of "The Lady in the Iron Mask") or sometimes it fits (e.g., when David listens to "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" while trailing Maddie's father), and the show's intertextuality as it plays with the boundaries of the Situation Comedy and the Detective genres. Then there are all references to other texts such as films, songs, novels, etc., through episode titles (e.g., "My Fair David," "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"), dialogue, musical cues, and visual techniques.
Picking up all these references was what made watching "Moonlighting" fun as David and Maddie slowly but surely fought their verbal duels on their way to their inevitable kiss in the parking garage. If there is a "mistake" to be found in some of the early episodes it is the idea that the detective part of the show was as important as the relationship between the two stars. But coming up with an actual mystery for the Blue Moon Detective Agency to solve was not as important as the fact the case would gave David and Maddie something to fight about. If she was not going to end up slamming a door over the case of the week, then the writers are missing the point. But then the strangest thing about watching the "Moonlighting" pilot is being shocked at how slow the two stars are talking at that point.
The key thing is that when "Moonlighting" was good during those first two seasons it was great, and even when it is not so good, there are usually a couple of good one liners buried in it to be enjoyed. Cybil Shepherd and Bruce Willis apparently ended up not being able to stand each other off camera, but their on screen chemistry is undeniable (I was pleasantly surprised Willis showed up to do an audio commentary track for "My Fair David," not to mention his remembering the "You de-Daved him" line). Therefore it is probably a good thing that they did not do the less is more approach. Still, a "Moonlighting" that was written only by Glen Gordon Caron would have been something to watch (think a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" written only by Joss Whedon).
So when is Season 3 coming out?
Those of us that grew up watching this show in the mid to late 80's remember it fondly. The undeniable chemisty that existed between the characters of Maddie (Cybill Sheppard) and David (a young Bruce Willis with actual hair) kept us coming back again and again, and remains one of the best TV matchups of all time. The humor and creativity behind this series is so superior that it holds up still 20 years after its initial airing. From the breaking of the fourth wall to acknowledge the watching audiences' existence to the almost slapstick comedy that happened in nearly every episode, this series set the bar extremely high for all series that followed. For all that have waited patiently through all the false promises of this series being released on DVD, your patience is finally being rewarded. A heartfelt "Thank You" to Lions Gate studios for finally allowing this show to finally see the light of day again on DVD. Now they just need to hasten the release of the remainder of the seasons to DVD. I look forward to once again seeing arguably the best episode of the series, "Atomic Shakespeare" ("I HATE IAMBIC PENTAMETER!") from season 3, in all its hilarious glory on DVD.
Being a big Moonlighting fan, I'm ecstatic that they finally released it on DVD. Watching it on DVD reminded me of how wonderful the show was in every way and how much I enjoyed it when it was on air 20 years ago. Moonlighting is a show that has wits, humor, suspense, action, drama, & spunk all rolled into one. And of course, the sparks generated by the unbelievable chemistry between Cybill Shepherd & Bruce Willis. I can't wait for them to release the rest of the episodes.
The DVDs themselves are great, I especially enjoy the extra features, i.e. commentary from the cast & crew. It would be awesome if they'd add the outtakes, deleted scenes, and such on the next DVD set.
Thanks to Bruce Willis this DVD set is being released!
Can't wait!
This tv-series revolutionized television (e.g. actors talking to the tv audience). If you know it you already love it and if you didn't watch it live you have to own this set anyway. You get the most wonderful on screen chemistry between the two main characters - don't miss it. I hope they'll include many extras especially the bloopers and outtakes that aired after a few episodes - take my word for it, you WILL enjoy "Moonlighting".
Watch out for fabulous Bruce in "Witness for the Execution"! Can't wait for the next set (including "Big Man on Mulberry Street").
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