It's taken us a couple of months to fit in all of the 24 episodes of the first and second seasons of this seminal 80's comedy-drama, and I think we're going to pause before continuing with the series, so I thought it would be good to update now. Moonlighting is the 'classic' will-they-won't-they male-female drama (way before The X-Files did it), featuring Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis as former model Maddie Hayes and detective David Addison.
brilliant...
I wasn't really sure what to expect when I put the pilot episode in the DVD player so I was pleasantly surprised to find a series that is witty, dramatic and daring and that is still all those things 25+ years later. The casting is spot on, Willis is an energetic presence who brings a real joy to the role, while Shepherd is a perfect foil without just being the straight-woman - she gets her share of the laughs. Other series regular Allyce Beasley is a hoot as Agnes 'Miss' DiPesto, the Blue Moon detective agency's dippy receptionist, who always answers the phone with a contrived rhyme. Following the rather short (5 episode + pilot) first series, the show really found its feet in season 2 and began breaking the fourth wall with Maddie and David commenting on the script or making asides to camera. These instances of self-referential humour really add something to a show that is already terrifically funny, with some interesting plots. There's the black and white dream sequence episode, introduced by Orson Welles; the Christmas episode that ends with the Moonlighting production crew joining Maddie and David in a carol (despite the references to being a TV show, the leads are never out of character, i.e. they're always Maddie and David, never Bruce and Cybill); the cracking Miss DiPesto-centered Next Stop Murder; and the fantastic final episode of the season that guest stars Whoopi Goldberg in a part very reminiscent of both Deloris van Cartier and Oda Mae Brown. One of the joys of Moonlighting is it always surprises, you never know whether the next episode will be an out and out comedy or whether it will have a more dramatic edge, whether Maddie and David will make any progress with their flirtation, or whether they might actually make some money from a case. Oh the theme tune is also top ten best!
but... Some episodes work better than others - the show where Maddie suspects her father of having an affair for example wasn't as gripping as those around it. I suppose that this is par for the course though with a show that is so 'anything goes'. This being the eighties, I guess I can excuse some of the outrageous fashion too... I would also gripe that, as funny as the fast paced banter between the leads is, sometimes the technique of having each repeat what the other just said gets a little old hat.
briefly...
Fresh, warm and witty, Moonlighting's fingerprints are all over many shows that followed. The particular highlight for me is Bruce Willis letting go and enjoying himself so much, I never realised there's so much more to him than John McClane.
No comments:
Post a Comment