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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"Moonlighting" (1985-1989)
is that rare serial amongst television series in
which refined wit is transformed into crass
amusement by its impassioned performers. The
series begins when supermodel Maddie Hayes (Cybil
Sheppard) realizes she has been liquidated by her
unscrupulous accountant. Left with only her
fashionable Malibu home and some
money-hemorrhaging real estate investments --
including the run-down City of Angels detective
agency, Maddie decides to sell off her investments
to sustain her lifestyle. What she soon discovers
is that the agencies top sponge, David Addison
(Bruce Willis) is not ready to go quietly into the
night. More to the point, a quiet animosity soon
develops between these two unlikely allies who
very quickly find themselves at the heart of
solving crimes and inadvertently turning a profit.
One of the great understated joys in this series
is Allyce Beasley quirky rendering of the agency's
secretary and phone service provider, Agnes
DiPesto, whose rhymes are both succinct and
riotous. After a rollicking pilot episode and two
years of stellar comedy/adventure, Moonlighting
seemed poised for a long run.
But then came the series of artistic misfires that
quashed any hope for such good stuff to last. Much
of the show's appeal lay in the mutual hatred and
tempered sexual word play that occurred between
David and Maddie. Yet writers sought to alter that
equation by having the two become lovers for the
1987 season. It was a fabulously terrible idea
that found the show's ratings tanking virtually
overnight. In desperation, the writers next
invented a plot line in which David and Maddie
split up. She went off to be with astronaut, Alex
(Mark Harmon) leaving David distraught and aloof.
Another blow came with the development of Agnes
DiPesto's more proactive role in the series and
her burgeoning romance with Herbert 'Booger' Viola
(Curtis Armstrong).
But behind the scenes too the show was coming
apart at the seams. Rumors of mutual disdain
between Willis and Sheppard helped to fuel several
highly publicized blow ups on the set in the
tabloids. And Willis' rising fame as an action
star (thanks to the Die Hard series) was, in
hindsight, distracting him from the solid work he
had done beforehand for the first two seasons. By
contrast, his devil-may-care characterization of
David -- which had made him so engaging and
desirable to audiences -- grew more sullen and
uninviting as the series progressed. Hence, it was
no surprise when the show was pulled from ABC's
line up in the middle of its 1989 run.
Thankfully, what fans of the series have been
offered on DVD now is the first two sterling
seasons of hilarity. We get to see again why the
series was -- for the briefest of times --
considered a runaway smash. Anchor Bay had
previously made the pilot episode available as a
stand alone disc. Now we get 35 episodes of
Moonlighting to augment that experience, plus
several well made featurettes with cast and crew
reflections on the show's initial popularity.
Image wise, colors are dated in an eighties sort
of way, but very nicely balanced. Age-related
artifacts are present occasionally. Too, the
contrast levels appear a tad lower than expected
for an image that is perhaps not as bright or
sharp as it could be. Nevertheless, the image
quality will surely not disappoint for fans of
this classic classy series. The audio is mono but
nicely balanced. This is definitely one to add to
your growing archival collection of television
shows. |
