IMHO Moonlighting is one of the best tv shows ever aired -- unless you don't care for screwball comedy. The show and many people involved with it won lots of awards.
Moonlighting's premise is that the accountant of retired top model Maddie Hayes (Cybill Shepherd) absconds with all her money, leaving her with a few businesses that served as tax write-offs. One is a money-losing detective agency headed by David Addison (Bruce Willis), who is immediately attracted to Maddie when she arrives to close the company. He talks her into keeping it open, and screwball-ness and world-class banter ensue for five seasons.
The show's humor ranges from light comedy to literal pie-in-the-face slapstick, plus some "in" jokes (for example, Peter Bogdanovich and Demi Moore have cameos). There is also singing and dancing. And most episodes feature a comical chase near the end. It all works.
A unique-for-its-time feature of the show is that it broke the fourth wall in many ways again and again, including lines spoken directly to the camera; a question posed to the camera, which moves back and forth to signal a "no" answer; and references to script, writers, and cable tv. However, the show didn't just break the fourth wall; by the end of the second season it crashed right through it with the action leaving the sound stage and continuing on the studio lot, reminiscent of Blazing Saddles. But that was just the beginning. One episode has a segment about an ABC casting call for replacements for the David Addison role.
It should be mentioned that the series is from decades ago, so is it dated by Maddie's Breck Girl hair styles, the landline telephones, pay phones, etc.
You'll soon realize the detective aspect of the show is just a vehicle for the screwball-ness and the romantic/sexual tension between Maddie and David that you could cut with a knife. The biggest mystery is how Shepherd's bleached blonde hair (L'Oreal: "I'm worth it") never had dark roots yet always appeared strong and healthy. It is possible that some of her hairdos were wigs, but sometimes it is obviously her own hair.
Shepherd's role was written with her in mind, and she does an excellent job as the "straight man" in the comic duo with Willis.
Willis also does an excellent job of a demanding role. (I saw him in one of his action movies, in which he spoke the same line at least three times -- "Look out! She's gonna blow!" What a waste of talent.)
If you decide not to watch the series, at least check out Willis's rendition of the Loving Spoonful's song "Good Lovin'" (in the "Atomic Shakespeare" episode) on YouTube; it is priceless. Willis would have had no way of knowing he would spend some of a future episode wearing only a diaper. For that matter, Curtis Armstrong, who played Herbert Viola, probably signed on without knowing what would be required of him, but that's another story.
BTW: Feel free to skip the episodes featuring receptionist Agnes DiPesto (Alyce Beasley) and sleuth wannabe Herbert Viola. They were just placeholders because the real episodes weren't ready yet.
Personal note #1: I love Shepherd's costumes. I suspect Costume Designer Robert Turturice thought he had died and gone to heaven to have a chance to dress her. The dresses, suits, evening gowns, shoes, furs, jewelry, purses -- all are designed to provide the most beautiful settings for the gemstone of her beauty. Turturice won an award for his efforts.
Personal note #2: I love the custom lettering in the opening credits of each episode except the pilot. Presumably the success of the pilot justified the expense for the series.
Moonlighting's premise is that the accountant of retired top model Maddie Hayes (Cybill Shepherd) absconds with all her money, leaving her with a few businesses that served as tax write-offs. One is a money-losing detective agency headed by David Addison (Bruce Willis), who is immediately attracted to Maddie when she arrives to close the company. He talks her into keeping it open, and screwball-ness and world-class banter ensue for five seasons.
The show's humor ranges from light comedy to literal pie-in-the-face slapstick, plus some "in" jokes (for example, Peter Bogdanovich and Demi Moore have cameos). There is also singing and dancing. And most episodes feature a comical chase near the end. It all works.
A unique-for-its-time feature of the show is that it broke the fourth wall in many ways again and again, including lines spoken directly to the camera; a question posed to the camera, which moves back and forth to signal a "no" answer; and references to script, writers, and cable tv. However, the show didn't just break the fourth wall; by the end of the second season it crashed right through it with the action leaving the sound stage and continuing on the studio lot, reminiscent of Blazing Saddles. But that was just the beginning. One episode has a segment about an ABC casting call for replacements for the David Addison role.
It should be mentioned that the series is from decades ago, so is it dated by Maddie's Breck Girl hair styles, the landline telephones, pay phones, etc.
You'll soon realize the detective aspect of the show is just a vehicle for the screwball-ness and the romantic/sexual tension between Maddie and David that you could cut with a knife. The biggest mystery is how Shepherd's bleached blonde hair (L'Oreal: "I'm worth it") never had dark roots yet always appeared strong and healthy. It is possible that some of her hairdos were wigs, but sometimes it is obviously her own hair.
Shepherd's role was written with her in mind, and she does an excellent job as the "straight man" in the comic duo with Willis.
Willis also does an excellent job of a demanding role. (I saw him in one of his action movies, in which he spoke the same line at least three times -- "Look out! She's gonna blow!" What a waste of talent.)
If you decide not to watch the series, at least check out Willis's rendition of the Loving Spoonful's song "Good Lovin'" (in the "Atomic Shakespeare" episode) on YouTube; it is priceless. Willis would have had no way of knowing he would spend some of a future episode wearing only a diaper. For that matter, Curtis Armstrong, who played Herbert Viola, probably signed on without knowing what would be required of him, but that's another story.
BTW: Feel free to skip the episodes featuring receptionist Agnes DiPesto (Alyce Beasley) and sleuth wannabe Herbert Viola. They were just placeholders because the real episodes weren't ready yet.
Personal note #1: I love Shepherd's costumes. I suspect Costume Designer Robert Turturice thought he had died and gone to heaven to have a chance to dress her. The dresses, suits, evening gowns, shoes, furs, jewelry, purses -- all are designed to provide the most beautiful settings for the gemstone of her beauty. Turturice won an award for his efforts.
Personal note #2: I love the custom lettering in the opening credits of each episode except the pilot. Presumably the success of the pilot justified the expense for the series.