Spoilers

“The Man Who Cried Wife”

This was a really strong episode because it moved the relationship between David and Maddie along. Some of the scenes between Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd were very strong when they were fighting over spontaneity. 

Mr. Bower, in a fit of passion, killed his cheating wife. Panicking, he took her into the forest and buried her. The next day, he received a phone call from her. Of course, he was shocked. It led him to hiring Dave and Maddie.

Dave and Maddie did a decent job on this case, which is something that you cannot say every time. They discovered about the affair, they traced the phone call and they figured out that what had actually happened.

I also loved the conclusion to the episode, because typically when the reveal comes about, it leads to a chase scene, but this felt much more mature than some of those. Not that I want to put down those chase scenes because they are always fun, but it was a nice change of pace.

They toned down the fourth wall breaking too, with one, very subtle, reference the ‘home viewers.’ It worked very well.

We also get the first appearance of Jack Blessing as MacGilludy, one of the office workers who would be a recurring character. 

Spoilers

“Funeral for a Door Nail”

“Camille”

These last two episodes wrapped up season two of Moonlighting. E18 was a typical Moonlighting episode with the twists and funny chase scene. E19 featured Whoopi Goldberg, Judd Nelson and a lot of “Devil With the Blue Dress.”

Both of these episodes included a technique that was used quite a bit during the entire series, and especially in these two: Breaking the Fourth Wall.

Moonlighting became very famous for breaking the fourth wall. It is a technique where the actors speak directly to the camera or act as if they know they are in a TV show. The show had been weaving a few of these nuggets throughout the first couple of seasons.

The thing is, these final two episodes really dove into the concept. During “Funeral for a Door Nail,” there were multiple fourth wall breaks written into the dialogue, including a clever shake of the camera when David asked the audience a question.

Then “Camille” took it to an even greater extreme when they had their chase scene through the backlot of the film company and a weird conclusion that saw everybody putting the props away because it was the final episode of the season and it was time for the summer. They did not even bother to end the storyline with Whoopi Goldberg and Judd Nelson.

While I do love the Breaking of the Fourth Wall, I do think that the writers of the show did take it too far a few times. Every time it happened in “Funeral for a Door Nail,” I laughed and enjoyed it, it felt as if they were overdoing the technique. And the end of “Camille” was just way too much, turning the episode into a strange slapstick adventure with everything including Billy Barty.

The use of the fourth wall break became something that the series became over reliant on. I remember loving every time it would happen when I watched the show on ABC, but now, on my rewatch, it does feel as if it has been over used. Less is more, in this case. The real reason Moonlighting was as successful as it became was because of David and Maddie and their relationship, or lack there of. The will-they-won’t-they struggle of these two is what kept bringing the fans back, but it did seem that the writers continued to expand on some of the things that were novel to the show, but secondary. And I believe season three (although it also contains the best episode of Moonlighting ever with “Atomic Shakespeare”) continues down the path of mistakes in choices. I wonder how much the noted feud between Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd had to do with it.

Spoilers

“Sleep Talkin’ Guy”

I’m not a big fan of this episode. It did the cardinal sin. For most of the episode, it split David and Maddie apart.

It has actually been happening a few times lately, but this one of my least favorites from the last year of shows. David and Maddie had some scenes together, and they were great, but there was just too much separate without it being necessary.

The episode made David look bad. Made him look like a jerk. An opportunist taking advantage of a situation for nothing more than monetary gains and sticking it to Maddie.

I found much of this episode put David in a corner, a corner that did not fit his character.

A prostitute has a regular guy who talks in his sleep and just happens to talk about some of the criminal activity that he is involved in. The prostitute went to Blue Moon and came across David. She told him about the fact and he dismissed her. When he saw that the crime was done, he decided to try and cash in on it. He paid her to let him know when the sleep talkin’ guy would say something else.

David became really successful and apparently very much in demand.

The whole end to the episode was a mess as it ended up in a bar fight and Maddie, discovering the truth, punches David too.

Did not like this one and it is even lower for me than the Miss DiPesto episode. At least that one kept the characters the way they were supposed to be.

Spoilers

“Witness for the Execution”

I remember not being that big of a fan of this episode when it first aired back in the 1980s. It lacked all the bombastic chases scenes and comedy that I had come to expect from an episode of Moonlighting. I was much younger then and, after watching it this morning, I have a much different opinion on “Witness for the Execution.”

A ninety-year old man arrived at the Blue Moon Detective Agency to hire someone to come and witness his own murder. He told Dave and Maddie that he had set up a man to come and shut off his oxygen and he needed an observer to tell the police that it was a murder.

Dave and Maddie argued over the case, of course. Dave said he understood what the man wanted and Maddie said that the company would not take the case and if David wanted to do this, he was on his own.

When David showed up to tell the man that he had changed his mind, he discovered that the man was already dead. David tried to turn the machines back on, thus making it look as if he had been the person who had killed him.

This led to a tense meeting in the parking garage between David and Maddie where David told her that he was leaving, going underground. They shared an unexpected kiss. making the situation even more awkward.

Maddie was able to figure out the truth of the murder in the best piece of observation that she had ever had during the series.

The scene where David told Maddie about the events of what happened was some of the best acting that we have gotten out of Bruce Willis during the series’ run.

Admittedly, there were a few questions I had about the plot that had to happen in order to set this meeting up, especially why David took off in the first place. He believed that he had accidentally killed the man, but that seemed an odd thought considering the situation. However, everything with the case was really secondary and used as a trigger to get to the kiss. Moonlighting was, once again, the relationship between David and Maddie above everything else.

Spoilers

“Every Daughter’s Father is a Virgin”

We get to meet Maddie’s parents in this episode, but the episode is not the happy reunion on might expect.

Turns out that Maddie’s father, Alexander Hayes, has been having an affair. Maddie’s mother, Virginia, confided in Maddie that she suspected the affair. Maddie was upset and decided that she would follow her father and prove that he was not cheating. However, David talked her out of it by offering to do the job instead.

We had a whole sequence set to “Poppa was a Rolling Stone” by The Temptations where David followed Mr. Hayes around Los Angeles, ending up at a hotel where Hayes had a room where his mistress was.

Finding out the truth, David told Maddie, who immediately wanted to tell her mother. David and Maddie once again engaged in a verbal joust about lying.

In the end, Maddie did not tell her mother, but confronted her father in a rageful manner.

Cybill Shepherd was excellent in this episode. She was given a pretty meaty role in this episode and she excelled at it. Bruce Willis really showed David’s concern for his partner and that he was actually good at following a mark.

Robert Webber and Eva Marie Saint played Maddie’s parents and hit every note pitch perfectly. That is why you cast this quality of actors in these roles.

The tone of this episode was much more serious than many of the Moonlighting episodes, though it was bookended by silliness, kicking off the episode with David and Maddie addressing the audience once again (with David wearing a McMahon headband???). They read letters from viewers all wondering when they were going to kiss.

The end of the episode included a major 4th wall breaking as David spoke directly to the camera.

This was an episode that showed that Moonlighting could go in a different direction than what they had done prior.

Spoilers

“In God We Strongly Suspect”

Another great Moonlighting episode that gives us some solid characterization of our two main leads.

An escape artist/magician dies in an attempt to escape from a container full of water. His wife comes to Dave and Maddie to have them watch the body of her husband until it was time for the cremation. Why? She claimed that her husband said that he would return from the dead and kill his wife.

The body disappears from the casket and the wife winds up dead.

This was a fun plot, and it was helped along with the fact that we learned some intriguing tidbits of Dave and Maddie. Specifically, that Maddie did not believe in God, which horrified David.

If I had guessed, I would have flipped the pair around in their religious beliefs. If you said one of the pair of them was an atheist, I absolutely would have guessed David.

We also discovered that Maddie is not in to celebrating her birthday. So when David and the staff pulled a surprise party for her, Maddie responded in a fairly cold manner.

There was a really charming scene where Maddie went to a magician named Abbie Cadabra to ask him some questions. Abbie was played by Eddie Quillan.

There was a fun beginning tag on the episode where David and Maddie talked to the audience about the episode, claiming that it was supposed to be in 3D, but they did not finish it. Maddie also broke the fourth wall in this episode with a line about “Flying fig”.

Spoilers

“North By North DiPesto”

So here we are.

Moonlighting would do a few of these DiPesto-centric episodes throughout the series, and they were always lowlights of the show. The episodes were fine and Agnus was a beloved member of the cast, but throwing her into these Moonlighting plots never worked. Mainly because we wanted to see David and Maddie in these Moonlighting plots. So while the episodes are fine, they are just not what we want out of this show.

Maddie even made a fourth wall breaking joke at the end of the episode about talking to the writers about bigger roles for next week’s episode. Some of the reasons behind DiPesto episodes were because of Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd’s availability, but this did not seem to be the issue here, as Dave and Maddie were in the episode at the beginning and at the end.

Agnus wound up in some spy craft story with a bunch of spies trying to find hidden plans. It was really an underdeveloped story and needed that extra spice that Dave and Maddie could provide, but weren’t there to do it.

Again, I think the use of DiPesto is fine. I prefer when she is used like she was in “Twas the Episode Before Christmas.” She was a major player in that episode, but it was anchored by Dave and Maddie. These DiPesto episodes get much worse later when they include Curtis Armstrong, who will play office worker Herbert Viola. I’ll talk more about him when he arrives.

Spoilers

“The Bride of Tupperman”

This was always one of my favorite Moonlighting episodes back when the show was on ABC every Tuesday, so I was very excited when it was the next episode on the list to rewatch. I will say that the episode was not quite as epic as I recalled, but I still loved it very much.

The movie “The Bride of Frankenstein” is used a couple of times during the episode, once at the beginning with David and once at the end with Tupperman. It is a great analogy to the story of the episode.

Tupperman came to Dave and Maddie to hire them to find a missing person… a woman that he could marry. Of course, they disagreed on the case. Dave and Maddie compromised and each of them decided to find their own version of a woman for Tupperman.

Like many of the Blue Moon clientele, Tupperman had an ulterior motive in hiring Dave and Maddie. He had already made up a fake wife and was looking for a way to cash in on the life insurance. For that, he needed a body. That was a really cold blooded plan.

The end chase scene in the hospital was funny and really slapstick funny. David keeping Maddie tied in the wheelchair to make the chase fair is a hoot. David also had an awesome fourth wall break when confronting Tupperman in the hospital. David started laying out Tupperman’s plan to him and Maddie asked him when he figured this out. David’s response?: during the commercial. LOL

This is a clever episode with a ton of fun. The connection between David and Maddie continues to grow and their banter/arguing remains top notch.

Spoilers

“Twas the Episode Before Christmas”

‘Tis the season.

This was one of the best Moonlighting episodes of the series. There is so much wonderful stuff here.

First off, the story is such a clever mashup of the story of Jesus. Even David called it an allegory, which it certainly was. David’s disappointment was great when he found out that the baby’s name was Chris and not Jesus.

Secondly, there was a ton of great writing, including a bunch of dialogue from David and Maddie. The Santa Hotline led to some funny moments before the main story got going. We also had a bunch of fourth wall breaking. More on that later.

Next, Richard Belzer as the main villain was sinister and, even with a one-note villain, he was a fantastic presence on the show.

The finale of the episode was silly, but funny and very appropriate for the episode.

They added a tag at the end of the episode that really broke the fourth wall, as the cast, the staff, their families etc. joined together back stage with a version of “The First Noel” with snow falling on the stage. David and Maddie wished us a Merry Christmas at the end.

Spoilers

“Atlas Belched”

I am into a stretch of Moonlighting episodes that are just awesome. This episode guest starred Mark Linn-Baker of Perfect Strangers fame.

Baker played a down-on-his-luck assistant who did not lock away in the safe a rolodex of numbers containing some of the most important phone numbers possible. The office is robbed that very night and the rolodex was gone.

He met David in the bar, also drowning his sorrows. David found out that Maddie was preparing to sell Blue Moon Investigations to Lou LaSalle, detective to the stars. David and Linn-Baker, who played Phil, decided they would find the rolodex.

Bruce Willis and Mark Linn-Baker had some fun chemistry between them and worked well together. The sequence at the dump (to the dump, to the dump, to the dump dump dump dump dump dump dump) was very funny and well-written.

When Maddie sold the company, it did not take her long to realize that she missed it and that Lou LaSalle did not really want Maddie as anything else but a figurehead.

This was a great episode. I also appreciated that the show did not feel as if they need a major twist or a silly chase scene. While I enjoy a silly chase as much as the next guy, breaking the typical Moonlighting formula is good too. It helps to keep the show fresh and unpredictable. This episode continued to show the relationship between David and Maddie as it deepened through the conflict.

Spoilers

“Portrait of Maddie”

One of the best Moonlighting episodes from the first part of season two is Portrait of Maddie. An episode that was expertly written, especially with the dialogue for Bruce Willis.

I know the show always has great dialogue for the character of David Addison, but this episode’s dialogue was especially sharp and witty. I found myself laughing out loud several times at the cleverness of the writing.

The painting was amazing too, by the way.

A painter who had never met Maddi, painted a portrait of her looking into a vanity mirror and then he killed himself. When Maddie was question by the police about this fact, she became obsessed with the painting and about the mysterious painter that appeared to be obsessed with the former model.

I will state that there were some questionable moments with the police in this episode. Maddie kept being able to take the painting home with her despite it clearly being evidence in this case. I can excuse these silly oversights since the detective in the case, played by Dan Lauria of the Wonder Years fame was involved in the case on the villainous side.

The final conflict with Lauria does turn a little sillier than I liked, with a lot of paint involved, but it is minor and does not distract from such a solid episode.

It was funny, because in the opening credits, I saw Paul Rudd listed as a guest star. I did not remember Paul Rudd, aka Ant Man in the MCU, being on Moonlighting. In fact, he was not. It was another Paul Rudd who died in 2010, an actor who had several guest appearances on other TV shows such as Knots Landing, Hart to Hart and Murder, She Wrote.

This episode included a couple of examples of one of the techniques that I loved from this series. It was when the show would break the 4th wall. These examples were beautifully weaved into the dialogue, not causing any real issue with the show. Here David told Maddie to be careful what she says or they will move them to cable. Ha Ha. Love that.

Portrait of Maddie is right near the top of my current list of Moonlighting episodes, just behind “The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice.”

Spoilers

“Somewhere Under the Rainbow”

David and Maddie are babysitting a woman who claims to be a leprechaun.

Kathleen Kilpatrick was a wee little Irish lass with bright red hair. She was being chased by a man who was trying to capture her so he could get her pot of gold. She hired Dave and Maddie to protect her. She was not hiding the fact that she was a leprechaun.

Alexandra Johnson played Kathleen Kilpatrick and she was great. She was charming, charismatic and funny. She fit very well with David and Maddie, holding her own with these two powerful actors.

The case caused conflict with Dave and Maddie, as every case would, but this one was not as much of a conflict as usual. That was because of the bubbly performance of Johnson.

There is a fun sequence with Dave, Maddie and Kathleen being chased through the airport by the man seeking her pot of gold.

The gold turned out to be stolen from a bank years before by three men, including Kathleen’s father. She discovered that he had lied to her about being a leprechaun and that he was a thief.

Kathleen leaves the gold with Dave and Maddie and heads back to Ireland.

This was a fun episode, but it was not the most standout one. Alexandra Johnson did a solid job, but she did not do much more than a handful of guest appearances after this.

In the office scene just before Kathleen arrived and during the time she was talking with Maddie and Davie, the lighting of the scene was really messed up. There were huge shadows in the room coming from Dave and Maddie as well as other objects of the room. There was one time when you could barely see David’s face because Maddie’s shadow was blocking him. It was real noticeable and distracting. There were other moments of the episode that made it feel as if it were shot differently than other episodes of the series and thus made it fell cheaper.

Spoilers

“Knowing Her”

Dana Delaney guest starred on Moonlighting as a former flame of David’s who had left him without a word three years before.

Sadly, this was Moonlighting and when she came back into David’s life, it was not the happy reunion that it seemed.

Jillian (Dana Delaney) came to Blue Moon to hire Maddie to find a necklace that had been stolen from her hotel room. When David came in, they were both surprised to see each other.

Jillian was having marriage problems and it was not too long before David and Jillian were back together. Jillian set up David to be the witness to her shooting her husband. Of course, she made it look like she was being attacked by her husband so that David could testify that it was self-defense.

The episode ended with one of the better chase scenes we have had. Maddie and David chased Jillian in the hearse and the funeral procession followed behind.

There was quite a bit of a tonal shift in the episode from most of the show until that chase scene. I did enjoy the chase scene much more than I enjoyed the first part of the show.

Spoilers

“My Fair David”

“Jack-be-nimble

Jack-be-quick.

Jack go under limbo stick

All around the limbo clock, hey let’s do the Limbo Rock!“

An absolute classic of an episode for Moonlighting as Maddie catches David leading a limbo celebration in the office and makes a bet with him that he can not act like a mature adult for a week. If she wins, David has to fire two of their most expendable employees. If David won the bet, he would make Maddie limbo.

As Miss DiPesto stated, Maddie had ‘de-Dave`d’ him.

Meanwhile there was a case involving a pseudo-kidnapping and a wealthy woman whose step son was kidnapped and she wanted Dave and Maddie to negotiate down the cost of the ransom.

Another great episode that saw Maddie come to an understanding with who her business partner is and how she missed him when he was acting too much like a boss.