Spoilers

“The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice”

Boy, what a great morning. Not only did I see a brilliant X-Files episode, then one of the most classic Moonlighting episodes ever, “The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice.”

Kicked off by a cold open from Orson Welles, this show was just so original and so wonderfully done. The story was told through two dream sequences, one by Maddie and one by David where they each give their perspectives on the Flamingo Cove murder, a case from years before where a trumpet player and a singer killed her husband.

Both dream sequences are recorded in black and white. The first one was more dramatic, telling the story on how the singer, played by Cybill Shepherd, had fallen into an affair with the trumpet player, played by Bruce Willis. manipulated him into killing the husband.

The second dream sequence was more comedic, from Bruce’s POV. This was a noir section, with Bruce doing the voice over. This time, the singer manipulated the trumpet player to kill her husband and lets him take the blame.

There have been a handful of episodes of Moonlighting that have exceeded the rest of the wonderful episodes. “The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice” is the first of those extra special Moonlighting episodes that made this series the classic that it is. Beautifully shot, amazingly acted, smart, clever writing that pops off the page, this episode is one of the best of the series.

Of course, David and Maddie had different opinions on the case, with Maddie taking the side of the singer and David taking the side of the trumpet player. Their argument began and ended the episode, with the black and white sequences in the middle. As always, the fights between David and Maddie were expertly written.

This is easily one of the best episodes of the series and, some have listed it as one of the best episodes of TV ever.

Spoilers

“Money Talks…Maddie Walks”

Maddie talks to a suicidal man off the ledge, a man that she knew. man who lost all of his money to the same accountant that stole all of Maddie’s money.

And he knew where the accountant was.

Buenos Aires. He had taken the money that he had stolen and opened a casino.

That information drove Maddie mad. She could not accept the fact. Despite David trying to talk her out of it, Maddie bought an airplane ticket for Argentina and went to confront the thief.

David followed her down and they ended up in a poker game with the thief.

This is a solid episode with a lot of development for characters and the relationship between David and Maddie. This episode broke with the format of the show as there was no actual case for the detectives to investigate.

This was one of the better acted episodes of the series so far.

Spoilers

“The Lady in the Iron Mask”

Another classic episode of Moonlighting. It has all the trappings of the iconic show, a case that doesn’t seem to be as it looks, Dave and Maddie disagreeing on whether they should take the case, a fight between them, and a weird third act chase scene.

And everyone looks better in a dress than David.

Cleverly written, the show follows David and Maddie as they appear to be manipulated by their client, though, in the end, they kind of stumble into the answer.

The chase scene at the end of the episode with the Lone Ranger theme playing and the four characters all dressed in a black dress and veil is visually funny on several levels. The end sequence when the four of them are in a line down the hallway being pursued and doing the pursuing is a wonderful shot. As is the final shot of the four of them sliding in the soap on the floor.

The added in one of the fights with David and Maddie when Maddie says things that she doesn’t mean and, as Ms. DiPesto said, ‘are you and Mom fighting?’ It is so clear that these two characters have unbelievable chemistry that when they interact in whatever manner they do, it is fire.

Spoilers

“Brother Can You Spare a Blonde”

The second season of Moonlighting kicked off with David and Maddie sitting on her desk and addressing the viewers. This was a technique they used several times over the years. Breaking the fourth wall was a common occurrence on Moonlighting, and their joke was that the episode was too short so they needed to fill time. That actually may not have been just a joke, knowing how some of the backstage issues caused problems for this show.

This episode was the first of the family members to be introduced of our two lead stars. In this case, Charles Rocket guest starred as a David’s huckster brother Richard, who had found a briefcase full of $100,000 and came to run David’s nose in it.

Of course, more than that happened as the actual owners of the money came looking for Richard and found David instead.

The jealousy between David and Richard was clear and when Richard took a shining to Maddie, well, it made David all the more crazed.

The story of the money is way down the importance of this episode. The story itself was underdeveloped. The most important part was how David and Richard’s relationship was and how that affected David’s relationship with Maddie.

This was never my most favorite episode of the series and I was never much of a fan of Richard Addison.

Spoilers

“The Murder’s in the Mail”

I was not remembering this episode at first… and then I realized that this was the episode with the following, absolutely brilliant dialogue:

David: We’re looking for a man with a mole on his nose.

Maitre’D: Mole on his nose?

Maddie: A mole on his nose!

Maitre’D: What kind of clothes?

Maddie: (to David) What kind of clothes…?

David: (to Maitre’D) What kind of clothes do you suppose?

Maitre’D: What kind of clothes do I suppose would be worn by a man with a mole on his nose? Who knows?

David: Did I happen to mention, did I bother to disclose, this man that we’re seeking with a mole on his nose?

I’m not sure of his clothes or anything else except he’s Chinese, a big clue by itself.

Maddie: How do you do that?

David: You got to read a lot of Dr. Seuss.

Maitre’D: I’m sorry to say, I’m sad to report, I haven’t seen anyone at all of that sort.

Not a man who’s Chinese with a mole on his nose with some kind of clothes that you can’t suppose.

SO…get away from this door and get out of this place

Or I’ll have to hurt you…put my foot in your face.

David: Oh..!

Maddie: Time to go!

David: Time to go! *hasty exit*

This whole Dr. Seuss bit was so fantastic that it is one of the most iconic scene of the show. I’ve seen some bloopers of this scene that were hilarious as well.

This episode included a car chase scene with Maddie behind the wheel while David tried to give her instructions on where to turn and what to do. This was very funny and worked well.

The story was messy as always. Once again, the story is always the secondary aspect of Moonlighting, although this plot was a bit more involved than some of David and Maddie’s cases. And this was another example of David and Maddie stumbling into a case without a client. It happens quite a few times.

This was the final episode of season one of Moonlighting, which was a midseason series. It was a solid one ending with a food fight and including a Bruce Willis Three Stooges sound effect.

Spoilers

“Next Stop Murder”

This is one of the best episodes of Moonlighting. They brought Agnes DiPesto to the forefront as she winds up winning a space on a murder train. David and Maddie wind up getting stuck on the train too. The Murder Train was meant to be the staged murder, but it turns into a real one. This is another well-known trope in mystery stories but it is around so much because it works.

Miss DiPesto gets a love interest in the shape of actor Vincent Schiavelli. He is quirky and interesting looking and he made a great pair with Agnes. The actor was actually married to Allyce Beasley, who played Miss DiPesto, for a few years.

This actually gives David and Maddie a chance to actually solve the case, well…David in sense. I liked that we got to see that David and Maddie are not always jokes when it comes to their detective careers. They stood out here among a group of wannabe detectives.

As with every train centric episode, they had to climb up to the roof of the train to do battle. They did it in a very Dave/Maddie way that made this a funny exception.

I liked how this episode showed how much Miss DiPesto meant to both Maddie and David and how the eccentric character made such a tight connection with them.

This was a ton of fun and one of my personal favorites in the first season.

Spoilers

“The Next Murder You Hear”

Boink! Boink! Boink!

Another key moment for David and Maddie… when David used the term ‘boink’ and said that Maddie was repressed or suppressed or on of those S-words. Their outstanding banter made this series what is was.

David and Maddie get involved in a sensational case of the murder of a romance/love spurned talk show DJ that happened live on the air. No clients, but Addison believed solving this case would be a boom for business.

Maddie didn’t want to take the case and David wanted to, which was a reoccurring theme on the show. However, when Maddie started listening to the tapes of his show, she changed her tune.

This episode looked at David’s developing feeling for Maddie and he goes on a binger, talking to anyone who would listen (or wouldn’t) .

The episode ends with the typical all-out Moonlighting fight scene with David and the killer struggling on a neon light sign.

A great episode that looks at the characters more and a story that is less convoluted than normal.

Spoilers

“Read the Mind…See the Movie”

Dave and Maddie investigate a psychic who they believe are selling secrets of a company that they have a security contract with to another businessman.

The story is, once again, very convoluted in the best possible Moonlighting way. As with all of the best Moonlighting episodes, the case is just an excuse to have interactions between the main leads. In this episodes, David and Maddie end up in their underwear on the roof of the psychic’s house and have to jump off into a pool of water to escape. It is an iconic scene that was replayed multiple times over the years with this episode.

As always, even though David appeared to be a blowhard, he has a sweetness, a caring for Maddie. Of course he hides his feelings behind bluster… hence the hook of the show.

There was quite a bit of action in this episode and you could really see the stuntmen that replaced Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis. It was TV in the 1980s, I mean.

Spoilers

“Gunfight at the So-So Corral”

The first regular length episode of the EYG Hall of Fame series Moonlighting was entitled “Gunfight at the So-So Corral” which was a typical pun that the show used as titles.

It also started the trope of the show where the cases that wind up with Dave and Maddie are not what they seem. This episode was not about a kind little old man who was searching for his estranged son, but instead one contract killer looking for another. Most of the Moonlighting cases had a twist to them.

This episode had some major iconic moments, including the “Do Wah Diddy” scene that David was trying to get Maddie ready to go inside a dive bar with the worst people. That moment that she walks into the bar and David immediately realizes that she has more than enough attitude was one of the best of the episode.

We establish more of the banter between David and Maddie as they find themselves disagreeing about just about everything and yet you can tell how much they are starting to need each other through the little moments such as David offering to wait in the car for Maddie to tell their client that his “son” was a contract killer. Of course, she did not tell him and it lead to another argument between the pair of them.

Of course, we knew already that the little old man had a background as we saw him defend himself against Tim Robbins in a hospital… in a bad ass way too as the man pulled along his IV as he fought off the killer.

In the end it was a great episode with some real emotion to it and it showed us more of the budding relationship with David and Maddie. Great start to Moonlighting on Hulu!

Some of the best news of the year popped up the other day.

Moonlighting is coming to the streaming service Hulu on October 10.

Wooo-Hooooo!

I loved Moonlighting back in the late 80s and anxiously waited every Tuesday night (although admittedly, not every Tuesday night as the show had a reputation of missing deadlines) for the romantic comedy/detective show featuring David Addison and Maddie Hayes.

The banter, the arguing, the slapstick, the slamming doors… it has everything.

It had an episode written in total iambic pentameter.

It had a nine-minute Billy Joel song with a dance routine.

It had a double dream sequence episode in black and white.

And I will be looking to rewatch all 67 episodes once it arrives on Oct. 10.

Moonlighting, which was my personal Wild Card inductee into the EYG Hall of Fame in 2023, was an awesome classic that help boost EYG Hall of Famer Bruce Willis into prominence while bringing Cybill Shepherd back to the forefront of the entertainment industry.

I can’t wait to add Moonlighting to the watch list.