Television. One DVD at a Time.

"And yes, I am looking up your dress." - Bruce Willis as David Addison

Moonlighting: The Pilot DVD Review

By Jonathan Boudreaux

On March 3, 1985, ABC debuted a comedic detective series starring a model turned actress and a former bartender. The show, Moonlighting, was unlike anything else on TV, and it almost immediately struck a chord with the public. A detective show in which the cases often took a backseat to wacky humor, it had style and verve to spare but never took itself too seriously.

Cybill Shepherd plays Maddie Hayes, a former model and Blue Moon Shampoo girl who finds herself penniless when her accountant absconds with her money. In an effort to raise funds, she turns to the one set of assets remaining, dubious as they may be - a number of money-losing businesses that were set up as tax shelters. Charged with closing the businesses and liquidating them, Maddie visits each one, starting with the low-rent City of Angels detective agency. There she meets wiseacre agency head David Addison, played with a not-yet-stale smirk by Bruce Willis, and Ms. Dipesto (Allyce Beasley), the agency's muddled receptionist who insists on answering each phone call in rhyme.

Addison tries to convince Maddie that the agency should remain open. After all, he reasons, the agency did a great job of losing money when that was its mandate, and now it can do just as well at making money. Maddie does not have the money or the inclination to keep the business afloat, but when a murder mystery is almost literally thrust in her lap, she reluctantly agrees to let the agency solve this one last case.

As the newly renamed Blue Moon Investigations, the two slowly unravel the secret of a broken wristwatch given to Maddie by the murder victim. In the process, they try to stay at least one step ahead of a ruthless business man (terrifically creepy Dennis Lipscomb) and a mysterious German (Robert Ellenstein) who are also after the mysterious watch.

As David and Maddie, Willis and Shepherd have terrific chemistry. Together in practically every scene, they help to bring a sense of fun and joy to the pilot. Her cool, luminous beauty and his goofy bravado are an excellent combination. The actors reportedly hated each other off-screen, thus lending credence to the theory that onscreen chemistry is often in direct opposition to off-screen chemistry.

Only the pilot episode is included on this DVD. The DVD, imprinted with a picture of Willis and Shepherd, is housed in a keepcase. A full color booklet contains numerous production stills from the series, a cast and abbreviated crew list for the pilot, bios and acting credits on Willis and Shepherd, acting credits on Allyce Beasley, and a list of the sixteen chapter selections.

The pilot episode begins immediately upon loading the DVD, so the menu and special features are accessed by hitting the menu button. The menu looks relatively chintzy. The background features a large moon behind a city skyline along with a sax solo version of the theme song. Unfortunately, the moon looks like it would be better suited on a DVD of The Honeymooners. From the menu, viewers can choose to view chapter selections, the extras menu, or to simply play the pilot.

Video and Audio

Some minor bits of dirt or other blemishes can occasionally be seen, but this is not too distracting.

The audio is unobjectionable, but nothing special.

Extras

Bruce Willis and creator Glenn Gordon Caron team up to provide this DVD's audio commentary. Their comments are unremarkable, often simply telling us exactly what we are seeing onscreen. Additionally, their already meager comments totally peter out before the pilot's halfway point.

Also included are David Addison screen tests by Bruce Willis and Harley Venton, the actor that the network wanted to play the role. Cybill Shepherd, already cast by this point, was unavailable during the screen test process, so another actress fills in for her. The tests can be viewed with commentary or without. Although it is interesting to see the differences in the actors' approaches to the role, the tests are lengthy and are only good for one viewing. The commentary during the screen test, however, is more focused and informative than the commentary on the pilot itself. Apparently additional tests were made with Shepherd and Willis, but these tests are not included.

Summary

This pilot was probably the best episode of Moonlighting's first season. Even with its dated '80s fashions, this movie holds up today, both as part of the series and on its own. The writing is crisp, and the performers are at the top of their game. It sets a high standard that most shows cannot reach even several years into their run.

No series has ever fallen so far so fast. At its best, Moonlighting presented the most creative and entertaining hours of episodic programming ever on television. Its low points, however, took TV to new depths. Be sure to catch this episode - a shining example of the show at its best.

7/1/03