‘Moonlighting’: Top 7 episodes streaming on Hulu

“Moonlighting” was more than a watercooler show. It was an obsession. Episodes were taped and rewatched. And for good reason. There had never been a anything on the small screen like the 1985-89 ABC romantic screwball comedy detective series. The rapid-fire dialogue recalled such Howard Hawks’ classics as 1938’s ‘Bringing Up Baby” and 1940’ “His Girl Friday.” Fourth walls were broken. There was a black-and-white episode and even and wild and crazy take on William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.” That was just the tip of the innovations.

Creator and executive producer Glenn Gordon Caron told me in a 2000 L.A. Times interview that ABC didn’t give him total freedom when it came to the episodes: “The truth is no one let me do everything. I just did it. Ignorance is bliss. There were rules and I chose not to listen to anybody. At a certain point, the network said- ‘This is working. We’ll let you alone.’’’

“Moonlighting” revolves around Maddie Hayes (Cybill Shepherd), a former model and the face of Blue Moon shampoo ads, who discovers that her business management team have absconded with her fortune. She’s left with money losing businesses including a private detective agency lead by the smart-ass, wise-cracking David Addison (Bruce Willis), who would rather limbo with the staff than crack a case. Instead of shuttering the business, the overly coiffed, rather humorless Maddie joins the agency.

The series made a star out of Willis who literally channeled Addison. He was charming, cute and a bit sexist — a far cry from the leading men of “Dallas” or ‘Dynasty.” Caron noted that ABC didn’t want him. But he kept bringing Willis back in “We looked at 3,000 men. At one point, ABC was going to pay us all off …because they were convinced the part wasn’t cast-able. You have to put it in historical perspective. This was 1984 and ABC was very much about Aaron Spelling shows. The leading men were all kind of chiseled and obviously attractive. I think they looked at Bruce and said ‘What?’ He didn’t fit the mold at all. Of course, I wasn’t trying to do a show that fit the mold. Finally, a female ABC executive stood up and said ‘I don’t know if he is a TV star or a leading man, but he sure looks like…’ She used a bad word, but she made it clear she found him attractive, and, on that basis, they said, ‘You can go ahead but don’t let them get romantically involved in the pilot.’ So, because I am a bad person, I said, ‘No problem,’ but we got the romantically involved in the pilot and the rest is history.”

“Moonlighting’ has been unavailable for over two decades, but thankfully most of the music rights issues have been solved, and on Oct. 9, Hulu dropped all the episodes of the series. But watching “Moonlighting,” which received 41 Emmy nominations, winning six including for Willis, is bittersweet. For the show’s fans, it’s akin to visiting an old friend. But one can’t feel incredibly sad about Willis who was diagnosed this year with frontotemporal dementia which affects behavior, language and communication.

Caron, who frequently visits the actor, recently said that he is uncommunicative. “My sense is the first one to three minutes he knows who I am,” Caron related “He’s not totally verbal; he used to be a voracious reader — he didn’t want anyone to know that — and he’s not reading now. All those language skills are no longer available to him, and yet he’s still Bruce. When you’re with him, you know that he’s Bruce and you’re grateful that he’s there, but the joie de vivre is gone.”

So, what episodes should you check out first? There are numerous to choose from over the first three seasons. The series began to unravel in the fourth season when Shepherd was pregnant with twins and Willis was shooting “Die Hard” but here are seven that drew people to the watercooler.

“The Pilot”
Caron won the WGA for the entertaining first episode; Robert Butler earned an Emmy nomination for his direction.

“The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice”
Orson Welles died on Oct. 10, 1985, at the age of 70. Shortly before, his death he filmed the brief introduction to this acclaimed James M. Cain-esque black-and-white episode about an unsolved murder case from the 1940s. The episode aired just five days after Welles’ death. The episode was nominated for eight Emmys and won for editing. Debra and Carl Sautter tied for the WGA award

“My Fair David”
Maddie “De-Daves” Dave. After she catches Dave leading the staff in some “Limbo Rock,” she makes a bet with him , if he acts like an adult, she will keep the agency’s staff. If not, she will make him fire the staff. Barbara Bain guests as the icy cold stepmother of a pianist who is a total screwup. Will MacKenzie received the DGA Award for his direction.

“Knowing Her”
Dave wears his heart on his sleeve in this episode in which a former flame (a pre-“China Beach” Dana Delany) re-enters his life. She insists her wealthy husband is a demon who is trying to kill her. Is she telling the truth? Of course not.

“Every Daughter’s Father is a Virgin”
This Humanitas Prize-winning installment introduces Maddie’s parents (a perfectly cast Eva Marie Saint and Robert Webber. But all is not well with their marriage as Maddie learns her beloved father maybe having an affair.)

“Big Man on Mulberry Street”
Willis gets a chance to show his dramatic side and he even attempt to go Fosse, Fosse, Fosse in this famed installment in which Dave goes back east to attend the funeral of his ex-brother-in-law. Intrigued about his ex-wife, Maddie follows him. And she has another fabulous dream, a lengthy wordless musical number directed by Stanley Donen set to an extended version of Billy Joel’s 1986 tune. Sandahl Bergman guests as Dave’s wife in the dance sequence. The episode was Emmy nominated for best choreography.

“Atomic Shakespeare”
Dave and Maddie get their iambic pentameter on in one of the best, if not the best, episode of the series, a spoof of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.” The highlight: Dave as Petruchio singing and dancing to The Rascal’s 1986 hit “Good Lovin’.” The episode was nominated for eight Emmys including for directing and writing winning for editing, costume design and hairstyling. Will MacKenzie also won his second DGA honor for his directing.

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