Moonlighting: Seasons 1 & 2 DVD Review:

Two of the most important elements in any television show are the writing and the acting. Eighties detective comedy/mystery show Moonlighting had the best of both. Winning six Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards during its run on ABC from 1985 to 1989, Moonlighting catapulted the careers of Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd. It also became one of the most popular, post-modern, and innovative shows of its time. Although many elements of the show are predictable and very much dated, the show still stands the test of time thanks to two things; the writing and the acting.

Shepherd stars as Maddie Hayes, a rich and comfortable former fashion model who wakes one morning to find that her accountant has stolen all of her money. In a way to try and recover her money, Maddie begins to sell all of her non-liquid assets, including a small detective agency. A fast talking private detective, David Addison (Willis), convinces her to keep the agency open and try and make money for a change. So begins Blue Moon Detective Agency, where every episode they solve untraditional cases in hopes of making just enough money to survive another month. Along the way Addison and Hayes realize how little they have in common, how much they argue, and how undeniable their chemistry is.

The entire show rests upon the relationship between Hayes and Addison, which was the reason viewers kept tuning in each week. With Maddie’s conservative views and David’s ability to respond to anything with quick wit and utter silliness, it seems as if the two will never get along, and yet they keep coming back to each other in a way that insures some hope of a relationship arising from their conflicts.

After many years of action films, the joke was that Willis could do nothing else, and yet he is absolutely hilarious as Addison, with comic timing that still stands as one of the best in television history. Willis commits himself to the role, never afraid to make a fool of himself, slowly bringing Shepherd down the same path. By the end of the second season the two of them play off of each other so expertly that you would think they had grown up together.

One of the unique elements of the show is the way the characters often make reference to the fact that it is a television show, within the episode as well as before the episodes in segments where they talk directly to the audience. It is a groundbreaking style of humor in post-modern television, and something which has been copied many times over since. It is just another one of the things that made Moonlighting such a great show, and now such a historic piece of television history.

The DVD has been treated with all of the respect that a show of this caliber deserves. Beginning with great packaging that uses the disc art to show through the see through cover, making for a well put together package for the six discs. The inside of the discs has been given the same treatment, with a great deal of special features. There is a two part, hour long, behind the scenes look at the series, a look at the phenomenon that made the show popular, as well as select audio commentary by the show’s creators and the actors.

Where the discs fall slightly short is in the transfer to DVD. Although many scenes are sharp and clear, there are others which look strange. Whether it was just an odd filter choice when they made the show or a bad transfer, the image quality is one of the poorer elements in this package.

Although the show has definite eighties qualities in the music and the costumes, the humor is priceless and a wonder to be owned. Moonlighting remains a great show as well as a momentous one in the history of television and in the lives of these two talented actors.



Ryan Izay