hey lets talk about moonlighting! (yes the tv show)

so i watched this as a kid when it was on, and i remember loving it but always figured that it had been filtered through a "hanging out with mom and watching tv" rosy lens, but now that the wonders of dvds and netflix have arrived, ive been rewatching it, and it is awesome. really amazing scriptwriting, a young bruce willis with much of hair just killing it on the lines hes given, ridiculous slapstick (chase scene with four identically dressed veiled ladies is a personal favorite), orson wells cameos (!), episodes in black and white, etc. and this is only the first and second seasons so far.

anyway, am i deluding myself, or does this show still hold up as well as i think it does?

I haven't rewatched it since its original showing but I also remember it being totally fucking awesome and Cybil Sheppard being almost unbearably hot in it. I always loved the writing, thought Bruce Willis totally killed it in every scene (this show is largely the reason why I forgive his musical forays) and Curtis Armstrong and the actress who played Ms Dipesto were fucking on point as well.

Such a great premise, such fantastic cast chemistry, really really really fun entertainment.

OTM

you should netflix it!

i told a bunch of people that i was going to be watching it and they all gave me the gasface, but i think that distant memories make people just think of it as a rom-com, but its so much more than that (and even that is handled WAY better than tv usually does). after watching more of it last night, i started to see this sort of linkage between it and shows like Monk, its just so smart, and considering it came out of the muckpile that is mid 80's TV, its just all the more astonishing.

This was also a "mom and me bond in front of the TV" show for me and, unlike "Dallas", I totally understood why she was so into it.

also the music at times is seriously weird, one episode i swear to god was directly lifting string stings from Hitchcock movies, totally out of place, but perfect because it was a hour long mistaken identity game that was kind of wacky marx brothers noir (although not the black and white episode mentioned above)

haha true talk: people who hate "Moonlighting" are some of the most disgusting savages in the world imo

I wish they'd show this again, instead of that shite with Angela Lansbury and that fucking Dick Van Dyke + son thing that's on ALL the time

... in the UK, I mean, obv.

warning: al jarreau theme song is a brainworm that will stick with you for DAYS

xpost actually i am not sure it ever got syndication in the US either, which seems weird to me.

that just left...on the WAAAAYYYYYYYY

Just looking at the thread title got that song stuck in my head! (thank God too because the previous occupant was MILEY CYRUS and that was not pleasant)

not going to lie, theme song has become overdramatic sing-along time at my house. confuses the hell out of the dog

Loved watching this as a kid. I do remember it sucking towards the end though (when Dave and Mattie started hooking up).

Ah, according to Wikipedia it didn't make it to 100 episodes, ergo no syndication.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I do remember it sucking towards the end though (when Dave and Mattie started hooking up).

Yes, think so

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBehKMvSKjY

This is going to be my top pick when we get round to polling 80s TV shows. I loved it. Was re-run on a cable channel over here a few years back, and I was delighted that it totally held up.

was telling gf about this once in particular the Taming of the Shrew episode and then that same night that same episode was on TV (can't remember which channel tho i didn't even know the show was being repeated). great story!

Would like to see this again but AL JARREAU GET OUT OF MY HEAD, jesus!

i own several seasons of this show...when i first re-watched them it was kind of a let-down because they are super-dated. i am a sucker for the stupid pun/rhymey/agnes dipesto stuff though.

also cybil sheperd's ensembles are amazing, often pairing pastel blue with pastel pink.

I also remember there being a lot of DRAMA on set being discussed in the tabloids.

The shoulderpads! The clutch purses! The enormously wide hair!

The Taming of the Shrew ep was great, yes. Also loved the talking-to-the-camera/cutting-from-story-to-set etc devices, it's done all the time now, but it seemed so innovative to teenage me. And it was done really really well.

was telling gf about this once in particular the Taming of the Shrew episode and then that same night that same episode was on TV (can't remember which channel tho i didn't even know the show was being repeated). great story!

this is the episode that comes back to me every once in a while, just brilliant, especially the end when the two turn to the camera and both yell WE HATE IAMBIC PENTAMETER

so tonight i have done a double feature of the funeral procession chase scene with the slapstick upbeat funeral march music and the leprechaun episode. this show is total fucking genius.

ridiculous slapstick (chase scene with four identically dressed veiled ladies is a personal favorite)

Haha that was one of the first things that leapt to mind when I saw this thread just now. "ANYONE FOR TWISTER?!?"

The Atomic Shakespeare episode was a favorite of my high school senior English class.

o man really want to believe u guys abt this

just wrested my copy of seasons 1&2 from my mum over xmas and been dipping back into this... what a show. the dialogue is so sharp, the performances so fine. i seem to remember it going quite seriously off the rails as the show progressed - i remember watching the taming of the shrew episode with my mum as a kid, and at the end of it she switched it off and said "i shan't be watching that again", but i actually loved and still love that episode.

I need to get this on DVD.

Repeated devices I remember vividly for some reason:

David talks enthusiastically to Maddie, while Maddie talks incredulously to herself.
Maddie throws a tantrum, screams.

man the 80s were really a time for scenes involving chase scenes that take place across separate glass elevators huh

Did any tv show have a theme song even half as good?

Cheers.

Nope

Some sub-Billy Joel stuff

WRONG! but Moonlighting is awesome, obv.

Al jarreau takes you on a journey

Have the theme song on a 45. Remember buying it at K-Mart.

Of note

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/05/an-oral-history-of-moonlightings-atomic-shakespeare

Also of note, something I hadn't thought about at all until they mentioned it:

By the way, if you’re curious about where you can watch, or rewatch, Moonlighting, the series can currently be found…just about nowhere. Incredibly, it’s not on a streaming service, the DVDs are out of print, and it was never released on Blu-ray. When Moonlighting was on the top of the Nielsen ratings, TV series didn’t lock up long-term contracts for the use of songs. Today, it would cost a great deal for Disney, which owns the series, to secure all the necessary music rights. For now, the book will have to suffice, unless your local library has those out of print DVDs—and you kept your DVD player.

Such a fun show!

For now, the book will have to suffice, unless your local library has those out of print DVDs—and you kept your DVD player.

Guess these people have never heard of torrenting.

Just came across my DVDs while clearing out the loft a few weeks back and have been planning a ***rescreen***

Oh hey

Disney and I have put our heads together and come up
with a plan. Big announcement Wednesday!!!#Moonlighting #BruceWillis #CybillShepherd #AllyceBeasley #CurtisArmstrong pic.twitter.com/jd0fa8oUpc

— Glenn Caron (@GlennGCaron) October 3, 2022

PLEASE be reruns and not reboot

please
please
pleaaaaaaaase

some fly by niiiiiiiiiiiiight

Given the hashtags I figure it's them working out a streaming deal, looking at the bit I quoted from the piece last year upthread a few posts.

i just want one nice thing in my life

Well here you go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXsVq305et8

So per his thread today it's happening...but not QUITE ready yet.

CAT'S OUTTA THE BAG

Can't keep it under my hat any longer--the business of getting all 5 seasons of "Moonlighting" starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd ready for streaming has begun! pic.twitter.com/7XVZauGkHF

— Glenn Caron (@GlennGCaron) October 5, 2022

well that’s not even hardly an announcement hmph … but ok i will wait in anticipation

i wonder if that means stripping out some/all of the licensed music

New theme song just random Muzak.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_Bruno_(album)#/media/File%3ABruceWillis_-_ReturnOfBruno.jpg
I got your theme song right here!

Damn,
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_Bruno_(album)#/media/File%3ABruceWillis_-_ReturnOfBruno.jpg

(The godamn Return of Bruno album cover)

I was a little young when this came out. I liked Cheers but I assumed Moonlighting was a soap opera type thing. My family and I are staying at a relative’s place and I just spied the season 1 & 2 DVD set. Will report back on my findings.

you are in for a TREAT sir.

Feel it really gets going in S2? series 1 still feels a bit long seventies, the proper sparkle starts to happen after that

Yeah, I think so. And most of season 3 is good as well, though things start to get weird toward the end.

I'll be glad when this hits Disney+ or whatever because I could not bring myself to buy the s05 DVDs but would like to see that final episode again. I remember being pretty distraught after it as a kid, even though many of the episodes that preceded it were terrible.

IIRC it goes off the boil when it flips from case of the week stories to Maddy-David soap opera stories. But I was nine years old at the time and doubtless thought kissing stuff was bleahh so maybe those episodes are better than I remember. I had a vivid memory of an episode where David’s in jail being served terrible prison food. And then a musical number?

I bet this has (retrospectively) awesome guest stars - I remember Orson Welles of course.

I think they handled the Maddie/David romance arc very badly; it's rushed and David treats Maddie like shit for most of it. But one of my favorite episodes is "Big Man on Mulberry Street" which is sort of soap-opera-ish. It's also the one with the six-minute Broadway-style dance number, if that's what you're thinking of.

I think it was that episode that made me buy the Blowy Hole album with “big man,” one of the first music purchases of my life
When does the series drop on Disney?

It might not even happen -- read Caron's tweet upthread, he's just saying he's trying to figure something out with them.

The parody "Riptide" did of Moonlighting after getting their ass beat in the ratings was kinda funny.

Man, Riptide, there's a memory. Like Magnum PI meets Airwolf in Florida?

Kinda funny: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeXMTwyl8IY

Like Magnum PI meets Airwolf in Florida?

More like, "What if there was a show like 'Simon & Simon' except one of the Simons wasn't an asshole?"

I get Riptide mixed up with Airwolf and Blue Thunder

Ok, that's you and Ned now. Was there even a helicopter in Riptide?

I never watched it. I was watching "Moonlighting".

If there wasn’t there should have been

when does the helicopter drop on Disney?

Getting closer...

As for “Moonlighting,” to Caron’s great relief, the Walt Disney Co., which owns the rights to the series, is finally preparing to launch the show onto streaming soon, though the details are still being ironed out. “I don’t know where we will end up, but with any luck we’ll see it before the end of the year somewhere,” Caron says.

:D :D :D

oh yeah

One of the turtles cracks a Moonlighting joke in the first TMNT movie. Somewhat recent ref for them, they usually stick to their 90's teen touchstones of James Cagney impersonations.

It's on!

https://www.vulture.com/2023/09/moonlighting-bruce-willis-hulu-release-date.html

Urgent and key:

In addition to remastering the show from film to HD video, Caron and Disney needed to go through the arduous process of securing the digital rights to the many pop music songs used in the show, as well as to the late Al Jarreau’s Grammy-nominated theme song, which was released as single in 1987 and cracked Billboard’s top 30 pop chart. That delay was worth it. Both the theme and most of the other songs originally used on the show have been cleared for streaming, a Hulu source tells Vulture.

yaaaay

"Shum walk by niiiiiiiiiight.....shummmmmm fly by daaaaaaaaaay"

I love the intersection of music and TV in the 80s. Thinking of this show and Miami Vice. What other examples are there?

Crime Story
China Beach
Wonder Years

^^ Of course, those were all period pieces with Oldies/Classic Rock-heavy soundtracks.

Today's the day! Streaming now!

dying to watch/rewatch but will be a bit longer for Disney+ presumably

omg its back and i’m so happy u guys

Cool, but not sure i can afford another stream service. I will continue to watch Moonlighting on yt with the weird voice distortions

watched the first 2 episodes tonight, pretty sure i saw them both at least back in the day if not on first run (show was notorious for showing repeats because the production schedule was fucked). Sad to see Bruce in such a verbal role when he is in his present state, feel he should have leaned more into the verbose shit-talking fool aspect of his persona vs badass gun bro but hindsight 20/20 blah blah blah.
love the whole 80s aesthetic and i'm a dude who lived thru it at the time and mostly hated it but age has softened my takes and there is a lot to love, even Maddie's hair and shoulder pads

they’re both so great from moment 1 - there’s no adjustment period while they find their roles etc

feel he should have leaned more into the verbose shit-talking fool aspect of his persona

he tried with Hudson Hawk but the world was too stupid to appreciate it

I blame it on Sixth Sense rather than Die Hard – after SS there’s too much focus on dour naturalism (although he’s good at that too!)

Can’t wait for this to come to the UK though - the family watched it every week but all I can remember are separate images, like Addison being pied in the face at the end of an episode, or lining up for food in prison, or Herbert peeking over a desk - seems like the show ended on a lot of iconic freeze frames

ep2 favorite line:

Addison: “hey! do bears bear? do bees bee?”

the line has lived rent free in my etc etc for decades now

moonlighting worked essentially because they got willis to play a horny bugs bunny

The '80s are back, babe...

https://deadline.com/2023/10/l-a-law-refreshed-coming-hulu-early-november-1235572361/

Yes just came to post this! I have vague memories of this show from when it aired and my parents watching it but I was into it.

i can say from recent experience that LA Law is goodish to great for 5 seasons until Hamlin Smits & Dey leave & then it is a slow excruciating slide into darkness, truly garbage hours — final season is baaaaaaaad juju

**actually upon further reflection iirc think the the drop becomes noticeable when Bochco leaves after s3 — s4 & 5 have some great episodes but boy do they get into some real tonally unhinged David E Kelley hours

wow the hitman's speech at the end of S1 E2

I like how it's all normal camera and then cut to Cybil Shepherd with the Disney Princess filter

Finally watched the nearly 90 minute long pilot of this during a flight and really enjoyed it - have to confess the bin dropping perfectly on Agnes's head made me chuckle loudly perhaps to the bemusement of nearby passengers.

It's STILL not on Disney+ in the UK tho come on you clowns

^ and still not, but weirdly it IS now streaming on STV Player which is UK-wide and free with ads

i rewatched half of season two on a little out-of-town break recently and it was a delight - could watch Cybil billow around in pale pink on pale blue silk dressing gown business suits or whatever they are… anyway i could watch her do that forever