Starring Cybill Sheppard, Bruce Willis, Allyce Beasely, Robert Ellenstein, Jim Mackrell, James Karen, Rebecca Stanely, Dennis Lipscomb
Written By:
Directed By:
Studio: Lion’s Gate
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Ah the 80’s what a great time for television. Released just in time for the 20th anniversary, Moonlighting ran for a total of 5 Seasons on ABC from 1985 to 1989! Can it really be 20 years? Am I that old??

I have to admit, I used to watch Moonlighting on a regular basis, however, not until Season 3. It was something to do while babysitting!

The premise of the show involved Maddie Hayes (played by Cybill Sheppard) who was an ex-model that found out that her account had swindled her out of her fortune. After meeting with her attorney, she found out that she did have a few businesses in her name. It was recommended that she close them all and liquidate what she could in order to start fresh. One business was a detective agency called City of Angels run by a street-smart, cute but obnoxious guy named David Addison (played by Bruce Willis). I had forgotten how cute he was back in the day! I also enjoyed watching the fashions. I do miss shoulder pads and pastels!

In the pilot, Maddie meets David and tells him she is shutting down the agency. Desperate to be out of work, he follows Maddie on one of her dates to convince her to keep it going for just a while longer. While with her, they stumble upon a crime regarding a dead man with a Mohawk (played by Dennis Smith otherwise known as Rizzo’s prom date in Grease!) and a broken watch. David convinces Maddie that this is the big break they need to save the agency. Needless to say through some bumbling and joking and mad-cap antics, they solve the case and decide to keep things going. However, the rename the agency Blue Moon Detective Agency as homage to Maddie’s modeling years with Blue Moon Shampoo.

The sexual tension between the two main characters was one of the reasons fans turned in every week. Would they or wouldn’t they? You truly did believe that they had feelings for each other. You wanted them to fall in love and live happily ever after solving mysteries together. As we know that does happen later on in the series. It’s hard to believe that after a few seasons Cybill Sheppard and Bruce Willis were at each other’s throats off screen. In fact during the extras on the DVD, they are not even on the same set.

There were only six episodes scheduled for the first season, including the two-part pilot. It had been listed as a mid-season pick up. Some notable characters from Season 1 and Season 2 are: Agnes DiPesto (played by Allyce Beasley) the rhyming secretary, Tim Robbins (“Gunfight at the So-So Corral”), Beasley’s real-life husband Vincent Schiavelli (“Next Stop Murder”), Dana Delany (“Knowing Her”), Richard Belzer (“Twas the Episode Before Christmas”), and Whoopi Goldberg (“Camille”).

Surely the most notable guest was surely Orson Welles, who introduces the black and white noir spoof “The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice.” (one of my favorite episodes comic genius at it’s best). A total spoof of the 1940’s boy-girl mystery stories.

This six-disk collection comes in a hinge-book format–cardboard covers with die-cut cello window, and three hard plastic pages. Each page secures two disks, one to a side, and each disk is imprinted with a blue moon, most with an actor’s profile faded into the artwork. The back page pocket holds a two-page foldout of the episode guide.

I also enjoyed watching the original TV Promo’s that were created for the show. The video quality on them, however, was not the greatest. I also had a hard time watching the episodes with the commentary. I really enjoyed hearing what they thought, but it would have been easier to watch and follow if they did it in a “pop up format”. I had to watch those episodes twice so I could review them.

Features:
Not Just a Day Job, The Story of Moonlighting Part I
Inside the Blue Moon Detective Agency, The Story of Moonlighting Part II
The Moonlighting Phenomenon
Select Episode Commentary

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Stereo CC

Video:
Standard 1.33:1 Color

Subtitles:

Favorite Scenes: Episode 9: The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice
Episode 15: Twas the Episode Before Christmas
Rating: NR
Running Time: 1200 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: