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Post by diane on Aug 30, 2011 21:37:44 GMT -5
In an effort, to get us all to know each other better, I am starting this thread.
Please let the newer members comment first....and then older members, please add your own opinions.
Let's refrain from commenting on each other's opinions for a bit, and see what we learn about each other.
Hope this will be a good experience.
So tell us....what do YOU like about Moonlighting?
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Post by iluvdavid on Aug 30, 2011 21:50:28 GMT -5
Hi! My name is Susan and I have been a Moonlighting fan for over 25 years. I love so many things about Moonlighting. Where should I begin...I suppose I should begin with Bruce! I love Bruce's portrayal of David Addison. I think it is hard for me even 25 years later to see Bruce without thinking..where's Maddie? I love the chemistry between David and Maddie. In all the TV shows I have watched in my life, I have never seen a couple whose chemistry sizzled like David and Maddie. I love the intonation of David's voice. I love the way Maddie looks at him. I adore the way he looks at her. I love the bantering, the innuendos and the sexual tension. I love the way some episodes make me laugh out loud..even after I have seen them numerous times! The fast-paced dialogue and interaction between the characters is A+. I even love Agnes Depesto! I can go on and on and on ...but I won't. I will just conclude with this...what's not to like??
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Post by bluemaddison on Aug 30, 2011 23:44:54 GMT -5
What I love about Moonlighting? Let me count the ways. I love the chemistry between Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd / David Addison and Madolyn Hayes. They ooze sex appeal. I love the bantering, sexual tension between David and Maddie. I love how they both eye up each other. I love it when they kiss. I love the wacky cases they have. I love Agnes de Pesto when she rhymes. I love the use of Motown songs. And lastly, I just love the 80's.
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treasmus
1st Level
Maddie Hayes
Posts: 41
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Post by treasmus on Aug 31, 2011 10:21:24 GMT -5
I'm a movie buff first and foremost and of course I like the fact that "Moonlighting" has a cinematic sensibility. Every episode looks like a little movie. I had been a fan of Old Hollywood long before I first watched "Moonlighting" and the show immediately made me think of the '30s and '40s screwball comedies (eg. "It Happened One Night", but also "To Be or Not to Be" with Carole Lombard), especially the fast-paced interactions between Maddie and David. They reminded me of Nick and Nora from the "Thin Man" series, Hildie and Walter from "His Girl Friday", and of the many newspaper movies of the '30s. I liked it that the woman and the man were equals and that they played off eachother. Being a huge fan of film noir and, in literature, of the hardboiled detective fiction of James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, and Dashiell Hammett, I loved the show's tribute to noir in "Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice" and thought Cybill looked like the perfect femme fatale. "Notorious", "Double Indemnity", "Laura", "Mildred Pierce" and "Gilda" are among my favourite noirs and they also happen to be among Cybill's favourite films. Not being a huge fan of the '80s (I'm more of a '40s and '70s kinda gal), I also loved the fact that as much as it's definitely an '80s show (Cybill's perm in the later seasons, the hair, the fashion), it does not really give off an '80s vibe. It's a detective/romance show so it rather makes you think of the '40s, when noir and women's movies were the two most prominent genres. Plus, the music on the show is mostly Motown so it definitely doesn't make one think of the '80, which is a big plus for me as I'm not especially fond of '80s music. I am a fan of post-punk (so that's mostly 1978-1982) and alternative rock, but that's as far as I go when it comes to '80s music. I also liked the fact that, being a detective/romance show, and thus being a backward-looking show rather than a contemporary show, "Moonlighting" doesn't overwhelm the viewer with topical references. It holds up because it's light on topical references. Topical shows age a lot faster than non-topical shows. Just look at "Murphy Brown." It was the hip show at the end of the '80s, but it's almost unwatchable now because of all the now-obscure references to then-contemporary politics, show business figures, cultural events, etc. As for the fourth wall breakers and the show's self-referentiality, I had seen the "Road to..." series before I watched the show, and I've always been into literary theory (in postmodernism, self-referentiality is as common as clouds in the sky), so they weren't a novelty for me. By that time I was actually getting a little tired of postmodernism, intertextuality, self-referentiality, differance, and the like. But, all in all, the fourth wall breakers don't bother me. They serve their purpose in the show.
As you can probably notice, I barely paid any attention to David. To me, he seemed like an updated version of the private-eye (except on cocaine). David got on my nerves from the start. At first, their banter was refreshing, but it eventually became bothersome. I actually had that kind of non-relationship (we weren't a couple) with my best male friend in college where we were pretty much like Maddie and David, banter and great times. We were great for a while and then we became miserable like Maddie and David because we burned eachother out. Which is what I think happened to Maddie and David. Mine and Cybill's personalities are similar in that we'd never go for a guy like David. Cybill said that much herself and absolutely agree with her reasoning. David's kind of endearing at first, but in the long run he's just insufferable. Not that Maddie isn't a pain in the ass herself, but it's clear that he drives her crazy. It's also clear that he feels very strongly about her, but, to quote Rhett Butler, that's his misfortune. Clearly, I was never as smitten with David as some women were/are. But I understand that without the Maddie/David dynamic there is no show, and David is a vital part of that dynamic.
Ultimately, I was always fascinated by Maddie's cold, icy, sometimes detached demeanor. She was the Grace Kelly and Kim Novak of the '80s. I was fascinated by her carefully constructed exterior and the vulnerability and passion hidden beneath. I admired her strength and found mirrored in her my very own stubbornness and controlling nature. Then I found out my (Gemini) and Cybill's (Aquarius) star signs make the best possible combination for our respective signs because we're very similar, and so it made perfect sense to me why I identified with Maddie in the first place. There's a lot of Cybill in Maddie and I seem to instinctively and instantly understand Maddie's motives because we're so similar. I also loved the fact that had she lived in the '30s, Maddie would've been the New Woman. It was enormously appealing to me because at the time I was developing my feminist consciousness. When I found out that Cybill was also a feminist and that she felt an affinity with Gloria Steinem (sex-positive, second-wave feminism), it all fell into place for me. Finally, I love it that in the first two seasons Maddie is at her absolute peak as a woman. She's 35/36. She exudes femininity and sensuality and it looks effortless. She looks and acts like a self-assured woman in touch with her femininity, sexuality, and pleasure. She's at the age when women are at the top of their game in pretty much every way. It's great to watch. So, in summation, "Moonlighting" for me is about Maddie Hayes, the noir aspects, the screwball aspects, and Motown (which I'm a fan of). And it's just a solid show that really holds up.
Sorry for the lengthy reply.
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Post by mackidockie on Aug 31, 2011 17:40:46 GMT -5
Well, my name is Analia, and like many of us, I've been a fan of Moonlighting since the beginning... or at least since they start showing it in my country (I guess it was 1986).
I love detective shows, back then and now. Apart from Moonlighting I'm also a fan of Remington Steele, The Avengers and Castle.
What I love most about the show is the unique chemistry between Bruce and Cybill and of course, David and Maddie. I've never ever witness this delicious back and forth on any other tv show. The way they delivered their lines, the kisses, the sex scenes, the eye sex, the wardrobe, the music, and of course, the 80s.
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witness
3rd Level
"We're quite a pair, aren't we?"
Posts: 857
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Post by witness on Sept 3, 2011 3:29:37 GMT -5
Well, this thread has hung out to dry for a couple of days now. I hope no one minds my diving in.
My older brother, the self-proclaimed "TV Boy" (i.e., network exec) and I have had numerous conversations over the years about what makes great television. He told me that he's had meetings where a topic of discussion was the film "Jaws." If you look at the premise of this movie--three guys out on the high seas hunting to kill a great white shark--it's flat-out ridiculous. But if you look at it in terms of character--who are they, what motivates them, what are they seeking aside from this primary goal--that's what captures the audience. You can look at "Lost" in the same way: essentially silly premise, but the characters and their backstories made it compelling and intriguing.
This is what I love about Moonlighting. Glenn was ordered to make a "boy-girl detective show." It was a ubiquitous format at the time. But Glenn found a way to make a former model and a smart-ass fledgling detective relatable. Here's Maddie: her life has just been turned upside down, and she must forge a whole new path, figure out how to run a business that's struggling to survive. She has to figure out whether she can trust the only person in her life (aside from Agnes). These are some daunting challenges, but we see Maddie's determination to be successful down the road. Then there's David: what motivates him? He has a zest, a passion for life. He wants to work easy, play hard; until a certain blonde walks in and begins to balance that scale for him. I love that David comes to view them as true partners, a real team--that they can work at this project called Blue Moon together and, as Maddie's father once said, "flourish in their pursuit of truth and justice." David's firm belief in this idea is always evident in his behavior and interactions with Maddie. I love that they're both naiive in their own ways: Maddie has lived a sheltered existence and does not know the ways of the world, and David brings this perspective into her life; David is very open and can be too trusting at times. I also love this idea that, as 1987 put it, we get to watch these two grow as a result of each other.
What I probably love most is that scenes where it's just the two of them sitting or standing together, minimal props, lighting, and stage direction--a stairwell, a trunk, the 2nd floor of a casino, doorways--are the warmest, most beautiful, most memorable of the series. "Simple as that, huh?" "Simple as that."
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witness
3rd Level
"We're quite a pair, aren't we?"
Posts: 857
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Post by witness on Sept 10, 2011 3:12:45 GMT -5
I know this is diane's thread, but since I was the last to reply, thought I'd remind veterans and other newbies to post. Encapsulate your like/love, people!
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Post by sandra on Sept 10, 2011 4:35:35 GMT -5
Thanks for reminding us, witness; I really like to think of myself as a ML-"veteran"! I was thinking about this thread a few times lately, but I guess due to the very vivid discussions on other threads it went somehow... forgotten. I like many things about Moonlighting, I like its somehow nearly absurd, slapsticky comic; I like how every little detail, like clothing, music and light, is paid so much attention to in order to underline the story, the respective moment; I like the brilliant, funny writing, the banter, the concept of opposites attract that never had been showed better and never after again. I like its innovativity shown in episodes like Dream Sequence, Atomic Shakespeare and Big Man on Mulberry Street. Yes, I like all this - and how could you not? But above all - I simply love Maddie and David, and I don't even want to explain why. I could say chemistry, attractiveness, yes; it's just that - I simply love them, and in all its brilliance, Moonlighting could never have been Moonlighting without them.
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Post by bluemoonshampoo on Sept 10, 2011 8:30:32 GMT -5
I love Moonlighting because I still get utterly excited over it, as much as I did the first time I watched it! I still laugh as hard, I still blush just as much, I still hope and pray that it will all end well (even though I know it doesn't) and my heart still beats just as fast when I hear the first drum beat to 'Be My Baby'.
I think it's the best tv series that has ever aired - why? Because it is so imaginative, daring and original. I adore the chase scenes, the quirky moments, the banter, the chemistry, the arguments, the humour, the dream sequences and above all the utter love that these two guys felt for each other - they set the bar pretty high and I've always strived to attain that depth of love in my own life.
Also- Cybill and Bruce are such a dynamic - I truly believe it would not have been a success without them. They are so watchable; their straight guy/funny guy relationship is perfect (a lot of folks don't appreciate just how effortless they make the humour look - but it is a complex and challenging dance of timing and reactions to one another). I could happily spend hours watching these two together! :-)
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snappysara
2nd Level
Spit and slide under
Posts: 283
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Post by snappysara on Sept 11, 2011 3:23:41 GMT -5
Well, like most of you, I love Moonlighting because it makes me laugh and it makes me cry. I still laugh to myself about Good Loving and I still cry when I think of the elevator scene. No other show (well maybe The Thorn Birds) has evoked that kind of emotion in me. It stirs me.
I love the lighting, the dialogue, the craziness tempered with the softness and sadness. It is very classy. It has many levels. It reminds me of the Cote d'Azur in the 1920's in that it was the most beautiful relic of it's time. It makes me want to go back in time. It was so special, but those days have been and gone - never to be repeated and never to be bettered.
I love Moonlighting because of the superb acting and the amazing relationship between Maddie and David. There are so many quotes from this show that have been with me throughout my life.
I love Moonlighting because if i am feeling down, I can watch it and immediately I am cheered up. But mostly I love Moonlighting because I get it and I am so glad that I have 'met' all of you so that we can continue 'getting it' together xxxx
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Post by finefinegoodgood on Sept 11, 2011 23:32:35 GMT -5
The reasons I love moonlighting....
There are so many!
At first my love for Moonlighting was because my mom let me stay up an extra hour on Tuesday nights to watch it! So that was a plus right there!
Then I fell in love with the characters. No one could make me laugh like David and maddie! The things that were said in that show carried on into my life like no other. I have never quoted another show like I do moonlighting. And never have I ever wanted my hair to look like anyone other than maddies! (Well...in the 80's anyway. )
And never have I enjoyed anything more than watching maddie and David fall in love.
But most of all the reason I love moonlighting is it brought me here...and I have met all of you! Since I joined this board I have made some truly life long friends here. I have never been so happy to log on here and have you all brighten my day just by being here. Rose, Sandra, Goldie, Nancy, Diane, wim, snap, and witness...you all have become my little moonlighting family. And now not only do I love the show for all the reasons you all have mentioned...but now I love it even more because it has brought us all together....and of coarse all the new people I have still to meet and get to know.
Xoxoxo---
Love ya moonlighting! And thank you for all the laughs!
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Post by sandra on Sept 11, 2011 23:52:34 GMT -5
Wow, Kim... that's a really great thing to say. And so true! Thanks!
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snappysara
2nd Level
Spit and slide under
Posts: 283
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Post by snappysara on Sept 12, 2011 12:29:37 GMT -5
Rose, Sandra, Goldie, Nancy, Diane, wim, snap, and witness...you all have become my little moonlighting family. And now not only do I love the show for all the reasons you all have mentioned...but now I love it even more because it has brought us all together....and of coarse all the new people I have still to meet and get to know. Awwww Moonlighting and #Davidsgirls rock. May we meet many many more and may some of the 'oldies' come back xx
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Post by moonchild on Oct 31, 2011 16:14:41 GMT -5
Hi, my name is Nina and I've been a Moonlighting fan for four years. I'm still rather young (meaning I never got to see the show when it was on), and I got into it rather late, but, of course, I instantly fell in love with it. Now..things I love about Moonlighting...hmm...where do I start? 1) It combines the style and class of the American cinema of the 1940's and 50's (the beautiful dance scenes in the dream sequences, the air of timeless romance, the fact that the look of, and chemistry between Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepard is not unlike that of classic silverscreen couples) with the wit, humor, and sex appeal of the 1980's. 2) I very much identify with Maddie Hayes. At least up until Season 4. It's like we share the same brain matter. Luckily, I don't tend to fly off the handle that much. 3) The relationship between Maddie and David has actually taught me more than I could ever hope to learn about men, women, and relationships in general. I actually feel more educated, now. Thank you, Moonlighting! 4) Maddie and David seem more real and multi-faceted than most TV characters, despite the fact that they always find themselves in ridiculously unreal situations. 5) Maddie is a fictional fashion icon. Her wardrobe screams class. 6) David Addison is just irresistible. The guy is sexy, witty, entertaining as hell, and he really seems to know what he wants (Maddie, that is). It doesn't get much better than this. 7) Agnes DiPesto is wonderful to watch. She has so much heart and cares so much for the people around her. Her and Bert are just too cute together and I love every time they give her a longer scene with Maddie. Overall, throughout the series, I would have loved to see more instances of "girl talk" between the two of them. Just watching them hang out and talk about men is fun. 8) Bert Viola is hilarious! I'm not sure what so many people have against him. He's positively adorkable! 9) The chemistry between Maddie and David is off the charts! I've never seen that much chemistry between two fictional characters in my life. And I was hooked on the X-Files for about 7 years before I even started watching Moonlighting...I think that accounts for something. 10) Nostalgia! I know, I couldn't even walk yet when Moonlighting first came out, but give me a time machine and I would go straight back to the 1980's this instant. Moonlighting encompasses almost every good thing about that time period, in my opinion (with the exception of Michael J. Fox, maybe). 11) I think somebody else already mentioned it, but I love the Motown soundtrack throughout. 12) Watching David and Maddie fight over gender issues is really cathartic - oftentimes it saves me from having to argue the same issue with my boyfriend. In other words: Whenever the bf and I are about to fight over anything gender related, we'll instead watch an episode of Moonlighting together and let them battle it out. Works like a charm. 13) In lack of better words: Moonlighting just makes me happy. I don't analyze it too much. I just enjoy the results.
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Post by sandra on Oct 31, 2011 18:32:48 GMT -5
Hi moonchild! Welcome to the board! Great to see a newbie!
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