Greetings, all!

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The original run of Moonlighting took me from age 9 to 14, and like many other males of a certain age, I wanted to BE David Addison "back in the day".  To some degree, I suppose I still do and probably always will.

After the complete and utter triumph of everything up to and including "I am Curious... Maddie", I hung onto every episode of the series until its bitter end, desperately hoping for some sort of turn around that would return it to its earlier glory, and I still find it disappointing that it really never happened (although a quick, initial glance at the first few "season six" episodes at VirtualMoonlighting.com gives me hope that salvation in writing is possible.

When the DVDs came out years ago, I was a day-one buyer of seasons 1-3, and I never bothered to buy seasons 4-5, having no desire to relive them.  Taking it one step further, I wish that "To Heiress Human" had been part of season 4 instead of 3, so as to end my collection with the magic that is "I am Curious... Maddie".

Anyway, I am now a 43 year old, happily married father of two young children (and one angel in heaven) who has absolutely no time to myself (I'm not complaining; I thank God for every minute with my family), but who has joyously rediscovered Moonlighting by digging out the pilot last night at roughly 3:00 AM while the moon appropriately lit the clear night sky and my family slept peacefully upstairs.  I will write more about my experience viewing it again after all these years in the appropriate section of these forums, and I hope to do the same for subsequent episodes as I view them when nights allow under similar circumstances.  It may take some time, but to be honest, I want to prolong the experience of every onscreen moment leading up to "Curious" as long as I reasonably can.

For now, I'll just wrap things up by saying hello to all of you readers, writers, and lurkers here, and congratulations and thank you to the creators of these wonderful "Moonlighting" websites, forum, etc.  I am happy to be here!

[manitobadesigner]

Hey Curious! You're the same age as me, so samesies for everything you said! (except I wanted to be Maddie)

I feel your pain about seasons 4 and 5. The angst and frustration was awful.
I used to rush down to the pharmacy to read TV Guide and see the episode synopsis for the following week (RERUN UGH!)
My friends and I threw a Big Bang sleepover in grade 7, was so awesome. I base everything I learned about relationships on the show (maybe not good LOL!)

It will be magical for you rewatching it all!
Are you considering trying seasons 4 and 5 now? There are some very great great moments in there regardless of the cutting pain...

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Thanks for the reply, Manitoba!

My username is what it is for a reason. I think that Moonlighting, considering what it became, should really have ended with "I am Curious... Maddie", and that it is best left for anyone who has never seen any episode beyond that point to simply remain, like David and Maddie themselves, "Curious Ever After". That's just my two cents, though, and I realize that I proclaim it as someone who was able to experience "Heiress" and seasons 4-5.

That being said, I can't help but find myself seeking out bits and pieces of later episodes on YouTube in the hope of finding some hint of the earlier magic, or what might have been had their relationship moved forward without either character actively trying sabotage it. Like you, I base at least part of what I learned about relationships "back in the day" from Moonlighting, particularly (and ironically) from everything David went through in season 4 to show his love for Maddie. I like that he had all that dedication and heart beneath the surface, while still being so cool and fun upfront. But it never should have been so fully revealed via Maddie's putting him through the ringer as she did. Nor should the writers have compromised David's character through his actions in season 5.

The bottom line is, I can find hints of "what might have been" in seasons 4-5, and I understand that a relationship as volatile as David and Maddie's was never going to become instant smooth-sailing after "Curious", but I just can't root for "heroes" who act in ways that I never would. To have these characters come so far in seasons 1-3, only to tear it all down in 4-5 is just a shame, particularly in ways that were so out of character.

If things had followed with David and Maddie dealing with their vast personality differences while fully accepting that they are each other's "one true love" (yeah, I'm a sap), it would have been so much better. The series could even have incorporated them lovingly expecting THEIR baby and then dealing with the loss together, perhaps with David blaming himself (since this had happened to him before) and Maddie becoming a bit more spiritual in the process (which I can attest from personal experience has a way of happening). Imagine the elevator scene in "Between a Yuk and a Hard Place" (starting with Maddie's line, "We're not moving, David." at 1:10 here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWwKubc5K0I) in that context, and it suddenly becomes so much more powerful, and the singing as they walk out together actually makes sense! There were also some good, fun "case" moments in season 5 that could have been used to help them (and the viewers) get through the tougher times.

Long story short (or kinda short - thanks for hanging in here), I can take bits and pieces from seasons 4 and 5 and assemble them into my own "what if" narrative, but there's so much relationship self-sabotage to hack through that I just don't think it's worth it to endure those seasons as a whole. I'd rather just watch the two of them fall in love, finally admit they are in love (in "Curious"), and then simply believe that they cared enough to make it all work out, no matter what life threw at them ever after.

[manitobadesigner]

Hey Curious! Yes indeed, many people feel that way, that it should have ended there. We all know that no couple is allowed to be happy on TV, which always means they have to be pulled apart to be put back together...and on and on. And in this case, it blew up in everyone's face. And exactly, the reveal should have stayed in the box in A Trip to the Moon. That was like a big wet blanket, ruining the delicate balance and it was damn hard to watch that unfold. It felt like 'oh, hey - way too much reality for a Tuesday..."

I sort of live in an alternate reality in the post season 4 era - I try really hard to shut out the character assassinations which occured often. Doesn't always work and I get frustrated. I'm aware when I watch that the writing was to blame, and that's so distracting from those rare moments of'what might have been'. I too, realize that those two would never be a smooth sailing duo, nor expected that it would be all wine and roses. True love, yes, compatibility perhaps not. But the destruction went too far.

Absolutely, they had so many chances to reconstruct and even erase the bad stuff, but it seemed (and this is where reality breaks the 4th wall) that the intent was to ignore those chances in favour of over the top, poor writing decisions that did the opposite of what they (maybe) wanted to achieve - moving them back together.

I do the same thing, rearrange the narrative in my head (good fanfic helps so much with that) and believe that Maddie could overcome her endless neurosis and JUST CHILL for a second. We always knew she was neurotic and indecisive, but that element of the character took over completely until there was nothing left of her. That bothers me more than anything post season 4.

[Mulberry]

Hey Curious!

I'm an old member who hasn't been around for a long while, and am just getting back into our favourite show again. I agree what you say about Seasons 4 and 5. There are some wonderful moments, and I do feel that it was actually salvagable until the moment in Season 5 that they brought in Annie and made David a different person.

I'm hoping to do a rewatch of my favourite season 3 soon!

Mul

[pershingsquare]

Aug 10, 2018 5:46:23 GMT -5 Mulberry said:

Hey Curious!

I'm an old member who hasn't been around for a long while, and am just getting back into our favourite show again. I agree what you say about Seasons 4 and 5. There are some wonderful moments, and I do feel that it was actually salvagable until the moment in Season 5 that they brought in Annie and made David a different person.

I'm hoping to do a rewatch of my favourite season 3 soon!

Mul

I'm a returning poster who forgot my username/password years ago, but decided to check it out again.  Moonlighting is still my favorite TV show of all time.  Anyway, I have to say that although I think seasons 4 and 5 were far below the quality of 1-3, there were still many great moments, particularly when they got back to actual detective work (I was a huge fan of PI shows growing up).  There were some decent shows, and some not so decent ones in 4 and 5.  I personally like the Annie and David story, they seemed to have chemistry, and I've always thought Virginia Madsen was hot, so I had no problem with it.  Would I have preferred it remained mostly a PI show throughout its run, sure, but it was what it was.  I'm just glad the show existed as long as it did.  There's never been another quite like it and certainly at this point there never will be.

[Mulberry]

Moonlighting is still one of my favourite TV shows too, I was so pleased when rewatching it recently just how funny it still was. Plus the music throughout all 5 series was brilliant. I learned about all kinds of music as a kid from Moonlighting - Motown, Billie Holliday, Billy Joel.. etc

[kismet204]

Ah, yes, seasons 4 and 5...I have to admit that even though I have watched pretty much all other episodes waaayyy too many times😂, I never watched the ones with Annie. Just reading about them, and the premise of seeing Maddie’s and David’s relationship in shambles, makes me too sad. I don’t mind most of the season 4 episodes when they are together, and some scenes are rather memorable. I actually even like some of the season five episodes even though their relationship becomes confusing at best and nonsensical at worst. Either way, it is sad that the writers took the show down this path, but when I get upset about it, I remind myself to just return to seasons 2 and 3😁

[beesnbears]

Hey everyone!! So glad to see that people are still loving Moonlighting and chatting here. Wasn't it great seeing Bruce and Cybill on the Roast? I guess that is all we're going to get for a reunion.....sigh.

I've read some chatter about a reboot .....didn't we kind of get that with Castle? Although I don't think they got it quite right either. And I don't think I could take watching David and Maddie in someone else's skin. However, if Addison knew he was in someone else's skin wouldn't he have a hay day!! 😊

There's always fanfic......
Also, if you're a tweeter follow #TuesdaysWithMaddie on The Twitter!

If anyone is in the path of Hurricane Florence stay safe out there!

[ryangie97]

Hello everyone and welcome to the new members. I haven't been here in a long while. I'm glad to see the forum is still going and am enjoying reading the new posts.