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Post by jpen on Oct 20, 2009 20:31:46 GMT -5
Hey all, My deepest apologies--having some technical difficulties over here...should have the questions up in the next 15 minutes. Here's one to get you started:
In this episode, we have three (potential) love triangles: David/Maddie/Sam, Elaine/Alan/Rita, and Agnes/Bert/Desiree. How are they similar? Different?
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Post by jpen on Oct 20, 2009 20:37:35 GMT -5
OK...moving on...this episode hits me hard emotionally, but also fascinates me. I tried to pare down the questions to a relatively reasonable number, but please feel free to add your own, or add comments/connections to anything not covered here. Thanks to bees for some great additions!
Because of my computer's temperament tonight, I'll post the questions in a few batches--hope that doesn't get too confusing.
Here we go:
1. This is the first of three episodes in which Moonlighting pokes fun at its own shortcomings (and critics thereof). Are these intros time-wasters for you, or integral parts of the episodes?
2. David, in the opening scene: Is he really thinking that Maddie "got horizonty" with Mr. Anonymous? (For fun: What other explanations do you think he could dream up for Sam's presence at Maddie's house?)
3. Why does David want to refuse the Johnson case?
More in a minute...
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Post by jpen on Oct 20, 2009 20:41:30 GMT -5
4. In "Yours, Very Deadly," Maddie laments: "Nothing makes sense anymore...what's happened to all the rules? What's happened to romance?" Yet her response to the Johnson case is: "Maybe a thing like being faithful isn't that easy to define--maybe it's not so black & white." What has changed for her in the course of this season?
5. David with Maddie, and Agnes with Bert: who really looks out/looks after whom, and who is willing to take risks to do so?
6. Why is Maddie so insistent on keeping her date with Sam? Do you think she understand that David is jealous?
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Post by jpen on Oct 20, 2009 20:45:06 GMT -5
7. The Dinner Scene: Ah, the undercurrents...the assumptions...the interruptions! Have a ball with this one--here's just a few questions to get you started:
a) Do you think Maddie knows what David wants to tell her?
b) Why does Sam bring up Maddie's fear of flying?
c) Imagine, for a moment, that David did not get drunk and make an idiot of himself. Would the outcome of the evening have been the same?
8. What is the purpose of the gas station altercation?
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Post by beesnbears on Oct 20, 2009 20:46:53 GMT -5
1. This is the first of three episodes in which Moonlighting pokes fun at its own shortcomings (and critics thereof). Are these intros time-wasters for you, or integral parts of the episodes?
This is one of the reasons ML is so special. What other TV show can you think of that has done this sort of thing? It took guts to make fun of themselves on national TV! Loved it then...love it now!
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Post by jpen on Oct 20, 2009 20:47:27 GMT -5
Saving the biggies for last... 9. At what point does Maddie decide she's going to sleep with Sam...and why?
10. How would you characterize Maddie's reactions in the bedroom scene? What is she thinking at the end?
11. OK, time to confront the blue-eyed elephant in the room: Sam. What are your impressions of him, based on this episode?
Phew! That's it. Sorry, again, for the late start!
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Post by beesnbears on Oct 20, 2009 20:53:10 GMT -5
2. David, in the opening scene: Is he really thinking that Maddie "got horizonty" with Mr. Anonymous? (For fun: What other explanations do you think he could dream up for Sam's presence at Maddie's house?)
Oh, I think he has thought the absolute worst possible things. Number one being she slept with this guy who was at her door when he came calling. Though, I think he tried to talk himself into several different scenarios as to who the guy was and why he was there:
a. He’s a relative…like a cousin...and he slept on the couch.
b. He’s a relative…like a 3rd or 4th cousin, only Maddie doesn’t know it, but he only got to 1st base, 2nd tops.
c. He’s the stranger Maddie wanted to be bad with and this drives him crazy. So much so he can hardly communicate with Maddie when she arrives 2 hours late.
d. The guy at least had some clothes on, although buttoning his shirt at the door was totally unnecessary…maybe he did just sleep on the couch
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Post by beesnbears on Oct 20, 2009 21:21:54 GMT -5
3. Why does David want to refuse the Johnson case?
Getting in the middle of a case where there is another love triangle hits way too close to home…way too much talk about "love lives wanting"...
And he's thinking she's acting really weird...saying and doing crazy things...he didn’t want Maddie getting anymore ideas, for Pete’s sake!
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Post by beesnbears on Oct 20, 2009 21:28:05 GMT -5
4. In "Yours, Very Deadly," Maddie laments: "Nothing makes sense anymore...what's happened to all the rules? What's happened to romance?" Yet her response to the Johnson case is: "Maybe a thing like being faithful isn't that easy to define--maybe it's not so black & white." What has changed for her in the course of this season?
For once, Maddie is admitting to herself…not to David or Sam…that she is lonely, needs companionship, romance, etc…Sam is back, time is wasting and if she waits too long to find romance, companionship…love…she could miss it. Maybe all of that isn’t so black and white like she thought.
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Post by beesnbears on Oct 20, 2009 21:58:53 GMT -5
I get an A for participation!!! ;D 5. David with Maddie, and Agnes with Bert: who really looks out/looks after whom, and who is willing to take risks to do so? Well, obviously David took the biggest risk so far, but I think they each look after the other. Agnes looks after both Maddie and David many times, especially after this season. Bert has been known to look after Maddie, though some call it sucking up to the boss… Maddie has looked after David in “Big Man…”, “The Son Also…”, “Knowing Her”. I would say it’s mutual risk taking, but I think it's safe to say that ultimately David would take the biggest risk. Interesting that Sam is not included in this question...
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Post by beesnbears on Oct 20, 2009 22:04:46 GMT -5
6. Why is Maddie so insistent on keeping her date with Sam? Do you think she understands that David is jealous? Maddie has no idea why David is behaving the way he is and at this point there is absolutely no reason for her to cancel her plans. Sam is an old flame, so why not go out with him? She doesn’t know David followed her to the bar the night before and to the grocery store. And she especially doesn’t know that he was knocking on her door in the pouring rain with a big announcement of his own…sigh…because someone didn’t bother to mention it…
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witness
3rd Level
"We're quite a pair, aren't we?"
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Post by witness on Oct 20, 2009 22:55:02 GMT -5
Here's a question (3-parter):
It's obvious David does not want Maddie to know about him being on her doorstep at 4am. Why do you think he almost lets slip that he and Sam have already met? Why do you think Sam pretends they haven't? Is Sam helping Dave save face, or does he have an ulterior motive?
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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 Oct 20, 2009 23:07:25 GMT -5
1. This is the first of three episodes in which Moonlighting pokes fun at its own shortcomings (and critics thereof). Are these intros time-wasters for you, or integral parts of the episodes? Definitely integral. Moonlighting was often referred to as "a television show that knows it's on television." That self-deprecating quality is one of the many facets of its brilliance.
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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 Oct 21, 2009 0:18:37 GMT -5
2. David, in the opening scene: Is he really thinking that Maddie "got horizonty" with Mr. Anonymous? (For fun: What other explanations do you think he could dream up for Sam's presence at Maddie's house?) Initially David really is thinking that. However, he projects his own thoughts and feelings onto the wobblies, drawing conclusions about the lady boss traipsing, smiling, springing, all two hours late. 3. Why does David want to refuse the Johnson case? To me, it seemed not so much that David wanted to refuse the case, but to show Maddie how well he has come to know, understand, and respect her points of view. He thinks he can predict her every move. But this is no longer the deal. When David says, "Nice to know things are finally loosening up around here" it is with a note of sarcasm and a look of discomfort on his face. David has been thrown off course by Maddie's sudden personality shift. He thinks he's going to meet her halfway, prevent an argument, only to have her fly past him in another direction.
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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 Oct 21, 2009 1:20:48 GMT -5
4. In "Yours, Very Deadly," Maddie laments: "Nothing makes sense anymore...what's happened to all the rules? What's happened to romance?" Yet her response to the Johnson case is: "Maybe a thing like being faithful isn't that easy to define--maybe it's not so black & white." What has changed for her in the course of this season? I think through David she has come to see romance, love...life differently. As David reminds her in "Yours, Very Deadly," it's the 80s, i.e., modern times, and people take romance wherever, however they can find it. Perhaps Maddie has realized that if she wants to have romance she's going to have to let go of her antiquated, fairy tale notions of it. 6. Why is Maddie so insistent on keeping her date with Sam? Do you think she understand that David is jealous? Maddie feels that this is her shot at rekindling an old flame and cannot risk letting work get in the way of that (as she may have before, with modeling). Also, a romantic dinner may seque into getting horizonty, which is what started this whole scenario, but with someone she knows and is comfortable with. In addition, Maddie probably feels that she deserves to beg off this particular assignment, considering she has been working late every night for the past 2-3 years to keep the agency afloat. But I don't believe Maddie understands that David is jealous, largely because she doesn't have a clue as to what transpired in the early morning hours. All she knows is that the tables have turned, and she is the one trying to get at what's troubling David.
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