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Post by sandra on Jul 16, 2020 1:53:53 GMT -5
Just to throw something out there, but have you ever wondered why they made season 5? By then, it was very clear that almost everyone involved wanted to move on.
So why not stop at the end of season 4? It would have been a better ending to the show for starters (David forgives Maddie, no loss of the baby, etc..) and a tv show without its' creator is just a disaster waiting to happen.
Maybe it had something to do with everyone's contracts? Did it say somewhere that they had to continue for a certain amount of episodes?
Just a little thought that I had. What's your take on it?
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Boink
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Post by Boink on Jul 17, 2020 14:02:11 GMT -5
They made what was certain to be Moonlighting's final season for the same reason they did NOT prioritize making it a satisfactory ending for David and Maddie...
Money was all that mattered.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Bruce Willis was contracted from the beginning for 5 seasons. (Apparently, Cybill Shepherd was not, since she was able to threaten to leave if Glenn Gordon Caron stayed on.) With season 4 of Moonlighting still doing well overall in the Nielsen ratings and Bruce Willis achieving movie stardom with Die Hard, ABC had two solid reasons to believe they could get more advertising dollars for Moonlighting season 5 than whatever new show might fill the hour, even if "a case of poison ivy’s more fun."
Anyone who has spent some time here in recent years knows how I feel about seasons 4-5 (and "To Heiress Human"), so I'll leave it at that for now.
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Post by Marlena on Apr 1, 2021 21:30:17 GMT -5
Hi Boink, I just came across a post you made under this thread from July 2020. I knew you didn't like seasons 4 and 5, but I didn't know you didn't care for To Heiress Human. I like this episode, but of course, I would have much preferred it if Maddie woke up happy to be with David. Was it just the disappointment of the whole "pact" thing that you didn't like?
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Boink
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Post by Boink on Apr 2, 2021 11:31:58 GMT -5
Marlena,
To spend two years building up to a night that, the very next morning, Maddie wants to deny ever happened, was the ultimate buzz kill. If the post-pact progress they (or was it just he?) seemed to make in overcoming her hesitation (which led to the wonderful calm, closing kiss in the car) had stuck, at least to some degree, I might hold THH in higher regard. Either way, though, the whole thing just rains all over the parade that is my favorite mental picture of David and Maddie:
At the end of IACM, right before she goes in for the freeze-frame kiss, they both just looked so happy...
Boink
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Post by Marlena on Apr 2, 2021 13:32:26 GMT -5
Yeah, not getting to see them happy AND in love is something I just don't think I'll ever get over. 😞
You're right, at the very least we can hold onto that screen shot at the end of IACM.
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Post by chris89 on Dec 8, 2021 7:34:58 GMT -5
Ratings for season 4 were strong--and if the writers strike didn't happen, and (let's be realistic this is Moonlighting we are discussing) there were 2 or 3 more episodes of season 4 wrapping up the season and setting the show up for a fresh start for season 5 it could have been a stronger final season.
With Season 5 starting so late, Glen gone, Cybill seemingly exhausted, Bruce disengaged, and writers/producers that couldn't capture what Glen did...it ended up being a lackluster season. There are good moments and quite a few episodes that are of note, though most of the Sunday night episodes seem to suffer from even more of a budget cut, tepid storylines, disconnected stars....it was sad to experience as it happened. I loved Moonlighting as a kid, it was such a fun show but it just died at the end. I think it was always going to be a sprinter---not a long distance runner, but it could have had a more consistent run if the abovementioned factors didn't tank Season 5 before it started.
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Post by bertviola on Sept 23, 2023 1:05:34 GMT -5
Having just watched Lunar Eclipse, I noticed a few things:
The way the episode starts with David so happy with Annie. Here we have a David Addison who seems far happier than he ever was with Maddie throughout the entire show. He doesn't care that he is an adulterer or with one. Yet 30 mins later, he changes his mind.
Someone said that the guy who wrote the episode didn't know until half way through that this is the LAST episode.
And this would explain why David suddenly dumps Annie (who has been built up).
Also, Maddie: Her house is still being fixed after eine kleine Nacht Murder. This doesn't seem like a final episode thing. I mean, the show started with her in her house. Now she lives at the hotel?
It also seemed like the cop Donegan was still interested in seeing her, even outside of work. Maybe not as a date, but friend (Maddie NEVER had a friend!)
Then McGillicuddy:
First I thought the medical condition was a sort of trick or set up for the scene later.
But he promised Bert a bachelor party (we never see it) and seems sincerely sorry.
If you put all those things together, I would say the show actually had a PLAN to go somewhere with all of this.
Maybe while David dates Annie, Maddie is with the cop (even just as a friend) and gains some perspective. Or she dates him/someone else. We would have both of them dating other people, giving them a chance to get back their spark and chemistry and to be in a real relationship this time.
Doesn't anyone else feel like the way this episode starts out like any other, but ends in such an odd way seems like a big "screw you!" to ABC?
I really think they had a plan or idea with Annie and wanted to go somewhere with it. Why else bring this character so late if they KNEW it's the final episode 3 episodes later?
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Post by julia980 on Dec 7, 2023 23:57:56 GMT -5
Yeah, not getting to see them happy AND in love is something I just don't think I'll ever get over. 😞 You're right, at the very least we can hold onto that screen shot at the end of IACM. You are my people. ❤️ I am just revisiting the series on Hulu after being a fan as a small child. I’m kind of wishing now I hadn’t watched past S3 because I’d forgotten it ended so badly. Now I’m obsessing and I feel ridiculous because this happened 35 years ago. 🤦♀️ |
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Post by Marlena on Dec 8, 2023 1:05:03 GMT -5
Yeah, not getting to see them happy AND in love is something I just don't think I'll ever get over. 😞 You're right, at the very least we can hold onto that screen shot at the end of IACM. You are my people. ❤️ I am just revisiting the series on Hulu after being a fan as a small child. I’m kind of wishing now I hadn’t watched past S3 because I’d forgotten it ended so badly. Now I’m obsessing and I feel ridiculous because this happened 35 years ago. 🤦♀️ Hi Julia, please don't feel ridiculous. You are certainly not the only one obsessing about this show. You are my people, too. Rest assured... there are others out there just like us. Glad to see someone new on this site. I write Moonlighting fanfiction. If you are ever interested... I wrote an entire series of "background stories" that are meant to make sense of the mess that Season 5 ended up being. If you search up "Lena Leest" on the fanfiction.net site, you should be able to find my stories. I know not everyone likes fanfic, but just thought I'd let you know. |
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Post by julia980 on Dec 9, 2023 2:13:11 GMT -5
You are my people. ❤️ I am just revisiting the series on Hulu after being a fan as a small child. I’m kind of wishing now I hadn’t watched past S3 because I’d forgotten it ended so badly. Now I’m obsessing and I feel ridiculous because this happened 35 years ago. 🤦♀️ Hi Julia, please don't feel ridiculous. You are certainly not the only one obsessing about this show. You are my people, too. Rest assured... there are others out there just like us. Glad to see someone new on this site. I write Moonlighting fanfiction. If you are ever interested... I wrote an entire series of "background stories" that are meant to make sense of the mess that Season 5 ended up being. If you search up "Lena Leest" on the fanfiction.net site, you should be able to find my stories. I know not everyone likes fanfic, but just thought I'd let you know. Hi Marlena, I am actually a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice fanfiction over there so I will definitely check that out! |
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Post by isyou on Dec 26, 2023 16:08:05 GMT -5
Hi, Julie,
I'm the same as you, becoming a fan again after watching and re-watching and re-watching on HULU. I've also read the episode comments while re-watching episodes. It nice to find people who are so invested in the story as I am.
Watching Bruce is a big plus. Moonlighting did show case his acting skills. I can picture him as the romantic lead in my favorite old movies; Dear Heart and Courtship of Eddie's father. Instead of Glenn Ford I picture Bruce Willis in the role instead! How about replacing Bruce for William Holden in Sunset Boulevard (Broadway)? Cary Grant in Touch of Mink?
Marlene, I love reading the fan fiction and I love to see new posts now that everyone is falling in love with David and Maddie again!
Thanks everyone for their insight on this site!
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