What was the “TV Series ‘Moonlighting'”?

18 February 2015

The Short Answer (TSA)

In part one of this “Short Answer,” we found out that, if you read a book by the light of the full moon on a clear night, you were using “moonlighting” to read.

And . . .

In by-gone days, if you took a second job, working at night, you were “moonlighting.” Today, you’re “moonlighting” whenever you take a second job, no matter what time of day you work.

Then, in part two, I found out that reported cattle thefts and killings in late-19th century Ireland were called “moonlighting.” It’s hard to know what really happened. No “moonlighter” was ever caught. Some think it was all just hysteria fueled by some sensational news reports.

Finally, in part three, we’ll remember a television series, Moonlighting, that first aired on 3 March 1985. This series didn’t really hit the ground running. Instead it sort of hit the ground tumbling. And the tumbling continued through a relatively short run on ABC. Created by Glen Gordon Caron, the series was destined to garner an amazing list of awards and “firsts” during its topsy-turvy progress through 66 episodes.

Model, turned-actress, Cybill Shepherd, was cast in a lead role, as “Maddie.” She was looking to score a big hit after several lackluster projects. And, it was hoped that new-comer Bruce Willis' debut, cast opposite Sheppard, as “David,” would be a hit with prime-time TV audiences.

Series Leads: Cybill Shepherd & Bruce Willis

In the series, wealthy Maddie is reduced to poverty when an embezzler leaves her nothing but the ownership of a few businesses that were tax write-offs -- intended to lose money. But, David, head of one of those losing businesses, the Blue Moon Detective Agency, convinces her that, together, they could turn the business around and realize a substantial profit.

The series suffered many of the usual issues in pre- and early production. Caron said he picked Willis to play “David,” opposite Shepherd, about a third of the way through auditions. But was forced to continue auditioning because the network believed that Willis wouldn’t generate any “sexual tension” if paired with Sheppard. It’s almost too much of an understatement to say that the network was . . . mistaken.
Glen Gordon Caron

From the beginning, one issue would keep the series “tumbling” throughout its run on ABC. Some said Caron was a perfectionist and used movie techniques in filming.  These techniques were, generally, not used in television production because of both cost and time constraints. One way or another, Caron's attention to detail earned the series critical praise and industry plaudits, but took its toll in terms of time and money.

The, sometimes, 120-page weekly scripts were twice the length of those for most single television episodes. The individual episode production costs kept reaching upward toward 2 million dollars – again -- nearly double the cost of an average television series episode of the time.

But, the series began to garner awards and an impressive list of “firsts.” Was the series a comedy or a drama? A drama or a comedy? Well, it was both. Considered the first successful TV “dramedy” (dramatic-comedy), this style maintains an equal balance of humor and serious content. Emphasizing the success of the series with this difficult fusion of styles, were nominations by the Directors Guild of America, for both Best Drama and Best Comedy in the same year – for two years in a row.

The series successfully presented “fantasy” episodes featuring the regular cast in different times and places. One of the episodes, "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice," was among the most expensive of this series’ already expensive individual episodes.

Unfortunately, the same attention to detail that brought awards and praise also brought cost and delays. Unable to film an average episode within a week’s time, the series began airing reruns much earlier than the summer season -- simply because the new episodes were not completed in time for broadcast. The series never produced the standard 22 episodes in a single season. During one season, only 16 episodes were completed.

On the good side, the delays and time constraints contributed to one of the series most innovative features. It “broke the fourth wall” more completely, than, maybe any other series to date. “Breaking the fourth wall” refers to episodes in which the characters’ dialogue makes direct references to the series itself and speaks about the network, the audience and the script writers.

One episode began with a television critic sarcastically reminding viewers of the plot of the last original episode aired -- after several weeks of premature reruns. Other opening sequences included Shepherd, Willis, other actors, viewers, or TV critics directly addressing the audience about the series's production.

These introductions weren’t originally intended to be part of the episodes. They began as an attempt to fill air time when the script didn’t include enough dialog to fill the entire hour. In some other episodes, featured sequences included the crew dismantling or changing the sets or the production crew stepping into the scene.

Theatrical players are trained to maintain the illusion of the reality of the subject matter of the performance at all costs.  Such “breaks” in the “fourth wall” had been, generally, considered fatal to a production.

But nothing succeeds like success.

Amazingly, not only did Moonlighting break the fourth wall with a steal ball, but did so with such style and flair that . . . it worked!  Audiences registered positive reactions to sequences that, in other circumstances, might have cost the series its popularity.

In spite of all the production issues, Moonlighting had received 16 Emmy nominations by its second season. Caron believes that the sudden decline in rating during the 4th season of the series resulted from an on-camera separation of Shepherd and Willis. Shepherd had given birth to twins, and Willis was shooting Die-Hard during that season, and the couple had conspicuously few scenes together

Others attribute the decline to predictable plot developments. During the third season, Shepherd and Willis became an on-screen couple – ending over two years of building romantic tension between the two stars. When romantic tension is a major theme of the ongoing "story" of a series, the loss of that tension is always considered a risk.  And romantic tension had served Moonlighting well.

In the final season, the ratings declined. And, with the Writer’s Guild strike of 1988, the production of the series' season finale was canceled as was the series, itself, in May of that year.

Characteristically, the last episode ended with the Shepherd and Willis discovering the Moonlighting sets being disassembled. An “ABC executive” is on hand to inform them of the cancellation.

Then, the series disappeared.

Not having produced enough episodes to be picked up for syndication, 10 years would pass before the series' episodes were released on DVD.

The back-story of Moonlighting, from beginning to end, seems more like an adventure than just the simple production of a television series. During its brief life, the series developed a devoted following and a list of credits, awards, and “firsts” that guarantee it a prominent place in television history.

About the Author