CS Weekly Archive > DVD of the Day > 10/20/06

Meta-Fiction Meets the Real World

by jason davis

Moonlighting: Season Four

Glenn Gordon Caron, Roger Director, Charles H. Eglee, Kerry Ehrin, Debra Frank, Karen Hall, Judith Kahan, Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno, and Doug Steinberg

Created by Glenn Gordon Caron

With star Cybil Shepherd pregnant for the bulk of the season, Moonlighting's fourth season became an exercise in weaving real-world difficulties into the fictional world of the Blue Moon Detective Agency and its two principal agents, Maddie Hayes (Shepherd) and David Addison (Bruce Willis).  In keeping with the show's meta-fictional propensity to blend fantasy and reality, the writers contrived to keep David and Maddie's relationship alive through pre-filmed inserts of Maddie living with her parents in Chicago while trying to come to terms with her feelings for David.  Meanwhile, David continued the post-modern detective exploits the show had become known for, with supporting characters Agnes DiPesto (Allyce Beasley) and Bert Viola (Curtis Armstrong) stepping up to take on their own entertaining storylines.  Candid commentaries from creator Glenn Gordon Caron and others analyze the season's writing weaknesses while elaborating on the behind-the-scenes difficulties that led to the season's unusual structure.

Moonlighting: Season Four

Lions Gate Home Entertainment
Not rated; 600 min.
$39.98

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Jason Davis is the DVD Manager for CS Weekly, a contributing editor for Creative Screenwriting Magazine, and has written for Cinescape.com, MSN.com, and created the TV series Studio 13, which ran on Lorne Michaels' Burly TV network. He lives in the small space left over by his ever-expanding library of books, movies, and music.

Moonlighting: Season Four courtesy Lions Gate Home Entertainment

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