Moonlighting

An ABC TV series that ran from 1985 to 1989. It starred Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis as Maddie Hayes and David Addison. They ran a detective agency. It also had Allyce Beasley as Agnes DiPesto, the rhyming receptionist. One of the few decent things out of the 80s.

Will they, won't they?

Miss Hayes and Mr Addison took Unresolved Sexual Tension to new heights. Bruce Willis indulged his 3 Stooges talents. Quick-fire screwball comedy detectives, Taming of the Shrew, dumb season 3 writer's strike astronaut storyline, Bert gets Agnes, designer stubble, great writing.

They talked all over each other:

"Fine!" "Fine."

"Good!" "Good!"

SLAM! SLAM!

He always loved her.

"The only show that knew it was on television", Moonlighting followed former model Maddie Hayes and the wisecrackin' David Addison ( a young Bruce Willis) as they solved mysteries with humor and fun. One episode was an essential costume production of Shakespeare's Taming Of The Shrew. Halfway through the 1985-1989 run, the stars feud and the scripts became lacking. Too bad, well, it was a good 65 episode run. The show's two hour Pilot is on DVD and reruns are shown on Bravo. Classic 1980s programming.

One of the most interesting things about Moonlighting was it was one of the few TV shows (arguably Frazier was one other, as was the Mary Tyler Moore show) ever to take up the role that some movies had in the Twenties and Thirties, and (I've been told) some vaudeville had at the turn of the century: that is, media as (indirect) tutor of manners and style.

Maybe you weren't a socialite- turned- model- turned- sleuth, and perhaps you didn't have as cool a boy...er, workmate as Bruce Willis. But you could certainly, within a modest budget, dress and decorate very much like Maddie Hayes (albeit with lookalikes and adaptations), and with no budget at all, ape her manners. As much latitude as the character was given, she never stopped being ladylike, intelligent, and professional, in a way that sacrificed not a shred of her feminine charm. Although we see less of second-banana Agnes di Pesto, the same idea was in place: if you have to be an administrative assistant, why not capitalize on the position by wearing quirkier clothing, and cultivating a winning telephone persona, and a colorful outside life? This isn't Dallas, where every female wears Bob Mackie, nor 80's-era MTV, where the clothing might look nice, but wouldn't work in the workplace (I mean, you might have a mellow boss, but could you REALLY wear what Boy George did, on a regular basis? And 80's bosses were NOT mellow...), or, for that matter, the "woman in the grey flannel suit" look espoused by many of the movies of the era, but a gentle, engaging style that, with a few adaptations, could have suited just about any woman in business back in the day.

Bruce Willis and his opposite number, Bert, also have a winning style: just rakish enough to register as edgy, yet suave -- like Humphrey Bogart, he's "very much a gentleman, but not quite respectable". (I wouldn't have a no-furniture apartment though....)

All in all, when Moonlighting was on, I'd put on my Primo! (Giorgio clone perfume) put a gourmet frozen dinner in the microwave, pour myself a glass of wine, and ENJOY.