The Pilot episode begins with 3 people waking up/preparing for their day.
The first is some strange-looking, pockmarked Punk with a Mohawk who prepares a gun. The second is of a man waking up next to a woman, putting on his watch and leaving for a jog.
Soon, we see that Mr. Pockmark and Mr. Watch both jog in the same park. Mr. Pockmark doesn't say a word, but he makes Mr. Watch feel very uneasy. As Mr. Watch runs from Mr. Pockmark, he's hit by a car (Mr. Pockmark was just about to shoot at him) and Mr. Pockmark takes the watch off of him.
After a cut, we see a beautiful montage of photos of a beautiful woman on the cover of magazines in all kind of languages. As the camera pans over them, the Moonlighting theme plays and there's a melancholic and sweet atmosphere that continues until the camera reaches the end of the bed of the woman - and she's awoken by a terrible ruckus, seemingly coming from downstairs!
As the woman hurries down in her nightgown and we get a first impression of her beautiful home, we're now introduced to Miss Maddie Hayes, former fashion model (and the Blue Moon Shampoo girl). Her accountant ran off with her money, leaving her with nothing but some business investments she kept solely for tax write-off reasons. Her laywer and friend recommends that she quickly closes them down, so she can't acrue more debt.
I could go on, but I guess we all know the basic story of the pilot. What makes it so beautiful and put it above all the other shows of the time that were similar (like Hart to Hart, Scarecrow and Mrs King, Magnum) is that the plot often doesn't actually matter that much.
What really matters and charms us is the beautiful 1980s vibe and the similarly beautiful witty banter and friction between Maddie and Dave/Cybill and Bruce.
Cybill's role here mirrors her real life a bit, because she once was a very beautiful young lady with success, but by the time the show started, she wasn't exactly a superstar anymore.
And Bruce... it's funny to see what he looked like with almost all his hair (didn't actually suit him that well if you ask me) and you can immediately see why he beat out everyone else. Every scene he's in, you feel like he isn't acting, but he's just having fun with a role that was seemingly written for him.
Another star of the show for me was always the city. LA isn't the most beautiful city in real life from what I heard, but Moonlighting (and Michael Mann) managed to show us some real beauty there ( especially at night).
The scenes at the Starlite room for one are very beautiful and romantic. It also has the very good and tense elevator chase between Mr. Pockmark and another bad guy. Even though I already knew how it ended, I found myself at the edge of my seat.
The house they picked for Maddie (it also was featured in an episode of Columbo) is truly beautiful! Far too big for just one person, but beautiful.
The charme of the pilot that makes you eager for more is certainly the chemistry and friction between Maddie and Dave. They both put on a bit of a mask, but also show us their true colors. Maddie is actually kind of sweet when she shows her vulnerable side. And Dave is surprisingly sensitive for a guy who jokes about everything (but then he still has to figure out what "No flies on you" means).
It doesn't have all the ingredients yet that made Moonlighting such a hit, but it sets the foundation for one of the best shows and the mother of dramedies.
The first is some strange-looking, pockmarked Punk with a Mohawk who prepares a gun. The second is of a man waking up next to a woman, putting on his watch and leaving for a jog.
Soon, we see that Mr. Pockmark and Mr. Watch both jog in the same park. Mr. Pockmark doesn't say a word, but he makes Mr. Watch feel very uneasy. As Mr. Watch runs from Mr. Pockmark, he's hit by a car (Mr. Pockmark was just about to shoot at him) and Mr. Pockmark takes the watch off of him.
After a cut, we see a beautiful montage of photos of a beautiful woman on the cover of magazines in all kind of languages. As the camera pans over them, the Moonlighting theme plays and there's a melancholic and sweet atmosphere that continues until the camera reaches the end of the bed of the woman - and she's awoken by a terrible ruckus, seemingly coming from downstairs!
As the woman hurries down in her nightgown and we get a first impression of her beautiful home, we're now introduced to Miss Maddie Hayes, former fashion model (and the Blue Moon Shampoo girl). Her accountant ran off with her money, leaving her with nothing but some business investments she kept solely for tax write-off reasons. Her laywer and friend recommends that she quickly closes them down, so she can't acrue more debt.
I could go on, but I guess we all know the basic story of the pilot. What makes it so beautiful and put it above all the other shows of the time that were similar (like Hart to Hart, Scarecrow and Mrs King, Magnum) is that the plot often doesn't actually matter that much.
What really matters and charms us is the beautiful 1980s vibe and the similarly beautiful witty banter and friction between Maddie and Dave/Cybill and Bruce.
Cybill's role here mirrors her real life a bit, because she once was a very beautiful young lady with success, but by the time the show started, she wasn't exactly a superstar anymore.
And Bruce... it's funny to see what he looked like with almost all his hair (didn't actually suit him that well if you ask me) and you can immediately see why he beat out everyone else. Every scene he's in, you feel like he isn't acting, but he's just having fun with a role that was seemingly written for him.
Another star of the show for me was always the city. LA isn't the most beautiful city in real life from what I heard, but Moonlighting (and Michael Mann) managed to show us some real beauty there ( especially at night).
The scenes at the Starlite room for one are very beautiful and romantic. It also has the very good and tense elevator chase between Mr. Pockmark and another bad guy. Even though I already knew how it ended, I found myself at the edge of my seat.
The house they picked for Maddie (it also was featured in an episode of Columbo) is truly beautiful! Far too big for just one person, but beautiful.
The charme of the pilot that makes you eager for more is certainly the chemistry and friction between Maddie and Dave. They both put on a bit of a mask, but also show us their true colors. Maddie is actually kind of sweet when she shows her vulnerable side. And Dave is surprisingly sensitive for a guy who jokes about everything (but then he still has to figure out what "No flies on you" means).
It doesn't have all the ingredients yet that made Moonlighting such a hit, but it sets the foundation for one of the best shows and the mother of dramedies.