I vividly remember watching the season opener of Moonlighting: Season Four the night it originally aired, and thinking, "What the hell happened to David Addison?" Where was that smart-assed, fast-talking player that all the guys I knew wanted to emulate, and all the girls I knew wanted to date (at their own risk)? What had been the hippest show on television for the last three years, had, over the summer, turned into some kind of dreary, downbeat soap opera, and an unfunny soap at that. And what's worse, the lead character had been, for all intents and purposes, neutered. David Addison now cared. David Addison now worried. David Addison was suddenly nervous on a date now. David Addison went to Lamaze class, for God's sake! What the hell had happened to Moonlighting?

Bruce Willis has been a superstar for almost twenty years now, so it's hard to understand the range of reactions this guy generated when he first burst on the scene. He was the kind of star that most people read or heard about first, before they ever saw him in anything. And he seemed to be a polarizing figure: people either loved him or hated him, with no middle ground. I remember reading the trades about this actor that was ticking off all the established stars in Hollywood because he had snagged a record 5 million for his very first starring role in a film -- totally unheard of at the time (it didn't help his popularity in Hollywood when the film promptly bombed). So I checked out his TV show, Moonlighting, and I was totally hooked. This was a guy's guy; the kind of cocky wiseass that young guys like to think they are, and who gets the girl not just because he's handsome, but because he makes them laugh, too -- even when they know it's all an act.

It didn't hurt that his co-star was the coolly sexual Cybil Shepard. We certainly remembered her from her iconic role in The Last Picture Show, and the hilarious The Heartbreak Kid. She was exactly the kind of girl you thought you could date -- if your game was good enough. She wasn't just going to date anyone, either. She had to be won over, after hearing all the lines from all the other guys who were attracted to her. Shepard had been off the radar for awhile, so it was a pleasant surprise to see her back in form, projecting that rare, indescribable big-screen allure.

And that, basically, was the appeal of Moonlighting in its prime: witty, lightning fast sexual bantering between a street-wise bad boy and an ice cold (on the outside) sexy blonde, wrapped up in a contrived mystery every week that allowed the leads to openly break the fourth wall and ask the audience if they could really believe all the silliness that was going on. It was truly a self-reflexive show, with the leads often commenting on the shows' own deliberate weaknesses in arbitrary, ages-old plot twists, or lame humor. We were let in on the jokes -- many of them demanding a quick reference to pop culture and movie history, or you'd miss them -- and its hip, knowing attitude made you feel hip and knowing. It made you feel like part of an exclusive little club -- which of course was a bit of self deception on our parts, because Moonlighting was a top twenty hit, with tens of millions of people watching it every week.

So when David and Maddie finally consummated their years-long dance at the end of the third season, there was a general consensus among fans (along with boffo ratings) that: 1) It was bound to happen, but the producers -- if smart -- are going to drop that whole angle like a stone; and 2) Don't worry, Moonlighting might get even funnier now, with David going completely crazy after the inevitable breakup. Well...they totally botched it. After a long summer of reruns, and a delayed start due to production problems (Moonlighting always had trouble meeting its episode deadlines), anticipation was high for the season opener. After it was over, the new general consensus was: that's what I waited for all summer long? It wasn't that A Trip to the Moon was a total disaster; there were still small reminders of what made Moonlighting great. But as a whole, it was a slow, morose little morality play, with David actually agonizing over Maddie's refusal to stay together, and Maddie's incomprehensible excuses not to stay with David. Moonlighting had changed for the worse, for good. Moonlighting would still manage good ratings for the 1987-88 season (12th for the season, down from 9th the previous season), but the die was cast. Moonlighting would be off the air by the end of the next season, a victim of supreme audience indifference.

There's still pleasures to be found in Moonlighting: Season Four. There's still some funny chases (the airplane ride with David and Bert in Take a Left at the Altar has a nice big-screen feel), and some funny Willis line readings (the Cool Hand Dave two-parter has some vintage Willis shtick). But those two examples also point to the problems with the season: no Maddie. Or more accurately, no Maddie and David in the same shot. Well publicized at the time, Shepard's real-life pregnancy threw the producers and writers for a loop, and the solution was to try and separate David and Maddie (but not permanently, hence her indecision), with Shepard doing her limited interactions with David over the phone. It was a desperate solution (as admitted by all concerned), and it reaches ridiculous proportions when they even create a Claymation Maddie in Come Back Little Shiksa to interact with David. This separation of the stars resulted in a lot of scenes of Maddie with her parents in Chicago (Eva Marie Saint and Robert Webber are great, as expected, but I didn't watch Moonlighting for parental drama), and a lot of Agnes and Bert scenes, that ultimately grow tiresome. When supporting characters suddenly take center stage, look out; the show's in trouble (although, I must admit that the parodistic, non-Maddie and David Here's Living With You, Kid is pretty good). The original point of the show was watching these two people, who cared for each other very much, doing everything possible to never say they cared for each other, all the time cattily bitching back and forth. Now, the show was about two love-sick whiners, separated by 2,000 miles, who weren't funny anymore. Eventually, later in the year, the two did share screen time together, but it was too late; the conceptual change to the characters didn't work, and the spell was broken.

If, after watching Moonlighting: Season Four, I thought I was perhaps being too harsh on the show, I listened to the first commentary with Bruce Willis and series creator Glenn Gordon Caron, and they essentially confirmed most of what struck me as wrong with the season. The two main themes that come out of their entertaining, honest commentary are desperation and disappointment. The solution to Shepard's scheduling conflicts was conceived and executed out of desperation, and the overall direction of season four was disappointing, because, at least to Willis and Caron, they both knew that creatively, Moonlighting was already over.

Here are the episodes, in air date order, from Moonlighting: Season Four, followed by their episode summaries:

DISC ONE:

A Trip to the Moon
After an intense month of intimacy, Maddie starts questioning where her relationship with David is headed.

Come Back Little Shiksa
With Maddie in Chicago, David accepts $10,000 to help a client locate a woman he once spent an unforgettable night with.

Take a Left at the Altar
While Maddie continues brooding in Chicago, David recruits Bert Viola for a case concerning an AWOL bridegroom.

Tale in Two Cities
Maddie's parents throw a lavish bash for her in Chicago, while David and Bert party it up in L.A..

DISC TWO:

Cool Hand Dave: Part 1
When Ms. DiPesto accidentally tells David that Maddie's in Chicago, he frantically boards a plane for the Windy City.

Cool Hand Dave: Part 2
While en route to Chicago to find Maddie, David makes an unexpected side trip to prison under another man's name.

Father Knows Last
Maddie's father visits David at the agency to hint he should take some responsibility for Maddie's unborn child.

Los Dos DiPestos
Ms. DiPesto's mom returns from Mexico carrying more than she realizes -- and becomes the target of several interested parties.

Fatal Attraction
David begins an intensive search for a suitable Lamaze partner so he can be prepared for Maddie's imminent delivery.

DISC THREE:

Tracks of My Tears
Returning to L.A. by train, Maddie daydreams about her future while pouring out her troubles to a sympathetic passenger.

Eek! A Spouse!
David questions Maddie about Walter Bishop's existence as they work on a case for a woman out to buy off her husband's mistress.

Maddie Hayes Gets Married
Maddie's distressed because David insists on throwing a bachelor party for Walter and a huge formal wedding for her.

Here's Living With You, Kid
Bored on an all-night stakeout, Bert dreams how nice it would be to live with Agnes -- but is in for a rude awakening.

And the Flesh Was Made Word
David and Maddie try to mend their professional relationship while working on the case of an obsessed suitor.

The DVDs:

The Video:
I was surprised at the film elements used in Moonlighting: Season Four. The series was shot like old-time Hollywood features, with beautiful lighting and set decoration, but unfortunately, I saw negative scratches, dirt, specks, and even a couple of splice jumps -- either someone didn't go to the vault for the original film elements for the DVD transfer, or there's trouble in the vaults. The transfer is shaky, too -- during the night scenes, compression artifacting and pixelation are sometimes apparent; you'll really notice it on a big monitor.

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital Mono track does a solid TV job of picking up all of Willis's cracks, and Shepard's sighs of exasperation.

The Extras:
There are four commentary tracks on Moonlighting: Season Four The first, and most entertaining, is the Willis/Caron track, already discussed above, on the season opener, A Trip to the Moon. Next is a commentary track by writers Jeff Reno and Ron Osborn, and director Allan Arkush for Come Back Little Shiksa. As in the Willis/Caron commentary track, they point out the desperation of the situation in trying to wrangle this season out, but they're much more upbeat about this particular season than the previous commentators. And this means they're also a little more forgiving of the structural damage that was done to the show's premise, making allowances for these fatal compromises -- compromises that Caron and Willis decline to endorse. On disc three, for the episode Maddie Hayes Gets Married, there's a commentary by Cybil Shepard and writer/director Roger Director. As Shepard ironically says, it's some commentary: they just laugh at the show. There's not much on the backstory concerning the season or the episode (except for Shepard's constant blaming of Caron for all the troubles of this season), maybe because Shepard admits to not doing her homework prior to the commentary -- she's not even sure who the characters are, or basic details of the various story arcs. At the very end of the commentary, Shepard breaks down crying, and laments, among other things, not being able to work with Willis on a Moonlighting movie. It's an uncomfortable moment that might have been mitigated if Shepard had come off more sympathetically during the commentary. And finally, on the same disc, there's a breezy, funny commentary by Allyce Beasley and Curtis Armstrong for Here's Living With You, Kid. The actors obviously enjoyed working with each other during the show, and this great episode is perfect for their comments. Along with Willis' and Caron's commentary, it's certainly the most enjoyable of the discussions.

Final Thoughts:
If you're already a fan of Moonlighting, you probably already own the first three seasons on DVD. So, in for a penny, in for a pound -- you'll wind up buying this and the final season, to complete the set. But if you're coming to Moonlighting fresh, or you haven't seen the series for a few years, I suggest renting Moonlighting: Season Four. It's the beginning of the end for the series, and while death knells always have a certain morbid fascination, save your bucks and rent it.