Moonlighting: An Oral History – Scott Ryan
Once upon a time ABC-TV’s Moonlighting was among the most buzzed-about shows in the country, thanks largely to the bravado of creator Glenn Gordon Caron, who never met a television convention he didn’t want to break, and the sizzling on-screen chemistry between glamorous erstwhile film star Cybill Shepherd and a New Jersey bartender nobody had ever heard of before named Bruce Willis, who bickered and flirted ceaselessly on screen and engaged in epic off-screen battles that all these years later remain the stuff of Hollywood legend.
This combustible blend of creative brilliance produced some of the most acclaimed, audacious, and innovative programming of the eighties, including a black and white tribute to film noir, with an introduction by Orson Welles; a parody of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, written in iambic pentameter; an homage to The Honeymooners; and countless metafictive episodes breaking through the fourth wall — almost unheard of at the time for hourlong comedy-dramas.
Without a doubt, Moonlighting helped pave the way for the era of prestige television we are now all enjoying. The real story of this pioneering television series and the extraordinary behind-the-scenes challenges, battles, and rewards has never been told — until now, Author Scott Ryan (The Last Days of Letterman, thirtysomething at thirty: an oral history, The Blue Rose, Scott Luck Stories) conducted over twenty interviews with the actors, writers, directors, and producers who made Moonlighting such a dynamic, unforgettable show, delving deep into their thoughts and feelings as they relive this magical moment in pop culture history in this full color oral history.
New Interviews with: Cybill Shepherd (Maddie Hayes), Allyce Beasley (Ms. Dipesto), Curtis Armstrong (Herbert Viola), Glenn Gordon Caron Creator, Executive Producer, Writer Jay Daniel Executive Producer, Director Roger Director Writer, Producer, Season 4 Showrunner Allan Arkush Director Bob Butler and more.
My thanks to the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read a review copy of Moonlighting through Netgalley.
Growing up in the 1980s there were not the wealth of tv channels which are available today. High quality drama was something the BBC were famous for around the world but growing up in the UK we were used to seeing lots of the great shows imported from America and my childhood was filled with fond memories of Knight Rider, The A-Team, The Dukes of Hazzard and Colombo. But there was one show which everybody watched. It was like nothing we had ever seen before and you never missed an episode: Moonlighting.
Pairing up Hollywood star Cybill Shepherd with (then) unknown Bruce Willis initially appeared to be an act of madness by the show runners, however, Moonlighting and the antics of the staff at the Blue Moon Detective Agency remains one of the most loved television programmes even to this day. I was just a teenager when Moonlighting aired for the first time so while I was enjoying the drama on my screen I was oblivious to the drama behind the cameras. Today we have multiple social media platforms and gossip sites which would have had a field day with some of the stories from the set of Moonlighting, then we just had weeks where a new episode didn’t arrive as planned and we got a repeat of an older episode. So what happened behind the scenes?
In Moonlighting: An Oral History, Scott Ryan speaks with multiple cast members, producers, writers and even the creator Glenn Gordon Carron. The book is filled with anectodal stories, recollections and discussions around how the programme was created, the trials and tribulations of being commissioned, in jokes, missed deadlines, breaking the fourth wall and doing things on screen which just were not done. Nothing seemed to be off limits when it came to making David Addison and Maddie Hayes umissable viewing.
Initially I felt reading through multiple short passages of different people remembering the same events may be a bit too much to take on in one or two sittings, however, I got that wrong. Chapters take on various elements of the show. Contributions from various on screen cast and behind the scenes staff give a broad view of the chaos and creativity which was required to bring the show together. It’s fascinating reading and the small, focussed conttibutions make it very easy to read your way through this book.
Now I know Moonlighting was on our screens over 30 years ago and you’re probably thinking you don’t remember any of it? Well I did think that too but some of the episodes which I was sure I had forgotten were soon brought rushing back from the depths of my memories. Never saw the show the first time around? Also not a problem (honest) as Moonlighting: An Oral History is a fascinating insight into the making of a piece of television history. It was the original will they/won’t they programme. It had custard pie-fights, crazy chase scenes, a black and white episode, Orson Wells popped up to introduce one episode and one series even kept the two lead characters apart so they were not sharing scenes together.
Scott Ryan collates the carnage and lets us dwell on those fond memories of compulsive viewing while people who worked on the show share their experiences. The book presents many brilliant photographs and images from the programme and I am sure these will look even better in a book than they did on my digital copy.
If you loved to watch Moonlighting then there will be lots of information in this book which you will enjoy. I wish it were running on tv now so I could watch this all over again. For the moment I will satisfy myself with this cracking collection of memories.
Moonlighting: An Oral History is published by Fayetteville Mafia Press and is available in the UK in paperback or in paperback and digital format in the US. You could order copies here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/moonlighting-scott-ryan/1137518391?ean=9781949024272