We continue our look at some notable 1980s Christmas episodes by looking at a classic Moonlighting that helps to remind everyone why it was such a beloved TV series.
The issue with Moonlighting is that it confounds everyone because it legitimately was a VERY good show for two seasons, and still a strong show for three seasons or so.
Then everything fell apart. People remember it being because David and Maddie got together, but it was really just a coincidence, as that was also the same point when lots of other stuff happened (Cybill Shepherd became pregnant, and had a difficult pregnancy since she was having twins, so she had to be on bed rest a lot, while Bruce Willis was becoming a movie star, needing time off toe film Shepherd was having twins and Willis was filming Die Hard, and he was suddenly becoming VERY difficult to deal with, and more specifically, the change in fame levels between Willis and Shepherd made THAT relationship difficult, as well, and an angry Shepherd also became increasingly difficult to deal with for the series’ showrunner/creator). So it was just a total mess, but a total mess that had nothing to do with David and Maddie finally getting together.
In any event, boy, these early episodes are so good that people still fondly remember the show because it really was just SO good when it was good. In this classic Christmas episode, a man is killed by his old business partner, who he turned on and went into witness protection. The wife hides her baby with her neighbor, who is Agnes, the secretary of David and Maddie at their detective agency.
She brings the baby to work, and they are soon visited by three government agents who all have the last name King. The amusing thing is that David is the only person who realizes all of the Christmas coincidences. Everyone else is hilariously oblivious.
At the end of the episode, after everything is done, David realizes they must be in a Christmas episode, but Maddie notes that there is no snow, and then it begins snowing in the office. They hear people singing Christmas Carols, and they leave the office, which is revealed to be a set, and the whole crew and their families are “singing” the carol, “The First Noel.” They then break the fourth wall and wish the audience a Merry Christmas.
The show had SO MUCH good will to spare, but boy, did they end up using it all up by the end. It was just a miserable viewing experience by the end.
You’d NEVER guess after watching this episode that the series would not only be done after just four seasons, but that few viewers would even CARE by the time it ended.
Feel free to write me at brian@poprefs.com if you have suggestions for other notable 1980s TV Christmas episodes!
