Directed by Robert Butler
The feature-length pilot for the popular TV series. Maddie Hayes wakes up to find her staff have quit and all her money has been stolen. One of her few remaining assets is a loss-making investigation agency run by David Addison. She sacks the staff but David is determined to keep it going.
USA USA 
Cinematic Time Capsule
1985 Marathon - Film #39
”I want some answers!”
“Delaware, all of the above, and 90 degrees.”
It's hard to believe there was a time when the world didn't know who Bruce Willis was. 🤔
And then, out of the blue, they turned on their TVs and suddenly there's this wise-acre ball of energy constantly bouncing off the walls and chewing on every bit of scenery he can find.
”Hell, I can't even walk and chew gum at the same time... Dumb David, always chomping on his feet and blowing bubbles with his shoes.”
As a standalone TV movie, this pilot doesn’t quite live up to the heights of later episodes. But the pieces are there, and…
"Me? Plan? Couldn't be! Everybody knows I have no facility for deductive reasoning. Hell, I can't even walk and chew gum at the same time."
A good pilot for the Cybill Shepherd/Bruce Willis TV series.
I enjoyed the episodes I watched back in the day. I’ve never been much of a TV watcher, but this is one of the shows I dug – even so, I don’t think I saw all that many episodes, less than a third maybe, and never checked out the pilot.
Anyway, the series was ahead of its time, with its rule-breaking screwball approach. (Nothing is better than screwball done right.) The pilot wasn’t quite there yet – it has a boilerplate plot with an uninspired MacGuffin, but the rapid-fire banter is fine, and Shepherd & Willis bounce off each other beautifully, their energy crackles.
I can’t begin to tell you how important Maddie Hayes was to me as a 12 year old boy .
David Addison if you read this I am free to hang out on Thursday night so if you want to hang out on Thursday night Please respond to this and then hang out with me on Thursday night when I am free.
An die Serie Moonlighting bzw. Das Model und der Schnüffler habe ich wage und warme Erinnerungen, die darin bestehen, sie gern mit meiner Mutter irgendwann in den 80‘ern auf RTL geschaut zu haben. Inhaltlich ist kaum etwas hängen geblieben, außer, dass Bruce Willis (vor Stirb Langsam) und Cybil Shepherd sich so wundervoll geneckt haben. Und dass in vielen Folgen ein toller BMW gefahren wurde.
Jetzt also nach wirklich langer Zeit nun also der Pilotfilm, an den ich mich nicht erinnere, zumal ich auch nicht weiß, ob ich ihn je sah. Dieser Film stellt also die Genesis dieser ungleichen Paarung nach. Wie kommen das Model und der Schnüffler eigentlich zusammen? Und es gibt natürlich ein erstes Abenteuer, einen ersten Fall.
Das…
Without a doubt one of the greatest pilots in television history, Moonlighting already perfects its subsequent series' trademark blend of sharp-as-a-tack screwball comedy and heart-racingly suspenseful mystery drama, thanks to Glenn Gordon Caron's ingenious script and Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis' effortlessly electrifying chemistry.
just realized this is on here?????? letterboxd is so random. but also real as fuck. did you know i ghostwrote this tv series 40 years ago? hard to believe but true (don’t look up my date of birth)
This pilot is a superior example of TV writing, with help from Willis and Shepard's chemistry and perfect cultural timing.
Reviewing again Moonlighting from the very beginning after watching it for the first time a few years ago. Many North by Northwest references, screwball comedy renewed and the introduction to the brilliant characters of David Addison and Maddie Hayes and their fantastic endless witty playful banter. Cybill Shepherd’s wardrobe is wonderful, pure 80s but classy. No, it’s not an oxymoron. In all seriousness, this is one of the best tv shows ever made, at least until the third season so I’m really looking forward to seeing all those episodes again!
I’ve been looking up 80s tv and since I have nothing but time, I decided to chase up some shows and see if I’d be into them now that I’m an adult. I am not into Moonlighting.
Some hour long shows from the 70s and 80s had pilots that were feature length, or very special two parter episodes that could later be sold to local channels and broadcast as standalone movies. This mostly seemed to be a thing for detective shows, which have never really been my thing. I generally hate mysteries; I need to know what happened immediately.
I was hoping now that I’m older and sophisticated, I’d see what contemporary audiences saw in this (or what my mom…
No idea why I’m logging this, but pretty good. Will watch more. Young Bruce Willis paired with Cybill Shepherd is dynamite.
The pilot of one of my favorite series of all time. The " birth " of Bruce Willis plus the wonderful wonderful Cybil Shepherd.
