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The Record May 3, 1987; SUNDAY; ALL EDITIONS SECTION: LIFESTYLE / T V RECORD; Pg. 040 LENGTH: 2536 words HEADLINE: MOONLIGHTING; RECORD READERS PREDICT THE FUTURE SOURCE: The Record BYLINE: Roberta Plutzik BODY: WE GOT BALLOTS, LOTS OF BALLOTS.... In fact, The Record's TV department couldn't believe just how many North Jersey "Moonlighting" fans would respond with such conviction and seriousness of purpose to our call for season-ending scenarios and predictions. But 433 of you did just that. Should Maddie and David get married? A majority of you said yes, though many thought Maddie should face the world on her own. And while you gave us funny, serious, and imaginative endings, you did much more: You analyzed character, drew intelligently on classic TV genres, and played with words and dramatic conventions in the best tradition of "Moonlighting." You also showed us how real certain TV characters that we see week in and week out can become to viewers. The judges of TV Record's "Moonlighting" poll discovered, as we read your scenarios, that many of you see David Addison and Maddie Hayes not just as fictional inventions blipping across the TV screen an hour each week, but as human beings. Your yearnings for their happiness, your speculations on their future, together or separate, were invested with concern, delight, and warmth. Many of you seemed to be commenting on your own life-perspective as you created directions for Maddie and David. For the most part, you were accepting of their foibles, respectful of their strengths, and, above all, forgiving. For some entrants, motivating David to tell Maddie he loves her and having the couple clarify their confusion with marriage vows are essential to any story line. More than one entrant told us with no if's, and's, or but's, "David and Maddie belong together." There were many, many romantic entries with a twist: Maddie, discovering she is pregnant, disappears. David searches for her for months, finds her in the hospital in labor, and, with characteristic whimsy, proposes marriage on the spot. (Beth Desmond, New Milford). David, injured in an accident, lapses into a coma. He comes to and he professes his love for Maddie, who has been standing vigil by his bedside. (M.T. Brennan, Wanaque). Daydreaming about her child, Maddie sees him as a cute, spunky little fella, like you know who. She decides to marry David. (Carol Malinky, Ridgewood). When David attends Lamaze classes with Maddie, she realizes how committed he is to their relationship. They decide to tie the knot. (Nancy Kleespie, Cresskill). David and Maddie ape Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. David, in Ricky Ricardo style, croons "I'm Having a Baby, My Baby and Me," to Maddie as they go back in time to the Tropicana nightclub. (Tom Farley, Upper Saddle River). On their way to solve a case, they crash on a desert island. David nurses Maddie back to health. Expressions of love ensue. (Corrine Rinaldi, Fort Lee). A number of entrants expressed concern about David and Maddie's sexual freedom. Jo Nelson of Union City said that her impressionable grandchildren watch "Moonlighting." "By David and Maddie marrying, it would help children to understand the proper things to do in a situation of this sort. Maddie and David would be sending out a message to all teenagers, saying if is not okay to have children out of wedlock.... They can marry and still bicker, just like anybody else. These two should go for it." Of course, not every entrant saw bliss ahead for David and Maddie. While several of you believe a "Moonlighting" marriage along the lines of Nick and Nora Charles's relationship in "The Thin Man" is the answer to the future of the show, others do not agree, for a variety of reasons: "Remember what happened to Rhoda'? " wrote Mrs. Herbert Keilsen of Tenafly. "The wedding was a terrific show, what with Rhoda running down to the subway. Then, once married, the show was bland, then mercifully canceled." "Yes, they will have to remain more than just friends because they have created a climate of love under the facade of quick-witted, incisive repartee," wrote Grace C. Starr of Fort Lee. But, she added, "these two personalities can make it on their own without the prosaic I do' finale." Many anti-marriage entrants implied a strong feminist bias: Marriage would compromise Maddie's independence. Some examples: David, on bended knee, pleads for proof that the baby is his. But Maddie "flips her head back and says, This baby is mine!'" (Louise Cavallo, Lyndhurst). David proposes marriage so the child "will have a name." Maddie refuses, saying there's nothing wrong with her name. (William Griffin, Ridgewood). Keeping Maddie single would "let the world know that women can run a successful business and raise a family." (Lorie Renz, Lyndhurst). Many entrants also supplied long-range story lines with comic possibilities, such as a happy couple with two kids a decade from now, or David as a happy househusband, Maddie a working mother. Said Anne DaCosta of Northvale: "By becoming parents it opens a Pandora's box of funny situations." But very few of you see Sam the Astronaut, Maddie's other lover, as an on-going plot device. You killed him off, made him a murderer or trickster, or just a plain old loser in the love game. As Grace Starr of Fort Lee put it, "he is basically a decent, sensitive, substantial, well-meaning guy... but he's the antithesis of David, too mundane, symmetrical, and predictable. Maddie would be catching up on her Z's. She needs the energy, imagination, and briskness of a David." The six winning scenarios in TV Record's "Moonlighting" polls were chosen for best all-around plot invention and understanding of the show's characters. Some entries exceeded our 150-word guideline, but the judges did not penalize them. Each winner will receive a framed, glossy version of the Bruce Willis photo depicted on the cover of this magazine. The New Jersey-born actor signed each winner's photo in gold ink and we thank him. And now, the winners, in alphabetical order, have their say: A Love Triangle or a Bermuda Honeymoon?
THE SCENE OPENS with a slow pan of David's bedroom, focusing in on its particularly slipshod design. The music, blasting from an old dusty clock radio, fills the room with an old tune from the Pointer Sisters, "Fire." A ray of sunlight peers through a tear from a vinyl window shade and finds its target right between David's eyes. He wrestles around for a moment, under the blankets and calls out "Oh Maddie" in his own tired yet sexy way. He realizes that it is now morning... and he is alone... in his own apartment. His clock radio continues to sing to him. "Cuz when we kiss... ooohhh, fire!! Hot kisses like fire." He panics, jumps up from his bed, and with a blank expression on his face he shifts his eyes left and right. While rubbing his grubby beard, he chuckles and whispers something like, "How 'bout that. I finally find the girl of my dreams!" Sam has already informed her that he has been called away on business and won't return for three weeks. Maddie is attempting to get some work done at the office, but finds that she is unable to. She would like to apologize for the way she's treated him. David decides to get in touch with an old college friend and asks him if he'd be interested in some company for a while. They talk about re-creating the "good old days" and getting "lucky" every night. His friend, recently divorced, agrees. David puts on his "macho" sunglasses and sings a verse of "California Girls" to himself. All dolled up and in shades he dances his way to the ticket gate and boards a morning flight. He is seated next to a "hot" model. We all know what his intentions are. Meanwhile, Maddie comes across a letter from David and frantically opens it. It's David's voice we hear: "Dear Maddie... I know you're probably saying to yourself, Why is he sending me a letter?' I've been wanting to talk to you, but every time I get the opportunity I can't seem to find the right words to say. When I do find the right words, I end up losing them to the man on the moon.' I'm sorry, I shouldn't call him sarcastic names. "I realized something last night. You need time. Time to think about life, about what you want for you. It shouldn't be a question of who's right for you,' but of who or what you want and need to make your life complete. I also think that I need time to gather my thoughts. Right now, my needs are not you, not Blue Moon,' and not even my mambo stick. I need space too, maybe for a week, a month, a summer, who knows? My dad used to say, If you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it's yours. If it doesn't... it's probably out of gas." Take care of yourself, Maddie... Mrs. Maddie...." Blue Moon Saloon This is a take off on "Gunsmoke" series, in costume, with an old West set. Maddie runs the Blue Moon Saloon, wearing a fake mole on her chin. David is the sheriff. David calls Sam "Doc." Miss DiPesto is one of Maddie's girls. Herbert has cast on his leg and limps after David calling "Mr. Addison!" David and Sam argue about which one will marry Maddie. The argument becomes heated and they set the time for the showdown in the street. Instead of guns, they duel playing Laser Tag. It's a draw. Sam mounts his horse, rides out of town. David asks Maddie if she's sure. She nods. They embrace. He tells her he loves her and will be there for her and baby if needed. He steps back, removes sheriff's badge, puts on sunglasses, and says, "Now, let's get back to L. A." They climb into a wagon, with Maddie holding the reins, and ride off into the sunset. Let's Do It, Baby! AFTER REALIZING that David cannot come to grips with his feelings, Maddie decides to choose a life of stability and security and accepts Sam's marriage proposal despite her strong feelings for David. Maddie tells Sam about the interlude between David and herself. Sam loves her so much that he understands and feels that maybe she just had to get it out of her system. Maddie finds she's pregnant and tells Sam. She believes in her heart that the baby is his. Sam, feeling doubtful, finds out he's sterile. The baby is David's! Sam doesn't tell Maddie for fear of losing her, so he goes on with the charade. They are at the altar and the preacher says, "If there is anyone here who feels these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace." At that moment, Sam speaks up (he cannot live with the fact that he is not the baby's father) and tells Maddie everything and that he cannot marry her. While this is happening, David sneaks into the church. Maddie sees him and begins to cry. He runs up the aisle screaming, "Maddie, I love you! Let's do it, baby!" Within seconds, the happy couple both say "I do."To Tie the Knot or Not MADDIE BECOMES pregnant. Unaware of Maddie's pregnancy, David tells Maddie he loves her and proposes marriage. Unsure who the father is, Maddie decides to remain single and have the baby. David feels rejected and reacts with an alcohol and Mexican-food binge culminating in his attendance at a Mexicali Three Stooges film festival where, objecting to the Stooges' voice being dubbed in Spanish, he causes a riot resulting in his arrest. Eventually, David returns from Mexico. Maddie tells David she is going to have the baby. David reveals he has been rescued from prison by, and remarried to, his former wife. Daydreams A PREGNANT MADDIE daydreams (in black and white) about what the future would be like if she marries David or Sam. With David it's an "I Love Lucy" or "Honeymooners'" rip-off, with Ms. DiPesto and Victor as the "helpful neighbors." With Sam, it's nice but a little dull, a "Father Knows Best" type marriage. David does tell Maddie he loves her at the end of the show, but Maddie isn't sure whose baby it is. David is willing to raise it even if it is Sam's baby. Maddie goes home to await the birth, a decision to be made after the baby is born. It's Fun Time DAVID AND MADDIE are sitting in a park lunching together (the park is full of blossoming flowers intoxicating them both with heavy perfumed scents) and they are both thinking about how much they really do love each other. They both simultaneously think about how they have seen each other at their absolute worst (flashbacks here to when Maddie found David in the office sleeping off a bad hangover, and David finding Maddie coming out of her office bathroom all muddy, with panty hose down around her knees after changing a flat tire on her way to work). They decide if that was their absolute worse, they could certainly live with it. David and Maddie gaze into each other's eyes and at the same moment they confess their love for each other and both propose marriage to each other. The show continues with scenes from their beautiful wedding day, including one showing David and Maddie doing the Hokey Pokey with a flashback from the episode where David taught Maddie how to break and enter a house with her stickpin and, thus, how Maddie learned how to do the Hokey Pokey in the first place. The episode ends when they are in the hotel suite afterward, Maddie is laying on the bed sipping white wine from a crystal goblet and wearing a beautiful negligee waiting for David to appear from the bathroom. Out he jumps wearing white boxer shorts emblazoned with red hearts and gold guitars, hops on the bed and, using his twin crystal goblet as a microphone, begins singing "It's Fun Time." "David (pacing around with an incredulous yet somewhat believing expression): Committed, Maddie? Committed? Was Jack Nicholson committed to the cuckoo's nest? Do little red robins like to go bobbin'? Committed Maddie? Of course I'm committed." Carolan Magnoli, River Vale "Maddie reveals that she's really an actress playing the part of an owner of a detective agency... and in reality is married to a chiropractor and expecting twins." Diana Ver Nooy, Teaneck "Sam proposes to her. Maddie almost accepts, but David crashes into the scene to propose to her. Before Maddie can respond, the director and crew close the episode by arguing with the cast about Maddie's dilemma." Mick Andreano, Hawthorne "David intercepts a phone call (for Maddie) from NASA, telling him that Sam has been killed in a test flight." Karl T. Nilsson, Clifton "When David discovers that he is the father, he rushes out, buys up half of F.A.O. Schwarz, and has it delivered to Maddie's house." Karen S. Wiseman, Saddle Brook The "Moonlighting" Poll Results E-Mail: webmaster@DavidandMaddie.com
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