Creator Glenn Gordon Caron:
The man behind many, if not all, the Easter Eggs in Moonlighting.
What is an Easter Egg, you ask?
An Easter Egg as originated in software terminology referred to little bits of code that a programmer hid within a main program for some slight trivia, usually producing a humorous or entertaining output. A popular use for software easter eggs is for the developers of a product to hide their names inside the application, making the user go through strange menus and clicks to uncover them. Now the term is being more loosely applied to mean any amusing tidbit that creators hid in their creations. This can be in software, movies, tv programs, music, art, books, watches, etc. At eeggs.com they have built an entire web site centered on locating Easter Eggs in all their many flavors.
Special thanks to all the many fans who contributed Easter Eggs for this page, many of them members of the Moonlighting Discussion List at MOONLIGHTING-L@LISTSERV.AOL.COM:
To all of you including Pam H., Vicki B., Hazel, Kim D, Darla, Stephanie M. and Dana B. THANK YOU!
~Cindy & Diane~ |
Something for the Geek in all of us:
Hunting Easter Eggs in "Moonlighting"
Naturally a show as self-reflexive and as clever as Moonlighting is bound to hide an Easter Egg or two. Many of these may actually be true Easter Eggs (although I seriously doubt that is what they were called back in the mid to late 1980's), deliberately put into the show by the creator(s) to amuse; and a few may actually have been accidental, not deliberate at the time, but now in retrospect have some type of Easter Egg sensibility. (Yes, yes, we know already...a lot of the eggs on our list require a more generous definition of what an easter egg is than many of the geek purists will allow. But remember, this is all in fun, so we are willing to relax the rules a bit.) Please email us if you know of any we might have missed:
- The tabloid newspaper headline in "The Lady in the Iron Mask". Probably the best known easter egg in the entire series. This is the newspaper that David Addison is hiding behind during surveillance in the hotel and there is a headline splashed across the tabloid that says "Dr. Caron
discovers antidote for stress." This of course is a reference to Glenn Gordon Caron, the creator and Executive Producer of Moonlighting and the in-house joke here is how stressful production on the show was...constantly behind schedule, over-budget, working late etc etc.
Plenty others arranged chronologically:
Season One
- In the pilot episode, Glenn Caron uses the line "No flies on you." As Caron explains in the DVD commentary, this was a phrase his wife like to use, so he threw this in there for her.
- In the pilot episode, when waiting in the bar for Maddie's taxi to arrive, David orders Maddie a drink "to take the edge off." The drink David ordes for Maddie is a kamikase, which I have read was from Bruce Willis' input as a salute to one of the Manhattan clubs where he used to work as bartender.
- As reported by Caron in the DVD commentary to the pilot, the mention in the episode "Gunfight at the Ok Corral" to Aaron Spelling programming was intentional. When David tells Maddie about his ideas for a new tv series and sings the theme song, the "Bus Stop" and "Parking Lot" ideas resonates with Spelling's The Love Boat. Caron explains that Spelling-type shows were ubiquitous on ABC at the time and much of the network's insistence to him about how they wanted Moonlighting to be were based on Spelling formula tv. Caron resisted that and even poked fun at it in this episode.
- In "Gunfight at the Ok Corral" David and Maddie talk about her hairstyle. Cybill has said many times in interviews and in her autobiography that Bruce hated her hairstyle on the show. In the scene here she says her hairstylist's name is Mr. Bruce. In the same scene, David warns her, "You're going to blow it for Miss
Congeniality," a reference to Cybill's beauty pageant days.
Season Two
- Actor C. Thomas Howell makes several small, uncredited appearances in episodes. Chris Howell, the father of C. Thomas Howell, was the stunt coordinator for Moonlighting. In a couple of episodes, C. Thomas did stunt falls for the series--one was as the waiter who gets toppled over several times in the crazy chase scene at the end in "The Lady in the Iron Mask" He was also the hapless postal worker who gets knocked over in the final post office chase scene in, "Yours Very Deadly" Another time he appeared as a shopper who gets knocked down in a shopping mall chase in Come Back Little Shiksa. His final appearance was as the bicycle rider in the 5th season episode, "Color of Maddie" who gets knocked over and his bicycle stolen by the criminal (whom Maddie and David chase on a tandem bike).
- In "Money Talks, Maddie Walks" there is a reference to Bruce Willis's former bartending gig. When David Addison arrives at the Buena's Aires casino and joins Maddie at her table for dinner, he pours champagne into her glass and when the waiter looks at him, he comments, "It's ok, I'm in the union." This refers to him (and Willis) being an ex-bartender.
- Near the end of "My Fair David" as David & Maddie approach Emily Greydon's house, David is still trying to bargain his way out of the bet. He says to Maddie that as well as firing O'Neill and Jergenson, that he is willing to allow the bet to continue for 2 weeks and if he loses he will fire Mandelberg and Daniel. This is a clear reference to Artie Mandelberg and Jay Daniel who were both producers of the series. (Thanks to Carmel Tracey for sending this one in.)
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Maddie Hayes having on a pair of tennis shoes even when in business attire. It is a well-known story how actress Cybill Shepherd scorned having to wear high heels constantly, and she wore tennis shoes as much as possible when filming. It is a well known and well photographed instance when she showed up at the Emmy Awards in 1986 dressed in a formal black dress wearing orange Reeboks. Occasionally on the series, things slip by where you see her in her tennis shoes instead of the pumps Maddie would be wearing. One of the first notices of this is in the episode "Knowing Her" at the cemetary scene.
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The bumper scene in "Every Daughter's Father is a Virgin" referring to fan letters expressing the desire for Maddie & David to get it
on. This is what every article written about the couple during the second season harped on...so they further tease their audience with this scene.
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In "North By North DiPesto" at the end when Maddie tells David they need to go in her office and get busy. He asks why? what do they need to do? She says talk to the writers to get them to write us bigger parts next week.
He says, "You got that right!" Cybill and Bruce worked constantly and only got a break when there was an Agnes
episode. This is a joke to point out that the episode that just ran was an Agnes episode.
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In "Sleep Talkin' Guy" the main storyline sorta resonates with reality concerning the two stars at that time. A fan pointed out that this episode is an interesting parallel to Cybill and Bruce because David becomes very successful, and Maddie feels left behind. Maddie even says they've outgrown each other. Probably unintentional, but in hindsight can be seen as very prophetic given Bruce's popularity.
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The telephone number on David Addison's business card. In the episode "Camille," David Addison's business card is shown up close for a few seconds and on it is printed a telephone number that is not one of the usual bogus 555-#### numbers always used in movies and tv because 555 is a prefix not issued anywhere so no number with 555 would really exist. The number printed on the card was a for real phone number that actually worked and rang on a desk in the production office at "Moonlighting." As reported by a person who actually called the number, it rang on set decorator Bill Harp's desk.
- Camille is unique in that its final scene is one big in-joke about the series being nothing but a tv show...or is it? To wrap up the chase scene and crime resolution, the cast steps out of character and tells the guest stars what is going to happen as the prop men remove all the guns, walls, scenery, etc around them. Then everyone leaves and goes out to their cars. Yet, Maddie and David appear to be really Maddie and David or are they really Cybill and Bruce at this point? They each wave goodbye to the other for the summer and get into their own real cars. This conclusion further blurs the line between reel and real among the characters and the show, and it does it in a smart easter eggy sorta way.
Season Three
- In the bumper scene for The Son Also Rises, David's ailing Mom calls excited about the show's incredible 16 Emmy nominations. Her doctor gets on the phone and talks to David and tells him how excited his mom is about the nominations and how much good it has done her to have something to look forward to. The next thing we see is a card dedicating the show to the late Mrs. Addison. ML only won
one Emmy that year, one for editing.
- Also in The Son Also Rises, David Addison makes a comment about his own hair that reflects a reference to Bruce Willis. When David Addison sees his father for the first time in a couple of years, his dad looks at him and says, "I like your hair like that, all nice and short." And David replies, "Yeah, about 20,000 hairs too short." Bruce Willis had reported back to work on Moonlighting that fall sporting a very short, spiky hair style that became a running joke line on the series through the first half of the third season. This is the first mention of it.
- The bumper scene in Symphony where David talks about doing a video to teach "how to get down" and then we all
expect him to be the one singing and dancing to the Temptations, but instead it is Maddie. Willis had just been
signed as a recording artist on Motown Records and was going to be releasing an album and a music video...so
this poked fun at this.
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The postal worker in "Yours Very Deadly" is holding a tabloid with a cover story about Cybill and Bruce.. Since the duo found themselves the constant targets of the tabloids, it was great to see the show poke fun at it all. (Now personally I just don't see this on the tabloid the man is holding, but my tape is from the original airing and isn't exactly pristine so I can barely see the headline and certainly cannot see the pictures on it clearly at all....but others have told me they have, so I am gonna trust them here and count this as an egg.)
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In Big Man on Mulberry Street in the restaurant scene in the beginning, there is a small vignette of an agent and an actress speaking. The agent tells the woman that she is being difficult and that it is all over town that she has an attitude problem. The reason this seems significant is that from what was reported, Big Man is an episode that Cybill Shepherd discusses having difficulty geting any of her suggestions listened to. It is also possibly the episode where she allegedly throws a chair at the wall.
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Also in Big Man on Mulberry Street there is another hair joke at aimed at David Addison. When David has returned to NYC for the wake of his ex-brother in law, he is out drinking with his old buddies, and one of them asks him point blank, "What happened to your hair?"
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In "Atomic Shakespeare," Maddie Hayes/Cybill plays the shrew, known for being a total bitch and a raging feminist to boot. Cybill had a reputation for being a strong woman that was difficult to work with and many tabloid stories played up on her bitchy behavior and her feminist arguments against the producers of the show.
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In "Atomic Shakespeare," the horse Petruchio rides in on has two series references. One, he is wearing sunglasses that resemble the Raybans so oft worn by David Addision and two, the blanket on the horse has a BMW emblem on it. Maddie and David drive her BMW 635csi everywhere they go, and in the mid 1980's a BMW was a very popular Yuppie car.
- In "Atomic Shakespeare," when Petruchio/David Addison delivers his opening speech. He says his lines with perfect Shakepearean delivery, and then lowers his sunglasses, looks at the camera and says "Didn't think I could pull it off, did ya?" This seems to be an acknowledgement of the common misconception that Bruce Willis was little more than just a comedic actor with a pretty smirk and with questionable range.
- Also, in "Atomic Shakespeare" Petruchio/Addison pulls out the scroll for his dowry demands and instead it is a list that asks for "his own Winnebago, a piece of the syndication rights, and a chance to direct." This is possibly another reference to the press's allegations that he was difficult, or it could just be a commentary on actors' star demands in general.
- Another clever series reference in "Atomic Shakespeare" is the door to Petruchio's house. It has Petruchio's written on it in the same font that Blue Moon Investigations is written on the door of the office and in fact Petruchio's house is the office decorated to be his 16th century residence.
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The episode "The Straight Poop" is filled with Easter Eggs each playing off the tabloid rumors about the show and the stars. In fact, this whole episode is really one big easter egg since its whole plot refers to the tabloid rumors circulating about the show at the time--about how the two stars were fighting which was supposedly causing production delays and helped explain (erroneously) all the many reruns of the show at the time. Some of the many easter egg moments in this episode include:
- When Rona Barrett goes to David Addison's door to knock on it, there is a group of large, mean
looking body guards in front blocking the door. Reports claimed that Willis had "gone Hollywood" or was Mr. Big
now because whenever he went out in public, he had several body guards with him. When Rona turns and goes to
Maddie's door, there are several large menacing women in front of the door. This too meant Cybill acted the same "gone Hollywood" way. The tabloids screamed that both the stars were acting like big celebrities now and isolated themselves from the "little people".
- Maddie Hayes coming out of her office with tissue over face was a joke reference to the camera lens filters used on Cybill Shepherd when shooting her. The tabloids claimed Cybill insisted on special filters to make her appear more youthful.
- David Addison growling to Rona Barrett, "Go away! I ain't gonna talk to nobody." Supposedly Willis would not grant interviews early on because of a bad press experience he had had.
- The appearance of Pierce Brosnan in the episode is a double Easter Egg. First, Glenn Gordon Caron was a writer/producer on Remington Steele before he created Moonlighting, so this is another easter egg referencing him. And second many critics claimed that Moonlighting was a rip off of other boy-girl detective shows like Remington Steel.
- Peter Bogdanovich discussing his past relationship with Maddie Hayes. Back in the 1970's, Cybill Shepherd and Mr. Bogdanovich had a relationship that was written about frequently in the tabloids, and both came under constant attack. This cameo appearance is playing off that fact.
- The snide question from Rona Barrett to David Addison about his hair. Yet another hair joke levelled at Bruce Willis. His short hairstyle and/or loss of hair kept getting harped on throughout the season.
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Having Lionel Stander from Hart to Hart appear in It's a Wonderful Job. Just as with the appearance of Pierce Brosnan in The Straight Poop, here is another wink at the accusation that Moonlighting was nothing but a rip
off of Hart to Hart.
- David's comment to Maddie in Blonde on Blonde after she says "there is nothing wrong with me. He quips, "Nothing wrong? And the papers say I've got a big ego." Here again is a mention of a press comment about Willis.
- David Addison in Blonde on Blonde asking for a station break. When David ends up in a hotel room with a gun in his hand, a dead man on the floor and the police banging on the door, he requests a station break and then comments when he doesn't get one...."What do I know, I'm only an actor." In addition to being a common complaint from producers about actors trying to rewrite scripts, (they are ONLY actors, afterall) this in particular references accusations made in the press that Willis and Shepherd both fight with
writers over scripts and make demands about their characters to the writers.
- Having Mark Harmon play Sam Crawford, David Addison's competition for Maddie. Harmon was a really great choice for this part because the actor had been selected the prior year as "The Sexiest Man Alive" by People Magazine. Knowing the public perception of Harmon was as a pretty-faced hunk, he made a daunting adversary for David for Maddie's affections. Could things be any worse for David than to have Maddie's door opened in "Blonde on Blonde" by the Sexiest Man Alive? What a great touch!!
- TV Critic Jeff Jarvis is used to do the introduction of the episode "Sam and Dave." Jarvis was the tv critic for People Magazine and had been an early convert to the show, talking it up quite a bit in his columns. However, he had recently written critically of all the reruns the show was experiencing. Using him here and then showing him being paid off at the end of his segment was a clever way of acknowledging all the flak the show had been getting. Also with this use occurring in the midst of one of the most exciting storylines of the series, (the resolution of the big "will they or won't they" question), it was an inspired but still tongue-in-cheek way of winning everyone back over to the show.
- In the episode Sam and Dave, when Maddie returns from a shopping trip she is carrying a dress bag with the costume designer for the series' name on it. The "black evening dress cut to South America" is inside a dress bag with the word Turturice written across it. Robert Turturice was the costume designer for "Moonlighting."
- In the man-on-the-street interviews at the beginning of "Maddie's Turn to Cry" most of the tv viewers they interview confuse the actors' real names with the characters' names. This blurring of reality with what was being shown on the tv screen was standard operating procedure in the press and among the fans when it came to "Moonlighting" and the two stars. Was the chemistry, flirtation, fighting and personal relationship between Maddie and David or was it between Cybill and Bruce? This sold a heck of a lot of papers and magazines and sure kept us all tantalized for quite a while.
- In "Maddie's Turn to Cry" there is yet another jab at the tabloids. When David and Maddie go to the clients house near the end and her lover is discovered hiding in the closet, David says, "Imagine that...someone coming out of the closet on our show. Where's the National Enquirer when you need them?" Clearly this is another comment concerning how the tabloid press hounded Cybill and Bruce.
- David Addison having an injured left shoulder in "I am Curious...Maddie." In reality Bruce Willis was indeed suffering from a broken collarbone following a ski accident, and he had to do his scenes in this episode injury and all, with very little time off for recovery. Much ado was made in the press about the timing of this accident and how it would affect the shooting schedule for this very important episode of "Moonlighting."
- In "I Am Curious...Maddie" when David tells Maddie "she's not worth it." This pokes fun at Cybill's line in her Loreal hair color commercial in which she said "I'm worth it."
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Definately not intentional, but in hindsight makes a great Easter Egg:
The foreshadowing comment made by Maddie and David in To Heiress Human. This comment is made as they discuss what would happen if they continued "to let this animal magnetism get the best of us" "Yeah, they move us to Sunday nights, 7:30, 6:30 Central Time." Which ironically during the last season of Moonlighting for the last 7 episodes, the show did air early on Sunday nights.
Season Four
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Melissa in Come Back Little Shiksa says to David, "I bet it isn't every day that a client isn't who they say they are
and turns up dead but aren't really." And David turns to the camera and says, "Obviously this woman does not watch
the show." Moonlighting was known for its convulated cases and storylines and silliness at times. The cases and
detective work were really only secondary to the main storyline concerning Maddie and David's relationship.
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Bert Viola in "Cool Hand Dave part I" saying to Agnes that Miss Hayes is in Chicago and is probably not watching the show. Cybill was off on maternity leave during the first part of the fourth season and so ML was clearly not what she was concerned with at the moment. During this period, Willis was having to carry the show with some assists from Curtis and Allyce (Bert & Agnes).
- The comments from the psychic at the start of Cool Hand Dave II. The psychic being used by ABC executives to try to locate the missing David Addison makes a comment about the defunct ABC series "Max Headroom." This is especially pointed since Moonlighting was the lead-in show to "Max Headroom" and the night that Maddie and David had sex for the first time is the episode that aired right before the premiere of Headroom. It was quite apparent that ABC had promoted Maddie and David's activities that night to generate a killer ratings lead in for Headroom. ML's creator, Glenn Caron, had not been happy about ABC promotion of the event since it sorta spoils the resolution moment for the viewer. So here ML gets even a bit.
- When was the last time YOU watched the show, asked by an ABC Executive in Cool Hand Dave II and
answered by another one, "The last time they had a new episode." This makes fun of the show's reputation for having constant reruns.
- The ABC executives doing the casting call for David Addison's replacement when he comes up missing in "Cool
Hand Dave II". The lines are out the door to try out for the part. Bruce Willis is supposedly one of the persons passing through trying out. In addition to being a funny scene, the whole issue resonates with the well-known legendary story of the 3,000+ persons who read for the part originally...and the network being resistant to hiring Willis in the first place. Here again he is just another face in the crowd, and they again do not recognize his talent, his charm, and why he is perfect for the part. This scene is also especially loaded since at the time this episode aired, Moonlighting was one of ABC's biggest hits and Bruce & Cybill two of ABC's biggest stars. With Cybill out on maternity leave, it would be a crisis on the show and at the network if Bruce was unavailable too.
- In Cool Hand Dave II, the Moonlighting theme song is whistled by a prison guard. If you pay attention, the night David tries his escape, the guard who walks by the cells checking on the prisoners is humming the "Moonlighting" theme song.
- Also in Cool Hand Dave II, there is another reference to this being a tv show and these characters being played by actors. When David is taken out by the guard who is threatening to kill him, David says point blank to him "Have you considered the consequences of murdering a major television
personality?"
- David Addison's comments to the warden at end of Cool Hand Dave II. After David has been released from prison following an identity mixup, the warden tells David he doesn't want to see him in
there again, David replies, "I'm going straight Warden. I've learned my lesson. Crime does not pay." This is more than likely a
thinly veiled reference to Willis' run in with the law that past spring when he was arrested and hauled off to jail after a
wild party resulted in a disturbing the peace complaint to the police by his neighbors.
- In Fetal Attraction, David plucks out a few notes from the Moonlighting theme on Terry Knowles' cello. When David arrives at Terry's house to pick her up for their Lamaze class, he finds out she is a cellist and he plucks on the strings of her instrument, playing the tune to the TV series.
- Dennis Dugan plays Walter Bishop, the stranger on the train who marries Maddie. Interstingly, Dennis Dugan was one of the actors who tried out for and was being considered for the role of David Addison. But Glenn Caron admits that even though Dugan did a nice reading and seemed to understand the material, he just did not make sense as a romantic interest for Cybill's character. So he did not get the part. Now later for Tracks of My Tears when it came time to find a mismatched mate for Maddie, Dugan gets the call.
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References to the moonlighting ad jobs of the two stars. In Maddie Hayes Got Married, there are lines in the dialog that make reference to Bruce Willis' commercial gig for Seagram's wine coolers and Cybill Shepherd's gig as a spokesperson for the Beef Industry Council. While conversing with Bert Viola about what Maddie's new husband must be like, David Addison tells Bert he
knows exactly the kind of man that Maddie goes for... some one like Mark Harmon or that guy on tv that sales
those coolers--meaning Bruce Willis as he was hawking Seagrams Wine Coolers at that time. (And Harmon
had played Sam Crawford earlier in the series-see item 29 above.) Then when David walks Maddie to the cafeteria at the end of
the episode, he comments about her needing to eat certain types of food groups, mentioning protein and meat and
asks her if she is a beef person. Cybill was on the beef counsel and did spots promoting beef.
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In The Flesh was Made Word, the character of Walter Bishop (played by actor Dennis Dugan) turns to the
camera and says "There, are you happy now?" This was the show's producers/writers acknowledging how
mad and upset the fans had been by the turn of events in the fourth season when Maddie showed back up in LA
married to Walter. Walter said this line right after he and Maddie annulled their brief marriage and he said goodbye
as he headed out the door.
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References made throughout episodes to stupid or silly chases scenes.. The show made fun of its
own conventions...oddball cases and clients, the scene of revelation/resolution of the guilty party usually followed
immediately by a silly chase scene where things usually get broken or destroyed. Then the bad guy gets caught. In
The Flesh Was made Word in particular, nearly all of these aspects are poked fun at when David tries to explain to
the reluctant client how this whole thing is supposed to work. "We come in here and make all kinds of rude and
accusatory comments. You take offense and then a stupid chase scene is supposed to occur." Then finally when
the woman takes off, David says "Ok, now we are finally getting somewhere." In another episode on one case, he
even yelled out "start the chase music boys" right as the chase was to start.
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In The Flesh was Made Word, the time Maddie and David select for their Lamaze class is Easter Eggish. They agree on "Tuesday nights, 9 pm 8 Central time" which was Moonlighting's time slot.
Season Five
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The song & dance number at the start of "A Womb with a View." First, lyrics in ths song refer to attempting to make 24 shows that year, which mocks the fact that although the network expected a certain amount of episodes from a series, Moonlighting only had never been able to produce the expected amount in any season.
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Also in the same song in Womb with a view, Maddie Hayes arrives at the very end, when the
number has ended and says excitedly, "Ok I'm ready." This is to refer to the press reporting that since Cybill Shepherd had
been back from the birth of her twins, she was always late on set, staying in her dressing room too long and generally
causing many delays in shooting.
- Not intentionally but makes a great Easter Egg in hindsight, in "Between a Yuk and a Hard Place", Agnes DiPesto proves to be somewhat psychic when she tries to warn Herbert of the possible consequences of David leaving town and gives a prediction of the show's not-too-distant future when she warns that they would be "knocked out of prime time and onto cable."
- In Plastic Fantastic Lovers, David and Maddie are sitting in the car having a discussion and Maddie insists that something is impossible. David replies "That's not impossible. 22 episodes a season is impossible." This is a reference to the repeated problems Moonlighting had in producing the prerequiste 22 episodes a season.
- The props encountered in the plastic surgeons office in Plastic Fantastic Lovers. One of the noses on the wall in the chase scene says Mark Harmon over it, another reference to Harmon's all-american pretty boy look. This is another jab at the use of Mark Harmon as Sam Crawford on the show. It seems every time the show wanted a cliche for a perfect-looking man, Mark Harmon was the pick. See items 29 and 47 above.
- The bumper for the episode Take My Wife for Example in season five which has David and Maddie doing a poll. The poll is to determine what the
show should feature to bring back their audience....with Maddie naturally suggesting more vivid human emotion and socially relevant storylines to David's suggestion of "more hooters." Of course more
hooters wins. This is in reference to Moonlighting's serious ratings decline in the fifth season, more than likely a reference to the fact that the fans are turning away in droves due to the de-focusing of the show on Maddie and David's relationship. It also hints of the upcoming timeslot switch that the show is about to face--into the family hour on Sunday nights where adult programming/sexual situations should be at a minimum.
- The plot line in "Take My Wife For Example" pointing out that Maddie had never bought David a
present. This plays on the
tabloid tales about Cybill Shepherd's stinginesss with her money, and how she is not very generous. The reported tabloid story about the dispute
between her and Bruce Willis over the amount to spend for the 1985 Christmas gifts for the crew members clearly comes into play in the easter egg here.
- Also in "Take My Wife For Example" Maddie accuses David Addison of kissing too hard and not allowing her to kiss back. Cybill Shepherd has commented on Willis' "aggressive" kissing in various places in the press and more recently in her auto-biography claiming it wasn't until Bruce hooked up with Demi did he get any better at kissing.
- Yet another, we're just a tv show reference occurs in "I See England, I See France, I See Maddie's Netherworld." David says "We can't always get the best actors for these small roles."
- In "Those Lips, Those Lies" David Addison makes a comment that pokes fun at the show's M.O. of using dream sequences frequently. When a woman shows up at his apartment, offering herself to him in the midst of an investigation of a call girl service, he turns to the camera and says, "Finally, a dream sequence I can sink my teeth into."
- In "Perfetc" there is another in-house comment made poking fun at what are some of the standard operating procedures for the show. When discussing whether they should take the case, David says they won't have go through 6 talks in the car and
a couple of sets of stunt doubles.
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Maddie Hayes' comment about David Addison to her shrink in "When Girls Collide." Maddie tells the shrink that she believes she is over David now and comments however she does still sometimes find herself fascinated by the "relationship between his shoulders and his hips." This is clearly Cybill Shepherd talking for Maddie here because she has admitted in interviews that this particular aspect of the male anatomy is "sorta my thing, you know."
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David Addision staring at the beautiful stranger in the elevator at the beginning of "When Girls Collide." This was Demi Moore who was Bruce Willis' wife.
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The Die Hard poster being removed from the wall of a shop in "When Girls Collide." This of course is a reference to Willis' burgeoning movie career. It makes an interesting visual to show the poster being removed in strips--actually drawing attention to it.
- 60's drug guru Timothy Leary playing the new age minister marrying Bert and Agnes in "Lunar Eclipse." Mr. Leary's character's name is Wynn Deaupayne (get it? window pane) which was the name of a popular form of LSD in the 1960's.
- Comment made in "Lunar Eclipse" that makes yet another reference to the show's M.O. of using dream sequences frequently. David comments at one point, "This is just some un-funny dream sequence."
- The appearance of Dennis Dugan playing the network executive, Cy, in the final episode. Dennis Dugan's appearance in this episode is credited to Walter Bishop, which is the name of the character he played in several episodes in season four. Mr. Dugan directed several of the season five episodes including the final one, Lunar Eclipse. It is ironic and perhaps intentional that it is Walter Bishop who gets to be the network executive that pulls the plug officially on ML, since many wrote that the demise of Moonlighting started when Maddie Hayes came back from Chicago married to Walter. Here Walter Bishop gets even.
- Just as in "Camille" (see item #13 above), the ending of the series in "Lunar Eclipse" carries the "we are just a tv series" reminder. The final scene of the series has David and Maddie realizing that as tv characters they are about to cease to exist.
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