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The Fans from MoonlightingDVD.com who did the fan commentary for
"The Straight Poop" on the Moonlighting Season 3 DVD's


Intro | Cindy | Diane | Hazel | Vicki


Diane Hopkins, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles...in that order...haha

Family Status: Blessedly single....Biological and honorary Aunt Di to many

Current Occupation: This week? Department Store Operations Manager to a going out of business store -- Next week? Who knows?

In 1986/87: Lived in Philadelphia in the same place...just about 3 blocks from current residence... worked as an HR manager and reveling in my career...oh, if I knew what I know now...

Favorite Episode from Season 3: The same as my favorite of all the episodes, "It's a Wonderful Job"

Part II: Diane's Story--"I Had a Good Time" Doing the Commentary for "The Straight Poop"

Before I tell you about the actual experience of taping a commentary for the Season 3 Moonlighting DVDs, I just need to spend a moment telling you how absolutely lucky and grateful I feel to have gotten to enjoy this ride.

For me, this has never been about anything but Moonlighting, and the opportunity to share my love of this wonderful show with like minded friends. It was never for personal glory or recognition...I am a fan just like the thousands of people who signed the petition and banded together to make our dream happen. I have had some fantastic experiences during this time, and shared them with some of the best people from all over the world. Please know that the hopes and the wishes of all of you were squeezed into that tiny studio where we taped the commentary.

Meanwhile, I cannot remember the exact day or time that I got the telephone call, but I do know I remember shrieking with joy. Cindy had been in touch with the DVD group, who were producing the extras for Season 3, and had actually opened up the assets of DavidandMaddie.com for anything they might need to complete the extras. Corinna, who was producing the extras, asked if the Moonlighting DVD Committee would like to participate in a commentary of the Straight Poop. Would we?????? Hazel and Vicki quickly came on board. The only regret was that Lizzie, because of work commitments, was unable to join us.

Less than three weeks later, I was winging my way to L.A., and camped in with Lizzie. In addition to her helping me celebrate an absolutely unforgettable birthday, she watched with me, reviewing the episode, and pulling together the research I needed on 3rd season episodes.

Cindy arrived a few days later, and while touring, we continually kept practicing, discussing and anticipating what fun we were going to have. We took a dry run, making sure we knew how to get to the studio, slept little with happy anticipation, and arrived bright eyed and bushy tailed the morning of September 16th.

Hazel arrived soon after, and we got word that Vicki was stuck on the freeway - just a little bit of L.A. reality! Since Cindy had not met Hazel in person before, they had the opportunity to chat. Vicki breezed in, and we were off.

There was a large studio, where Corinna and the staff worked. There was a large picture window between them and our room. We were in a tiny room, with 4 chairs, with script stands in front of them. There was a wall mounted TV standard size, directly in front of us. The sound engineer came in and showed us how to put on the headphones, and tested each one of us for voice levels. Corinna then gave us some basic instructions, which basically consisted of - "Have fun with it, but don't leave any dead air. Silence is not good in an audio commentary." We assured her that with this group, silence was not going to be the problem.

I had brought lots of notes with me, and had them propped on the stand in front of me. My co-commentators teased me that they were sure I had all the information necessary, and they might not get a word in edgewise.

They started to roll tape, and after one tiny false start, we were off. After the introductions, we started to talk about the episode. Most of the commentary is a total blur to me, so I am going to be quite surprised to hear exactly what we DID say! I do know, that the first question I was asked was an episode I could not remember the title of...so much for preparation. Hopefully, that part got edited out.

Actually, the dead air piece was a little harder than you would expect. There were a few times when I would look around at the other ladies and see the panicked eyes signaling..."Just say something!"

I do know we had a blast. We laughed and told stories. It was a lot easier than I expected. I think that, with the four of us together, sharing all of the clips and our memories of all the episodes, was one of the best times I ever had. It was great to look out into the larger studio, and see Corinna and the production staff laughing at our comments.

The hour was up so quickly...we were amazed. Corinna and the staff told us how well we did and how much fun it was going to be, putting it on the boxed set.

Cindy, Hazel, Vicki and I wanted to hang onto the moment, and headed off to find a place to celebrate. Due to the early hour, we ended up at a Jamba Juice, and sat at an outside table, just going over the whole experience, and all the things that had brought us together. We toasted the completion of the commentary, the production of Season 3, and our friendship!

I would like to thank Corinna and The DVD Group and their efforts in including us. I hope we did you proud.

I would also like to thank Cindy, Hazel, Vicki, and Lizzie (who was definitely there in spirit). I could not have chosen a better group of people with whom to share this memory. I will treasure our headphone picture forever!

And to all the loyal fans, I hope we add to your enjoyment of the DVD. Thanks to each and every person who has supported the effort to get the DVDs made.

Now.........GO WATCH!!!!


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