I discovered Moonlighting when it first started airing when I was in high school and was immediately a fan.
The series was sharp, hysterically funny, and Bruce Willis as David Addison might have been my spirit animal/role model. Except of course, I was a bit huskier, awkward, and far less cool. More like Blue Moon Detective Agency’s Herbert Viola.
Despite being a fan, my passion for the series faded as the behind the scenes exploits took over. Episodes aired infrequently and the show faded into obscurity. With the exception of several runs of syndication and DVD releases of the series twenty years ago, the once-brilliant series has been forgotten by the masses.
Scott Ryan’s new book, Moonlighting: An Oral History, takes a look at the series with it’s many participants discussing the series, the behind-the-scenes details, and ultimately it’s legacy.
Scott took some time to discuss the book with Forces of Geek.
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FOG!: I’m always a fan of oral histories. What was the genesis of Moonlighting: An Oral History?
Scott Ryan: I did an oral history for the TV show thirtysomething, as well as for the final six weeks of David Letterman’s Late Show, so I had some experience with doing that. I thought with all the controversies surrounding the series that it would be best if this book was in the words of the people who created the series.
Moonlighting was a cultural phenomenon. Why do you think that it was embraced by audiences?
I think there are two answers and you can pick the answer you like better depending on if you are pessimist or an optimist.
Optimist answer: The show was so groundbreaking and was such a shot in the arm of boring television that people ate it up cause they were starving for something new.
Pessimist answer: Cybill and Bruce were so good looking that people just liked staring at them.
The series resurrected the career of Cybil Shepherd and made Bruce Willis a star. It’s become public knowledge that they didn’t get along behind the scenes. After speaking to so many cast and crew members, do you have any insight what caused this?
They were stuck in such a cage and it was amazingly packed with pressure.
Both Bruce and Cybill carried so much of the dialogue and they didn’t have time to learn it and rehearse.
I think they were on that pressure mill for so long that tensions just got too high not to lash out at the only people that they saw, which was each other. I think they truly do have affection for each other now.
But then, it was just rough.
So many of the directors said they wanted and needed a break after a while. Bruce and Cybill never got that break.
You interviewed creator Glen Caron for the book, looking back on the series, did he discuss what inspired the series?
He really just wanted to do something different. At the time, TV was filled with high and mighty detective series where the leads were perfect and upstanding. He wanted to turn that concept on its ear and cause a little trouble. He did that and then some.
Released on DVDs that are long out of print, it’s not available via streaming or digital download, making the series forgotten by two generations. Have you heard anything regarding the future of the series?
I have heard that Glenn is working on it. The music writes are the hold up. It will all depend on if Disney cares enough to pay what they should pay to keep the show intact.
What are your three favorite episodes and why?
A Womb with a View
I think this opening is amazing and how every show should come back from Summer break. I also think it is such a creative hour of TV.
Big Man On Mulberry Street
I am a huge Billy Joel fan and the fact that Billy and Moonlighting collide is amazing to me. It also is Cybill’s best work on the series.
Cool Hand Dave Part 2
This episode is more fun than should be allowed on TV. No one even remembers this hour, but I loved it. It was hard for me to not cover it more in the book, but I knew I was one of the few people that even remembers it.
Do you have plans for your next book?
My next book comes out May 2022. It is called Fire Walk With Me: Your Laura Disappeared and is up for preorder at FayettevilleMafiaPress.com. It covers the David Lynch film about Twin Peaks. Next year is the 30th anniversary of that film.
One last comment: in your review you said, “But as good and interesting as Ryan’s book is, there is a question I have to ask: will anyone other than a small, niche group of fans care about it?”
I have never written a book because someone is interested in it. I can only work on what I love and what I am interested in. I will never be overly successful with any of my projects, but I pick them because others have passed them by.
I am always interested in things that are a little off the path. That is what excites me. I love covering the unexpected because that is where the real art is created. I like shining the light where the light hardly reaches.
Moonlighting: An Oral History is available now.
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