Californication

I just watched the pilot on-demand and I have to say I am thoroughly impressed by this show. David Duchovny was a pure gem to watch as the sardonic and hapless writer in the surreal realm of Southern California. The dialogue is top-notch, the plot is thick and juicy. Hank is a deep, 3-dimensional character that we seldom see on television. Though he is definitely damaged, there is something in his tribulations that audiences can relate to. His difficulty in writing is a situation I have felt many times when I sit down at the keyboard. Similarly, I empathize with his relationship problems. The problems he faces are problems that real people face brought to life in a very funny, unique way.

With this show, Weeds, The L Word and Dexter, Showtime is becoming the new HBO. That being said I really hope this show keeps the spark that made the pilot so good for the full run of the series.

Maybe I missed something, but the promos of this series made it look like one long ad for a freewheeling guy living a hedonistic Hollywood lifestyle. That's SO not what Californication is about, and frankly, it's a stupid title. There is definitely a high volume of disreputable behavior, and the show is not for kids, but there is a good story here. Hank Moody (Duchovney) is a Los Angeles-based writer whose long-time girlfriend, with whom he has a child but never bothered to marry, has left him. The whole series is about his desire to win her back, his writers' block at the loss of his muse, and his role as a father all in the context of his emotional instability. Duchovney's girl-getting eyes have the same effect on every female opportunity that comes his way in the story as they do on his millions of female fans. The series calls for a bit of a stretch, asking the audience to believe that his power to attract women never once led to an indiscretion while he was living with his non-wife. I loved the characters and although it is not realistic, it is an interesting venue for the observations made about what destructive behaviors women are willing to put up with. It also gets very far away from the Jerry Seinfeld, man-child type characters that are romantically inept. Hank is a ladies man AND a man's man. He's the lovable bad boy with a heart of gold. For those concerned about content for kids: DO NOT WATCH THIS SERIES. There is constant language, smoking, sex, frank discussions about sex, drug use viewed as acceptable, nudity, and references to all forms of adult themes. But the story line is not as prurient as all of that suggests. Hank is a family man who engages in behaviors because he has no brakes to stop him i.e. his family living with him. He doesn't actually LIKE the behaviors and wants to marry the woman who left him and spend more time with his daughter. Great acting by the entire cast --and a *really* tall cast it is!

From its controversial opening scene to its excellent finale, the first episode of "Californication" sets the tone for the series. Stylishly directed by the always-reliable Stephen Hopkins, the pilot is thoroughly entertaining adult comedy. Watching the first episode reminded me a little of a modern Blake Edwards' production.

The cast are excellent, especially David Duchovny as the seedy Hank Moody, a man whose mid-life crisis is on display for all to see, from his Porsche to his constant bed-hopping.

The script is sharp and the whole show exudes quality.

Recommended.

Duchovny is perfectly cast here as Hank Moody, and delivers his witty and wry lines with tongue firmly implanted in his cheek. Playing a talented but dysfunctional writer in the middle of a mid-life crisis, Duchovny's character is spot on. He can't pass a whiskey glass or a skirt and they even throw in a Porche for him to drive, in case your mind drifts. Only this is his mid-life crisis so we can laugh at it. It's OK. Natascha McElhone, having survived the Hungarian Revolution on The Company, gets to do something fun this time. This is good. She's both talented and HOT!

I laughed pretty much through the entire first episode and I'm looking forward to just how badly Moody...yeah, a guy having a mid-life crisis named Moody...can screw up his life this season.

I am so IN!

After a series "The X Files" David Duchovny had planned to withdraw from the television, and I thought that I would in any future role still see him as Fox Mulder. I was wrong. With the role of Hank Moody, he immediately wiped all memory of Mulder.

Hank Moody is a writer in blockade, who lives of old fame and money earned from the movie based on his bestseller, while driving his Porsche from pub to party, from alcohol to drugs, from making love with a prostitute to wild sex with every woman willing to spread her legs, persistently and hopelessly trying to escape from depression and suffering for the family he destroyed. Explicit scenes of bohemian "sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll" life, immersed in impossible situations full of shame-transfers, genius replicas, inexhaustible (mostly black) humor, which vulgarly and brutally hold you on the edge between embarrassment and dying from laughter, are shifting to deeply emotional scenes of his desperate attempts to reconcile with his ex-wife and raise his teenage daughter.

Although the fantastic script and Duchovny's perfect performance are what rises this show to the top of the best series I've ever watched, we must not forget the excellent casting of supporting characters, whose diversity complements this crazy story and makes it an unforgettable experience. Particularly distinguished among them is Evan Handler, as Hank's best friend, whose performance stands side by side with Duchovny's.

I could say that it's genre is a drama-comedy, but for me, this series is falling into a special category of "complete awesomeness". There are very few series I followed from start to finish, but this one I saw several times in its entirety and each time I was impressed as the first time. I have no complaints, except that it did not last forever. One of the strongest tens I ever gave.

10/10