Moonlighting, I See England, I See France, I See Maddie's Netherworld

I See England, I See France, I See Maddie's Netherworld

Air Date: 14 Feb 1989

Synopsis:

A dead body in Maddie's office, David and Maddie buried up to their necks in a midnight cemetery, a nightmare starring The Kipper Kids, and a religious debate about death and life after death – all of which ought to have made for a great episode, but in my opinion, this one just never really adds up.

I have to be honest: this is the one episode I really, really don't like. Everybody has at least one, and this is mine. I feel like I ought to try to say something nice about it, and I've tried, but I can't. (Well, okay, the shower scene was kind of funny.)

There's something in here about a lottery ticket which is a red herring to distract David and Maddie from stolen government plans encoded in a tattoo on a dead man's shoulder – but none of it is explained completely. David insists on schlepping this dead body around town against Maddie's objections, but his reasons for doing so are never adequately explained either. Maddie gets knocked unconscious and has a nightmarish dream sequence in which David is the grim reaper and Maddie is buried alive, but what this tells us about Maddie's character, or how this advances the plot is anybody's guess. And finally, by the end of the episode, all the bad guys are dead, but – yes, you guessed it – we're never told why.

If you are reading this, and you would like to write a more laudatory review of this episode than the one I've written, I'll be happy to replace this one with yours. But until then, this is how I feel about it.

Directed by Paul Krasny

Written by Chris Ruppenthal

Guest Starring:
- Michael Flynn
- John Korkes
- Phil Simms
- Gloria Cromwell
- Ron Howard George
- The Kipper Kids
- Jack Blessing as MacGilicuddy [sic]
Co-Starring:
- Fritz Bronner as Paramedic #1
- Randy Olea as Paramedic #2
- Martin Charles Warner as Delivery Man
- Kenneth J. Martinez as Doctor
- Stuart Nelson as Paramedic #3
- Don Maxwell as Man
- Eddie Hailey as Orderly

Memorable Dialog and Additional Links:

Music:

The music being played right after the dead body is discovered in Maddie's office but before the scene where the office staff is whispering to each other is "Syncopated Clock," also known as the theme from The Late, Late Show. It was written by composer Leroy Anderson and used as the theme for the syndicated late movie offerings shown after a station's presentation of a featured Late Show.

The theme from Alfred Hitchcock Presents is heard when Maddie and David first enter the foggy cemetery. That theme was taken from a ballet by Alexander Gounod, entitled Funeral March of a Marionette.

David and Maddie sing a bit of Cabaret while buried up to their necks in the cemetery.

Notes:

Right after the dead body is discovered in Maddie's office, as Bert leaves her office in haste, he makes a brief reference to the Anselmo Case.

Date of last change: 16 December 2000

Contributions and suggestions are invited and encouraged.