Pilot (13 Aug. 2007)

Meet Hank Moody, a depressed writer with a writer's block who has a daughter, an ex he wants back and lots of casual sex.

Director:

Stephen Hopkins

Writer:

Tom Kapinos

Stars:

David Duchovny, Natascha McElhone, Madeleine Martin

Cast

Episode cast overview:
David Duchovny	...	Hank Moody
Natascha McElhone	...	Karen
Madeleine Martin	...	Becca Moody
Madeline Zima	...	Mia Lewis
Evan Handler	...	Charlie Runkle
Pamela Adlon	...	Marcy Runkle
Amy Price-Francis	...	Meredith
Michele Nordin	...	Nun / Heather
Camille Langfield	...	Sandy Carr
Philip Shahbaz	...	Man on Cell Phone
Chase Penny	...	Tattooed Millionaire
Miriam T. Green	...	Penny Lyons
Alison Mei Lan	...	Hot Woman
Stephen Sowan	...	Drunk Kid
Michael H. Barnett	...	Gawky Dweeb

Storyline

A one-night-stand causes writer Hank Moody to be late in meeting his 12-year-old daughter Becca at home, much to the disgust of ex-girlfriend Karen. Then, a romp with a hot bookstore shopper will upend Hank's life in ways he could never imagine. After Becca sneaks out to a party, Hank and Karen go in search of their daughter. Later, Hank and Karen have a heart-to-heart where he admits he wants her back, but she reveals she's engaged to another man and is moving on.

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Plot Keywords:

writer | sex | family relationships | bare butt | female nudity | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 August 2007 (USA)

Filming Locations:

20858 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aggressive Mediocrity, And Then..., Totally Commercial Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

33 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Hank is sleeping and his daughter puts the blanket over him, the newscast that can be heard about a bombing in Iraq and the man who went berserk, is the same newscast heard during the beginning of Chamillionaire's song "Morning News".

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Goofs

When leaving Hank's room, Sandy alternates between having a bag on her shoulder and not having a bag on her shoulder in different shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Hank Moody: [to Jesus] Hey, big guy, you and me. We've never done this before but desperate times call for desperate measures. My name is Hank.
Nun: Hello, Hank.

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Connections

References America's Next Top Model (2003)

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Soundtracks

"You Can't Always Get What You Want"
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
Performed by The Rolling Stones

User Reviews

He ain't Fox Mulder anymore, that's for certain...

It looked like poor old David Duchovny was destined to be associated with Fox Mulder forever: not only did his plan to leave the series during its last two seasons to focus on his movie career backfire (nothing of substance came around, so he returned for the X-Files finale), but even before he took the role his most notable screen appearance had been a guest spot on Twin Peaks as a cross-dressing FBI agent. It was gonna take something radical to shake off the US government, conspiracy theories and the largely platonic love story with Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). Fortunately, that something came in the shape of Californication, Showtime's new hit comedy with so much sex, drugs and rock 'n roll (at least judging from the first episode) it makes Sex and the City (on which both Duchovny and co-star Evan Handler appeared) look a bit sheepish.

The heart of the show is Hank Moody (Duchovny), a writer who's experiencing a mid-life crisis: his one hit book, God Hates Us All, has become a cheesy romantic comedy starring Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes (go figure) and he can't think of a decent subject for his next project. Also, his ex (Natasha McElhone), is marrying some other guy, with their 12-year old daughter Becca (Madeleine Martin) caught in the middle, and his agent (Handler) is suggesting he write a blog. How does he deal with his problems? Smoking lots of cigarettes and sleeping with every woman in sight.

The purest joy of Californication comes from the writing: acerbic, poignant and funny. The show's creator, Tom Kapinos, who previously worked on Dawson's Creek (hence the Katie Holmes joke), uses his characters to spit venom at any topic, mostly sex-related. There are no taboos, as proved by the very first scene: Hank enters a church, puts out his cigarette in Holy Water and starts talking to the Almighty before receiving oral sex from a nun ("Sweet baby Jesus, Hank is going to Hell"). As it turns out, it's all a dream, but the sheer irreverence of the whole thing, complete with Gospel version of "We Can't Always Get What We Want" on the soundtrack, is what stands out in what could have been another sanitized sitcom. Surprisingly, given Kapinos' background in teen dramas, Becca comes off as the most stereotyped of the main characters, though not as heavily as James Woods' on-screen daughter in Shark. Besides, why nag about her when everyone else is just fine, especially Handler who gets to be even more outrageously amusing than he was in Sex and the City.

And there's Duchovny: uninhibited, fearless, shameless and charismatic as hell. He's not afraid to show he's aged since The X-Files ended, and he's also very happy to play Hank as the anti-Mulder - a down-to-Earth, self-loathing, womanizing loser. Of course, like most movie or TV losers, he has an offbeat charm that makes it impossible to hate him and justifies the Golden Globe he won for the first season.

Funny, sexy and provocative, Californication looks set to be, alongside Weeds and Dexter, the ultimate proof of Showtime's ability to rival HBO. Based on this episode alone, the other 11 of Season One are gonna be a treat.