TV on DVD: Californication (The Complete Third Season)

Starring: David Duchovny, Natascha McElhone, Pamela Adlon, Madeleine Martin, Evan Handler, Peter Gallagher, Eva Amurri, Embeth Davidtz, Diane Farr, Kathleen Turner, Rick Springfield
Creator: Tom Kapinos
Original Airdate: 2009

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

"The idea came out of my own misery of working on Dawson's Creek. I came out here to write screenplays, and I ended up on Dawson's Creek, which was very lucrative and fun, but it was not what I wanted to do. The experience was miserable."
 -Creator Tom Kapinos

You learn something new everyday. As big a Dawson's Creek fan as I am (no joke, it's true) I still had no idea the same person responsible for running that show (into the ground some would say) in its final two seasons wrote and created Californication. And how would I? Could two shows possibly differ more? Contrary to popular opinion, I don't think he ran that series into the ground and would rank the final two seasons he presided over as its strongest, breathing new life into a stale show before it signed off for good. You can only imagine how handcuffed the mind behind a show as smart edgy as Californication must have felt overseeing a teen drama on the WB, but it's still kind of funny the experience traumatized him enough to create this. And it's a good thing it did.

Now in its third season, the misadventures of sex addicted writer and mid-life crisis sufferer Hank Moody not only shows no signs of losing steam, the character's emerging as almost a tragic figure of sorts. The series has always been unusually skilled at mixing comedy and drama, but most of this season feels exclusively like pure screwball comedy. It isn't until the final episode you realize that there was a concrete plan in place the entire time and just how well written the entire story arc was. The finale also marks the first time during the course of the series where star David Duchovny, seemingly so effortlessly laid back and cool in this role, is called upon to play angry and miserable. It's strange to think that for a long period of time in the '90's that's all we thought he could do, or at least all he was allowed to. Now as he just keeps getting better and revealing more with each passing episode, he's surprisingly evolving into one of the best dramatic actors on television.

After last season's enormously successful guest turn from Callum Keith Rennie as wild music producer Lew Ashby, Kapinos had probably hoped to recreate that magic by stacking Season 3 with as many guest stars as possible, to the point that they basically take over the show, even pushing some of the series regulars to the side. It's a big risk, but one that works because of who they are and the thought that went into how they'd be incorporated into the narrative. The on again off again on again off again relationship between Hank and Karen (Natascha McElhone), his womanizing, and inability to be the father and husband he needs to be is still at the crux of the series, only this time the game has changed slightly. With Karen off to New York at the end of last season, McElhone appears only sporadically throughout the season until the final few episodes while previous regular Madeline Zima returns in only a single (but very memorable) guest starring appearance as the conniving Mia. It's a credit to how exciting the season is that the absence of two main characters is barely noticeable and when they finally do return, the impact they make is huge.

Hank already has enough going on between increasingly troubled teenage daughter Becca (Madeleine Martin) rebelling like she never has before and his new gig as a college professor, which not surprisingly supplies the season's most entertaining moments. Just the idea of Hank being let loose on a college campus as a writing professor is filled with all sorts of crazy potential and this doesn't disappoint since he doesn't just stop at sleeping with the Dean's wife (Embeth Davidtz), but also goes after his T.A. (Diane Farr) and one of his students, (Eva Amurri), who happens to be a stripper. His attempts to juggle these women and keep his job provides the narrative for most of the season, but this might be one of the few occasions where the women he beds on the show are presented as being smarter and more interesting than he is, as opposed to the latest notches in his belt they've been treated as in the previous two seasons. That, the superb performances from those three actresses (especially Amurri) and Hank being dropped in a fresh setting make most of these episodes soar, with impending return of Karen always on the horizon, along with the chance she could take Becca back with her to New York if he doesn't get his act together. Of course, if he does, there's still that possibility he could be transplanted with them, which would be bad news for a series so dependent on its west coast setting and atmosphere. Plus, Newyorkifornication just doesn't have the same ring to it.

The series' weak link is still the character of Charlie Runkle (Evan Handler) who's seemingly never-ending divorce saga with wife Marcy (Pamela Adlon) continues to play out in a somewhat tiresome fashion. But at least this time Charlie's finally given a storyline that comes closest to working when he gets another shot as an agent working for the brash, hilariously vulgar, sex obsessed Sue Collini (Kathleen Turner) and overseeing the potential comeback of 80's music superstar Rick Springfield (playing a version of "himself"). Turner's performance is practically surreal in terms of the explicit dialogue that comes out her mouth and how she so casually delivers it. It's rare you can say something's done entirely for shock value and mean it as a compliment, but Turner's an exception, excelling at her best role in years. Rounding out the guest-filled season is Peter Gallagher, great as the clueless Dean Stacey Koons, Pineapple Express' Kevin Corrigan as Hank's loserish childhood friend, Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick as a troubled student. and in a brilliantly bizarre crossover cameo, Ken Marino briefly reprises his role as Professor David Wilder from Dawson's Creek nearly a decade later. Given there's probably very little audience overlap between the two shows, I'm likely one of the few who noticed the shout-out to the Creek, but it isn't exactly everyday you get to see a familiar character from a long defunct show resurrected years later in a totally different series. Yet with all that works, this still isn't quite a perfect season, making me wonder what it'll take to get there. I'd say getting rid of Charlie Runkle would help but so much time and effort has been invested into the character it would almost be a disastrous decision to write him out now (plus I have this awful feeling I'd actually miss the dope, which is a credit to Handler's performance if nothing else).

So much happens during this season it almost feels like the action hits its peak before the finale, but that finale ends up being one of the strongest episodes of the series, with Hank's plight connecting in a way it hasn't before in the final few minutes, bringing new meaning to the term "hitting rock bottom." An issue we thought had died resurfaces for him at the worst time, threatening to rip his family apart for good. Everything always comes back to Hank and Karen and what's so interesting about the series is that we know already how it has to end: With Hank's redemption. Yet that still doesn't diminish any of the anticipation in getting there and what it'll mean when that eventually occurs.

With the quality of writing on even the best shows fluctuating wildly from season to season, this series has accomplished something rare. Its Showtime stablemate Dexter will always get more accolades and attention simply because when it hits its mark, it hits it hard, and the bar is raised so high. That happens less frequently with Californication and when it really delivers it falls shorter than that show, but over the long haul consistency has been its trademark, delivering three seasons in a row of nearly equal quality, each providing a different viewing experience. Someone could just dive into this season cold having never seen the show before and still enjoy it. That says a lot. The possibility that it hasn't hit its peak yet as it enters its fourth season and there are more avenues to explore with these characters is reason enough to keep tuning in.     

TV on DVD: Californication (The Complete Second Season)

Creator: Tom Kapinos
Starring: David Duchovny, Natascha McElhone, Madeleine Martin, Evan Handler, Pamela Adlon, Madeline Zima, Callum Keith Rennie
Original Airdate: 2008

★★★ 1/2 (out of ★★★★)

Second seasons are tough. Just run down the list of television's most acclaimed shows and try naming any that had a sophomore season better than its first. The freshness of the premiere season can't be equaled and there's almost always a drop-off in quality, often very steep. The more second seasons of enjoyable shows I view the more appreciation I have for the writers burdened with such a thankless task, as I picture their weekdays spent locked in a conference room screaming at each another and banging their heads against the wall. Californication's second season isn't necessarily an exception to this rule, but watching it gave me a greater understanding why writing a worthy follow-up to a creatively strong debut season can be so difficult. There's the pressure to stay true to all the characters' established traits, yet at the same time have them progress so you're merely not just repeating the same situations. This becomes even more challenging with a protagonist like Hank Moody, whose very likability rests on the fact that he can never grow or mature as a character. If he does, the essence of what makes this show so compulsively watchable is lost.

Cleverly (but not without a shaky, unfocused start), showrunner Tom Kapinos found a way out of this dilemma by lessening the focus on Hank and expanding the setting he inhabits by introducing a fresh character. It allows him to move in a new direction without us feeling like he has. So while the second season of Californication isn't as strong as the first, I enjoyed it more, and did so because of one performance. And David Duchovny isn't the actor who gives it. It's the only thing really worth talking about in the entire season, not because there isn't anything else worthwhile, but because this relatively unknown actor blows everything and everyone he comes in contact with right off the screen with the one of the best recent guest starring performances on a series. Despite having just a brief stay, the show won't be the same again without the character.

The very early start of this season is rough and slow going, calling attention to a familiar long-running problem that's faced any show with a pair of romantic leads: Viewers are rooting for them to get together even though it isn't in the best interest of the series. When season 1 ended we were teased with the reconciliation of self-absorbed, womanizing writer Hank (Duchovny) and his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Karen (Natasha McElhone) after she leaves her new husband at the altar to run away with him and their teenage daughter Becca (Madeliene Martin). The opening episodes of this season follow through on that tease, perhaps to give us a fleeting glimpse of how bad the show would be if they did reconcile. It's comparable to your favorite losing team finally winning the Super Bowl or World Series. At first you're elated, but then what? That next season can never be as fun because the thrill of the chase is gone, as is the pride you felt sticking by a terrible team no one thought stood a chance. Being the defending champions just isn't as exciting.

Hank is that losing team who can never deliver when he needs to and him reuniting with Karen essentially defeats the purpose of the entire show. There's nothing to root for. Thankfully, it didn't last and the writers instead cleverly used it as a creative launching pad for Hank to screw up royally again, reverting to his mischievous, hedonistic ways. But this season he meets the one person in California living harder than he is. With either drugs, groupies or hookers in every other room of his palatial Laurel Canyon mansion, famous Gatsby-like music producer Lew Ashby (Callum Keith Rennie) befriends Hank at a party and chooses him as the writer of his biography. Rennie's performance is the best kind of great one because it sneaks up on you. At first it doesn't seem like it's going to be much or the character will even be that important but slowly you realize that this entire show is his and everyone else is just tagging along for the wild ride. It's with his arrival and the unusual bond he develops with Hank where this season starts to turn the corner.

While a party animal like Hank, Ashby is also secretly drowning in a sea of regret over "the one that got away," a mystery woman who provides the hidden key to Ashby's life and Hank's research into the biography. Her name is Janie and she's played by Twin Peaks vet Madchen Amick who in no small feat manages to meet expectations of the one woman capable of weakening him. Even when indulging in his worst impulses, like slyly attempting to steal Karen from him, he remains the best friend Hank could possibly have and his perfect counterpart. But what's most remarkable about Rennie's performance is how much much it'll remind viewers of friends they've had or people they've met. So much so the character seems like he almost has to be based on a real person, or maybe a combination of different people. Ashby is that kind of guy who just keeps screwing up over and over again, but is so cool and likable that you just go along with it. You know you should tell them to change their ways, but how can you (at least with a straight face) when they're this much fun? He rips through the characters' lives like a tornado and goes out the only way he can--in a self-destructive blaze of glory. And credit the writers for being smart enough to realize the most interesting people we encounter in life tend to be the ones who rarely stick around for long.

Rennie, a Canadian actor with credits including The X-Files, Battlestar Galactica, 24 and FlashForward is supposedly good friends with Duchovny so that helped lead to him to being cast. As executive producer you'd figure Duchovny had to know this guy would completely steal the season, but unselfishly realized it was in the show's best interest for him to do just that. It's a writing achievement but Rennie deserves accolades for bringing what's on the page to life in a way another performer wouldn't have been able to. The character also sheds a new light on Hank, making him confront his mistakes in a way that couldn't have been achieved if this season's focus was just on him again. In retrospect, Showtime probably missed a golden opportunity to spin Ashby off into his own series since I could easily envision a show focusing on his previous exploits (maybe an adaptation of that "biography?") being even more entertaining than this one.

There were other notable guest starring turns this season like the return of Judy Greer (with a slightly expanded role this time around) as prostitute Trixie, Meredith Monroe as an annoying Rachael Ray-like celebrity chef, Justine Bateman as Becca's teacher and Hank conquest, Sheri Moon Zombie as a nurse and Undeclared's Carla Gallo as a porn actress Hank's bumbling agent Charlie Runkle (Evan Handler) takes on as a client. Unfortunately, Charlie's the weak link of the season and again drags it down a few notches, which is a shame because everything else on the show works so well and Handler always delivers in the sometimes thankless role. There's some nonsense with he and his wife Marcy's (Pamela Adlon) coke addiction and his plunge into the porn industry, some of it tired and little of it as funny as the show seems to think it is. If I had to choose though I'd at least say I enjoyed this Charlie storyline better than the S & M craziness he was involved in with his assistant (Rachel Miner) last season, mainly because Gallo is a more likable actress and Hal Ozsan puts in a good turn as a sleazy filmmaker. All this has its moments but something better has to be done with Charlie so we care about the character outside of his connection to Hank, rather than all the shows most vulgar elements being thrown on him for no reason other than to provide cheap, gross-out laughs.

With a character like Ashby front and center for nearly every episode something had to give somewhere. That something ends up being Mia (Madeline Zima) who's pretty much entirely pushed to the sidelines with the exception of a fling with Ashby that does more to further enhance the legend of "The Great Ashby" than anything else. But that's fine. What the writers never forget is how Hank's actions and his dysfunctional relationship with Karen affects Becca, played by Madeleine Martin in her typically awesome deadpan style. It's really the heart of the entire show and becomes even more important this season when she gets a boyfriend and the suddenly overprotective Hank finds himself in the role of one of "those dads" because if anyone should know what guys are after it's him. He realizes it's not so funny when it's happening to his own daughter.

A season that starts with Hank settling down with Karen and getting a vasectomy had me worried the writers really were going to castrate and wussify the character, but thankfully they were in on the joke. That the most important influence on the series was a music producer is fitting on a show that names episodes after Harry Chapin albums and plays choice tracks from Warren Zevon's catalog. This season feels like a great sophomore album requiring a few listens to fully appreciate but is endlessly listenable. Rennie's performance as Ashby makes it worth returning to and given the choice I'd more quickly revisit this season, flaws and all, than the first one. Second seasons can't be first seasons but they can hope to broaden the scope, allowing the story and characters to move forward in a way that doesn't offend loyal viewers too much. In doing that, the second season of Californication succeeds where many other shows haven't.