Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

This is David Duchovny's return to steady acting, this time it's on Showtime and the show definitely features R-rated adult-themed material, adult life situations.

Duchovny plays Hank, a writer with writer's block, and a seriously F'd up personal life that leads him to pretty much bang anything in a skirt. Hank is messed up, but he also doesn't take crap from nobody, which leads to some funny sequences in the pilot episode. A bonus is having Natascha McElhone as Karen, the mother of his daughter, and they share a bumpy past, relationship-wise. Me loves me some Natascha McElhone. And wait until you see the girl from "The Nanny", Madeline Zima, all grown up now. It features some man-child behavior by Hank, where Duchovny gets to film some of those sex scenes from Red Shoes Diary he missed out on as the narrator, Jake, but the scenes on this show are much more quicker and grounded in reality, even the dreams.

Don't know if everyone will enjoy it, but I plan on tuning in.

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

I just saw some of the trailer and thought it looks like Duchovny is returning to his comfort zone. I don't know where to watch it in Canada though.

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

I watched this last night finally and found myself pleasantly surprised. I've always liked Duchovny and he's right at home here it seems. He plays the character of Hank very well, sort of a manchild who never mentally aged passed 15 years old. But with redeeming qualities, he obviously cares about his family and such. Not to mention there are some great looking girls in there.
I had several LOL moments and am looking forward to the next episode, I sort of didn't want it to end after 40 something minutes (which certainly didn't feel that long).

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

My wife and I caught it last night. I thought she would be put off by the terribly blasphemous start and all the other "naughty bits" but, in the end, she said she liked it. She's no puritan by any means but it did seem to push the envelop most every scene. I liked it and will put it on my season pass. Shows like this and Dexter (which returns next month) have made Showtime the new HBO (John From Cincinatti, anyone??).

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

i ordered showtime for Weeds and this show and i loved Californication...i was laughing throughout.

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

Loved it.

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

Still wondering if anyone knows how to watch this (or Weeds) in Canada.

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

Not that I can find. I know Weeds was showing somewhere at one point, but I don't know where now.

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

Agree - Entourage is the hottest property on HBO right now. I'm probably too young to be trained into thinking Concords is funny, but they signed for season 2, so I'll have to find something interesting at 10:30 - again.

If nothing else - the high brest count on Californication will keep things interesting

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

I think I liked episode 2 more than the first.

And never expected to see Paula Marshall (any CUPID fans?) in this type of role.

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

Duchovny and Marshall's scene cracked me up.

Was surprised that they casted Brooke Banner on the show (the porn starlet with the screaming baby) as she's a real porn starlet. She was a decent actress as far as porn starlets are concerned, I guess.

I liked the scene with Hank and his daughter (her helping him trying to win back Karen). Too bad Bill "owns" Hank for now, but we'll see if Hank ditches the HelLA blog job.

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

Whoever said Showtime = new HBO is right. While I think Weeds has went down hill, Dexter is one of the best shows on TV, and the new season starts off with a hell of a bang.

This show has really surprised me. Smartly written, and you can see where it's going. Duchovny isn't just some crazy horndog, he's obviously a guy who's on a long rebound from the relationship he thought would last.

I thought it was a great start and the acting is smart and funny

BTW, my favorite line easily:

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

Damn, killed me. And of course..

"it's under control..." (blakjsdlk) "ok, now it's under control" (laughter)

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

I'm equally surprised by how much I like this show, and I find myself looking forward to Monday nights. While the theme music doesn't strike a chord with me at all, I was pleasantly surprised they didn't license the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Californication."

Paula Marshall looked great, took a few minutes for me to realize it was her.

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

I love Flight of the Conchords and I love this show and Dexter. It has nothing to do with being trained. Funny is just subjective. Arrested Development is my favorite show ever.


Me too, and I'm a huge RHCP fan. It would've been cheesy, and wouldn't really have fit the show.

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

Sometimes, the literacy of Hank is funny to watch as Duchovny tries to spit out Hank's dialogue, but watching Hank get knocked around (from his penchant for antagonism) is still entertaining. Hank's boundaries are definitely wider than the norm. He's a rascal.

Now, the subplot with Hank's agent and assistance...hoo boy!

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

what a pleasant surprise this show has been. I did not know what to expect and i now like it more than Weeds...which does seem to have run out of steam.

Can't wait for the next episode, Hank has me rolling every 5 mins or so...

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

awesome show

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

Yeah but if he starts dating this lawyer chick, is that going to be the end of the breast(s) of the week club for us?

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

I wouldn't think so. The premise of the series is boinking everything in sight

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

Really cute and kind of surprising episode this week. Gave a lot of characters some depth they had been lacking. Enjoyed it a great deal.

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

It's a great pairing of actors: Evan Handler, who does ambivalence really well; and Rachel Miner (formerly Mrs. McCaulay Culkin), who does damaged really well. As soon as I saw her playing his assistant, I knew the writers must be planning something warped.

M.

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

I want to be like Hank when I grow up. I am still trying to figure out exactly what is wrong with "drowning in a sea of pointless p...." -- an oxymoron if I have ever heard one.

I like the show, but I am annoyed at the absurd amount of goodwill directed toward Hank, especially by his ex. This sort of stuff is a lot uglier than is shown here...

--
H

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

Wow. For a show that was rumored to be super-sex ridden, and it has it's moments.. it's amazing the amount of real charm characters in this have. I generally like many of the characters, and the relationship between Hank and his daughter is really well done.

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

Another great one. `Mr Brown is a sensitive man' - damn near rolled out of my chair on that one. Too funny

Re: Californication w/ Duchovny on Showtime

This show is really solid. I just finished writing my moratorium on "Tell Me You Love Me" and I realized "Californication" is the antithesis of that show.

It's witty, it's smart, it's well acted, the dialog is interesting, and while the characters represent nobody you know (and probably not people you'd want to know in real life) they come across at least as characters you can root for.

Duchovny is very good in this, but I'm really admiring the two "daughters" in this for how well they play their parts.