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. Show premieres Aug. 13th on Showtime, 10:30 p.m. EDT.

I wonder how much it cost them to buy the rights to the title from the RHCP.

This ep is available to watch online via the Netflix ondemand service; I thought it was OK but I don't know if it's gonna stick yet; Duchovny does a good job in his role but is he the only person that the audience is supposed to care about?

I'll be watching for the T and A. I'm sure this will be Duchovny's best work since Red Shoe Diaries.

IIRC the word californicate was in popular use at least a decade or two before the album was produced.

I never watched Red Shoe Diaries, but was his work on that show really so amazing? I thought it was just a bunch of softcore mixed in with a commentary by Duchovny.

It was sarcasm.

the way you summed it up is exactly the way it was.

Doh!

There's a scene with Duchovny and Madeline Zima that's both sexy and painful. Someone posted some 4-panel screenshot of Zima in the Mature/Adult sub-forum (I think the title had to do with nudity in the Big Brother house). [Borat]Niiiiice![/ Borat]

In Red Shoe Diaries, Duchovny played a guy who's fiance committed suicide after he discovered she cheated on him in the pilot. He then placed a Red Shoe diaries ad in the paper for woman to send in their stories to try to understand them better. He would only appear in the opening sequence and then the end in every episode afterwards. It was probably some of his easiest work.

I'll definitely check out Californication.

Before the Red Shoes series there was a 90min-2hr movie and he was in that 90%. It was the set up for the series where he lost his girlfriend and does the before and after commentaries.. but in the movie, it explains the beginning, middle and end of the relationship. DD has some sex scenes but interestingly enough we don't see him naked.. just the girl....Shocking!

How silly of him, he should have noticed it by the tone of your voice.

Great episode, I'll definitely be tuning in when it starts airing.

I wasn't blown away by this, Duchovny's character seemed so unnatural and unlikeable and the situations seemed so contrived. I might tune in to see if it gets better.

I expected not to like the show as I thought Hank would be very unlikable, but he ended up not being so bad.
I liked his relationship with his daughter (even though she acted like an 8 year old in the first half of the episode and a 16 year old in the second).
I wasn't blown away either, but it was pretty good.

You can't copyright song titles except in the rarest of instances.

damn i hate the chili peppers

even frusciante has lost the mojo

i might watch this show but the title puts me off

I thought the pilot was "just OK". Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed all the T&A, but there just aren't that many likable people in the show.

IMHO, this is one of those shows that you might want to watch, but just have too many other shows that you're into. Maybe it'll get better as it goes on, but personally I've got 50 other shows I'm watching at the moment, and Californication just isn't interesting enough for me to try and squeeze it into the schedule.

I think tha Hank character works best if he's slightly unlikable.
Besides I usually like the unlikable characters the most.....

Anyone get a 'Rescue Me' vibe from this show? Alcoholic, lots of sex with random women, separated family, young daughter experimenting with drugs and sex...

Uh...you might want to edit to read "manchild" to avoid any misinterpretation.

Otherwise, makes Hank sound like Roman Grant (from "Big Love").

Have you seen the pilot episode yet?

Nope, just the previews. Sorry, Patman, looks as if I judged your spelling too hastily. If what you're implying is true, Hank has gone from being irresponsible to downright creepy.