Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

<img src="http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/752/cfnkeyarthoriz501i.jpg" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/><br/>By <a target="_new" href="http://profile.imageshack.us/user/djariya">djariya</a> at 2012-01-08

Synopsis:



12 episode 5th season

Preview:

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/McfEKplQ_9E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

This season's tagline "Notorious H A N K.... Hip-hops most wanted" Sounds real promising. -rolleyes-

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

Another note,

Natalie Zea (Winona on Justified) will be a recurring guest star this season. She's still a series regular on Justified and that airs in a few weeks.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

Thought it was a great season premiere. This show is like my new "Entourage" (just hopefully it doesn't shit the bed like Entourage did). Some great one-liners here!

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

I was ready for this show to be over with last season but they just hit a fantastic reset.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

Yup. Good that they're starting over. They even skipped the opening song/credit-sequence and just had the white-on-black title card, just like in the pilot. Shows that they know last season was awful and they're hitting reset and jumping forward in time. Very happy about that.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

I'd never seen this, but I'm a huge Mulder fan. Caught it on Showtimes free preview weekend. I certainly enjoyed what I saw.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

Last Season wasn't awful....

They even kept a few of the people around (unlike previous Seasons where Hanks "friends" were just a Season Arc).

That IS Runkel's kid, right?

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

It kinda was.

This was much better. Very funny :up:
Not enough nudity though :down:

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

They usually skip the credits in the first episode of the season. I'm pretty sure they did the same thing last season. I expect the opening credits to be back next week.

How many times has Hank had an encounter with a woman and she later turns out to be someone with ties to other people in his life? This seems like an old gimmick to me.

It seems obvious they are going to make the boyfriend an ass so Hank can give him a real beat down at some point.

Can someone remind me of the history of Karen's new husband. I remember him being on before but not sure which season(s). I think he was another writer and did the tuck thing that they referenced. Was Karen shown to be attracted to him previously.

Hank's girlfriend character seems pretty unrealistic. What woman says I let you give it to me in the ass and I expect a relationship because of that.

And please, no more nudity from Stu, or Runkle for that matter.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

The rapper's girlfriend has an insane body.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

Nothing worse than seeing that there's gonna be nudity and then it's mostly Stu's pasty ass :lol:

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

I could have sworn he was Karen's professor in college. Or he was the professor that had the class Hank took over for the season he was actually teaching writing. I remember the guy having a drunken breakdown.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

:thumbsup: That was pretty good. Nice little reset/jump forward to give the show some freshness.

Not sure how I feel about Natalie Zea playing some psycho girlfriend, but hell she's so hot and the show thrives on the eye candy and bimbos that Hank bangs. :lol: at all those crazy texts she kept sending Hank.

-eek- I don't think we really needed to see Stu go down on Marcy and have to see his flabby ass. :lol:

:lol: Squirting seemed to be a theme with the Showtime comedies last night. It was mentioned here and on House of Lies.

Bringing Scott Michael Foster (Cappie from Greek) is a good choice to play Becca's boyfriend. Looking forward to the next 11 weeks.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

Every time.

Mangina. From season four (I think) when he had a meltdown at a dinner party and stripped naked. Hank ended up taking over his teaching position.

Most of them.

Completely agree.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

:up: Nothing new here. The show basically repeats the same gimmicks over & over. The entire premise is to make Hank as despicable as possible and still have him come out on top every time. And, yes...he does keep coming out on top (wish fulfillment for a-holes). Several seasons ago, some defenders of the show insisted that Hank was truly sorry for his actions & he was hitting rock bottom, but he hasn't changed one bit. He says he wants his ex-wife's and daughter's love, but he continually sabotages any effort to become a better human being. That could be an interesting story if it actually had any effect, but Hank is the quintessential "wants-to-have-his-cake-and-eat-it-too" jerk who, in real life, would have worn out his welcome long ago. On the show, however, he gets his two minutes of pining each episode followed by the rest of the time indulging in his favorite hedonistic activities.

It does make sense that his only true friends are people like Runkel & Marcy, since they all spout the same type of cliched dialogue that has been on the list of formerly-cool expressions that have fallen out of favor.

Even before the previews, we knew that the boyfriend would turn out to be two-timing Becca & Hank will save the day, something will happen to get Hank back with Karen, Marcy will swear at least twice per episode, every desirable woman who meets Hank will jump his bones, etc.

Of course we knew that the black chick would re-emerge in Hank's life. Just didn't think it would be so soon.

This show really does fall into the "so bad it's good" category, sort of like Nascar (it appeals to the same crowd...I know, because we sell DVDs, although we don't carry Cali because it's so badly written and acted). I watch it like a critic would watch an awful movie just to find the flaws and marvel at how it keeps going (hey, it's part of a paid-for bundle). I used to despise Weeds until they broke out and went on the run the show got better.

Can anyone name any original, non-predictable storyline that has been in any season of the show (not counting Rick Springfield & Rob Lowe, who had great guest appearances)? I have to admit being fooled into thinking that they might either let Hank serve a short jail sentence or at least come up with a more imaginative conclusion to that storyline after the big buildup to the trial, but that turned into the worst debacle and weakest conclusion since the "Dallas" dream.

Hmmmm. Maybe Larry Hagman could do a guest shot as Hank's old mentor. That would be interesting. Unless they had him reeling off the flat one-liners that make up 80% of the dialogue.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

Thought the ep. was pretty solid and a wise re-boot of sorts. The finale of last season seems like it was written to wrap-up loose ends that can be traced to season one, almost like it was the last of the series. A two year gap was needed to give everything a fresh feeling . I am guessing the Californication book by Hank came out in that two year gap. I only hope this season doesn't get too much into the gangsta stuff, as the teaser card suggests.


I wonder if we will get to see more of Natalie Zea's body, if nothing else just to keep with Californication tradition? ;) I doubt Winona gives up the butt to Raylan.

I also don't see how anal sex= we're in a serious relationship.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

Wasn't it more like a three year jump forward. Didn't they say Little Runkle was 2 and a half years old? And Marci was only about half way through the pregnancy at the end of last season, I think. That puts it around 3 years. Is Hank's daughter in college now?

Also, the actor that plays Karen's husband was a childhood friend of David Duchovny. No wonder he got brought back.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

Yes it was a 3 year jump. Even the promo I posted in my OP said Hank is coming back to California after 3 years.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

What does Hank live on? It seems like he'd have run through his book & film money by now given his lifestyle? There's also his lawyer fees, although he probably paid for those in 'other services'.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

He wrote a new book about his life in California during the past 3 years. You saw him take a photo of himself with it.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

I watched this show for the first time and was unable to discern what Duchovny did for a living or who any of the characters are (I'm assuming the bald guy is his agent or something). This was an experiment to see if you could jump into a show - I failed - or the writers did.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

One thing I liked about the premiere is that Karens new husband seems to be a good guy, meaning the kind of guy Hank likes. Makes it seem less likely that the game plan is for him to steal Karen away... Again.

This show can do well focusing on Hanks career and his relationship with Becca and Karen without Karen having to be the center of his love life. Hopefully the idea of this reset is that they understand now that they can't be together romantically, leaving Hank open to be Hank.

Hank is a writer. The writers didn't fail you, this is the 5th season of the show and it isn't just another sitcom where you can pick up on characters on the fly.

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

For CRM114:

Hank: Writer/Sex Addict. Wrote a book called Californication which was based on his life.

Charlie: His best friend and agent.

Macy: Charlie's Ex and mother of his 2 1/2 year old kid.

Karen: Hank's Ex. Never married...On and Off relationship.

Becca: Hank's daughter with Karen.

Stu: Movie Producer. Was Producing movie based off Hank's book last season. Currently dating Marcy

Re: Californication -- Season Premiere -- "JFK --> LAX" -- 1/08/12
 

So did the "Fucking and Punching" movie ever came out? I'm sure it was a huge hit and won a ton of Oscars...in this universe at least.