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| A Trip to the Moon (29 September 87) | |
| The "trip" in question is taken from a series of dream sequences in which Maddie reflects on the possibility of married life with David. The dreams take on the framework of the old "Honeymooners" television show, with a grotesquely padded David filling the shoes of Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden character. Maddie herself takes the role of the long-suffering Alice. Charles Rocket (who has been seen in several episodes as David's brother, Richie) takes a very funny turn as Norton, and Agnes rounds out the foursome as Norton's wife, Trixie. The crux of Maddie's discomfort is her deep-down conviction that a life shared with David would be a life of squalor, where arguments and vitriol are the norm and tenderness is possible only after a shouting match. It is this heartfelt pain that leads her along the road to Chicago, and sets up the path of the story arc to come. "Where is our relationship going?" is the question on Maddie's mind as she wrestles with her attraction to David and her conviction that the relationship is predicated entirely on sex, and is therefore dangerously unbalanced. David, however, is deliriously happy. The episode proper opens with David suggesting that perhaps he should bring a few things over to keep at Maddie's place; some clothes, maybe a razor and toothbrush. It turns out to be exactly the wrong question to ask, since it prompts Maddie to demand his input on their future. David, characteristically, is enjoying the ride too much to look ahead to where it's going. He has no answers for her, prompting her to decide that the relationship must be going nowhere if neither of them is sure of the destination in mind. She tells him that one of the things that is bothering her is that they have never gone on a "date". David, hurt, tells her that he is tired of sneaking around not being able to tell anyone what has developed between them. The conversation escalates to the point where David, over Maddie's increasingly frantic pleas, stands before the entire Blue Moon staff and "tells them what's going on." Rather than take the low road Maddie feared, and telling the employees that they are sleeping together, he declares his love for Maddie, and asks her for a date that evening. She accepts his invitation, and the fun begins. Maddie, struggling with her inner feelings about David and her worries about trying to build something with him, conducts a mental dialogue with guest star Dr. Joyce Brothers. Few conclusions are reached, although Dr. Brothers seems to side with the rest of the viewers in being relatively unsympathetic to Maddie's plight and telling her to get on with it. David, nervous and intent upon making a good impression, meets mentally with one of his mentors, Ray Charles, in a very funny sequence underlining the doubts and quandries that David feels when considering becoming part of an "us" unit. Ray advises David to be himself and not to offer to make too many changes for fear of losing the man he is in favor of the man Maddie wants. The agreed upon date begins, predictably enough, with an argument, this one centering over David's feeling excited and nervous while Maddie confesses her "ambivalence" at being out with David in the first place. The fight ends, characteristically, with Maddie locking herself in the house and refusing to come down. David, in an increasingly desperate attempt to draw Maddie out, pretends he is fighting and kills an imaginary burglar. The skit seems to last forever, emphasizing David's unwillingness to end the evening and give up, as well as showing the lengths to which he will debase himself to win Maddie's attention. He has finally given up when she opens the door and they reconcile. The problem is, it's too late to have a dinner and movie evening, so they wind up doing something we don't see (but most likely driving around trying to get in someplace without a reservation) until 2:00 in the morning, when David brings her to an all-night laundromat. In a painful and heart-wrenching conversation, Maddie reveals her conviction that she has to get away from all of this, that it's driving her crazy, and that David is not the right man for her, no matter how much she loves him. She tells him that if she could do anything right now, she would fly to a foreign country and crawl under the bed and stay there until she had thought things through. David expresses his confidence in their love, and persuades her to dance with him in the darkened laundromat. Maddie finally breaks away, leaving David alone in the dark building while she leaves to think things through. A mostly silent montage trails her in the middle of the night to the airport, where she leaves for parts unknown. [Not until next week's episode do we learn that she is heading to Chicago to be with her parents. -- bcm] One of the more interesting and emotionally complex episodes from the series, A Trip To The Moon marked a defining turning point in David and Maddie's relationship and a plot twist that very few viewers imagined possible. | |
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My name is Radostina Georgieva, "Roddy".I live in California.
I enjoy travelling, reading books, listening to music, going to the movies.
I am constantly looking for ways to challenge myself, learn, and grow.