Californication

I know nothing about Tom Kapitas, the creator of the Showtive series Californication, but I'm guessing one of two things: this is either autobiographical (less likely) or the visualization of a fantasy. Because, as disheveled as the life of the protagonist is, deep down a lot of guys would like to have his life.

The show debuted in 2007, and I just finished watching the first season. It stars David Duchovny as the louche Hank Moody, a novelist and New Yorker who has moved to L.A. to have his latest book turned into a blockbuster movie (with Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, no less). He despises the city and the movie business, but stays to be near his ex (Natascha McElhone) and precocious daughter (Madeleine Martin).

I enjoyed the show, but I can see why it is polarizing. The whole success of the enterprise depends on whether you like Hank or not, and a lot of people don't. The charming asshole is a tough thing to pull off, but I think Duchovny does it. I end up rooting for the guy. Women, on the other hand, may feel differently.

The very first scene of the show has him dreaming about getting an offer of a blowjob from a nun, in the altar of a church. This is explained to him as being indicative of his longing for unattainable women, explains his friend and agent (Evan Handler). The most unattainable woman is McElhone, who has left him and gotten engaged to a cold fish (Damian Young). Though Duchovny beds women with almost the frequency of Wilt Chamberlain, he pines for her obsessively.

Moody, also in the first episode, ends up bedding Madeline Zima, who turns out to have two surprises. She is only sixteen, and is Young's daughter. This event, plus the pursuit of McElhone, ends up providing the impetus of the plot through much of the rest of the series.

Moody is definitely an interesting character. He has writer's block, can quote Keats, and has a gift of gab. Some of his dialogue is priceless. He's also frequently an asshole, but he knows it. He ends up costing himself a relationship by deriding a woman for using the phrase "LOL," and by my count was punched at least five times during the first season.

The show also pushes the crudeness envelope, not out of any sense of being daring, but more in a winking smarminess. We have a man's face sprayed with female ejaculate, the same man's nipple torn off during an S&M session, and some very frank discussion of sexual proclivities. There is plenty of nudity, though none from Rachel Miner, who plays Handler's assistant, a "Suicide Girl" with some ambition. I might add that she is totally hot.

It's kind of funny to see Duchovny, who has gone to rehab for sex addiction (and is an Executive Producer) playing the Lothario. He does make a deviation from his real-life persona when he tells a porn star who has taken him home, "I'm not that into porn."