Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #433 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-06-16
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 327 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Some people go all through their career without managing to land even one memorable role. Thanks to Californication, David Duchovny has now chalked up two. Yet Hank Moody is as far removed from The X-Files’ Fox Mulder as you can pretty much get. That’s because Moody is a successful author, only one with a real eye for the opposite sex. He’s a man caught in the midst of a troubled life, on one hand a father, on the other dabbling with the odd drink (to put it mildly). And it’s the complexity of the character that Duchovny clearly has a ball with, lifting Californication into must-see territory in the process.

A real show out of nowhere, Californication though has so much more going for it. The scripts veer between very funny moments and areas that other shows wouldn’t go anywhere near, while the supporting cast do ably up their game to keep up with the leading man.

The full first season of Californication is presented here, and it’s fair to say it leaves you salivating for more. An individual, entertaining and very funny show, this is one of those occasions where the hype surrounding a programme is there to be believed. Don’t miss it. --Jon Foster

DVD Description
David Duchovny (The X Files) returns to our screens in the hilariously dark new comedy series, Californication. Bachelor Hank Moody (Duchovny) has almost got it made: he's a sexy, best-selling author, but his insatiable appetite for beautiful women often lands him in hot water. Every day, Hank finds himself in bed with another woman and two steps back from his ultimate goal – restoring his family. He wouldn’t mind reviving his writing career either, but as a part-time dad juggling his wild LA lifestyle with grown-up responsibilities, this "devil may care" writer is at a loss for words. From the very first episode, Hank sets the tone for the whole series. We meet him first in a church asking Jesus to help him get his life back on track, but he gets distracted by a hot nun, which turns out to be a dream that is representative of his lifestyle – he then goes on to have sex with a woman who is cheating on her enraged husband and a 16 year-old girl who he thinks is in college. This clever comedy also stars Natascha McElhone (Solaris) as Hank's ex-girlfriend, Madeleine Martin as Becca, his wise-beyond-her-years 12 year-old daughter and Evan Handler (Sex And The City)as Charlie, Hank's best friend and agent.

Synopsis
Not to be confused with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers' song of the same name, CALIFORNICATION is a comedy about the pleasures and pitfalls of living la vida loca. David Duchovny (in his first TV series since THE X-FILES) slips comfortably into the role of Hank Moody, a novelist with a drink and drug problem and a penchant for beautiful women. As if Hank's life wasn't complicated enough, he's also got his daughter and ex-girlfriend vying for his attention, a bad case of writer's block, and a seeming inability to resist the many temptations Los Angeles has to offer. The show's Golden Globe-winning debut series is presented here in its entirety.

Customer Reviews

So nearly like the real thing?
I'm gonna spoil the ending so don't read on if you haven't seen this series.

Ten minutes into the last episode of this series I was thinking about this review and considering what score to give it. I decided on balance to give it 4 stars because it's an original, well written and well acted black comedy. By the end of the that final episode I was considering whether to give it 2 or 3 stars. It was that bad.

Barring the last episode, the show is an entertaining and well written romp and, although the content is at times adult in nature, there is nothing to shock anyone with a life. Duchovny is excellent as the unpredictable, sardonic Hank who is suffering writer's block since his move to LA from NY and other than the wooden Martin the rest of the cast play their roles well. The show doesn't take itself too seriously and Duchovny plays his role very much tongue in cheek. At times it gets a little bit over sentimental (that's American drama for you) but nothing so bad as too make your skin crawl (in fact the only really gut wrenching moment is when Martin picks up the guitar and starts her caterwauling!).

But someone decided to ruin it all (this unusually gritty and realistically ugly drama) by wrapping it all up with a happy, smiley, nonsensical ending where Hank reunites with the love of his life and flies off in his magic car to happy land. Shame on you. Shame on you.

Join the downward spiral of the life of Hank Moody!
Hank is a writer, who isn't writing. His long time girlfriend, Karen, has moved out and Hank is on a downward spiral of cigarettes, alcohol, women, bad-mouthing himself and everyone else, and self-loathing. He takes wrong step after wrong step, which is evident to Hank and the people around him, who by the way have their own problems.

There's Karen, who is engaged to boring Bill, Bill - the righteous a.., Bill's 16-years old daughter, who seduces Hank, Hank's and Karen's pre-teen daughter, Hank's agent, the agent's leatherclad assistent, the agent's wife, who is a bodywaxer, and a ready parade of women in Hank's life, and "Californication" works.

The characters are brilliant, the dialogue is fresh, edgy, and sharp, and you'll watch another episode just because you still haven't decided whether "Californication" is too much or just right og whether to frown and shook your disapproving head or laugh out loud.

One of the downsides to "Californication" is, that the fornication-part get old very quickly and it takes a couple of episodes for the series to move on.

Sex & The City For Guys and Girls
For anyone who thought Sex & The City was too camp to watch (didn't The Simpsons describe it as a show about four women who act like gay men?), here is the grown-up, sassy and sexy alternative.

David Duchovny may be better known for the X-Files, but here he looks much happier, playing the blocked writer Hank Moody, living fast in LA, trying to win back his partner Karen (Natasha McElhone(?) and their daughter from a wealthy but dull publisher, Bill. Kinda reminded me of The Philadelphia Story, minus the class warfare.

This comedy is sharp, with crackling dialogue, very explicit, but in the best sense, adult. The title may sound gimmicky, but it tells you what you need to know: that this is a series about adult relations and the rights and wrongs attached to exercising our freedom to pursue casual relationships at the expense of greater and more meaningful ones.

Anyway, it's a winner, funny but serious. If you're eighteen or over, see it.