With regular broadcast stations and basic cable there is something called ‘Standards and Practices’; the censors. This is mandated by the government agency The FCC. The scope of their control and influence does not extend to those premium cable networks like Showtime and HBO. As such the most cutting edge shows of late have come from this source. It is not so much that these are ‘dirty’ shows, in the old time use of the term; although there usually plenty of sex and violence to go around. Series like ‘Sex and the City’, ‘The Sopranos’ and ‘Deadwood’ would never have been considered by the regular networks. Now with all the extra stations available through cable and satellite series dealing openly with adult topics are possible. One of the latest to come around is ‘Californication’, Let’s face it the title couldn’t have been said on regular TV only a few short years ago. This series is groundbreaking in every aspect of its production. There was a time such shows would be on HBO but in the last couple of years they have retired all their big hitters and are left with mere shadow of their once unstoppable line up. The torch has been passed to Showtime and they now reign as the place to go for some of the best television available. ‘Californication’ is not so much an adult series as is it a series for adults. There is nudity, sexual talk and actions, foul language and drug use. These elements are not included to shock but as a natural part of the story being told. Okay, there is a scene where the protagonist receives oral sex from a woman in a nun’s habit which I am sure was included to grab the audience’s attention and ensue subsequent ratings. At its heart this is a serious drama about one man’s struggle to get by in modern society. It is a deep and gritty look at life including its joys and despair.

The series was created by Tom Kapinos who previously wrote and produced ‘Dawson’s Creek’. If you look closely there are many references to that series sprinkled throughout this one. There is honesty to the stories told here. Kapinos gives an unwavering voice to his characters that resonate with the viewers. The main character is Hank Moody, beautifully played by David Duchovny. Before he became famous in ‘The X Files’ he appeared in an early Showtime series ‘Red Shoe Diaries’ and his return to the cable network is a magnificent triumph. Moody is more than this character’s name it aptly describes his basic nature. He is a author with one hit novel, ‘A Crazy Little Thing Called Love' which has recently been made into a major motion picture. Hank hates what they did to his novel. They bought the writes which gave him a lot of money but ruined the story. He has been unable to write anything since then. This writer’s block is made worse by his move from his native New York City to Los Angels. He is just not at home with the phony people he sees everywhere. His lack of current writing is a major concern for his agent, Charlie Runkle (Evan Handler). Charlie is Hank’s best friend and always trying to get him back to writing. He also envies Hank for his freewheeling life style. Hank has yet to find a woman he cannot bed. Charlie is married to Marcy (Pamela Adlon) who is beginning to feel the spark as left their relationship.

It may seem that Hank’s life isn’t all that bad. He has enough money so he doesn’t have to work. It supports is vices; smoking, drinking and casual sex; all of which he takes too excess. Hank is also a father. His twelve year old daughter, Becca (Madeleine Martin) is smart, musically talented and extremely precocious. She is aware of the faults and foibles of her father but is completely devoted to him anyway. She lives most of the time with her mother Karen (Natascha McElhone), her fiancé Bill Lewis (Damian Young) and his sixteen year old daughter Mia (Madeline Zima). In the first episode Hank picks up a young woman in a book store. He takes her home and while they are having sex she punches him in the face every time he almost reaches that special moment. She is too freaky even for Hank’s eclectic sexual appetite. Unbeknownst to Hank the young woman is Mia. She has a lot of fun holding the statutory rape charge over his head. This is a blended family that is most certainly not the Bradys.

Each of the characters is richly drawn. Hank is nihilistic to a fault. Nothing seems to matter to him except his daughter and that he still loves Karen. His deepest regret is he never married her when they were living together in New York. Bill is the complete opposite of Hank. He is dependable, stable and trustworthy. He is so stiff that he is totally unable to bend although his need to be liked moves him to give in too often. Charlie finally gives in to temptation and begins an affair with his new secretary Dani (Rachel Miner). She may look like the mild manner office worker but underneath she is tattooed, pierces and into bondage, something that Charlie soon learns to enjoy. When Marcy finds out she tries to understand and suggests a threesome. Charlie is such a sad sack of a character that Marcy winds up leaving him for Dani. Karen will always love Hank and everybody knows it. She laughs off his constant attempt to bed her but somewhere inside she wants to give in to him. She needs the stability in her life that he could never provide. Becca is a great character and the performance by young Ms Martin is amazing. She is more adult than her father but is comfortable with that aspect of their relationship. Mia on the other hand is an oversexed teen. She enjoys teasing Hank with skimpy bikinis and sexual innuendos. When I first watched the aforementioned scene with her in bed with Hank I though I recognized her and looked her up. She played the youngest child on the sit-com ‘The Nanny’. I can never watch that show again after seeing her here. Talk about moving on from childhood roles. Pamela Adlon plays a similar role of her housewife with a wild side as she did in the short lived HBO series ‘Lucky Louie’ only ramped up to the extreme.

This is dark comedy at its best. The writing here is rapier sharp with a delivery that is always on target. These characters are deeply flawed and all too human. Hank does not dish out his emotions; he does his best to hide them behind booze, drugs and endless sex. Still he is more than capable of love. His daughter is the one bright spot in his grey world. He still carries a huge torch for his ex and as a friend to Charlie is willing to go above and beyond the call of duty. Plenty of films and television series have had a Lolita character but none as well as written as the one here. Zima is more devious than any adult in the story but hides behind her young age. There is no innocence to corrupt here she is pure mischief. She is contrasted with Becca who is worldly in some ways and a lost little girl the very next second. It is this contrast between characters that elevates this series beyond anything else on television today. We all know people like this. Perhaps not as intense or as messed up as shown here but they are all realistic in their presentation.

This is a DVD set that needs to be part of your collection. It is easily misunderstood but well worth the time it takes to fully understand what is being done here. HBO may have lost their dominance of original cable programming but thankfully Showtime has taken up the mantel with shows like this.