When cable took over as the primary method that the American used to get their all important television programs a major paradigm shift began to occur. When TV was free and broadcasted through the airwaves a Federal agency, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held direct controlled much of the content of what could be shown. The methods fell just short of censorship but basically the FCC made sure certain material that was deemed ‘objectionable’ would not be shown on the standard channels. When cable television became increasingly popular the new cable networks realized there was a major market for programming that extended beyond movies, sports and news. They started to come up with original programming that pushed the boundaries with regard to language, nudity, violence and other adult themes. At the forefront of this new frontier two cable networks emerged; HBO and Showtime. Series like ‘The Sopranos’ became so popular people would subscribe just to watch them. Since cable networks did not have to garner the same level of ratings to justify continuation of a show. This permitted the rise of the niche series. Unlike the series on broadcast television that had to appeal to the largest possible audience, cable could go after niche markets culling a smaller but fiercely loyal fan base. Since the normal Standards and Practices department was not required for premium cable shows it was now possible extend the subject matter to previously unthinkable levels. One series that could only be possible under these more relaxed rule set is the one under consideration here, ‘Californication’. There is absolutely no aspect of this series that is suitable for broadcast stations. There is something else that as resulted in the great popularity of shows like this; DVD. It is possible for the fans to collect entire uncensored seasons with ease.

The series was the creation of Tom Kapinos. Previously he worked on the teen oriented soap opera ‘Dawson's Creek’ this series, one of the flagship original series for Showtime goes beyond cutting edge on borders on being a textbook for hedonism in the extreme. At the center of the show is Hank Moody (David Duchovny). Originally Hank was a writer hailing from back east in New York City. He relocated to Los Angles when the film rights for his successful novel were purchased. This afforded Hank sufficient cash to indulge in unlimited indulgence in drugs, alcohol and casual sex. All of this excess has taken its toll on Hank who experienced a long writer’s block induced dry spell. Hank has only a few people willing to put up with him. The most important is his girlfriend from back east, Karen (Natascha McElhone) she has a daughter with Hank, the precocious Becca (Madeleine Martin). She dreams of two things; playing rock and roll and reuniting her parents. At the end of the last season this looked like it might happen when her mom ran off with Hank leaving her fiancé Bill Lewis (Damian Young) at the altar. To complicate matters Bill’s teenage daughter Mia (Madeline Zima) has had sex with Hank, stole his latest manuscript and tried passing it off as her own. In many ways it is extremely difficult to like the character of Hank Moody. He is almost completely self-centered; driven by a need for immediate gratification of his self-indulgent quest for personal pleasure. Fortunately Duchovny is an exceptionally talented actor and supplies greater depth to this most superficial character. In Duchovny’s hands Hank comes across as a seriously damaged human being. He has a lot of self hatred for selling out his art; allowing his serious book to be made into a fluffy romantic comedy. The Way he attempts to cope with this is through meaningless sex, booze and cigarettes. It doesn’t help that most of the people he meets in L.A. he views as masks without real substance. In this season he has a chance to correct one of the biggest mistakes in his life and settle down with Karen and Becca as some sort of family.

Making the right choice is never easy for Hank especially when he is hanging out with is best friend and literary agent Charlie Runkle (Evan Handler). He can match and is frequently able to exceed Hank in unbridled debauchery. When Charlie is fired after his boss sees video of Charlie pleasing himself the former agent turns his attention to the adult film industry; absolutely the worse environment for Hank if he expects to get back on track with Karen and Becca.

In all this is a well written series that is technically a very dark comedy although there are many element of Classic Greek tragedy infused in it. Hank is the much put upon protagonists whose own character flaws preclude him from ever finding true happiness. This is not for anyone of more conservative convictions and certainly not for the kids but if you want to watch something with intensity give it a look.