Maddie’s (Cybill Shepherd) first full day at the Blue Moon Detective Agency office doesn’t go as well as she hopes in the first episode this week. Written by Micheal Petryni, Gunfight at the So-So Corral, the first episode after the pilot, debuted on 5 March, 1985.

When the office is slow, David Addison (Bruce Willis) decides to swipe a case from their competition, but things don’t work out as planned when the pair find themselves looking for Farley Wyre’s (Pat Corley) estranged son, Micheal (Gary Graham), but everything isn’t what it seems to be.

Farley warns Maddie and David that Michael may be involved in something ‘nefarious,’ in fact, he’s a contract killer. Things get more complicated with the character of Fremmer (a very young Tim Robbins) another would-be assassin.

Farley has secrets of his own, and there’s a lot going on in the episode, but all we really want to see is the interactions between David and Maddie. Some sequences still has Willis trying too hard, but his performance is slowly starting to smooth over.

It seems everyone in the case has a secret, and is not being honest with David and Maddie. Well, maybe Micheal. But that means there are a lot of contract killers mired up in this case, and Maddie and David are gonna have to try to figure their way out of it.

While Willis still needs to smooth over his performance, it’s cool to see both Graham and Robbins in this episode. The show embraces its sense of fun, and keeps the snappy lines flying.

And the climax actually works out really nicely, as it all comes together….

Read the Mind… See the Movie puts us halfway through the first season, running only six episodes. Written by Joe Gannon, this episode first aired on 12 March, 1985.

Maddie and David, along with the agency, have been hired by an aerospace firm that has been suffering from a rival company stealing it’s secrets (kind of like David in the previous episode stealing clients).

The pair have to deal with the company’s owner, Preston Holt (Joe Lambie) and a psychic before they can finally figure out what is going on. It seems Holt’s company has been gleaning secrets from SRT, where the agency is working as security consultants.

There are advanced weapons, and a number of secrets being swiped and stolen, and David seems to have a problem taking it all seriously. In fact, this costs them some clients when secrets end up in Holt’s hands. As they investigate Preston reveals that he gets all of his advice and trade secrets from a psychic, Omar Gauss (John Harkins).

All of this bothers Maddie, because she has called in favors on friendships to secure some of the clients, and David mucks it up. She wants to prove Holt is behind it, as SRT is run by friends. But where will the clues lead?

And you know what? Willis is a little more settled in the role., a little more restrained and enjoyable, as opposed to trying too hard.

The case work continues next week as I join the Blue Moon Detective Agency with Moonlighting.