Critics praised the series for its innovations. Char-
acters, particularly Addison, would often “break the
fourth wall,” by speaking directly to the audience.
One episode was filmed in black and white, adopt-
ing a film noir style; another was a feminist take
on Shakespeare’sThe Taming of the Shrew, in which
the characters dressed in Elizabethan costumes
and spoke in iambic pentameter. Playing to a media-
conscious audience, the content of the episodes was
full of references to 1980’s pop culture. Although
many television viewers loved the variety of visual
and sound techniques employed in the series, they
were more attuned to Maddie and David’s relation-
ship, wondering when they would, to use Addison’s
words, “get horizontal.” The March 31, 1987, epi-
sode, titled “The Big Bang,” was announced by a
half-page ad inTV Guide, stating “No more between
the lines. Tonight’s between the sheets.” An esti-
mated sixty million viewers tuned in, surpassing the
numbers for the Academy Awards, but the episode
marked the beginning of a downward spiral for the
show. Caused in part by the dissipation of the sexual
tension between its stars, the show’s decline also re-
sulted from scheduling problems caused by Shep-
herd’s pregnancy, as well as the departure of series
creator Caron.
Impact Unlike most other quality television shows
of the 1980’s,Moonlightingdid not employ a large en-
semble cast. The show centered on the relationship
of the two major characters, whose fast-talking, wise-
cracking repartee enchanted its audience. As both
an hour-long comedy and a drama, its fun and seri-
ous nature paved the way for “dramedies” of the fu-
ture.
Further Reading
Joyrich, Lynne.Re-viewing Reception: Television, Gen-
der, and Postmodern Culture. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press, 1996.
Thompson, Robert J.Television’s Second Golden Age:
From “Hill Street Blues” to “ER.”Syracuse, N.Y.: Syra-
cuse University Press, 1997.
Williams, J. P. “The Mystique ofMoonlighting.”Jour-
nal of Popular Film and Television16, no. 3 (1988):
90-99.
Marcia B. Dinneen
See also Cagney and Lacey; Feminism; Glass ceiling;
Television.
Moral Majority
Identification Christian conservative political
organization
Date 1979-1989
The Moral Majority was one of the first political organiza-
tions formed for the purpose of campaigning for the election
of political candidates who espoused Christian conserva-
tives’ social values.
Founded in 1979 by the Reverend Jerry Falwell, the
Moral Majority was dedicated to promoting Christian
conservative concepts of morality and social responsi-
bility. The Moral Majority served as a national head-
quarters, providing direct mailing lists and other infor-
mation services to conservative organizations and
individuals throughout the United States. In 1980, it
distributed the Family Issues Voting Index, rating
candidates on their support for what it called “family
values.” The organization was credited with helping
ensure the election of Republican candidate Ronald
Reagan to the presidency in 1980 and 1984.
Falwell, founder of Thomas Road Baptist Church
and Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia,
served as public spokesman for the Moral Majority.
He used his nationally syndicated weekly television
program,The Old-Time Gospel Hour, to solicit sup-
port for conservative candidates from its twenty-
five million viewers. By 1981, Thomas Road Baptist
Church’s weekly services were broadcast on 392 tele-
vision stations and 600 radio stations. Another strong
voice for the Moral Majority was the Reverend Pat
Robertson, founder of Christian Broadcasting Net-
work (CBN) and the American Center for Law and
Justice. Robertson and fellow televangelist James
Robinson joined in the efforts to get Christian con-
servatives elected to office. Robertson mounted a
campaign for the presidency himself in 1988, in
which he won five states’ electoral votes.
Other Moral Majority supporters included brew-
ery magnate Joseph Coors; Ed McAteer and Bob Bill-
ings of the Religious Roundtable; Reed Larson of the
Right to Work lobby; Connie Marschner, leader of the
National Pro-Family Coalition; Phyllis Schafly, presi-
dent of Eagle Forum and STOP-ERA; and Congress-
man Larry MacDonald of the John Birch Society. The
Council for National Policy, founded in 1980 by Bap-
tist minister Tim LaHaye, cooperated with the Moral
Majority. Contrary to some critics who characterized
the Moral Majority as a fundamentalist organization,666 Moral Majority The Eighties in America