Californication: Season 1

It is unlikely that Nanny Fine would approve of the youngest Sheffield girl bouncing around topless on Fox Mulder and punching him in the face upon orgasm. However, it appears that she’ll have to make due, as this momentous event acts as the fulcrum of a great deal of the conflict floating around in the first season of Californication. Everything starts with Hank Moody (David Duchovny), a relatively hedonistic novelist with writer’s block who is fantasising about getting a hummer from a nun. Having been recently separated from long-time companion Karen (Natascha McElhone) and his daughter Becca (Madeleine Martin), Hank has been pollinating every supple young filly that will separate her nimble little thighs for him. While checking out a copy of his own book at the local bookstore, he encounters the manipulative young Mia (Madeline Zima), whom he promptly takes home and nails. Later, when going to pick Becca up for visitation at the home of Karen’s fiancé Bill (Damian Lewis), he learns that Mia is actually Bill’s 16-year-old daughter. This sets up a great deal of the drama and comedy throughout the highly amusing and very adult-themed first season of this show. Other amusement stems from the hijinks that Hank’s agent (Evan Handler) gets up to with his sexually liberated and ambitious secretary (Rachel Miner). Scenes of Hank getting stoned in his ex’s bedroom during a dinner party with a Scientologist and accidentally falling off the bed while having doggy style sex then puking all over an expensive painting, in addition to scenes with Charlie (Handler) getting squirted on by a female boxer when his wife (Pamela Adlon) and Karen walk in on them, are entirely memorable and amusing. There are few shows that would so candidly discuss female genital grooming habits and have large sections of episodes dedicated to a lead character getting called the C-Word at a fancy party. What is surprising about all of this, in addition to candid use of the word "Vajanus” and lady lips being referred to as day-old deli meat, is how carefree and light-hearted it all is. Yes, the material is fairly dirty but it’s handled realistically and the characters are mostly likable despite their flaws. There are moments when Hank goes a little too far (snorting cocaine off of a hooker’s’ ass) but for the most part, he manages to get away with being a smartass pervert through his natural charm. This is likely why Karen appears to be intrigued by his behaviour and never seems to be able to fully reject him. She may be trying to move on to a more mature and responsible man but her tattoos and tendencies to get in fights at parties suggest that this isn’t what is in her heart. This season generally works extremely well, aside from a flashback episode where Hank learns of his father’s death, and his tone-deaf daughter’s crappy band. The note that season one is left on is both shocking and logical, and almost certain to have audiences excited to see what season two brings. DVD features include cast bios, a photo album and a chance to win a trip to Los Cabos.