Some people go all through their career without managing to land even one memorable role. Thanks to Californication, David Duchovny has now chalked up two. Yet Hank Moody is as far removed from The X-Files??? Fox Mulder as you can pretty much get. That???s because Moody is a successful author, only one with a real eye for the opposite sex. He???s a man caught in the midst of a troubled life, on one hand a father, on the other dabbling with the odd drink (to put it mildly). And it???s the complexity of the character that Duchovny clearly has a ball with, lifting Californication into must-see territory in the process.

A real show out of nowhere, Californication though has so much more going for it. The scripts veer between very funny moments and areas that other shows wouldn???t go anywhere near, while the supporting cast do ably up their game to keep up with the leading man.

The full first season of Californication is presented here, and it???s fair to say it leaves you salivating for more. An individual, entertaining and very funny show, this is one of those occasions where the hype surrounding a programme is there to be believed. Don???t miss it. --Jon Foster

I'm gonna spoil the ending so don't read on if you haven't seen this series.

Ten minutes into the last episode of this series I was thinking about this review and considering what score to give it. I decided on balance to give it 4 stars because it's an original, well written and well acted black comedy. By the end of the that final episode I was considering whether to give it 2 or 3 stars. It was that bad.

Barring the last episode, the show is an entertaining and well written romp and, although the content is at times adult in nature, there is nothing to shock anyone with a life. Duchovny is excellent as the unpredictable, sardonic Hank who is suffering writer's block since his move to LA from NY and other than the wooden Martin the rest of the cast play their roles well. The show doesn't take itself too seriously and Duchovny plays his role very much tongue in cheek. At times it gets a little bit over sentimental (that's American drama for you) but nothing so bad as too make your skin crawl (in fact the only really gut wrenching moment is when Martin picks up the guitar and starts her caterwauling!).

But someone decided to ruin it all (this unusually gritty and realistically ugly drama) by wrapping it all up with a happy, smiley, nonsensical ending where Hank reunites with the love of his life and flies off in his magic car to happy land. Shame on you. Shame on you.

Hank is a writer, who isn't writing. His long time girlfriend, Karen, has moved out and Hank is on a downward spiral of cigarettes, alcohol, women, bad-mouthing himself and everyone else, and self-loathing. He takes wrong step after wrong step, which is evident to Hank and the people around him, who by the way have their own problems.

There's Karen, who is engaged to boring Bill, Bill - the righteous a.., Bill's 16-years old daughter, who seduces Hank, Hank's and Karen's pre-teen daughter, Hank's agent, the agent's leatherclad assistent, the agent's wife, who is a bodywaxer, and a ready parade of women in Hank's life, and "Californication" works.

The characters are brilliant, the dialogue is fresh, edgy, and sharp, and you'll watch another episode just because you still haven't decided whether "Californication" is too much or just right og whether to frown and shook your disapproving head or laugh out loud.

One of the downsides to "Californication" is, that the fornication-part get old very quickly and it takes a couple of episodes for the series to move on.

For anyone who thought Sex & The City was too camp to watch (didn't The Simpsons describe it as a show about four women who act like gay men?), here is the grown-up, sassy and sexy alternative.

David Duchovny may be better known for the X-Files, but here he looks much happier, playing the blocked writer Hank Moody, living fast in LA, trying to win back his partner Karen (Natasha McElhone(?) and their daughter from a wealthy but dull publisher, Bill. Kinda reminded me of The Philadelphia Story, minus the class warfare.

This comedy is sharp, with crackling dialogue, very explicit, but in the best sense, adult. The title may sound gimmicky, but it tells you what you need to know: that this is a series about adult relations and the rights and wrongs attached to exercising our freedom to pursue casual relationships at the expense of greater and more meaningful ones.

Anyway, it's a winner, funny but serious. If you're eighteen or over, see it.

Saw so many good reviews so decided to give this a go. I have to admit wasn't sure whether I could see past David Duchovny as Mulder, but after 5 minutes, such a great performance I was totally drawn in. The writing is funny, gripping, sharp with lots of twists and turns. Ended up watching the entire series over just 2 days! Cant wait for season 2

I caught the pilot episode of this drama some time ago and looked forward to the DVD release (i prefer to watch series at my own pace and convenience rather that week by week on TV). I certainly wasn't disappointed, Duchovney's character is writer 'Hank', an intelligent hard drinking cynic of life with a view on everything and everybody who cannot stop himself sharing it. In the battle to get his family back, beat writers block, survive the women of LA and their upset husbands he takes you on a unique ride. If you are a fan of excellent (often strong) dialogue, dark humour, and American TV at its best then this is a must watch!