Californication is a Showtimedramedy starring David Duchovny and Natascha McElhone.Duchovny plays Hank Moody, a ladies' man and occasional novelist who likes his booze and pot a bit too much. His life has slowly fallen apart as his significant other Karen leaves him and he fails to produce any kind of written work. After accidentally sleeping with Mia, the underaged daughter of Karen's new fiancé, he proceeds to write his new novel, "Fucking and Punching" (something akin to a present-day Lolita) about the affair. One of two copies is stolen when his car is jacked.The other copy is stolen by his underage lover, who is seeking to carve out a niche as writer for herself. In series two, the happy couple get back together until Karen starts a job in New York, leaving Hank back in abhorred Los Angeles with his daughter Becca, who has taken a liking to the city of angels. During series three, Hank deals with Becca's puberty and his new job as a teacher. In season four, "Fucking and Punching" is revealed to be in fact Hank's book (and therefore reveals he slept with Mia), but he narrowly avoids a statutory rape charge. Season five picks up three years later, where Hank is working for a gangster named Samurai Apocalypse.Season six is currently in production for 2013. The newest season will take place in New York, where Hank's book, "God Hates Us All," will be turned into a musical called "A Crazy Little Thing Called Love." Maggie Grace will play a Catholic school girl in the new season, and Sarah Wynter will play the wife to Atticus Fetch, a music producer for the musical.Not to be confused with the Red Hot Chili Peppers album of the same name.
During season three, Ken Marino from The State made an appearance. He's best known for his character Louie, The Guy Who Says His Catch Phrase Over and Over Again. After successfully cock-blocking him, Hank tells him to make a cup of tea and "dip his balls in it".
When Hank's lawyer makes him wear a suit for his court hearing, he notes that he "looks like an FBI agent."
Charlie Runkle and Evan Handler are Jewish.
Possibly invoked whenever Duchovny himself checked himself into sex rehab during the filming of season 2.
Bi the Way: Bates. Everyone is relieved from this revelation, however.
Blackmail: Mia does this to Hank, who can choose between waving his stolen book goodbye or being charged with statutory rape with an outrageous family scandal on top of it.
Hank has a huge penis. And he never is shown to leave a girl unsatisfied.
Breast Attack: Charlie Runkle suffers some serious nipple damage while attempting to have a threeway with his wife and his secretary. This is later referenced during the third season.
Dinner and a Show: Every time Hank is at a dinner party, you can expect something or another to happen. Hank being outed as an accidental father (though this proves to be false), Marcy admitting the real father of her child, Hank tearing his daughter's boyfriend to shreds, and Hank completely getting chewed out by his ex are just some of the notable examples.
Dawson Casting: Mia, whose age of 16 is an important plot point, is played by an actress who is in her early 20s, and visibly so. The fact that she looks much older is also an important plot point.
Averted with Madeleine Martin(Becca), notable given this show is NOT kid friendly
Destructo Nookie: Madeline Zima punches Hank while riding him. In season 4 Sasha Bingham does the same after being goaded into it by Hank, after she asked him how hard Mia punched him.
Disposable Vagrant: Eddie Nero muses about going on one of his crazy escapades and invoke the trope. Hank and Charlie look puzzled at each other and an opportune phone call prompts them to leave.
Eddie: I think we should kill someone tonight. I mean like a hobo or something.
[ringtone] Hank:Thank God!
Exactly What It Says on the Tin: When Mia tries to publish Hank's manuscript as her own, she describes it as a book "with lots of fucking and punching." "What's the title?" "Fucking and Punching."
Flanderization: Charlie goes from a capable agent and helpful friend in season one with a weakness for kinky women to a retarded manchild in season four who will stick his weener in anything with a pulse and actually tells a sex story in court. Seriously, the man has been a very successful agent for twenty years prior to the series, he should know better than that.
Justified with Samurai Apocalypse. Samurai isn't arrested for shooting Charlie in the middle of a freaking movie set, but then again, he's a fucking mobster.
During their first meeting, Trixie actually seems to care for Hank, despite the fact that he has nothing to pay her (and has an ugly confrontation with her pimp). Trixie is even a recurring character, and they form an amiable relationship soon enough.
Recreated later with the actress Sasha, only with Hank encouraging her to hit him ever harder.
I Need a Freaking Drink: Richard Bates takes one look at Hank, one look at a whore he cheated on Karen with, and one look at Karen. He immediately downs a bottle of the nearest alcohol and gets the hell out of there.
Jizzed in My Pants: Charlie Runkle gets off in a strip club during a lap dance at this moment. He tries to present it as a compliment. The stripper doesn't respond so well either way.
Laser-Guided Karma: Whenever Hank sleeps with a woman who isn't Karen, it will bite him in the back. Hard. Even when the resulting mess isn't really Hank's fault. Especially when it isn't Hank's fault.
Like Mother Like Daughter: At the end of season 5, Becca looks like she'll go down the same road as Karen, as she has fallen in love with Tyler.
Becca uses this to justify her getting high, claiming that it runs in her genes.
Luke, I Am Your Father: Charlie to Stuart. Especially after Marcy had been in a relationship with Stu Baggs for a while, and Charlie was supposed to have had a (successful) vasectomy.
Meaningful Name: Eddie Nero has a voracious appetite for... How shall we put this, "deviant" sexual acts. Deviant sexuality is long tied to corrupt morality, which is in turn tied to corrupt societies. Nero was a Roman emperor notorious for his debauched behaviour, and presided over a city that was equally notorious for this too.
Eddie: I took a man in my mouth. I played his skin flute like [[{{Jazz Kenny G]], like Kenny G on ecstasy [gargles] And then he gave me his gift, gifted me on the inside.
He immediately takes a disliking to every single one of her boyfriends, even if they aren't complete toolbags. And when Becca has her first period, he fights the husband of a woman who took the last pair of tampons in the store.
Plagiarism In Fiction: A major plot arc when the young woman Hank slept with in the first episode is revealed to be Mia, the sixteen-year-old daughter of Hank's ex-wife's new fiancé, who goes on to steal the manuscript for his new book and threaten to reveal that they had sex (which would get him charged with statutory rape) if he tells.
Subversion. Hank appears more traditionally manly, but it's often commented that he's "a lover not a fighter", and he demonstrates the capacity to understand emotional nuances much more than Charlie. Justified too, a writer would feasibly need to understand human emotions well.
Charlie is still very sensitive to human emotions. Even in Season 2 and Season 3 when he was tumbling down a slope, he managed to sign a couple of clients by sweet-talking his way into deals. It's feasible that during his 20 golden years, he was one of the best agents of his time.
Screwball Comedy: Many crazy situations spiral into it, specially in Season 3 around Dean Koons' uptight family.
Spank the Cutie: Charlie Runkle gets to do this to his secretary, to both their pleasure.
Speed Sex: Charlie is haunted most of the time by it, given his usual performance. He seems to be improving in Season 5, which is fitting because Evan Handler seems to have lost weight for his role.
Stop Helping Me!: Samurai Apocalypse's unsolicited actions againts Becca's boyfriend put Hank into a world of mess.
Played With again in the 3rd season. Surprisingly averted with Marcy and Charlie, for they both start taking antibiotics the minute Charlie is suspected to have an STD. They seem pretty STD-conscious... until Marcy starts having sex with a guy who has probably banged thousands of women in his lifetime.
Taking the Heat: Richard spends a wild night with some skank who shows up at his home the next day. A noble Hank sets-up a farce in a pure Screwball Comedy fashion where she is his girlfriend, so Karen won't be unhappy about the infidelity. Hilarity Ensues.
The Sponsor: Bates gets one, Gabriel, to help him quit his alcohol addiction. They end up falling for each other.
The Swear Jar: Hank Moody has this arrangement with his daughter - both ways. She gets most of the money.
Totally Eighteen: Discussed when Hank Moody discovers the attractive socialite that seduced him at a book store (while reading his book no less) is actually 16... and the daughter of his ex-girlfriend's current partner. The mistake is a major plot point for the rest of the series as the girl in question keeps the threat of blackmail pointed at Hank.
Wham Line: "How would you feel if I had slept with Becca?" -Bill
What Happened to the Mouse?: Damien. Anyone see him since he derailed the entire last season over his declaration of love?
Writer's Block: Hank is pestered by it at the start of the show and from time to time, but once he is back on track he is so good and witty that he basically has a One-Hour Work Week job.
You Just Told Me: The way Marcy tricks Charlie to reveal the relation between Stu and Lizzie.
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