First Born Unicorn

David Duchovny's long-running sex comedy Californication wrapped this past summer. We looked at some of the symbolism in the series in a Stairway to Sirius post a few years ago (and another here) but I thought this past season was worth a Picture Parade, y'know, just for the giggles and grins.

Duchovny will be seen next in Aquarius, an NBC mini-series about the Manson Family. I'll keep an eye on that series for any Secret Sun appropriate material.

Note: Gillian Anderson has signed on as a series regular on Hannibal, the NBC series based on the Thomas Harris novels. Talk about coming full circle for Gillian- the Dana Scully character was based on the Clarice Starling character from Silence of the Lambs. And Californication creator Tom Kapinos has signed on to produce the adaption of the Vertigo Comics series Lucifer. Enlightening.

A pauper, indeed

In the first episode of the season, Hank Moody discovers he has a son named Levon, played by Oliver Cooper, who is obviously going for the "new Jonah Hill" slot. Speaking of Sirius, Cooper was the star of an indie film titled Four Dogs. Levon tells Hank he had a tough time, not knowing for 20 years who his real father was. 

Levon's mother "Julia" is somewhat unconvincingly played by Hathor Graham, who previously played opposite Duchovny in the other show he played an FBI agent on. 

If you didn't know already, Twin Peaks will be returning to your TV set some time in the near future.

Hank goes to work on a TV show called Santa Monica Cop run by the volatile producer "Rich Rath," played by Michael Imperioli (best known as "Christopher" from The Sopranos). His first instinct when he hears about Levon is to use it as a storyline. 

This season shows you it's a miracle anything decent gets on TV at all, given the madhouse that is Hollywood.

Because this is where they confess their deepest, darkest secrets and put them on the screen.

No, no that Monica. Santa Monica.  

Rich offers Hank some advice you know he's going to ignore: don't have sex with the actresses. 

Hank will ignore that advice, and hijinks and boffo yuks will ensue. 

Oddly enough, there's a lookalike for X-Files producer John Shiban lurking silently throughout the season. 

And even odder, Santa Monica Cop's director (and Hank's nemesis)- known only as "Director"- is a lookalike/soundalike for a younger version of X-Files director Daniel Sackheim, who also directed Bree Sharp's video, "David Duchovny, Why Don't You Love Me?"

There are also weird, inappropriate non-sequiturs like this....

... what's that about?

Milk it.

Seriously.

Then there's this subplot...

...referring to this 1993 film, which was many Americans' first introduction to this actor. What did I see him in more recently...?

Another subplot even parallels the plot of Dori Carter's (Duchovny's old boss's wife) first novel Beautiful Wasps Having Sex, with Charlie Runkel trying to hire himself on as agent to Santa Monica's co-producer Goldie. 

The Italian surname D'Ori means "Golden." Huh. What's that all about, do you think?

Ideas.  

Huh.

Later, Hank meets Amy, the female lead of the show who was torn between this role and...

..."some class up the ass BBC thing." 

Amy is played by Mercedes Mason, who recently starred on 666 Park Avenue with "Mr. Ten Thirteen" himself, Terry O' Quinn. The symbols...

Deepest, darkest, Mr. Rath

Rich Rath meets Julia and is smitten. He asks her if she's done any acting. She did, in New York.

Julia is hired and meets Amy. It's like looking in a mirror.

Or this just a case of projection?

Julia had given up acting to pursue a career as a dental hygienist.

A little bit of satire, Dave?

Needless to say, Hank's other baby mama is none too pleased by all of this. But don't worry, it all works out in the end.

Hank reunites with Karen and "Rich" and "Julia" find true love on the Santa Monica Pier. 

What this all means for 20 year-old Levon is never made clear. It looks as if he will have soon a father and a stepfather- or a Godfather, given this is Christopher Moltisanti we're talking about. But Levon was born a pauper to a pawn, on a Christmas Day, when The New York Times said God is dead, and the war's begun. 

(Bonus sync: Imperioli was also in Secret Sun macro-resonator The Lovely Bones with my Braintree homeboy Mark Wahlberg)

Here is wisdom.

Indeed. 

I'll leave you with this news: Gillian Anderson is dropping hints about a new X-Files movie, after briefly toying with the idea of a crowd-funded sequel.

Will we finally unlock the keys to everything in The X-Files?

Sync Log: Just came across this" recently put up on CIF homepage. Tenuous connection to article, but the Guardian is a clickbait rag anyway.