Hank Moody is a brilliant writer, whose battle with the blank page is more often than not a source of cruel frustration, than a process of fluent artistry. His work that screams heart, balls and swagger is every reader’s desire; but his jaded state of mind and nonplusing ways are every publisher’s nightmare. He is a fool that falls heels over head in love with every single woman that catches his fascination; but his heart belongs to one and one alone. His life is one long Rock ‘n’ Roll bacchanalia, where the women never grow old and the whiskey never runs dry; but amidst this madness of Hollywood he’s trying his best to raise his teenage daughter. He means well, but he seems to fuck up more often than not. And in the words of the writers from Showtime, ‘he’s holding it together while falling apart.’

Californication is one of the best TV series’ that bends every single rule of scriptwriting, and violates almost every sacrosanct concept of modern society, that we here at The Backdoor have ever bothered to watch. And with a great team of writers, a solid cast and a refreshingly blunt raunchiness, all coming together seamlessly to chronicle Hank Moody’s life and his affair with the midlife crisis; it’s a show that captivates just about any Rock ‘n’ Roller with an appetite for comedy, drama and debauchery.

And today The Backdoor brings you some of the lesser known facts about Californication.

Hank Moody’s character is based on an infamous underground novelist.

While Californication’s writing team is no doubt highly talented, they did have a wonderful real life subject to base the show upon. Unknown to the majority of its viewers is the fact that Californication and the character of Hank Moody are actually based around the life of the American Novelist Charles Bukowski. As a man who spent most of his life exploring the many wonders of wine, women and song, while battling the blank page in his hometown of LA; it’s no wonder that the producers of Showtime leapt at the concept of a modern day TV series based around him. What’s more, many of Bukowski’s novels and short stories feature a protagonist, womanizing tough guy named Henry ‘Hank’ Chinaski, which was his alter ego.

While some might argue that what Showtime did was rip off the life story of Bukowski, we here at The Backdoor feel that they have actually done a fantastic job of portraying the life of the novelist who worked to champion good writing along with the virtues of American low life. And if it entices even one viewer to go pick up a book by Bukowski they would really be doing God’s work on earth.

Californication’s producers were sued for plagiarism.

In late 2007 the Red Hot Chili Peppers sued Showtime over the use of the name Californication , which is also the title of their 1999 hit album. And while certain uncanny similarities are present within the show itself; notably a recurring character named Dani California, which is also the name of a character in the song by the Chili Peppers; Showtime has counter argued that the band did not coin the term ‘Californication ’ and claims that the term was used on prior occasions. The term has indeed appeared in print, in Time Magazine, in an article called ‘The Great Wild Californicated West’. And the Canadian art-rock band the Rheostatics also released an album called ‘Whale Music’ in 1992, with a song called ‘California Dreamline’ which includes the lyric “Californication , spooning in the dry sand.”

The show has had a significant number of its advertisers pull out due to controversies.

The opening scene of Californication’s pilot involves a nun trying to help Hank overcome his writers block by giving him a blowjob, in front of a statue of Jesus Christ! While we feel that there could be no better way than that to start off a TV series; for some reason, which completely perplexes us, certain conservative groups don’t seem to share our view. The show’s pilot was immediately met with a hailstorm of protests by several conservative groups, including The Australian Christian Lobby, which resulted in seven advertisers including Burger King and Cadburys withdrawing their advertising slots on the program. In addition an email campaign led by another Christian fundamentalist group, led to 49 advertisers pulling out of the shows second season, including the shows main sponsor Just Car Insurance.

However the shows producers and TV3 seemed supremely unmoved by this less than hospitable reaction; and in our opinion, they really don’t need to give a damn. They have one of today’s most popular TV shows, with an engaging mix of drama, comedy and emotion twists, which will prove resilient in the long run.

The show’s soundtrack pays a subtle tribute to Warren Zevon

Apart from having an incredibly well written story line, Californication’s sound track too is brilliant to say the least. Music supervisors Budd Carr and Nora Felder have so far done an immaculate job in selecting the tracks to the shows three seasons. While the shows sound tracks include some old school Rock ‘n’ Roll favourites from Cheap Trick to Zakk Wylde to The Foo Fighters, Californication gives a very significant spot to the music of Warren Zevon. The show’s soundtracks include many of his lesser known masterpieces like ‘Mohammed’s Radio,’ ‘My Shit’s Fucked Up’ and the Steve Earle cover of ‘Reconsider Me.’ In season one, Hank’s daughter, Becca Moody’s band also performs a cover of his song ‘Don’t Let Us Get Old.’

The fact that Californication’s producer Tom Kapinos and actor David Duchovny are reported to be huge Warren Zevon fans would explain the shows fondness of his music. And in addition to the sound track, Californication also uses a healthy amount of his sound bites  like “Porcelain Monkey,” “excitable boy,” and “life’ll kill ya” in its script.  In the show’s second season Hank Moody also describes his ritual after finishing every book he writes as ‘whiskey, weed and Warren Zevon.”

It uses strong Slayer references.

While Californication is abundant with Rock ‘n’ Roll references and idiosyncrasies, both subtle and bold; none are as pronounced and profound to us Rock ‘n’ Rollers as its numerous Slayer references. According to the show, Hank Moody’s best selling novels are named ‘South of Heaven,’ ‘Seasons in the Abyss,’ and ‘God Hates Us All’; all album titles by the Thrash Metal Giants. And season one carries another subtle reference, when in one episode Hank comes home to the noises of his daughter Becca, trying to play ‘Raining Blood’ on Guitar Hero.

Season three again involves yet another subtle Slayer reference when Hank’s best friend Charlie Runkle recalls that the bathroom was the only place in his house which was spared of his and his wife’s sexual escapades, which he calls their “Unholy Alliance”, which is also the name of a Slayer tour.

While these subtle references might not seem much to the blissfully ignorant everyday viewer, for us Rock ‘n’ Rollers it’s certainly one huge reason among many to love this show.