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Californication Season 1 Episode 8

California Son

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9.1

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 10/1/07

Hank's father Al dies, so Hank tries to ease his pain with a hooker named Trixie. However, Karen does her best to help him overcome the pain.

Fan Episode Reviews (5)

After the show got too soft somewhere after episode 3... the special something returned 2day... "Unjumping the shark" Hank??

10

By Kondix, Nov 05, 2011

I have to say... some of the most episodes where a bit too soft after this hardcore beginning... but this episode made it all up... I was really touched and sometimes quit shoked. Duchovnies acting was scary but brilliant. The flashback, which sowed us how Hank derailed were also scary.... a downfall portrait in 27 mins! You dont get something like that all to often in a TV-Show... this was cinema quality drama. I hope the writers have more of this to offer in the future. I almost stopped watching this show... but this was like "unjumping the shark" for me... I think I will stay witch Californication for some time...moreless
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Hank's father dies and we find out how he and Karen broke up as he tries to deal with the death in flashbacks.

10

By Starghella, Oct 31, 2010

This show just keeps getting better and better. I am 10000000% in love with all the characters on the show and I am totally invested in their storylines already. This one was a bit more serious but it was great to see how it all went down between Karen and Hank way back when... I also liked that Hank dealt with his father's death and maybe gained some more understanding of himself at the same time. I cried at the end when he read the letter from his father and then when he and Karen finally!!!! slept together. They totally need to get back together. I am also really happy that Mia and Bill were not in this episode, she is a really irritating character and I was glad to have a break from her, especially since I totally can tell that him having slept with her is going to be the thing that keeps him and Karen apart in the end. (or at least the end of this season :) )moreless
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Hank finally meets his match.

9.5

By johandogod, Oct 19, 2007

The best part of this episode was the chemistry between the dad and the son which was really amazing. The use of the really nice filters to show the past was really very effective. The famous dialog "Thanks for taking my head from my ass". The writers reached a beautiful emotional high with this one. They showed a beautiful side of hank which we never got to see till now. His dad showed us some of the secrets men have to keep coz they are men and they love doing it. Its what keeps them going. Hope writers can match up to this one.moreless
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hank and karen...loved it...

9.7

By xblvr, Oct 08, 2007

So we figure out where Hank gets his sexual ways from. He finds out his dad dies and then we get to see snippets of his past with his dad, Karen, his daughter, his book and his movie. It was a very touching episode. We find out that Hank's dad loved his mother even though he always cheated on her. He was a horny old man (and young man). We also do find that Karen was the one that cheated first, not Hank (but he is making up for lost time). But Karen made up for the past. She was there for Hank when he really needed it, and the sex looked great.moreless
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hanks dad dies.. and at first hank doesn't want to talk about it in fact doesn't even want to go to his dad's funeral.. and we see flash backs why..

10

By schiplun, Oct 03, 2007

hank is ofcourse sad that his dad is dead but doesn't want to even talk about it at all. his ex-girlfriend comes to pick him up and to the funeral but hank doesn't do so. infact he hooks up with a girl in the bar and sleeps with her, and after realises that she is a hooker, and ofcourse gets into trouble with her pimp because he doesn't have money to pay her. there are flash backs showing his father comming to visit hank, when hank was still with his girlfriend, and in those flash back that we see that him and karen are going break up. i guess thats why he blames his dad about it. but at the end(not in the flash back) we see and hear a letter that he's dad had sent him i guess just after he came to visit him ( in the flash back). and that makes hank go to the funeral of he's father, ofcourse with some help of hes ex:)

this is a great show!moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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David Duchovny	Hank Moody
Natascha McElhone	Karen Van Der Beek
Madeleine Martin	Rebecca
Madeline Zima	Mia
Evan Handler	Charlie

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Mark Margolis	Al Moody	Guest Star
Judy Greer	Trixie	Guest Star
Kathryn Adams	Katie	Guest Star

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (2)
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- The jacaranda plant that Hank can not identify is common in LA.
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- Featured Music:
  Warren Zevon - "Mohammed's Radio"
  Bonobo feat. Bajka - "Between The Lines"
  Perry Keyes - "In Ancient Rome"
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QUOTES (8)
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- Trixie: So what are your thoughts of rehab?
  Hank: Rehab is for quitters.
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- Hank: I love you.
  Karen: Hank...
  Hank: I didn't say it to hear it back.
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- Al: PS, I saw a preview of your movie the other night. It looks like a piece of s**t.
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- Charlie: I'm sorry about your old man. You know, he was a good guy.
  Hank: No he was not. He used to say you looked like a walking penis.
  Charlie: Well, that's not very nice.
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- Al: Life's too short to dance with fat chicks.
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- Becca: What's an angina? Do I have one of those?
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- Hank: You can't snort a line of coke off a woman's a** and not wonder about her hopes and dreams. It's not gentlemanly.
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- Hank: Chicks with small bladders are hot.
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NOTES (4)
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- International Episode Titles:
  Czech Republic: Kalifornský synek (Californian Son)
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- Original International Air Dates:
  Australia: October 15, 2007 on Channel Ten
  Norway: December 26, 2007 on TV2
  Sweden: February 28, 2008 on TV4
  Denmark: April 20, 2008 on SBS Net
  Finland: May 5, 2008 on Nelonen
  Germany: July 9, 2008 on AXN
  Belgium: October 20, 2008 on 2BE
  Slovakia: October 24, 2011 on JOJ
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- This episode is rated TV-MA for mild violence, graphic language and adult content.
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- Although credited, Madeline Zima (Mia) does not appear in this episode.
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ALLUSIONS (3)
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- Al: (to Hank) You know who's a good writer? James Patterson, I read one of his books on the plane.
  
  James Patterson is an author of thriller novels, best known for his books centered around the fictional character Alex Cross, a psychologist. Patterson's Women's Murder Club series inspired a TV show that ran for one season in 2007/08.
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- Hank: "Trixie", that's a good name if you're a hooker.
  
  Trixie was a hooker and one of the main characters in HBO's show Deadwood.
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- Al Moody: I liked him in that Vietnam movie. He played a good cripple.
  
  Refers to actor Tom Cruise's role in the biographical film Born on the Fourth of July (1989) where he portrays Ron Kovic, a paralyzed Vietnam War veteran who became an anti-war activist.
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