When it first premiered as a mid-season replacement in the spring of 1985, Moonlighting seemed like a brilliant post-modern revival of the romantic screwball comedy/mysteries in the tradition of The Thin Man. Unfortunately, by the fourth season, creator Glenn Gordon Caron decided that his comic banter was so scintillating that he jettisoned the mystery aspect of the show almost completely even though it was the series’ raison d'être. (Truth be told, the series hasn’t stood the test of time that well; the constant bickering between the main characters seems more contrived and repetitive than inspired nowadays.)

Luckily, Twas the Episode Before Christmas (originally broadcast on Dec. 17, 1985) was relatively early in the show’s run before it wore out its welcome. (You can tell the early episodes from the later ones by looking at the top of Willis’ head. The more his toupee gives the illusion of a full head of hair, the earlier the episode.)

Directed by Peter Werner and written by Caron, the episode begins with ex-con Leonard (comedian Richard Belzer at his most sinister) and his unnamed henchman (Brian Libby) breaking into the apartment of Joseph Goodman (Ralph Meyering Jr.) where he has lived as part of the Federal Witness Protection Program since sending Leonard to prison for racketeering. As the two goons prepare to off Joseph, his wife Mary (Leslie Wing) grabs their infant child and flees. Pursued by Leonard, Mary leaves her child in the apartment of our favorite rhyming receptionist, Agnes DiPesto (Allyce Beasley).

The next morning, Maddie Hayes (Cybill Shepherd) walks into the office of Blue Moon Investigations and discovers the latest get-rich-quick scheme of her partner David Addison (Bruce Willis): Santa’s Hotline designed to take messages from the little kiddies to Santa (for a fee, of course). As they launch into their daily argument, a baby is heard crying behind the receptionist desk and Miss DiPesto fesses up to her unexpected motherhood.

David and Mattie set up DiPesto and her ward in Maddie’s house and head for Agnes’ apartment building to investigate. There they run into three federal agents looking for Mary and the baby: Rueben King (James Avery), Saul King (Daniel Chodos) and Jim King (John Hostetter). (Since Rueben is black, Saul is Hispanic and Jim is white, it seems unlikely they’re related.)

When David, Maddie, Agnes and the kid return to the office, they find Mary who, because there were no vacancies at the local inns, was forced to spend the night sleeping in the hallway of the office building. David is already starting to get weirded out by the three Kings, Mary and the whole “no room at the inn” deal, but when Mary offers him a Camel cigarette, he is really spooked. (Although the fact that the baby’s name is Andrew kind of throws off the whole allegory thingy.) Before they can reunite mother and child, they discover that Agnes has split the scenery (at Bugsy’s beanery) with Andrew.

Maddie: You know what we’re going to have to do, don’t you?

David: Wrap this up in twelve minutes ‘cuz there’s another show coming on the air?

Eventually, Maddie figures out that Agnes has returned to her house with Andrew. Alas, Leonard and thug have followed Agnes there and are holding the women at gunpoint when, all of a sudden, with a “Ho ho ho,” David emerges from the chimney in a Santa Claus outfit. (David: “This is the last time I jam myself into a tight hole with my clothes on.”) The good guys stall for time by pelting the bad guys with Christmas toys until the three Kings come to the rescue (all dressed in Santa outfits).

Th-th-tha-that’s not all, folks! In an unexpectedly poignant breaking of the fourth wall, the camera pulls back from the Blue Moon office set to reveal the soundstage and the families of the cast and crew singing “The First Noel.” (Some nice candid shots show that some of the younger kids are less than impressed with the artificial snow falling from the ceiling onto their heads.)

Moonlighting: Twas the Episode Before Christmas is available from Netflix (Seasons One & Two, Disc Five) and Amazon.