Episodes 1-7

1X01 : Freud’s dilemma

Summary :

Chris finds himself dumped by his girlfriend and questions what women really want. On a location shoot for a music video, he is reminded of his ex-girlfriend by Nedra (JACQUELINE SAMUDA), an attractive, but rigid production accountant on his music video shoot. Nedra seems to have absolutely no interest in Chris when he tries to talk to her, but then every night she does a strip-tease in the hotel room across the alley from his, apparently oblivious to him. Unnerved, Chris consults his psychologist mother (who plays herself in a cameo), but Dr. Isaak will only tell him to come to terms with his own libido. Further complicating matters is actress Bai Ling, who co-stars in the video with Chris. She arrives on set with a head full of insecurities and a jealous kickboxer boyfriend. Not that anyone else in the band is doing any better with affairs of the heart. Anson’s (JED REES) romance with Jodie (REBECCA NYGARD), a young horsewoman, fizzles when he finds himself intimidated by the thought that she’ll compare him to her well-endowed stallion. And Yola’s (KRISTIN DATTILO) scheme to land Chris a prime slot on a television special, takes an unexpected turn after she sends her competitive associate Cody (GREG WINTER) to win over the network’s president, Clay Choper (MARK HOUGHTON), who happens to be partial to young men.

Guest stars :

  Bai Ling (Actress and Chris’s old girlfriend)
  Dorothy Isaak (Chris’s mother)

Songs Featured :

  Wicked Game (Live in San Francisco)
  Please (Promotional video)
  Dont’l leave me on my own (Live capella)
  Goin’ nowhere
  Eyes of Texas (Soundtrack music)

1X02 : Fantasia

Summary :

When Anson (JED REES) is arrested for unpaid parking tickets, Chris catches the eye of the lovely Bonnie (GABRIELLE MILLER), one of the arresting officers. Bonnie gives Chris her number and later, when they go out on a date, Chris finds himself strangely aroused by her stories of life on the beat. But Bonnie has a dark side and Chris soon has second thoughts about pursuing the beauty with the badge. Meanwhile, Yola (KRISTIN DATTILO) is experiencing her own strange attraction for Dr. Morse (ROBERT WISDEN), the handsome sleep specialist she’s seeing for her insomnia. And Anson, assigned to community service for 37 unpaid parking tickets, is thrilled to find himself rubbing elbows with Bret Michaels.

Guest stars :

  Junior Brown (Guitarist)
  Bret Michaels (Lead singer of Poison)

Songs Featured :

  I want your love (Live)

  I’m not sleepy (Live)

  Highway Patrol (Live with Junior Brown)

  Beautiful Homes (Live with Junior Brown)

  Don’t make me dream about you (Live)

1X03 : Crimes and Punishment

Summary :

In an attempt to win favor with his new love interest and duet partner, movie star Minnie Driver, Chris agrees to take care of her English sheepdog, Otto. Unfortunately, Chris forgets Otto’s special food. Before he knows it, the pet rabbit, Mr. Whiskers, who belongs to the little girl next door, lies dead and covered in dirt, apparently a victim of the hungry and oversized dog. Desperate, Chris tries to cover for Otto, washing the dirt from the bunny’s fur and blow-drying him to make it look as though Mr. Whiskers died of natural causes. Meanwhile, Chris’s manager Yola (KRISTIN DATTILO) and his keyboard player Anson (JED REES) are having their own troubles. Yola’s got problems in the boardroom when her hot-shot colleague Cody (GREG WINTER) makes her feel old and out of touch. Anson’s problems are in the bedroom. His latest girlfriend Carol (LINNEA JOHNSON) is hot, but she’s deeply religious and she’s wracked by guilt whenever they make love. Anson finds her innocence and tortured spirituality strangely arousing, until he too gets the feeling that God is watching them.

Guest stars :

  Minnie Driver (Actress)

Songs Featured :

  I wonder (Live)

  This love will last (Live concert with Minnie Driver)

  La vie en rose (Live concert with Minnie Driver)

  Eyes of Texas (Live)

  Forever Blue (unplugged)

  Baby did a bad bad thing (Live concert))

1X04 : It’s the music, stupid

Summary :

For a long time, Chris has been stalked by Kim (ELIZA MURBACH), a mousy fan who is so obsessed with him that she camps outside his house and tries to win him over with homemade banana bread. She suddenly disappears, leaving behind only a red tennis shoe. Chris is at first relieved, but then, he begins to worry and hires Ray (BEN CARDINAL), a musician-turned-private detective to track her down. And Kim’s disappearance isn’t the only mystery. At an auction of celebrity memorabilia, Chris gets into a bidding war with Joe Walsh over a guitar owned by Elvis’ sideman Scotty Moore, only to be beaten out by an anonymous phone bidder. Yola (KRISTIN DATTILO) is determined to find out who got the guitar, so much so that she sabotages a blossoming relationship with Denver Lane (PETER WINGFIELD), the antique expert and auctioneer who oversaw the sale. Anson, meanwhile, is doing some sabotaging of his own. When his father Merrill (KEVIN MCNULTY), a demanding figure who doesn’t approve of his music, asks him and his sister Marissa (RITA BOZI) to play a piece by Brahms at their mother’s birthday, Anson can’t help but do everything possible to mess things up, including bringing along tattooed punk rock singer Bif Naked.

Guest stars :

  Joe Walsh

  Bif Naked (RockSinger)

Songs Featured :

  7 lonely nights (Chris playing live alone)

  Wrong to love you (Live concert with Joe Walsh)

  Rocky Moutain way (Live concert with Joe Walsh)

  Lie to me (Live concert)

1X05 : The real me

Summary :

Chris is initially thrilled when cousin Ordell (JOHNNY RENO) shows up in town with his new band. His excitement turns to dismay when he discovers that Ordell’s new band, Blue Hotel, is a Chris Isaak tribute band. If it was anyone else, Chris would raise hell, but he still feels guilty about his role in a lawn-dart accident that cost Ordell a toe years before. Ordell borrows Chris’s clothes and dates his old girlfriends. When Ordell records a cheesy commercial for a fried chicken outlet using one of Chris’s songs, Chris finally has to speak up. Meanwhile, Chris’s band members are both intrigued and appalled by their alter-egos in the tribute band."

Guest stars :

  Johnny Reno (Saxophonist and Chris’s friend)

  Stevie Nicks (Country singer)

Songs Featured :

  Blue Hotel (Live concert with Johnny Reno)

  Solitary man (Live concert with Stevie Nicks)

  It’s late (Live)

  Baby did a bad bad thing (Johnny Reno, parody of the song)

  Forever Blue (Keyboard live)

  Two hearts (Live concert)

1X06 : Hurricane

Summary :

When his band’s guitar tech drunkenly passes out backstage, Chris hires Jimmy Vane, an amazing player who used to front a band called the Hurricanes, to replace him. It turns out Jimmy’s had a few rough years since Chris last heard him play - substance abuse problems, some time in jail for petty theft - but he swears he’s clean now and he does know guitars. Things are okay at first, but soon Chris senses that Jimmy resents his success and Hershel isn’t too happy when Jimmy steals the spotlight after being invited onstage to play with Silvertone. Hershel isn’t the only one with a rival. Yola is surprised to discover that her formerly chunky college pal Meg has slimmed down considerably and now uses her newly luscious boby to provide inspiration for great songwriter - in short, guys like Chris. Meanwhile Anson finds his own form of feminine - if somewhat ghoulish - inspiration in Lisa, the makeup girl at the funeral parlour where he’s landed a moonlighted gig playing organ.

Guest stars :

  Adam Arkin (Guitarist)

Songs Featured :

  I believe (Live concert)

  Super Magic 2000 (Live concert)

  Wild Love (Live concert with Adam Arkin)

  Don’t leave me on my own (Soundtrack Music)

1X07 : T&A

Summary : Chris’s public image takes a weird turn when his old girlfriend, comic Caroline Rhea, tells The Daily Scoop tabloid that Chris was shy about showing his butt when they had sex. When Chris tries to set the record staight, it only gets worse. He shows Rhea what she accused him of hiding (by mooning her over the video phone), and she takes a picture and posts it on the internet, turning his behind into a cause celebre. Chris confronts the tabloid reporter, a middle-aged man named Tricia, who promises to fix things only to manufacture a picture of Chris dressed up like a stereotypical gay leatherman. Anson meanwhile, hits up Chris for $2,000 to pay for his girlfriend’s medical treatment, neglecting to mention that the treatment is breast enhancement surgery. And Yola, eager to outshine her rival Cody at a birthday party for Leon, the head of the agency, tells a few white lies to score the loan of an $8,000 dress from a high-end boutique.

Guest stars :

  Caroline Rhea (Chris ’s old girlfriend)

  Lisa Loeb

  Dweezil Zappa (Musician)

  Jay Leno