Night Court revival

[Christopher]

Exactly. Dan, even in his cheap, shameless, tawdry moments, was still a deeper character. Olivia's not getting the chance to really do that as she seems to be used more for hot take reactions made solely to get a quick laugh from the audience. It just feels very cheap and shallow, and I think India de Beaufort deserves better.

I don't know. Before this episode, I would've said Gurgs was a pretty one-note wacky character without much depth. Before episode 3, I would've said the same about Abby. They've both had episodes that have changed my mind about them and deepened them as characters. Maybe next week will be Olivia's turn. Or maybe it'll be Neil's turn and Olivia's will be the one after that.

 

[Bynar0110]

Any chance they bring back Roz or Bull in a guest spot?

When it comes to the original Night Court, I tend to skip the first 2 Seasons. The theme song is one of my most frequently played Mp3s.

 

[cooleddie74]

I hope.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Re-watched last night, this time actually able to hear the dialogue in the first 10 minutes. It improves greatly when you can actually hear it. I wonder why a volume setting that's perfectly adequate for Jeopardy is absurdly too low for Night Court. There can't be that much difference in dynamic range, can there?

And as to all Abby's guilty verdicts, how many times did Harry say something like "$20 and time served"? It's a sitcom, not a sequel to The Paper Chase. (Now there's an interesting concept: Hart and friends as practicing lawyers. Unfortunately, James Stephens & co. are all in their 70s [or late 60s], and Houseman's been dead for some time, but the roles could be recast.)

 

[Christopher]

And as to all Abby's guilty verdicts, how many times did Harry say something like "$20 and time served"?

In arraignment court, the judge can decide that if the defendant pleads guilty. Didn't Harry also frequently rule that people would be held for later trial, which is how it actually works when they plead not guilty? Of course, I haven't seen the show in a long time so I can't be sure.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

You're forgetting one other thing: Night Court, like many other sitcoms, is a live-action cartoon. It always has been. In another thread, I argued that the difference between TAS and LD is that LD is a cartoon (in the "big eyeball" tradition pioneered by Groening, among others), while TAS, even though it was animated, was not a cartoon (and neither are most of the Disney animated features).

Well, Night Court is the converse: if TAS (and many Disney animated features) are animated without being cartoons, Night Court is a cartoon without being animated. It is filled with situations that only make sense if you assume that it's in a universe wherein the rule of funny is a law of physics. There is plenty of precedent; I distinctly recall an episode (near the end of the 7th season) after Christine's pregnancy was revealed (written in because Markie Post was pregnant), in which "nesting" became a minor plot point, and she was seen (in the tag, as I recall), driving a floor machine in the courthouse (maybe even in the courtroom itself). And of course, the 7th season also had "Still Another Day in the Life," with its rather famous cameo by Wile E. Coyote.

And if the Rule of Funny says that Harry, or Abby, can issue a guilty verdict, then she can issue a guilty verdict.

 

[Christopher]

You're forgetting one other thing: Night Court, like many other sitcoms, is a live-action cartoon. It always has been.

I've never forgotten that, but you're getting far more heated about this issue than I am. I was just making an observation -- which wasn't even my observation to begin with, since I didn't even realize it was an issue until someone else in this thread pointed it out. I have no strong feelings about it; it's just an acknowledgment of a minor detail. Yet you're inexplicably reacting as if you're hugely offended by it for some reason. And I have no interest in that kind of confrontation. Let it go already.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Let it go already.

Agreed.

And truth be told, I thought you were the one who'd pointed it out in the first place (my little grey cells aren't what they used to be). I see now that it was "Trekker4747" who first brought it up.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Any chance they bring back Roz or Bull in a guest spot?

When it comes to the original Night Court, I tend to skip the first 2 Seasons. The theme song is one of my most frequently played Mp3s.

That'd be fun. I think one way that could happen would be via a poker game. Episode opens with Dan having some of his old co-workers, such as Bull and Roz, over for an annual game of poker. Then when he comes out with it later in the episode, Abby says something to the effect of, "Oh, I didn't realize you were still in touch with them. My Dad talked about them all the time. Can I join your next game?"

 

[Kai "the spy"]

What's William Utay doing these days? He appeared in an episode of Modern Family in 2017, and apparently was last on Days of Our Lives in 2021. Might be fun to have Dan visited by Will Sanders?

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Not to be too "small universe", but I think it's be cool if Roz turned out to be Gurgs' aunt or great-aunt and the reason she went into the biz.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Or either Roz or Bull might turn out to be the head bailiff of the courthouse, or even of the whole court system.

 

[Aragorn]

Any chance they bring back Roz or Bull in a guest spot?

Richard Moll said he had no interest in ever coming back, but that was long before there was a new show.

Marsha Warfield says she hasn't been asked.

Would Ellen Foley or Karen Austin be too deep of a cut?

Denice Kumagai? Brent Spiner?

 

[Herbert]

Bringing Brent Spiner back as Bob Wheeler would be too good to be true.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Annie O'Donnell is still with us (FYI, she played Keena in the DS9 S1 episode Progress) and she's been keeping busy over the years.

#BringBackBobAndJuneWheeler

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Is the show hitting it's stride? I think it is.

Once again, Dan & Gurgs are the best part. The Abby & Olivia pairing was pretty good too.

The substitute judge was quite insane, I hope we see him again.

 

[Herbert]

Richard Moll said he had no interest in ever coming back, but that was long before there was a new show.

Marsha Warfield says she hasn't been asked.

Would Ellen Foley or Karen Austin be too deep of a cut?

Denice Kumagai? Brent Spiner?

I would love to see some old characters come back but I don't see that happening to a large degree.

What I'd like to see is more of the slapstick comedy and wackiness that the original was known for, at least in the earlier seasons. One of the things that made the original so fun was the imaginative cast of weirdos that appeared before Judge Stone and the resulting interactions that took place. That's an element that needs to return. Also, I think someone else in this thread said that Night Court was like a live-action cartoon. I agree. This version needs more of that as well.

Remember the episode where a guy from Dan's hometown shows up and handcuffs him to a briefcase with a bomb in it? That's still one of the funniest episodes of a sitcom I've ever seen. I can't imagine this show coming up with anything even half that funny. I'll keep plugging away though in the hope that it will grow on me. At least some of Dan's younger personality seems to be creeping back in. That's at least one step in the right direction.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I think this has to be the best one yet. We're seeing new dimensions of Olivia, and even a bit of development with Neil.

The Lipinski/Weir guest appearance, and Dan and Abby bonding over "swamp delicacies" (that Gurgs turned up her nose at) were priceless.

Oh, and apparently "Freezing Man" is a real thing.

 

[Amaris]

Awesome, a little more Olivia development! That's what I was hoping to see.

This one was fun. I especially loved the substitute judge who had to make the "bang! bang!" gavel sounds with his mouth, and then Gurgs bragging about the largest VHS tape collection in the United States once Alaska falls.

This was a goofy, silly episode with some really cute moments from all of our characters. I really think they're finding their feet now, and I sincerely hope it keeps getting even better from here.

 

[Christopher]

I still think Olivia's being written too broadly, with too much of her dialogue just telling what her character is rather than showing it, but this turned out to be pretty good overall. The battle between Dan and Gurgs was pretty good, and it had a great resolution with Dan choosing to sacrifice for Abby. And the closing line, "City folk," was a great coda.

Did I miss something watching online? The show cut to commercial mid-sentence just as Dan was talking about his dream of eating endangered animals. So it came out as "I've always wanted to eat the last--" "Socks, underwear, and t-shirts!" Which works as a joke in its own right, but was it intended or not?