Night Court revival

[Amaris]

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.

I agree, her personality is still too "wink wink nudge nudge" to the general audience. She does the Futurama joke about saying exactly how she's feeling but with nothing underneath it in a "You can't just say how you feel, that makes me mad!" kind of way.

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?

It should be "I've always wanted to eat the last of something."

 

[Aragorn]

If this show is like the last show in that it takes a few years to figure out the best cast, who would you think the first one to get cut would be?

 

[cooleddie74]

Neil, sadly. As the character with the least screen time of the leads I could see him being replaced with someone who's closer to Mac from the original. Olivia is the most one-dimensional but it's hard to see her being axed from the cast, at least anytime soon.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

Great episode. Even the cold open with the "blind" woman was good.

The Abby/Olivia plotline was fine, but the Dan/Gurgs one was brilliant.
And Gary Anthony Williams as the substitute judge was so good, I kinda want him as a recurring character.

And the strip club bit? Started out with "Hey, they referenced Dan's horndog days", and then added something new to his backstory in a punchline. That is really good writing.

 

[cooleddie74]

Yeah, and the best thing about that strip club joke is that it works either way.The horndog days or he worked briefly as a male stripper, and both fit Dan like a glove. Along with the references to his like for backwoods Louisiana food they're really doing a good job at touching on the character's 1984-92 self.

 

[Christopher]

Neil, sadly. As the character with the least screen time of the leads I could see him being replaced with someone who's closer to Mac from the original. Olivia is the most one-dimensional but it's hard to see her being axed from the cast, at least anytime soon.

Funny, I would've said Olivia was the character most likely to be replaced.

Great episode. Even the cold open with the "blind" woman was good.

I didn't care for that bit, because the jokes depended on the ableist assumption that the only possible way to recognize someone is by sight. Surely a genuinely blind woman could have recognized Olivia by her voice, so it didn't work to say that recognizing Olivia proved that she could see.

Yeah, and the best thing about that strip club joke is that it works either way.The horndog days or he worked briefly as a male stripper, and both fit Dan like a glove.

From the way Gurgs smiled at his line, I think the clear implication is that he worked as a stripper. He did talk about it in terms of having a job there. I guess he could've been a bartender or bouncer or something, but that wouldn't make it as effective a joke.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I didn't care for that bit, because the jokes depended on the ableist assumption that the only possible way to recognize someone is by sight. Surely a genuinely blind woman could have recognized Olivia by her voice, so it didn't work to say that recognizing Olivia proved that she could see.

I agree. Even though the questionably blind woman said, in so many words, that she's "seen both of [Abby and Olivia] . . . a bunch of times," she could very well have been speaking figuratively. The whole scene could have been written in better taste.

 

[Tallguy]

The whole scene could have been written in better taste.

This is Night Court, right?

 

[Christopher]

I agree. Even though the questionably blind woman said, in so many words, that she's "seen both of [Abby and Olivia] . . . a bunch of times," she could very well have been speaking figuratively. The whole scene could have been written in better taste.

I didn't mind that line, since it was the giveaway that she was faking being blind, but it was the earlier bit where Olivia just assumed that being recognized meant the woman could see.

Although I wish there'd been a bit more exploration of just why she was faking blindness. Was it so she had an excuse to get her horse on the subway? Why was that important to her? There's a story there that could've been funny. Even comedy should have some character logic holding it together, some relatable motivation for why characters do absurd things.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I didn't "mind" the line either; I simply note that it didn't conclusively prove she was faking it. The whole scene could have been done in better taste, and yes, writing the scene in such a way that we knew why she was faking blindness would go a long way in terms of both humor and taste.

 

[Christopher]

I bet there are more creative ways they could've set up a "horse on the subway" joke. "What, did you expect him to walk all the way home?"

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.

I agree. Too many of the defendants are just bit players who stand there while Dan does his schtick about them. They should have their own stories, not just be walking MacGuffins.

 

[Forbin]

My wife told me she read that they asked Richard Moll if he wanted to do a cameo and he said "I'm 83, and I'm retired, no thanks." Oh well.

 

[Tallguy]

EIGHTY-THREE?!?

 

[Kai "the spy"]

Well, he's 80, not 83, but still old enough to have a well-earned retirement. Would have been nice to see Bull again, but better not do it at all than to push and shove Moll into a phoned-in performance.

 

[cooleddie74]

Art the repair man is 80 in real life. Maybe he'll come back at some point to help with the court's persistent birds-in-the-ceiling problem.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Would have been nice to see Bull again, but better not do it at all than to push and shove Moll into a phoned-in performance.

It's not like this is "The All New Captain Kangaroo," where Keeshan was asked to make an appearance as "The Admiral," took one look, and ran away as fast as he could.

This is Night Court, right?

Yes, it's Night Court. It's not, say, SNL, nor Curb Your Enthusiasm, nor Roseanne/The Conners. It doesn't actively seek out boorishness.

 

[Amaris]

It's not like this is "The All New Captain Kangaroo," where Keeshan was asked to make an appearance as "The Admiral," took one look, and ran away as fast as he could.

Yes, it's Night Court. It's not, say, SNL, nor Curb Your Enthusiasm, nor Roseanne/The Conners. It doesn't actively seek out boorishness.

No, @Tallguy is correct. This is Night Court, which lampooned everyone from every walk of life, and usually put a lovely bow of empathy on it to soften the edges.

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[cooleddie74]

D.A. Vincent Daniels could also be more ruthless than Dan which made him the perfect foil for Larroquette's character. The way he used his size to poke at Dan and get what he wanted was deliciously twisted and showed that even the people Dan picked on could turn the tables on him and one up the guy.

 

[Christopher]

No, @Tallguy is correct. This is Night Court, which lampooned everyone from every walk of life, and usually put a lovely bow of empathy on it to soften the edges.

None of those are in bad taste, though. Dan's jokes about Vincent are in bad taste, but the show itself clearly doesn't sympathize with him. I always liked the way they handled Vincent Daniels -- he was treated with respect by the writers and by all the characters except Dan, because Dan was always the boor (except occasionally). I love the bit with Vincent and Bull comparing the insults they get from all the jerks out there. It's not making fun of them, because the humor is coming from their perspective.

The second clip is basically cartoon humor about a fantasy condition, riffing on Cecil Turtle from the old Warner Bros. cartoons, right down to the guy talking like Cecil. So it's not insensitive to anyone real. And the third clip is about Harry trying to help Bull understand gender reassignment. The only person being made fun of is Bull for being so slow on the uptake.

 

[cooleddie74]

The original show was a masterclass in being offensive without truly being offensive. And was it glorious comedy writing.