Night Court
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Night Court was a situation comedy that aired on NBC from January, 1984 until May, 1992. The show focused on the nutty antics in a Manhattan arraignment courtoom, which revolve around Judge Harold T. Stone (as played by Harry Anderson) and his cast of loonies. It was created by comedy writer Rheinhold Weege, who had previously worked on the (almost) as zany Barney Miller in the 1970s.
Description
The comedy style on Night Court could best be described as broad, almost slapstick comedy. Basically anything went and logic didn't really have a place. A typical plot might have Judge Stone trying to stop a group of ventriloquists and their dummies from beating each other up. Or (then NBC chairman) Brandon Tartikoff might arrive to bail out a Nielsen family while Harry is trying to meet a deadline of 200 cases adjudicated by midnight. The show featured many defendants who came back again and again including the Wheelers, Yugoslavians who pretended to be a hick family from West Virginia who, at one point, even ran a concession stand in the courtroom.
The cast were all just a little off kilter. Harry was a magician whose dad was probably certifiably insane and who loved the 1940s, and whose idol was crooner Mel Tormé. Assistant District Attorney Dan Fielding was a lying, cheating, dishonest man who would do anything to get a female client to sleep with him. Bailiff Bull Shannon was a man who was a certifiable genius but who seemed to operate on a different dimension than everyone else. Public Defender Christine Sullivan, though incredibly sexy and voluptuous, was honest to a fault and somewhat naive. Mac Robinson, a veteran of the Vietnam War, was very sweet and would do anything for anyone. The various female bailiffs (the first two of whom died early in the show's run) had acid tongues.
Night Court developed originally as a vehicle for comedian/magician Harry Anderson, who had developed a following with his performances on Saturday Night Live and made several successful appearances as "Harry the Hat" on the sitcom Cheers. For the first several years of its run, Night Court ran right after Cheers on NBC's "Must See Thursday" along with The Cosby Show, Family Ties, and Hill Street Blues.
The Cast
- Harry Anderson as Judge Harold T. Stone (entire run)
- Paula Kelly as public defender Liz Williams (first season only)
- Ellen Foley as public defender Billie Young (second season only)
- Markie Post as public defender Christine Sullivan (third season until end)
- John Larroquette as Assistant District Attorney Reinhold "Dan" Fielding (entire run)
- Richard Moll as bailiff Nostradamus "Bull" Shannon (entire run)
- Selma Diamond as bailiff Selma Hacker (first two seasons)
- Florence Halop as bailiff Florence Kleiner (third season only)
- Marsha Warfield as bailiff Rosalind "Roz" Russell (fourth season until the end)
- Karen Austin as court clerk Lana Wagner (first season only)
- Charles Robinson as court clerk Macintosh "Mac" Robinson (second season until end)
- Denice Kumagai as Quon Lee Duck Robinson (occasional from second season on)
- Mike Finneran as janitor Art Fensterman (occasional the entire run)
- Joleen Lutz as court reporter Lisette Hocheiser (occasional last 2 seasons)
Note: In addition to the regular cast, John Astin appeared as Harry's dad and Mel Tormé played himself (he was Harry's idol). Brent Spiner played Bob Wheeler in a recurring role.
In March 2005, the cable network TV Land announced that it would start airing Night Court in August 2005.
External links
- Night Court (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086770/) IMDB entry