Night Court (2023)

I think John Larroquette stopped submitting his name for Best Supporting Actor Emmy nominations in the 1980's because he always won and it was getting embarrassing because I think more than a few of those wins were without merit. If I were him, I'd submit my name this year. He's really pulling his weight and the glue holding this show together. And frankly, his performance now is better and more compelling than it's ever been.

I love that he instantly understands the undercover officer bit, and tries desperately to prevent the mistake the second he does. Dan Fielding is no dope.

And say what you will about Dan as a defender, when Abby is about to make the wrong call he refuses to let her. Not just for her sake. But for the sake of his harmless client. I wish there had been better wrap-up there, but I thought that was interesting.

I like this show so far. ****.

Also, not too put too fine a point on it but the series is trying to do too much at once. I kind of want to see a normal episode instead of one focusing on big life-changing events for Dan and Abby.

Not great. *1/2.

When Abby realizes she's the bad guy, I was already there the moment she asked Gurgs to "handle it". The clueless white ally personified. It feels kind of dopey Gurgs joins the protest, but the truth is, she was being disrespected just then.

Dan, (correctly by the way) pointing out that this was a boring night by the standards of the Harry Stone era says either the show knows its own limitations, or that wacky hijinks ARE gonna be an occasional thing. While I WOULD appreciate the first thing on some level, I actually hope it's the second thing.

Cute. ****.

I know the old show was pretty stupid. But there's no reason the new show needs to be this stupid in 2023. Maybe I'd actually cut them some slack there if it was ALWAYS this stupid. But it isn't. So I'll complain about it instead. **.

I know. Markie Post is recently deceased, and if they made the mom Christine, they'd have to have her be dead and unable to visit. But like, man, I wish this show has been made five years ago when Post was available. She totally woulda done it too.

John Larroquette is doing solid work week after week as Dan Fielding. His performance has gravitas he didn't have (or even need) on the old show. He was always the original show's MVP, but it's to the Nth degree on the revival.

The old show often did wacky nights of cases too. But this outing felt... Pedestrian. The people in court were simply all crazy people who believed they were Halloween monsters. The old "night of crazy cases" episodes on the original series has a great deal of variety to them. But it's like this version is exploring crazy concepts instead of crazy characters. And it's weaker for it.

It was all right, but there was a lot of disappointment on my end. ***.

Dan hints he was on cocaine in the 1980's which might give a little more context to him on the original series.

I like that Dan claims "white people school" is Dartmouth.

Olivia and Neil's stuff was annoying. Both of these characters are turning out to be duds.

Somewhat amusing episode though. ***1 removed link

I have to say, I think this show sucks at goofy people with big accents. Maybe that was a problem on the old show and I just didn't realize it, but I think it's more likely that that style of broad comedy is so out of fashion it's impossible to find actors who do it well anymore. This was Brent Spiner's Tuesday, but if you can't get Future-Data...

I like that the show is really leaning into Dan being proud of being from Louisiana.

Cute episode. ****.

For the record, I think giving Neil a crush on Abby is a huge narrative mistake. And I firmly believe this. If Abby and Rand somehow break up or don't get married, it would be interesting to sort of have that develop organically. While she's planning her wedding, it feels awkward and creepy. And it's weird the show doesn't get this.

Good things? One of the differences between then and now is Dan Fielding's portrayal. And it's not just because he's no longer a lech since he married a woman he loved who died. Those specific jokes sort of led the viewer to believe in the 1980's that Dan Fielding was low-class. The revival presenting his tastes as refined however is quite charming and delightful. And I love the reminder his real name is Reinhold. I still can't believe the guy who created the show was named Reinhold Weege.

The stuff between Dan and Abby was good, and it was nice to get our first reacquaintance with that infamous courthouse rooftop that was a constant presence on the original series. But despite how much I appreciate those two characters together, I feel like the rest of the show is either unfunny, or too broadly obvious to actually be funny. I won't deny the revival has its charms, but it's truly been a mixed bag so far. ***.

And the resolution made no sense. We are supposed to feel empowered Abby took control her own way. But it sounds like blackmail, which is very much what that old boys club was about. Abby insists it is NOT blackmail. But if it's not, why bring it up and find proof for it? The writers wanted to show Abby dealing with these low-life misogynists on her own terms. But she's dealing with them very much on their own. Contrary to her Girl Power cheer there is no real sense of empowerment or accomplishment to be found.

I WANT to like this show. Bad. But it needs to be (and SHOULD be in 2023) better than this. **.

I liked that Dan was right, but he was right for the wrong reasons. And Abby was wrong for the right ones. I don't understand why Abby didn't talk to the guy privately and made a huge public spectacle instead. I understand fictional characters have extra stupidity built into them to keep the plot going, but really, is she an adult or not?

What are they doing with Neil? It's a mess and a bad mess. I don't approve.

But like I said, it was interesting. ***1/2.

The dream sequence was outright embarrassing. Okay, the Neil puppet was all right.

I was really excited when the show debuted. It's turned into a bit of a disappointment. **1/2.

That was great. Night Court has a long history of amazing season ending cliffhangers and I was pleased to see the revival take up the tradition. I thought the stuff in court with all of those people supporting Abby was very sweet (she and Dan still don't know who the cameraman was), and I loved how sweet and respectful her break-up with Rand is. If you told me the Night Court relaunch would be showing me the first cute break-up in TV history, I might have wondered how such a thing was possible. That. That.

Both Melissa Rauch and John Larroquette stepped up their game, and for Larroquette that is high praise indeed. I don't think I'm ever really going to like the revival too much. But that was a great season finale in the Classic Night Court tradition. *****.