Eldergays: Tell me about Night Court

No.

The show was brilliant because of the writing and Harry Anderson. Of course, the new judge has to be a woman; white men just don't cut it anymore. Surprised that it wasn't a black comedian.

I watched Night Court all the time when I was a kid but damn if can remember what happened in a single episode.

R2, so was the original judge being a Cis white male germane to the plot. Thanks for posting.

The character of Dan would be problematic today.

I wonder if there will be cameos from the actors. Harry Anderson and Markie Post have passed away. But the bailiffs are still alive: Marsha Warfield and the actor who played Bull.

I hope Zombie Selma Diamond makes an appearance.

I really was a great show. Funny. Characters you either loved or loved to hate.

Mac is dead, too but I'm rooting for a Karen Austin or Quan Lee cameo!

The first few seasons were good, but then it went downhill and stayed on way too long. It wasn't actually Jenna Maroney playing werewolf lawyer Sparky Monroe bad, but it still got pretty bad.

In the words of Eric Cartman:

If we didn't eat cheesy poofs, we'd be lame

I'm talking Night Court in its fifth season lame - cha

I've always had a crush on John Laroquette but I'm not sure about this beardy version

Richard Moll was one of my celebrity partners on $10, 000 Pyramid. He liked my suit...

Night Court had wonderfully zany guest stars and recurring characters. Remember Bob and June Wheeler? And John "but I'm feeling much better now" Astin as Harry's dad?

More of the Wheelers...

It was funny when I was a kid. I can't imagine the original would be funny if I watched it now. But I have to admit that I am curious about the reboot.

I loved the original. I’m sure the reboot would be complete woke trash.

From the promos I've seen he female judge is supposed to be Harry's daughter played by Melissa Rauch Bernadette on the big bang theory. May give it a shot and see

I had forgotten about the Wheelers - Bob was portrayed by Brent Spiner, who later gained fame as Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

John Astin

My coworker's husband is a lawyer employed by the federal government. He says that Night Court is the most realistic portray of court that he's ever seen on TV. (and not the dramatic shows like Boston Common)

Selma Diamond was the best part of that show, until she died of lung cancer.

Didn't two older female bailiffs pass away before Marsha Warfield joined?

R20 Yes. Florence replaced Selma and then Roz replaced Florence. I loved all three of those bailiffs.

Foley

There were things about that show that were funny for the time but would never work today. There was once scene where Dan had gone for too long without sex and he said “I need it right now” and he grabbed Roz and pulled her into the broom closet, then Roz beat him up and stuffed him into a janitorial cart. It was hilarious precisely because she was no-nonsense and put his sleazy ass in his place. But that would never fly today because everyone is so sensitive about everything. The millennials and Gen Zs would have a field day. “Oh, what about consent? Oh, this white man was trying to have power over this black woman.” Blah blah blah.

EVERY elder gay thread, is started by........AN ELDER GAY who just wants to talk about something he likes.

Oh, that's not all I got. I asked him why Paula Kelly had left the show. He was surprised that I asked that and he said he didn't know.

I loved Paula Kelley -I was so sorry when she left the show. The rumor I heard is she was fired because the audience didn't think she was funny, and they wanted to create a love interest for Harry...

R26 Paula Kelly could have been a love interest for Harry, although I did like Markie Post.

Sadly, the 80s were still pretty racist -the network would've freaked out over that.

Your eye is drawn to Paula...

R27, I thought Liz (Kelly) would've been a better love interest for Dan than for Harry.

Night Court is my favorite sitcom; I might watch the reboot out of curiosity. I didn't realize how schmaltzy the earlier seasons were.

Florence was great

Roz was great. Leslie Jones could play the role for Marsha Warfield

What happened to Karen Austin? Did she only do the first season?

It was a quirky, fun show.

r32...

[quote]Karen Austin and Paula Kelly were only present during the first season before leaving, and their characters (Lana Wagner and Liz Williams, respectively) were quickly forgotten about. Austin has stated that she was let go due to being diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, and producers thought this would be an issue for filming. It has never been disclosed why Kelly left the show.

[quote]In addition to the above two, there was Gail Strickland (who played the public defender in the pilot before being replaced by Kelly) and Ellen Foley (who was only in Season 2 because the producers were waiting for Markie Post to become available).

[quote]The first two actresses playing the female bailiff were far more memorable but also had short-lived tenures on the show. Selma Diamond portrayed Selma Hacker, who was replaced in Season 3 by Flo Kleiner played by Florence Halop. Both died of cancer during the show's run.

Both Night Court & Barney Miller were comedic exaggerations of the NYC of their era, they played it up, but were still recognizably grounded in a beat up, semi-broke city that was home to all sorts of misfits and benign oddballs.

As Fran Leibovitz remarked in a doc about Warhol & The Factory crowd - lots of them were really quite nuts, and back then NYC was one of the few places they could live out their crazy lives relatively undisturbed - it was still cheap and nobody around you really gave a shit.

While NYC will always have its share of characters there are many, many less these days and the city no longer has that somewhat proudly defiant “lunatics running the asylum” self-image. So a modern reboot of the show would feel much less true to life.

John Larroquette was hot.

[quote][R2], so was the original judge being a C̶i̶s̶ white male germane to the plot. Thanks for posting.

R4, the main character was based on real NY night court judges.

[quote][bold]Reinhold Wegge:[/bold] I told Brandon Tartikoff who was head of NBC Entertainment at the time that I would think about it and if I could come up with an interesting central character I’d consider doing a pilot.

[…]

[quote][bold]Reinhold Wegge:[/bold] I actually went to New York and I actually sat on the bench with a night court judge and I was just moved by the the craziness of New York/Manhattan night court. There were stories in the newspaper at the time of judges with serious emotional problems who the state and or whatever the local authorities had a hard time getting rid of and I thought, gosh, it would be terrific if we could get a judge through the system

[quote][bold]Narrator:[/bold] Wegge named the character Judge Harry Stone, the youngest judge in New York state history, and an amateur magician to boot… NBC and Warner Brothers put the courtroom comedy on the fast track and Wegge started looking for actors who could play the eccentric judge, on the first day of casting the judge found him

[quote][bold]Reinhold Wegge:[/bold]this young skinny kid came in and said to me I am this character and my eyes rolled up into my head

[quote][bold]Harry Anderson:[/bold] One day a script came to my office and here was this show about this young guy named Harry who is the youngest judge in history and a Mel Torme fan which I’ve been all my life and an amateur magician and it was a very very clever script.

[…]

[quote][bold]Jeff Merman:[/bold] we were watching Saturday Night Live, Harry Anderson was on the show where he was doing his bit where he you know stuck a needle through his arm and and very clever and this character that that Reiny wrote was interested in magic and and was sort of a young ish you know guy and my wife said, what about him?

[quote][bold]Reinhold Wegge:[/bold] The name Harry and the fact that he did magic was a coincidence and when Harry said he was the guy I’ll be damned he turned out to be the guy

It’s a coincidence that both Judge Harry T. Stone and Harry Anderson were both magicians and Mel Torme fans named Harry but what are the odds of that happening?

Did Markie actually sleep with Bill Clinton or was that just a rumor?

I had never heard that one, R38.

[quote]The National Enquirer hit newsstands yesterday with its much-hyped bombshell report quoting an anonymous former "fixer," who said he'd been paid to quell rumors of Bill Clinton's alleged affairs with Markie Post of Night Court and Entertainment Tonight's Mary Hart—in other words, the same rumors he's now floating. The guy also claimed he'd had to shoot down rumors of an affair between Roger Clinton (remember him?) and Faye Dunaway, which may be the most easily denied rumor in all of recorded history.

Back on topic, the show came on past my bedtime so I only saw episodes here and there. I remember one where one of the bailiffs was crawling on the floor after foot surgery but I don't remember if it was Selma or Flo, does anyone else remember this?

[quote] EVERY elder gay thread, is started by........AN ELDER GAY who just wants to talk about something he likes.

OMG! STRIKE THEM DEAD!!!!11111!!!!!

Yes, of COURSE people like to talk about things they like. That's just the dumbest fucking thing ever spoken or written to clutch your pearls about it.

I'm the OP and Im only 34.

I know I watched it, but I cannot a single episode. It was filler between Cheers and LA Law (or Knots Landing).

I, along with many other DataLoungers, refuse to watch this show because Shelley Hack was fired from it during rehearsals.

[quote]I'm the OP and Im only 34.I'm the OP and Im only 34.

But, this being DL, you look 12, right?

"Im only 34."

If you're over 18, then the only time you should use "only" in front of your age is if you're at the doctor's office. Example: Gout? But I'm only 34!

Funny clip, R13

Watched the first five minutes of the reboot and that was enough.

R48 it really sucked.

R49 of course it sucked. It was made in the 21st century.

Really, really bad.

The show is corny with a capital C. Good lawd who greenlit this after the pilot. Awful, and the supporting players can barely act.

[quote]I'm the OP and Im only 34.

So, an Eldergay then.

Yeah, the reboot isn't that compelling. I'll stick around for a few weeks because I read that Wendie Malick is guest starring. But if it doesn't become funnier, I'm out. I appreciate Abby being all positive. But she is basically just cheap-sitcom-bubbly. It's annoying.