The 40th Anniversary of Night Court

Night Court was among the most successful sitcoms of the Eighties. It ran for nine seasons, and for four of those seasons it numbered among the top twenty shows each year. It was nominated for several Emmy Awards and won four awards. Following its broadcast network run, Night Court found success as a syndicated rerun on both local stations and cable channels. In the long run Night Court would see more success than many shows that were higher rated during their network runs.

Night Court centred on the night shift of a Manhattan Criminal Court. It was presided over by an unconventional, young judge, Harry T. Stone (Harry Anderson), who was an amateur magician and possibly the biggest Mel Tormé fan in the world. The public defender and Harry's love interest for most of the show's run was Christine Sullivan (Markie Post), who was extremely honest as well as a bit naive. The prosecutor was Dan Fielding (John Laroquette), an egoistical, sarcastic womanizer. The bailiffs for much of the show's run were Bull Shannon (Richard Moll), a dim-witted but gentle giant of a man, and Roz Russell (Marsha Warfield), whose surly exterior hid both shyness and a warm heart. "Mac" Robinson (Charles Robinson) was the court clerk on Night Court for most of its run. He was possibly the most conventional character on the show, possessed of a good sense of humour and genuine affection for his friends.

Night Court was created by Reinhold Weege. He was a former journalist turned sitcom writer, who had served as a writer, story editor, and producer on the classic sitcom Barney Miller and a writer on its spin-off Fish. To a large degree Night Court resembled Barney Miller. Just as a large number of eccentrics and off-the-wall characters would find their way to the NYPD 12th Precinct on Barney Miller, so too would a large number of eccentrics and off-the-wall characters find their way to Harry T. Stone's court on Night Court.

While many might think the whole idea of a night shift of a criminal court was created for the TV series, there actually is a night shift of the New York City Criminal Court that operates from 5 PM to 1 PM. The purpose behind having such late hours is because of the sheer number of arrests in New York City, over 100,000 each year. In having evening hours, the defendants' Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial can then be guaranteed. The offences handled in the night shifts of the New York City Criminal Court range from traffic tickets to shoplifting, although more major offences may also be covered. It must be pointed out that New York City isn't the only municipality that runs night courts. Chicago, Los Angeles, and other jurisdictions throughout the country also have night courts.

It was the night shift of the New York City Criminal Court that inspired Reinhold Weege to create Night Court. In particular, it was the judges on the benches of New York City's night courts that interested him. In the 2002 E! documentary TV Tales: Night Court, Reinhold Weege said, "There were stories in the newspaper at the time of judges with serious emotional problems who the state had a hard time getting rid of. I thought, gosh, it would be terrific if we could get a judge through the system who was a little off centre, a little wacky." It was then those judges who led to the creation of Harry T. Stone, who was not only the youngest judge in New York City history, but possibly one of the more eccentric.

Contrary to popular belief, Night Court was not created for Harry Anderson, although he certainly made the role of Harry T. Stone his very own. Harry Anderson was a magician and comedian who made multiple appearances on Saturday Night Live. It was in 1982 that he first appeared in the recurring role of grifter Harry "the Hat" Gittes on Cheers. It was through one of Harry Anderson's appearances on Saturday Night Live that he came to the attention of Jeff Melman, a producer and director on Night Court. Mr. Melman thought Mr. Anderson would be perfect for the role of Judge Stone. Harry Anderson would ultimately have some impact in shaping the character of Harry T. Stone, to the point that in some ways he was playing himself.

Night Court would see several cast changes in its first three seasons. The court clerk on the show was originally Lana Wagner (Karen Austin), who appeared in only the first ten episodes of the show. It had been planned that she would be a romantic interest for Harry. She was replaced as court clerk by Mac Robinson, played by Charles Robinson, who would remain with the show for the rest of its run. The public defender on Night Court would also change early in the show's run. In the pilot Gail Strickland played the role of public defender Sheila Gardiner. For the regular series she was replaced by legendary actress Paula Kelly as Liz Williams, who even received a nomination for the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the role. For reasons that are now unknown, Paula Kelly left Night Court after its first season.

Initially Paula Kelly was to have been replaced by Shelly Hack as the new public defender, Christine Sullivan. As it turned out, Miss Hack did not even make it through one episode, as Reinhold Weege decided she was not right for the part and she decided she was not right for the show. The episode "Daddy for the Defense" was then reshot with Markie Post as Christine Sullivan. Unfortunately, Markie Post was playing Terri Michaels on The Fall Guy at the time, and as a result was not available to star on Night Court. For most of the second season, then, Ellen Foley as Billie Young was the public defender and a love interest for Harry Stone on Night Court. Ellen Foley, who had sung with such artists as Meat Loaf and Blue Oyster Cult, left Night Court to further pursue her singing career, as well as other acting roles. By this time Markie Post was free to leave The Fall Guy, and she returned to the show as public defender Christine Sullivan. She remained with the show for the rest of its run.

Perhaps the most famous changes in the cast of Night Court would be the bailiffs. While Richard Moll as Bull Shannon was with the show from its beginning to the very end, the role of the other bailiffs on the show would change out of necessity. Comedy legend Selma Diamond, who had written for everything from The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet to Your Show of Shows, originally played tough, wisecracking bailiff Selma Hacker on the show. Sadly, Selma Diamond died not long after the second season of Night Court ended from lung cancer at the age of 64. She was replaced by Florence Halop as bailiff Florence Kleiner. Florence Halop's career dated back to the Golden Age of Radio. Florence Kleiner was feisty much like Selma had been, but also loved motorcycles and heavy metal. Sadly Florence Halop died at age 63 from breast cancer. She was replaced by Marsha Warfield as bailiff Roz Russell in the fourth season. She remained with the show for the rest of its run. Fortunately, following the third season Night Court would see no more changes in its cast, with Harry Anderson, John Laroquette, Markie Post, Richard Moll, Marsha Warfield, and Charles Robinson remaining with the sitcom for the rest of its run.

In addition to the regular cast, there were characters who appeared before Judge Stone repeatedly. Among these were hillbillies Bob and June Wheeler, played by Brent Spiner and Annie O'Donnell who seemed to have the worst luck in the world. Yakov Korelenko (Yakov Smirnoff) was a Russian immigrant who appeared on the show from time to time. Al Craven (Terry Kiser) was a somewhat sketchy newspaper reporter for The Manhattan Gazette, constantly seeking a "big scoop."

While the cast would change over time, so too would the tone of Night Court. During it first season Night Court was a good deal like Barney Miller. Barney Miller was more or less grounded in reality, with the officers of the 12th Precinct having to deal with a succession of suspects and complainants who ranged from mildly eccentric to outright neurotic. For its first season Night Court was much the same way, with Harry T. Stone's court having to deal with a parade of oddballs. It was during the second season that Night Court gradually became unmoored from reality, so that its humour went from being dry and quirky to being broad and sometimes even surreal. The shift in the show's tone can be seen in the character of prosecutor Dan Fielding. During the first season Dan was very conservative and restrained, He even smoked a pipe. Over time Dan evolved into the scheming, egomaniacal womanizer now familiar to viewers of the show. By the seventh season of Night Court, the show was so far removed from reality that Wile E. Coyote could appear as a defendant on the show, charged with harassing The Road Runner in the episode "Still Another Day in the Life."

Of course, while Night Court would grow broader and more surreal in its humour over time, one thing that was consistent from its first season to the very end was that the show never dealt with serious issues. During the Eighties television situation comedy was still feeling the influence of such "relevant" sitcoms of the Seventies as All in the Family and Maude. It was the era of the "very special episode," an episode in which a sitcom tackled often controversial social issues, such as drugs, racism, teen pregnancy, and so on. In intentionally avoiding any heavy issues, Night Court was further set apart from other sitcoms of the era.

Night Court was set to debut in the fall of 1993, but NBC delayed the show's debut out of concerns over the show being Harry Anderson's first lead role on a TV series. It finally debuted on Wednesday, January 4 1984. Reviews for the show upon its debut were mostly positive, with Gail Williams of The Hollywood Reporter stating, "Night Court is a consistently funny sitcom created by Reinhold Weege.." Noel Holston in The Orlando Sentinel, wrote of that Night Court "...just may turn out to be the most ingratiating sitcom to hit the air since Cheers." While some critics liked Night Court, others did not. Howard Rosenberg began his review with the line, "Here come da judge, but not da laughs."Marilynn Preston of The Chicago Tribune went even further, writing that Night Court "..is the most idiotic TV sitcom I've seen all season."

For its first season Night Court was not a smash hit in the Nielsen ratings, although it did not do badly. It came in at no 40 for the year. For its second season NBC moved Night Court from Wednesday night to Thursday night, following Cheers. Its ratings rose to no. 20. Night Court would continue to perform well in the ratings, rising to no. 11 in its third season and no. 7 in its fourth and fifth seasons. Unfortunately, in its sixth season NBC moved Night Court back to Wednesday night. Its ratings fell to no. 21 for the year. For its final seasons the show's ratings would drop, to no. 28 in its seventh season and to no. 50 in its eighth season. Ratings rose slightly for its ninth and final season, when it was at no. 46 for the year.

Unfortunately, Night Court would be denied a proper series finale. It was presumed by the producers and everyone else involved with the show that its eighth season would be its last. Harry Anderson even moved his family to Seattle, agreeing to commute to Burbank for the show's final episodes. So sure were producers that the eighth season would be the final season that they conceived a finale in which Harry and Christine marry, Dan Fielding becomes a priest, and Bull was going to move to Pennsylvania's Amish country. All of this was dashed as NBC decided there would be a ninth season of Night Court. The season finale was then drastically altered, although Harry does finally declare his love to Christine. While the renewal of Night Court in its eighth season was unexpected, so too was its cancellation in its ninth season. The producers had to hastily throw together the show's series finale, one in which Christine was elected to Congress and one in which she and Harry don't get married.

That the series finale was a sore point with many of the show's fans can be borne out by the 30 Rock episode " The One with the Cast of Night Court." In "The One with the Cast of Night Court," Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), the star of the fictional sketch comedy show TGS, brings Harry Anderson, Markie Post, and Charlie Robinson to NBC headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza to stage the wedding between Harry T. Stone and Christine Sullivan that never happened on Night Court in order to make NBC page Kenneth Purcell (Jack MacBrayer) happy. There can be no doubt that many Night Court fans were happy as well.

Night Court would prove successful as a syndicated rerun on local stations after its original network run had ended. It would also have a successful afterlife on cable channels, airing on A&E, TV Land, and Encore Classic. It aired on the broadcast network Laff for many years and can currently be found on Catchy Comedy. It can currently be found on various streaming services as well.

The continued popularity of Night Court would result in a sequel series, also titled Night Court, that debuted on NBC on January 17 2023. In the sequel series Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch), the daughter of Harry T. Stone, takes over her father's former position as a judge at the night shift of the Manhattan Criminal Court. John Laroquette returned as Dan Fielding, now a widower and a public defender. He was the only character from the original show to return in the sequel. Reinhold Weege having died in 2012, the new show was developed by Dan Rubin, who had previously worked on The Michael J. Fox Show and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. The sequel has received generally favourable reviews, although given Abby's mother on the show is not Christine Sullivan, some fans might not care too much for it.

Night Court was a nearly unique show when it first aired. Aside from Cheers, it is the one of the few sitcoms from the Eighties that never had a "very special episode," that never tried to tackle a serious social issue in a sitcom format. On Night Court, punchlines and gags reigned supreme, and it never let reality get in the way of a good joke. What made all of this work was that the show had very well-developed characters coupled with unusually good scripts. There was a reason Night Court received so many Emmy nominations. While many sitcoms from the Eighties seem extremely dated today, Night Court remains timeless.