# When does Night Court get good? I remember it being good... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 12, 2010, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826 "2010-04-12T12:40:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/21 "2010-04-12T18:11:01Z")
> [@](#): > > It gets funny when the final cast is in place. You have to wait for Marsha Warfield to replace Selma. When Markie, Charles and Marsha are there, it clicks. So, Season 4 onwards. But it peaked and then started sliding back down. Dan Fielding got “fonzied” - he became too popular and it threw the show off balance. He was great as a foil to the central character but didn’t work when he became the central character. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/22 "2010-04-12T19:03:27Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > This is one show that I never thought was funny, and I never did understand the appeal. _Home Improvement_ is another one. > [@divemaster](#): > > \*\*Night Court \*\*was likely never good. But didn’t it follow **Cheers**? The residual glow of a Cheers episode probably rubbed off on the viewer just enough to make Night Court bearable. > > So watch a few Cheers episodes first, and then a Night Court episode! That’s the ticket! Heretical statement follows: I thought _Home Improvement_ was one of the best, if not the best, sitcoms around, sharing space with _Night Court_. I never could stand _Cheers_, and god knows I tried. ---
**Author:** ![bytheway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@bytheway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bytheway)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/23 "2010-04-12T19:09:33Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I loved John Astin as Buddy, Harry’s father. I thought his appearances were hysterical. I completely agree. “But I’m MUCH better now” - I think that was one of the classic lines from his character, wasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/24 "2010-04-12T19:24:19Z")
> [@](#): > > I didn’t watch Cheers, but I did watch Night Court. I saw a lot of Cheers in reruns but I never warmed to the show because it was a group of unlikeable characters. It may have been better written, but it never clicked for me. > > Night Court clicked when the characters became a family. You can’t believe that Selma or Flo or Billie were part of a family. Christine was and Dan and Bull and Mac and even Roz started moving into those roles. As a weird family that gave a third alternative to functional and dysfunctional, the dynamic got interesting and carried them over the soap opera-y plot lines. > > The last couple of years went downhill again because they just plain ran out of ideas. > > Night Court is a lot like Wings, another show that lasted longer than it probably should but became really solid for a few years after the cast turned into family, not a bunch of odd people bouncing off one another. This exemplifies what’s wrong with so many sitcoms. They put way too much effort trying to be a family and likeable and heartwarming. What does any of that have to do with comedy? Comedy is supposed to make you laugh not go “awwwww”. I have a family. They love me and I love them. I don’t need to get love from my TV. I want entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/25 "2010-04-12T19:45:04Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > …and for fuck’s sake the producers think Yakov Smirinoff is funny and made him a regular. _NO LIVING HUMAN_ thinks Yakov Smirinoff is funny. The entire Internet, as near as I can tell, thinks Yakov Smirnoff is funny. Especially when you’re living in Russia. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/26 "2010-04-12T19:58:00Z")
In Internet, Smirnoff fucks you! ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/27 "2010-04-12T19:58:04Z")
Maybe your tastes simple changed. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/28 "2010-04-12T20:26:13Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > The entire Internet, as near as I can tell, thinks Yakov Smirnoff is funny. Especially when you’re living in Russia. Heh–I disagree. The entire internet thinks that “In Russia, noun verbs YOU!” is funny. No-one actually likes Yakov himself. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/29 "2010-04-12T21:03:39Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But it peaked and then started sliding back down. Dan Fielding got “fonzied” - he became too popular and it threw the show off balance. He was great as a foil to the central character but didn’t work when he became the central character. Then foils for Dan were brought in: his diminutive boss and Will, the con-artist twin of Phil. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/30 "2010-04-12T21:17:31Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > This exemplifies what’s wrong with so many sitcoms. They put way too much effort trying to be a family and likeable and heartwarming. > > What does any of that have to do with comedy? Comedy is supposed to make you laugh not go “awwwww”. > > I have a family. They love me and I love them. I don’t need to get love from my TV. I want entertainment. Nothing is absolute in comedy, but a common denominator in generations of sitcoms is that the comedy comes from character. Jack Benny’s individual lines aren’t very funny by themselves. They become funny because of the character he built up. George Burns realized that he and Gracie Allen had grown too old to play boyfriend and girlfriend, so he declared the characters married and went on from there, with much higher ratings. You don’t have to have likeable characters. Cheer didn’t. Seinfeld didn’t. They were successful… except with the people who want likeable characters. I never got into either show. And that matters exactly zero. Nobody cares that I want likeable characters or that you don’t want workplace shows in which the characters form a family. If you don’t like those shows, don’t watch them. If I want to watch those shows, I will. I don’t have to watch every show like that, but the ones I think are watchable do tend to fall into that category. Nothing is absolute. Just don’t tell me I’m wrong for liking them. I’m not wrong, I don’t care what you think, and your theory of comedy violates the last 80 years worth of sitcoms so it’s hardly worth paying attention to. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/31 "2010-04-12T21:23:41Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > And I always preferred Markie Post to, oh… what’s her name, the one that sang with Meatloaf. > [@Spoons](#): > > Ellen Foley. I have some 1400 songs in my current iPod playlist. Guess which track just came up. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/32 "2010-04-12T22:01:07Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Then foils for Dan were brought in: his diminutive boss and Will, the con-artist twin of Phil. And then Dan _started seeng dead people!_ ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/33 "2010-04-13T04:54:42Z")
It was already on its last legs when it was unexpectedly renewed for one extra year, forcing them to scramble. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/34 "2010-04-13T12:56:23Z")
You guys are right…it really does improve at the very end of season 3 (the last two episodes where the rookie cop arrests the lamaze class and they all give birth) and from season 4 on. There are still some icky episodes (the two parter where Dan goes into the hospital for “an ulcer”, then goes into a coma(?) and everyone bares their soul. It’s really awful). But the ratio of “awful, icky, treacle” to “really funny episodes” has dramatically improved. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/35 "2010-04-13T15:07:29Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > The acting is terrible: Bull isn’t bad, Selma is hysterical and Dan is really underrated: he has great comic timing and is great with physical comedy. > Is it just that my memory is totally off? Wasn’t this funny at one point? What happened? > [@Anamorphic](#): > > But, I don’t understand how you can say: > > John Larroquette won an Emmy for the role in '85, '86, '87, and '88, and almost certainly would have been nominated again in '89, except he asked not to be considered for the award that year. I’m not sure how that could be considered “underrated”! I was gonna say the same thing. I think the OP was meaning to suggest that Laroquette was brilliant in an underappreciated show. His eponymous show was also quite good. It would have done well in the single camera format, and was probably 10-15 years ahead of its time. > [@Bosstone](#): > > Heretical statement follows: > > I thought _Home Improvement_ was one of the best, if not the best, sitcoms around, sharing space with _Night Court_. I never could stand _Cheers_, and god knows I tried. You are a bad human being…😛 ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/36 "2010-04-13T20:05:03Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > I was gonna say the same thing. I think the OP was meaning to suggest that Laroquette was brilliant in an underappreciated show. His eponymous show was also quite good. It would have done well in the single camera format, and was probably 10-15 years ahead of its time. Partly…it was more like “He should be working more.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/37 "2010-04-13T20:58:08Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > And then Dan _started seeng dead people!_ Wasn’t that Will? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/38 "2010-04-13T23:18:31Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Though I was never thrilled to see Buddy (John Astin), who was “feeling much better now.” Heh. I loved John Astin as a kid. That line used to crack me up. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/39 "2010-04-14T07:28:00Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Wasn’t that Will? Not at first. At first he was just hallucinating Phil. Then Will showed up, and freaked him out. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826/40 "2010-04-14T11:02:31Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > (the two parter where Dan goes into the hospital for “an ulcer”, then goes into a coma(?) and everyone bares their soul. It’s really awful). That episode had one of my all-time favorite lines: “Harry, I don’t have a life. I have a _life-style_.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-night-court-get-good-i-remember-it-being-good/535826.md?page=3)