Night Court - still funny

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by tomhayes, Dec 9, 2006.

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  1. tomhayes

    tomhayes Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    San Diego, Ca
  2. Drifter

    Drifter AAD survivor

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC, CA
    I've always loved the episode in Season 5 ("Safe") where Harry gets trapped in a safe. I thought that was an absolute TV classic.
     
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  3. Surfin Jesus

    Surfin Jesus New Member

    Location:
    NYC USA
    I was very disappointed that they released a "best-of" DVD instead of season 2 - this is a show that I wouldn't mind having an entire series-run of!
     
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  4. Pinknik

    Pinknik Senior Member

    When TV Land aired a marathon, a while back, I enjoyed quite a few episodes. It ran off the rails somewhere near the end, but it was a favorite in my family for a few years there.
     
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  5. Chip TRG

    Chip TRG Senior Member

    At it's peak, it was truly one of the funniest shows on TV at the time, and of course, part of the killer NBC Thursday Night line up. In the end, after Creator Reinhold Weege left the show, the last few seasons just went limp. "Night Court" died a horrible death.

    I wish WB would have gone ahead with more than just season 1. Sure, season 1 is funny, but it's VERY weak compared to, say, 3-7. The show hadn't found its rhythm yet.
     
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  6. Feelflows

    Feelflows New Member

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    One of the only sitcoms I enjoy from the 80s...for the first about 4 seasons anyway. The last 2 seasons were truely vile, and it had one of the worst series finales ever!
     
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  7. Drifter

    Drifter AAD survivor

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC, CA
    I'm repeating myself here but IMO the best episode was in Season 5 ("Safe"). Some fantastic existential dialogue & acting by Harry Anderson.
     
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  8. ascot

    ascot Senior Member

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    I love this show! I would also like to see the entire series on DVD. I love the episode where Harry is trapped on the ledge without his pants and Dan is teasing him from the window. :D
     
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  9. Steve D.

    Steve D. Forum Resident

    I worked on the series, at Warner Bros., as a sound boom operator for its full run. I couldn't agree more that once Reinhold Weege left as exec. prod. and head writer, the shows went quickly down hill. I remember Reiny always saying "this show will never go on location or have a dream sequence." We, the crew, were all shocked and pleasently surprised when NBC picked up the show for the last two seasons.

    -Steve D.
     
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  10. guy incognito

    guy incognito Senior Member

    Location:
    Mee-chigan
    I assume sales of the Season 1 box were subpar, and convinced WB there wasn't enough of a market for future volumes.

    "Barney Miller" (the previous show Weege had been involved with, and another series that vaulted to greatness after a so-so first season) suffered the same fate. I've long since given up hoping for future installments of that one. :sigh: :shake:
     
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  11. tomhayes

    tomhayes Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    San Diego, Ca
    Well, it's weird because Night Court got a lot funnier in the second season:
    Mac was added
    Bull got dumber and gentler

    And even better the third:
    Christine (Markie Post) was added. SO SO HOT!!!!
    Phil (and Will) Sanders became Dan's foot soldier in depravity.

    I think if they released Season 3 first it would have sold much better.
     
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  12. Drifter

    Drifter AAD survivor

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC, CA
    The same thing happened with "Happy Days". At least the first season was the best one.
     
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  13. Christopher J

    Christopher J Norme Con Ironie

    Location:
    Fort Worth, TX
    My favorite episodes are still the ones in the "Hurricane" two-parter, where they're all trapped in the courthouse with four women in labor while a hurricane rages outside. It had lots of guest stars: Pam Grier as a single mom who latches on to Dan, James Widdoes(from Animal House) as a yuppie dealing with how different his girlfriend seems in the midst of labor pains("I want you dead, Chad!"), Dick Butkus dealing with his newborn son turning out to be a daughter, and the great Brent Spiner as inbred yokel Bob Wheeler. "You ever had a man, Miss Sullivan?" "Of course I've had a man. If I had a nickel for every man I've had...I'd have...a dime."
     
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  14. MikeM

    MikeM Senior Member

    Location:
    Youngstown, Ohio
    And with good reason. The first season was filmed with a laugh track and no audience present. After that, they went to a live audience format, and suddenly everyone was shouting at one another and playing as broadly as they could.

    Made all the difference in the world. I completely agree with you...the show was never the same after that.
     
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  15. shepherdfan

    shepherdfan Western European Socialist Music Lover

    Location:
    Eugene, OR
    I can still hear Bull singing a small section of "The Ballad of the Green Berets". I still chuckle over that one.
    I hope you people don't think it's silly, but there were times when Markie Post was on during her stint on Night Court where I could swear she looked like she could have been a twin sister of Ginger Lynn (the porn star of the same period). And yes, I saw that made for t.v. movie where Post played a hooker with Cindy Williams of Laverne & Shirley.
     
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  16. tomhayes

    tomhayes Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    San Diego, Ca
    Markie Post was as hot as Erin Grey was.
     

    Attached Files:

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  17. PinballMars

    PinballMars Member

    Location:
    USA
    I LOVED Night Court in the 80s. It's still one of the very few sitcoms that I think is/was funny. I remember seeing the first season DVD set about two years ago and being happy it was out on DVD, but I never cared much for that season so I didn't buy it. I looked forward to the later seasons, which were what I really liked, to come out on DVD They never came. I guess a lot of people might've thought like me.

    The episode I remember most fondly might be the one where Markie Post is throwing some kind of party for Charles and Diana's wedding anniversary.
     
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  18. Chip TRG

    Chip TRG Senior Member

    Say what you will about Markie being hot, (and indeed she was), but let's not slight Ellen Foley, who looked VERY good during her full season (Season 2) as Billie Young!
     
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  19. ZappaSG

    ZappaSG New Member

    Location:
    Philadelphia
    Coincidentally, it has one of THE funkiest opening theme songs in TV history. That opening bass thump is pure funk.


    Just saw the one the other day with an extremely young Michael J. Fox as a troubled teen at Christmas. Pretty amazing performance by Fox.
     
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  20. guy incognito

    guy incognito Senior Member

    Location:
    Mee-chigan
    I think, from a commercial standpoint, Paramount shot themselves in the foot by not issuing one of the "Fonzie years" seasons first for that show. For better or for worse, that's the "Happy Days" the masses remember, and that's the one that would probably have sold in decent enough numbers to keep further volumes coming.

    Of course, we connoisseurs got the best episodes of the show anyway, so it's all good....though there was enough good stuff left in Season 2 that I wish the sets had made it that far.
     
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  21. Simon A

    Simon A Arrr!

    I think the show also helped Mel Tormé win a new following. Worked for me... ;)
     
  22. Surfin Jesus

    Surfin Jesus New Member

    Location:
    NYC USA
    same here - I never heard of the velvet "frog" ;) until the show, now I enjoy his music!
     
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  23. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    Markie?! Where is she?

    And she was a model, not a card girl.
     
  24. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

    From an obscure website:
    <<Prior to acting, Post worked on several game shows. She began her career with the production crew of the Tom Kennedy version of Split Second. She also served as associate producer of Alex Trebek'sDouble Dare and as a card dealer on the NBC Jim Perry version of Card Sharks. Post often was a celebrity player on various game shows, including Pyramid and Password.>>

    In the video I posed, at 0:50 or so, two women walk out to handle the cards, and that's Ms. Post on our right.
     
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  25. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    Huh. I didn't even know she was a producer to begin with. And I thought she was on the left, not the right.
     
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