Mildly Amusing Reboot
While I’ve watched many of the classic sitcoms that were before my time (or at least before the time when I was watching TV), there are quite a few I have missed. One of those is the original Night Court, which ran for much of the 1980’s into the early 1990’s. NBC decided to reboot it earlier this year, and I decided to give it a chance. I stuck with it through season 1, but I found it only mildly amusing.
The show is set in a night court in New York City. Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch) has decided to move to the city and take her late father’s old bench. She’s not quite prepared for the chaos that goes with the cases that come before a judge at night. Also on the team are the court deputy, Gurgs (Lacretta), and clerk, Neil (Kapil Talwalkar). The prosecutor assigned to the court, Olivia (India de Beaufort), is trying to get out of the assignment, preferable to the better paying private lawyer sector. In need to a public defender, Abby recruits one of her dad’s old friends, Dan Fielding (John Larroquette) to come out of retirement and switch from the prosecution side.
What happens over these sixteen episodes? Abby tries to get Dan to embrace his new role, with mixed results. Meanwhile, she has trouble finding a new place to live. Gurgs’s nephew and his classmates cause a disruption. And does a tech CEO hold the key to financial success for everyone?
As I said, this sitcom is amusing at best. Of the sixteen episodes we got, one or two were truly funny, while the rest had a few laughs. I feel this way about most modern sitcoms, unfortunately. I wish classic sitcoms were in better shape because it is an art form I have loved for years. I feel like, instead of being funny, the show is saying to us “aren’t I clever and funny?” It thinks it is funnier than it is, and it wants us to feel that way, too. And it is trying so hard to be funny. Obviously, I can’t compare it to the original since I haven’t watched it.
I know enough about the original to know that John Larroquette is back playing his original character and Melissa Rauch’s Abby is the daughter of another of the original characters. There was another cameo, which was fun, but for the most part, this show is trying to be its own thing.
I’m not blaming the actors for any of this. Melissa Rauch is the reason I decided to tune in since I was a fan of her from her days on The Big Bang Theory. She’s playing a very different character, and she’s doing it well. John Larroquette is also great. The rest of the cast is doing the best with the material they have.
Season two has just kicked off. I’m planning to watch as of now, but we’ll see if anything else catches my eye during that time period. I didn’t find season one of this Night Court to be truly bad, but it is far from much watch TV.
I loved the original Night Court, but haven't watched the new version. I'm sorry to hear that it's meh.
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