User Reviews

Now, I am reviewing the 7th episode of the first season of the Night Court revival. This episode is called Train Court.

An ever so slight step up from the previous episode Justice Buddies, the character writing might not be quite as good in Train Court as in the aforementioned episode but the story writing might be a step or two ahead.

Besides the positives of decent character and story writing, other things that work in this episode are the performance of John Laroquette, the extra cheery, fun performance given by Melissa Rauch who, after struggling badly to make her character interesting and likeable. Had found her stride with the previous offering and has maintained a consistency for her character in the four episodes that have been released since Justice Buddies. Other positives are our dependable, lavish sets and that timeless laugh track. The standout moment is at the end of the episode when Gurgs presents Dan with a feast of gizzards and other strange foodstuffs. Abby comes in and is delighted by the country cooking. Dan invites her to partake in the smorgasbord. Gurgs leaves to get sick. Abby and Dan lament that city folks don't appreciate fine cuisine.

The main thing that didn't work in the episode was the poor performance by India de Beaufort. After proving herself for once with the last episode, she is back to awful land. Couple this with the fact that this episode"s writing could have been much better and Kapil Talwalkar's Neil was given nothing interesting to do for the fourth consecutive time, this episode earns it's 5/10 rating but definitely doesn't deserve more.

With 7 episodes down in a 13-episode season, the rebooted "Night Court" is roughly at its halfway point, and things are not looking good. Of course, it did take the original "Night Court" time to find its rhythm, and it had to endure recast several different actors in the public defender role before Markie Post, as well as the unfortunate deaths of two bailiff actors (Selma Diamond and Florence Halop). But the cast in this version displays zero chemistry.

Let's start with the lead - Melissa Rauch. While this is her "passion project", she is not a lead character. She was an ensemble player in Big Bang Theory, and a sometimes annoying character at that. Her one lead movie role that I can think of ("The Bronze") was disappointing. Rauch gamely tries to channel Harry Anderson's optimism, but just doesn't have it. And let's be real - her height (4' 11-3/4" according to IMDB) makes framing shots challenging, especially with the 6' 4-1/2" John Larroquette. She's just wrong for this part - maybe as the assistant district attorney role, but not as the judge.

Having John Larroquette back as Dan Fielding was a casting coup. But they've basically clipped the character's wings. They made him a public defender which was an odd choice. Then they made him sad lonely widower with no interest in dating. That's NOT Dan Fielding. It would have been much more interesting to see how a 1980's Dan could navigate in the 2023 workplace. And in all fairness to John Larroquette, he already looks like he's tired of playing "new Dan" (and that's not due to his age).

The bailiff ("Gurgs" - what a horrible nickname) needs to be written off. Lacretta's IMDB credits are slim and she comes off on-screen as weird, but not in the innocent yet menacing way that Bull (Richard Moll) could carry off.

Court clerk Neil (Kapil Talwalkar) isn't too bad, does a credible job and could grow in the role.

The one character that is almost invisible is the assistant district attorney Olivia (India de Beaufort). She has zero personality and is immediately forgettable. Maybe she should have been cast as the public defender or court clerk instead. Since she's a Brit, she could have been allowed to use her natural accent - that would have at least made her more interesting.

Lastly, but most importantly, is that AWFUL laugh track. What is this, the 1960's? I get that the first season is already in the can and nothing can be done about this. But in the unlikely event there is a second season, the producers need to suck it up and go for an in-studio audience (as did Big Bang). It gives the performance a more natural feel. An artificial laugh track is just that - artificial. (Did you know that most laugh tracks recycle laughter from audiences from decades ago, even from TV's Golden Age, so chances are we're listening the laughter of dead people.)

There's little hope that this season will improve. I suspect even if there is a Season 2 that Larroquette might not choose to play the same character again. If that happens, that's the opportunity to recast the attorneys, either replacing India de Beaufort or putting her in the public defender role. And if there is a second season, drop Lacretta and recast the role. Surely there are other more talented Black women that can play this role. Lacretta is dragging the whole show down.

BOTTOM-LINE: Season 1 of the rebooted Night Court is an embarrassment to the original. It is an insult to the memory of the original actors that have passed (Harry Anderson, Markie Post, Charles Robinson, Selma Diamond, Florence Halop, and others - even Mel Torme). If this survives its initial run, it probably needs to be relegated to Peacock.

The premise is that Abby and Olivia, who discovered they take the same subway train to work, are stranded on a subway train which has stopped.

In the meantime a "substitute judge" appears in the courtroom. The Substitute judge is meant to be quirky and funny. We found his lines to be stupid and his performance banal.

I mentioned in a review of the series as a whole that India de Beaufort as ADA Olivia annoys us. Her performances are WAY too over the top. In this episode she has some "panic stranded on the subway" lines that "might" have been clever if delivered in a wry or sarcastic tone, but instead, the decision of director and actress was to go annoyingly and unbelievably over the top, yet again.

I abandoned the episode after ten minutes and my wife immediately turned to me and said, "Thank you".

We might try a bit more of the series, but this disaster may have been the last straw for us. The series does NOT meet the standards of the original, and Melissa Rauch is a far cry from Harry Anderson.

Abby and Olivia are delayed for night court. Their subway train breaks down. It leaves Olivia to coach Abby to behave like a typical New Yorker.

Abby wants to be friendly to everyone. Everyone else gets more irate the longer the train is stuck.

When there is an argument over seating. Abby decides to resolve matters by holding an impromptu court hearing.

Back at court, there is an incompetent substitute judge. Dan Fielding eyes an opportunity to rush through his cases as he has a reservation at New York's must eat restaurant.

These reservations are hard to get and Dan is looking forward to his meal.

Only Gurgs wants to delay him because two ice skating celebrities are appearing in court as witnesses. Abby would just love to meet them.

Another awful episode. The writers are really struggling with a plot. The actors are struggling with the lines. This really is a throwback to the appalling sitcoms of the 1970s and 80s.