Night Court: Dan v. Dating
February 1, 2023 9:36 AM - Season 1, Episode 4 - Subscribe

Dan attempts to get venture back into the dating world, and Gurgs and Olivia search for a new office.

Sooner or later, the revived Night Court had to address the personal redemption of Dan Fielding and show us how he turned from a walking Human Resources violation into the man he is today.

Reviews and Recaps It just wouldn't be Night Court with Judge Stone getting involved with the romantic lives of his staff, and Abby pushes Dan to go on his first date since losing his wife years earlier. I liked how the show addressed how Dan has changed since we last saw him in 1992 and enjoyed the irony that women are ready to throw themselves at him, but he's not interested. From Screenrant:
The Night Court revival redeems Dan Fielding by showing how he grew as a person and found true love after a life devoted to hedonism and debauchery. Beyond the irony of the elder Dan now being the target of the same unwanted affection he used to shower upon women, this also offers some dramatic irony given Dan's motivations in the original series. Dan once lamented, in the Night Court two-parter "Dan's Operation," that not one of his lovers had ever said "I love you." to him. It is touching then, that Dan finally found the love he sought with Sarah, and that they enjoyed several decades together.
The original series also had an unexplained supernatural undercurrent running through it in which witches, ghosts, and Santa Claus with his flying red convertible were all definitely real, and that may still be the case as we learn that Dan's 1980s prowess with women is credited to sacrificing a chicken in a bayou voodoo ritual.

As for the woman that Dan tries to date here briefly, she's played by the wonderful Wendie Malick. Her character is from the old days and I looked to see if, somehow, she had guested on the original series, but her case was one of those offscreen moments that was never mentioned. I would not put it past this show to bring back a guest star who was just starting out on the original series.

In the B-story, Gurgs and Olivia share an office space, giving them more characterization. I like Gurgs more now that I know 1) she's a Die Hard fan, and 2) she enjoys recapping movies. I hope she and Olivia keep up their new "work wives" situation. There's lots of potential there.

Ciao, baby!
posted by Servo5678 (10 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
I had to miss this one because of a work thing. DRAT. I would have to miss an IMPORTANT one.
posted by humbug at 9:38 AM on February 1, 2023 [1 favorite]


I had real flashback vibes to that one woman who showed up a few times in the original series to promise Dan the most mindblowing night of sex of his life as soon as court was out, and then there would be some shenanigans that stalled the court proceedings. As I recall, she was a very Wendie Malickesque sort -- tall and angular, short severe hair, basically an Erté / Nagel painting come to life.
posted by Etrigan at 10:04 AM on February 1, 2023 [3 favorites]


I had real flashback vibes to that one woman who showed up a few times in the original series to promise Dan the most mindblowing night of sex of his life as soon as court was out

Sheila! I'm rewatching the original series at night and am surprised at how much continuity there is in the recurring characters. I was shocked to recognize Estelle Harris (Mrs. Costanza!) as Easy Mary, a prostitute who passed before Stone's court several times in seasons 3 and 4.
posted by Servo5678 at 10:09 AM on February 1, 2023 [7 favorites]


A good episode. Really enjoy how Dan Fielding has evolved, and how we are learning about slowly. Basically, Laroquette is an amazing actor, and that he is able to play both Early Dan and Now Dan so brilliantly is wonderful to see.

The sole defendant in the opening was hilarious - "My husband is in a coma..."

Wendie Malick is awesome and her "psycho" reveal was perfect.

Olivia and Gurgs are beginning to show some potential!

I remain cautiously optimistic that this show just might be able to pull it off!
posted by davidmsc at 11:37 AM on February 1, 2023 [4 favorites]


I hope the show runs long enough that they can do a hostage-situation episode for Gurgs to go full Die-Hard in.

I got a giggle out of Abby's shirt in the last scene -- the implication being that she got in touch with the 'Carol with the cat blouse' mentioned in the opening teaser and found out where she gets them.
posted by oh yeah! at 5:05 PM on February 1, 2023 [6 favorites]


Other than to say that Gurgs is increasingly growing on me (she channels some of Bull's manic energy)...

I want to thank Servo5678 for such a fine episode post!
posted by porpoise at 5:45 PM on February 1, 2023 [5 favorites]


then there would be some shenanigans that stalled the court proceedings. As I recall, she was a very Wendie Malickesque sort -- tall and angular, short severe hair, basically an Erté / Nagel painting come to life.

I just saw a clip that has the woman I think you're referring to. She was some kind of dominatrix. Dan had been in an accident and was (temporarily) in a wheelchair; it got stuck doing donuts in the courtroom as everyone else left.

"You wouldn't!"
"We wanted to, we would, we did." --Selma
posted by praemunire at 8:02 PM on February 1, 2023 [3 favorites]




Delighted but not wholly surprised -- aside from Larroquette's salary, I have to think this one's not super-expensive to make. It's basically a whole bottle show. Great that it's doing well, though!
posted by humbug at 12:20 PM on February 3, 2023 [1 favorite]


Wow, that was quick! The young 'uns appreciate it, yay!
posted by Melismata at 9:18 AM on February 7, 2023 [1 favorite]


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