Night Court: Podcaster One-Off Was a Wasted Opportunity for the Series

I am a person who has always believed a television series can be made stronger by having a good nemesis for a beloved character. House, MD, for example, finally hit its stride for me when the series introduced Edward Vogler (Chi McBride) and wasn't as enjoyable when they wrote him off the show. Even the original episodes of this series had their share of recurring villains, ranging from sleezy journalist Al Craven (Terry Kiser) to Dan Fielding's (John Larroquette) boss, Vincent Daniels (Daniel Frishman) that added an element of suspense to a comedy series.


This is why I feel the decision to make podcaster Remecca (Stephnie Weir) just a one-and-done character in last night's episode was a mistake.

Remecca reminded me a lot of Al Craven, who was a thorn in Harry Stone's (Harry Anderson) side because he was always working to portray things in a negative light. This included everything from finding out about Harry's criminal record to finding out confidential information in a New York madam's diary.

The beauty of a character like that is it both gives the viewer someone to dislike on a show that revolves around likable characters while also opening the door to learning more about who they are and giving them some depth. In the case of Harry, for example, we learned a lot more about his childhood.

Had Remecca been a regular character, popping up on occasion to find a scandal, she could have done the same for this fledgling reboot, opening the door for the viewer to learn more about the supporting cast of characters that frankly don't have a whole lot of depth on a show that has primarily just focused on Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch) and a much-older Dan Fielding.

It was a missed opportunity I hope doesn't come back to haunt this show.

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