Night Court's Five Best Part-time Employees
People who know me know I'm really not that big on nostalgia. However, there are exceptions to that, including my tendency to re-watch some of my favorite shows from when I was a kid (and some from before I was a kid). This includes Night Court, which I've watched in re-runs more times than I can count, including as recent as this morning.
One thing I've noticed as I once again rewatched the series that ran from 1984 until 1992 is, while the outstanding ensemble of main characters is obviously what people remember, the show also got a nice boost from what I like to refer to as part-time employees. These are characters that were only on the show for a short time, either for certain storylines as a fill in for when one of the main cast members was absent or left the series. They may not have been there long or received top billing, but they kept Night Court rolling.
Here are my five favorites:
Court Clerk Mavis Tuttle (Alice Drummond) - I won't go into details about the off-screen reasons Night Court's original court clerk, Lana Wagner (Karen Austin) only lasted 10 episodes because that's something you can look up for yourself. However, for the three episodes between her last appearance and the first appearance of Mac Robinson (Charles Robinson), the show needed some temporary replacements. One of them was Mavis Tuttle.
Tuttle, played by the actress most people remember as the librarian in the movie Ghostbusters, is someone I wish the show would have kept beyond the one episode. Her no-nonsense approach to her job was the perfect contrast to the rest of her coworkers, along with her ability to show up at the least opportune times with paperwork for Harry Stone (Harry Anderson) to sign. I'm not saying they didn't make the right choice with Mac as the permanent replacement, I just wish they would have kept her for the remainder of the first season rather than immediately replace her with the not-as-memorable Charley Tracey (D. D. Howard).
Judge Margaret Wilbur (Florence Stanley) - Sometimes Judge Stone needed a break or had another reason not to be seated at his bench and, early in the series, Judge Wilbur was brought in as what I personally think was a great temporary replacement.
The thing I like about this character is, while portrayed as serious and even a bit menacing, she also had a comedic side that came out at just the right times. In other words, she wasn't a complete contrast from Stone, just a different personality. Plus, the fact she was a main character on My Two Dads added a bit of crossover fun as well.
District Attorney Vincent Daniels (Daniel Frishman) - To be honest, I was surprised he made my part-time employee list because I could have sworn Daniels appeared in more than just three episodes. That, however, also proves he belongs here.
At first, Dan Fielding (John Larroquette) having a boss who is a little person seemed like a novelty. However, their personality clashes added a little something extra to the show even once the short jokes began to run out. Daniels offered an opportunity for Dan to become more respectful and since we all knew that wasn't going to happen, there was always the possibility of Dan being left unemployed. I find it amazing the show's writers couldn't figure out how to keep him longer.
Court Reporter Al Craven (Terry Kiser) - OK, so I'm stretching this one (and the last one) a bit because Craven technically wasn't a court employee. However, he is a character that remains one of my favorites despite only appearing in four episodes before disappearing by season 3.
Early in the series, Harry had a number of characters I'd describe as being a nemesis. This usually was some judge who disapproved of his courtroom antics, and it drove home just how unorthodox his judicial style was.
Craven, however, took this nemesis role to another level because he had a habit of being in the wrong place at the right time and any overheard conversation or misunderstanding could potentially be turned into a scandal. It's too bad he couldn't stick around longer.
Shoeshine boy Leon (Bumper Robinson) - Again, technically not a court employee but he was a character that was around just enough to take the show in a much different direction than you would expect.
Introduced more as some added comic relief with Dan usually being his foil, the show expanded the character to reveal he was a homeless runaway who was then temporarily taken in by Harry as a foster child, only to run away again when he was going to be placed with a set of adoptive parents and be MIA for several episodes before finally getting a happy ending while taking Harry down a bit of a dark path for an episode or two as well.
The emotional rollercoaster that came with Leon was something that renewed my fandom in the series because it was a reminder that even comedies can make well-timed drama work. And I'm not ashamed to admit it, I did tear up a bit when it looked like Leon was running away for good.
________________________________________________________________
Here are some pieces like this one:
Eight Television Characters that Should Have had Spin-Offs
Gilligan's Island: Five Times Gilligan Wasn't the One at Fault
Comments
Post a Comment