Steven Helmer Publications

Prequels are an effective way to continue a popular television series because it doesn't have the constraints of keeping one or more cast members from the original, allowing for fresh (and cheaper) faces while also giving a bit more insight into how certain characters became who they are.  They are, like most spin-offs, hit-or-miss as far as fans go. Some, like The Big Bang Theory prequel, Young Sheldon, were popular enough to last several seasons and inspire their own spinoff series. Others, like the Supernatural prequel, The Winchesters , were cancelled after just one season. Meanwhile, there are some series that might have done surprisingly well with a prequel based on one or more of their characters but were never given the opportunity. Here are five characters I think would have been perfect for that. Phoebe Buffay ( Friends ) -  Of the six friends on Friends , Phoebe ( Lisa Kudrow ) has the most interesting past. Her mother, who wasn't her real mother, committed suicid...

Synopsis: In this series debut, the Manhattan Criminal Court receives a brand-new judge, Harry Stone ( Harry Anderson ). His quirky nature quickly results questions about his competence, especially when he orders an attempted murder suspect (Peggy McCay) to try to work things out with her victim/husband (Joseph V. Perry) over lunch. My Thoughts - The lack of diversity in the original cast is noticeable . I suspect one of the main reasons why the show pivoted from Sheila Gardiner (Gail Strickland) to Liz Williams (Paula Kelly) at public defender after just one episode was to address this. Though, to be fair, I think it was a good change regardless of the reason. Obviously, one 30-minute episode isn't a big sample size, especially since Harry Stone was the focus. However, I could say the same about everyone else in the courtroom and they all managed to establish their characters to some degree while Sheila was mostly just there. On that note, I need to just take a moment to pay my r...

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 th...

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 confidenti...

Even though the jury is still out regarding the Melissa Rauch -led Night Court reboot I do think the fledgling series has shown potential by modernizing the stories while still honoring the original that went off the air in 1992. So far, the show has focused solely on Abby Stone's (Rauch) relationship with her deceased father, Harry ( Harry Anderson ) and a now-elderly Dan Fielding ( John Larroquette ) and it still needs to give the supporting cast a little more depth. However, there is an opportunity for the reboot to bring closure to a few storylines from the original series: What happened to Bob and June Wheeler? Bob and June ( Brent Spiner and Annie O'Donnell ) were frequent and popular guest characters on the series and their hard-luck stories were some of the funniest moments on the show. Their last appearance was in Season 4, when they purchased the courthouse concession stand for $250,000 only to watch it fail because they had to raise the prices to obscene amounts. Th...

When I saw NBC was rebooting the show Night Court , I had some mixed feelings. The original series was (and still is) one of my favorites and a show I missed until I found it on Amazon Prime. However, while I liked Melissa Rauch from The Big Bang Theory and thought she was the right choice to play Harry Stone's ( Harry Anderson ) daughter, I wasn't convinced it would be able to live in such big footprints. While I won't cast a final judgement after just two episodes, the reboot hasn't done much to convince me it is able to stand on its own two feet. Even more concerning is it doesn't seem to be trying to do that. Whenever you reboot a series, comparisons to the original are going to be inevitable. And, while it might seem like a good idea, reminding people of the original only makes the problem worse. This starts with the decision to bring back John Larroquette as Dan Fielding. Not only does his return to the courtroom seem forced (and possibly illegal), but his ...

I was a big fan of the show Night Court , when I was younger and have watched every episode of the series that ran from 1984 until 1992 at least once. Now that a reboot of the series is scheduled for next year, I decided to rewatch the original one more time and, while I have enjoyed it so far, like many sitcoms from the 80s and early 90s, there are some things that haven't aged well. The casual sexual harassment. This comes into play quite a bit after Markie Post joined the cast in the third season as Christine Sullivan and becomes the object of affection both for Judge Harry Stone ( Harry Anderson ) and ADA Dan Fielding ( John Larroquette ) but there was some mixed in prior to that as well. Stone's repeated attempts at romantic relationships with the various women who worked in his courtroom were borderline sketchy on their own. Fielding's inappropriate comments and sexual advances are cringe worthy today. The portrayal of prostitutes. Ah, the innocence of the 80s, when ...

Synopsis: 30 years after stopping a killing spree by an ancient supernatural clown known as Pennywise, a group of friends reunite in an effort to stop the clown's latest murders. Who's in it? The movie stars Harry Anderson , John Ritter , Tim Curry , Annette O'Toole , Jonathan Brandis and Tim Reid . Review: I had intended on writing this review Monday. However, after learning of Harry Anderson's death that same day, I felt almost obligated to wait a couple of days. My oldest daughter wants to see the 2017 remake of this made-for-TV movie. But, before letting her do that, my wife and I wanted her to see this version first. So, since we had a snow storm Sunday afternoon and nowhere to go as a result of that, we ended up watching it. This was actually the first time I had seen this movie in its entirety. Up until Sunday, I had seen bits and pieces of it, including most of the second half of the film, but had never had a chance to watch it from start to finis...