In between cases involving ladies of the evening, a derelict who thinks he's Santa, and sparring spouses, the court staff spends most of their spare time trying to figure out the judge's age and background, making jokes about Bull's imposing appearance, or, in Dan's case, propositioning any woman who comes along. Among the first-season guest stars, Michael J. Fox takes a break from Family Ties to play a young tough, while Soviet comedian Yakov Smirnoff (there's a flashback for you!) plays a Russian who threatens to blow up the court. Created by Rheinhold Weege (who co-produced and wrote for Barney Miller), Night Court took off in later years, as the cast solidified with court clerk Mac (Charles Robinson), sexy public defender Christine (Markie Post), and glib bailiff Roz (Marsha Warfield). With better people to bounce off of, Laroquette took home four consecutive Supporting Actor Emmys beginning with the second season. Those were the only major statuettes the series won during its nine-season run, but it did hold down the 9:30 slot of NBC's "must see" Thursday lineup between Cheers and L.A. Law.
Cast and Characters
Harry Anderson as Harold T. Stone
Charlie Robinson as Mac Robinson
John Larroquette as Dan Fielding
Markie Post as Christine Sullivan (1985-1992)
Richard Moll as Nostradamus "Bull" Shannon
Marsha Warfield as Roz Russell (1986-1992)
Paula Kelly as Liz Williams (1984)
Selma Diamond as Selma Hacker (1984-1985)
Mike Finneran as Art Fensterman
Denice Kumagai as Quon Lee Robinson (1985-1992)
Broadcast History First Telecast: January 4, 1984 Last Telecast: May 31, 1992 Number of Episodes: 193
Number of Seasons: 7
Original Network: NBC
January 1984- March 1984, NBC, Wednesday 9:30-10:00pm
May 1984- May 1986, NBC, Thursday 9:30-10:00pm
June 1986- March 1987, NBC, Thursday 9:30-10:00pm
March 1987- June 1987, NBC, Wednesday 9:00-9:30pm
June 1987- July 1987, NBC, Wednesday 9:30-10:00pm
July 1987- August 1987, NBC, Wednesday 9:00-9:30pm
August 1987- March 1988, NBC, Thursday 9:30-10:00pm
March 1988- April 1988, NBC, Friday 9:00-9:30pm
May 1988- September 1988, NBC, Thursday 9:30-10:00pm
October 1988- August 1990, NBC, Wednesday 9:00-9:30pm
September 1990- January 1991, NBC, Friday 9:00-9:30pm
January 1991- November 1991, NBC, Wednesday 9:00-9:30pm
One of the zaniest and bawdiest shows to hit network primetime in the 1980s, Night Court starred Harry Anderson as the Mel Tormé-loving, magic-playing, too-young judge Harry Stone presiding over the night beat of New York. Joining him were lecherous assistant district attorney Dan (John Larroquette), bald Bunyanesque bailiff Bull (Richard Moll), uptight court clerk Lana (Karen Austin), earnest public defender Elizabeth (Paula Kelly), and grizzled bailiff Selma (Selma Hacker).
