Night Court In Five Justifiably Fewer Seasons, 1: Nuts About Harry

At some point in 2022 or 2023, John Laroquette is set to return to Night Court for a reboot that has the potential to either be an amazing update of a classic show a la The Conners (nee Roseanne), One Day At A Time, Duck Tales, Cobra Kai, or just another tepid nostalgia trip like Murphy Brown, MacGyver, or 90210. There's at least an entire generation that missed out on the often funny, sometimes poignant, occasionally terrible sitcom about an offbeat judge and a somewhat revolving gang of misfit lawyers, clerks, baliffs, and stenographers who work with him.

Like many late twentieth century sitcoms, there are way too many episodes of the show to be consistently good. And this show, in particular, suffers from an incredibly disappointing final season where the creators decided to mix things up a bit and lost much of the show's heart in the process.

So here's a very condensed set of episodes (75 instead of 193) that include all of the Must Sees and a bunch of a Here's What Was Considered Progressive TV In The 1980s and very early 1990s.

My Season One reaches from the pilot all the way into the third season as main characters come and go (some come back again, some die) and we get to see the surface of some characters that we'll eventually come to understand better. Also, hopefully, we'll laugh a bunch.

Night Court Season One:
​Nuts About Harry​

1. All You Need Is Love  
(Harry, Dan,  Bull, Selma, Lana, Sheila, Carla B)

Nobody likes the brash new judge, Harry Stone, or his desperate magic tricks and tomfoolery. And when he tries to settle a divorce/attempted murder dispute, things go awry for everyone involved. But, obviously, if he was this incompetent the show wouldn't last very long, right?

2. Santa Goes Downtown
(Harry, Dan, Bull, Selma, Lana, Liz, Carla B)

Michael J. Fox is the first famous guest star as he plays one half of a pair of runaway teens who end up involved with a man claiming to be The Actual Santa Clause. It's a certainly goofy premise but it ends up being a solid episode of a sitcom.

3. The Former Harry Stone
(Harry, Dan, Bull, Selma, Lana, Liz, Al Craven)

But, like, who IS Harry Stone? Besides a wannabe magician, and the greatest troll in the New York Judiciary Sytem? The crew and a sleazy reporter would like to know. This episode features an appearance from Seinfeld's dad.

4. Some Like It Hot 
(Harry, Dan, Bull, Selma, Lana, Liz, Art, Yakov)

A Russian immigrant threatens to set himself on fire if the only alternative is jail. What a country! This episode also features our introduction to Art The Maintainance Guy, and the final appearance of Lana.

5. Bull's Baby
(Harry, Dan, Bull, Selma, Liz, Charley)

Bull's neighbor abandons their baby to his care, making him more useless than usual. Less useful than usual?

6. The Nun
(Harry, Dan, Bull, Selma, Mac)

Harry is Such A Heartbreaker in this series. This time, instead of a coworker or prostitute falling for him, he accidentally causes a nun to forsake her vows. Wowsers. Also, Mac finally arrives as the new court clerk.

7. Nuts For Harry
(Harry, Dan, Bull, Selma, Mac, Sue)

Surprisingly not another episode of Harry being a heartbreaker. Instead, a group of escaped mental patients seeks asylum.

8. Daddy For The Defense
(Harry, Dan, Bull, Selma, Mac, Christine, Jack Sullivan)

Christine debuts as an optimistic public defender (don't get used to her, she disappears for a while after this episode) with daddy issues that end up putting her dad in jail.

9. Harry On Trial
(Harry, Dan, Bull, Selma, Mac, Billie)

Welcome Billie,  the new public defender, who will definitely be around forever. In this episode, Harry's nemesis tries to have Harry removed from the bench. Will he, too, be removed from the cast?

10. Inside Harry Stone
(Harry, Dan, Bull, Selma, Mac, Billie, Buddy)

Although referred to as Kenny in this episode, a very important future regular shows up while Harry needs treatment for an ulcer. Oh, and the new public defender is in love with him.

11. The Blizzard
(Harry, Dan, Bull, Selma, Mac, Billie, Art)

It's the trapped in an elevator trope! This is one of the first Dan Is Unprogressive And The Rest Of The Cast Tries To Educate Him episodes. He's trapped in an elevator with a gay man who finds him attractive. Give it up for 80s drama.

12. Dan's Parents
(Harry, Dan, Bull, Selma, Mac, Billie)

As you can probably guess by the title, Dan's parents pay him a visit. It turns out they're very rural. And Dan is a bag of shit. But we knew that already.

13. Married Alive
(Harry, Dan, Bull, Selma, Mac, Billie, Phil)

This is a very Dan-centric part of the season, as he falls in love with an heiress. The rest of the crew assumes he's an insincere gold digger, but he proclaims his love for her. Also, the first appearance of Dan's homeless sidekick, Phil.

14. Mac And Quon Le Together Again
(Harry, Dan, Bull, Selma, Mac, Billie, Quon Le)

We skipped a mediocre episode where Mac 's flame from the Vietnam war comes to visit and the two end up in a complicated green card marriage. But this episode, when she's arrested, is a much better love story. Also, Dan and Billie compete for the same job. I mean, only one of them is going to make it to next season, so ... have a guess who wins.

15. Hello Goodbye
(Harry, Dan, Bull, Mac, Christine, Florence, Phil)

We end this season on a bit of a heartbreaker. The actress who played Selma (also named Selma) died inbetween seasons of the show. Her death sends Bull into deep depression. As the other members of the court deal with their grief, Christine returns to the public defender position and Florence debuts as Selma's replacement.