‘Night Court’ Turns 40: See Fans’ 10 Favorite Episodes From the Sitcom
The NBC sitcom Night Court debuted 40 years ago — on January 4, 1984 — with newly instated judge Harry (Harry Anderson) showing his “irregular” side by ordering a feuding couple to a coffee date with their attorneys.
And the show, which followed the eccentric staff at a Manhattan arraignment court, only got better from there, according to IMDb users who have rated the original run’s 193 episodes. In fact, none of the current Night Court revival’s episodes can compare to the top 10 episodes from the original, according to those user ratings. Here are those standout Night Court episodes — all of which are currently streaming on Prime Video — along with comments from IMDb reviewers.
10. Season 6, Episode 19: “From Snoop to Nuts: Part 2”
In the second part of a two-episode story, Harry confronts Buddy (recurring guest star John Astin) about the revelation that he’s Buddy’s son, all the while evading the goons of a gangster he deceived in a sting revelation. “We can now more fully understand where Harry gets his more ‘loony’ side,” an IMDb user writes in a nine-star review of the episode. “Good payoff to a great setup.”
9. Season 5, Episode 19: “Jung and the Restless”
Roz (Marsha Warfield) is ordered to report to an anger management group, but a teenaged would-be robber — played by a young Don Cheadle — crashes the party and holds the group hostage. An IMDb reviewer says that the “confident” Cheadle “steals the episode” and “truly shines” in his performance.
8. Season 2, Episode 13: “Dan’s Parents”
Dan (John Larroquette) is embarrassed when his rustic parents pay him a visit, with the real-life couple Jeanette Nolan and John McIntire guest-starring as Mucette and Bob Elmore. “Though there are plenty of laughs (some of them at the parents’ expense), the situation is treated seriously, with the story moving seamlessly from comic to dramatic and back again,” a fan writes.
7. Season 6, Episode 9: “The Night Court Before Christmas”
After Roz unwittingly distributes toys that Bull (Richard Moll) mistakenly stole as part of a charity drive, she refuses to take back the gifts. Meanwhile, “Buddy’s Christmas decorating is worth a look all on its own, and you get to find out the tradition for standing beneath collard greens instead of mistletoe,” one IMDb user declares. “Funny, as were all Night Court episodes.”
6. Season 5, Episode 14: “I’m OK, You’re Catatonic/Schizophrenic”
Harry intervenes when Buddy considers a lifelong stay at a mental hospital. (“Believe it or not, sometimes the serious scenes on this show were exceptionally well written,” one fan writes on IMDb, hailing the scenes with Buddy and his friend Al, played by Shelley Berman.) Meanwhile, Dan tries to make up for destroying Harry’s Mel Tormé record collection by kidnapping the real-life singer.
5. Season 6, Episode 22: “Yet Another Day in the Life”
Dan faces a deluge of water — and cases, including one extremely slow-moving defendant, seen here — as he tries to catch the last flight out of town. “This is perhaps my favorite episode of Night Court, as the gang has to arraign a ton of cases after a water pipe bursts, including some dangerous criminals in Harry’s office,” a fan raves.
4. Season 5, Episode 7: “Who Was That Mashed Man?”
As the court deals with an actor who refuses to take off his character’s disguise, Dan is drawn to the district attorney’s off-limits niece, Kitty, played by guest star Teri Hatcher. “Its perfect blend of clashing character types, an exceptional ensemble cast, and razor-sharp gags produced one of the highest ratios of LY/M (loud yuks per minute) ever,” writes one IMDb user.
3. Season 8, Episode 5: “Death Takes a Halloween”
Harry starts to believe a defendant claiming to be the Angel of Death — “you know, the Dean of Departure, the Prince of Passing, the Goodbye Guy,” in the words of Dan — after hearing that people across the city have been miraculously surviving otherwise-fatal accidents during the Stephen Root character’s time behind bars.
2. Season 5, Episode 16: “Another Day in the Life”
This episode presents a challenge to the court: If more than 200 defendants can get their time in front of a judge, a big-gambling Texas millionaire will save an orphanage from foreclosure. One of those defendants happens to be the pope, accused of standing and waving in his popemobile. “It’s grandstanding, it’s dangerous, it’s daredevil joyriding, and it has got to stop!” Harry yells.
1. Season 4, Episode 15: “A Day in the Life”
In the inaugural “day in the life” installment, on the other hand, the court must get through 200 cases before the clock strikes 12, else a federal judge will set free all those not already arraigned. “Night Court peaked with this show,” an IMDb user said. “The idea of cramming in a massive number of cases in a single session worked so well that they did variations on it again and again. … The concept means a lot of strange cases come and go in the single episode, and that makes it funnier than others [that are] centered around a plot.”
