So Andrea and I are continuing to watch the new Night Court and to quote Rose Geller from Friends, "I ask myself, my God, why?"
Seriously, why?
There is only so far that nostalgia for O.G. Night Court will take you. There's only so far that rooting for Big Bang Theory alumnus Melissa Rauch will carry a person.
This show is not funny.
Pity poor John Larroquette (as Dan Fielding from the original series) who is punching WAY below his weight class. His level of skill at comedic timing and adding any kind of gravitas to a scene is so far above anyone around him, I just feel bad for him.
And even Larroquette can't always save the day. The recent episode where New York Comic-Con invaded Night Court saw Dan Fielding forced to dress as a Klingon who calls himself "Maltz".
Which is kind of cool because Larroquette played a Klingon named Maltz in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock.
And that is all there is to that really.
Ooh! Dan Fielding dressed as a Klingon? Hilarity will have to ensue, right?
Even the ever reliable Wendie Malick as a guest star in an old school Julie Newmar-esque Catwoman suit couldn't save this mess.
Night Court: The Search For Laughs.
Kirk: This... comedy... has no.... laughs.
Spock: That is not logical, Captain.
Lacretta as bailiff Gurgs and India de Beaufort as ADA Olivia are trying too hard to make not funny lines seem funny with the poorly conceived approach of laughing at their own "jokes".
I think the problem lies at the center of the show and that's Melissa Rauch's Judge Abby Stone. She keeps getting saddled with goofy plot lines (Abby is dating herself; Abby has a childhood friend she has zero in common with, etc) but in the original show Rauch is seeking to emulate, Abby's father Judge Harry Stone, while personally an off kilter goofball was otherwise a rock in a sea of insanity among the crazy cases brought before him on a nightly basis. I know Melissa wants to differentiate herself from Big Bang's Bernadette but I think Abby occasionally use some of Bernadette's toughness.
Speaking of Big Bang Theory, tonight's episode of Night Court features a guest star turn by Kunal Nayyar. Can the guy who played Raj Koothrappali bring some actual funny to this alleged comedy show?
Nothing against Kunal but given the writing on this show, I have my doubts.
Quantum Leap returned for the last five episodes of season 2. (No word as of yet from NBC on the fate of season 3.)
There's some time wimey for Ben Song's relationship with Heather Carson. It's been a day since Ben leapt from the FBI agent in 1959 to a bounty hunter in 1970. Meanwhile, Heather has gotten to 1970 via the long path where she's married and is mother to a son.
Meanwhile, Addison (Ben's hologram helper and his former fiance due to their own time wimey) has learned from her current paramour Tom that there may be a way to finally bring Ben home.
Quantum Leap has threaded the needle of old school QL (solving the problem of whatever life Ben has leapt into) with modern storytelling (story arcs and character development). Unlike the revival of Night Court, Quantum Leap has successfully taken what worked before and made a new show that is it's own good thing.
And that is that for this week's Tuesday TV Touchbase.
Coming up next on the Touchbase, the return of Abbott Elementary.
Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.
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