Would you consider Night Court to be a classic?

Definately.

A "forgotten classic".
that definately deserves more attention.

Yes

not quite

Definately! Not quite as strong as Sledge Hammer, but a decent second. ;)

Of course it's a classic!
I love that show!!!

Absolutely! It's the best sitcom ever IMO.

Absolutely a classic. "Night Court" I think has been the only successful courtroom COMEDY. It was original, quirky and did not adhere to the standard "rules" of sitcoms. It was a classic because there was nothing else like it, and there still isn't. It has been the most overlooked, underrated sitcom. I don't think anybody really realized the impact it had on television until it wasn't on the airwaves anymore. Yes, it wasn't a "Friends" or a "Cheers" but it was a comedy that dared to be different and unusual. This, in my eyes, makes it a classic.

Definately! Not quite as strong as Sledge Hammer, but a decent second. ;)
What! You got to be kidding me. How many episodes of Sledge Hammer where they?

I thought you were about to say the other shows like Starman or Sidekicks, which aired on the crappy date of September 19, 1986.

not Quite....well, maybe the pre-Christine seasons, but once she joined, the show went down in both laughs and quality
( Im NOT blaming Markie Post here, its the writing that became too predictable, not her character that brought the show to a lower level )

What?? The show hit its peak *after* Markie showed up. The first couple seasons were tame compared to about late 85 to 90. Dan came into his own, and the show started pushing the envelopes of average sitcoms.

And I love NC but no, I don't think it's classic. It's rerun longevity has been weak and is never mentioned on any top TV lists. It was underrated and underappreciated in its day and now.

What?? The show hit its peak *after* Markie showed up. The first couple seasons were tame compared to about late 85 to 90. Dan came into his own, and the show started pushing the envelopes of average sitcoms.

And I love NC but no, I don't think it's classic. It's rerun longevity has been weak and is never mentioned on any top TV lists. It was underrated and underappreciated in its day and now.
What was it doing on the must see TV line-up & how come it aired for 9 years if it's not a hit?

Not quite. :wave:

I still feel "Night Court" is an underrated classic. If you look at television schedules these days, you're seeing more dramas and less comedies. Most of the new comedies never even make it to a full season, because there's nothing original enough. "Night Court" was a departure from reality and was just so damn entertaining because of it. 99.9% of the time it dessimated its time slot competition. It lasted nine years and is considered the show that helped establish "Seinfeld". And, as someone mentioned, it was part of the original Must See-TV line Up. The late Brandon Tartikoff loved the show so much he even appeared on it. It garnered 29 Emmy nominations including nominations for best comedy series. Although it never won, it must have been doing something right even to be nominated. But I guess the real question here is, how would one define a classic sitcom? What are the criteria? I don't necessarily think the amount of awards accumulated make a sitcom a classic. It's like saying just because you can play the piano amazingly, you can be a great choral teacher. One really doesn't justify the other. It's the person's own ability to do the job well. Even though "Night Court" didn't win for best comedy series, it didn't make it less memorable.

Badbrainsfan, nowhere in that post did I say it was not a hit. I was saying I didn't consider it classic.

To answer nitcrt1, I think a classic is defined on it's lasting impression on society. People constantly referance Cheers, Lucy, Three's Company. Because on most boards or people I talk to go "Eh, I remember that show, it was ok", I consider Night Court as you say, an "underrated" classic. You say bald bailiff or sitcom in court and people know it. But they don't fondly drool over it like Seinfeld or Cheers. I'm just reeeeeally hoping it finds a new audience with the TV Land run to give it some clout.

The one good thing of the nominations was Larroquette's dominance of the best supp. emmy award for four years. Who knows what would've happened if he hadn't pulled himself from the running, he may have won more. Harry was also nominated, along with the writing and whatnot. But just giving John the award, to me, is like saying "Yeah he's great, the rest of the show isn't worth it and sucks". :mad:

That whole "pushed the envelope of reality" is why i didnt think the show was as good after Markie joined , i mean if someone said he was a martian, at the end of the show hed have antennea, and you knew he would, it just got totally silly.......and predictable, as i said...thus, I stick by my orig statement....not quite ( Again, it wasnt Markies fault, it was the writers who just went overboard )

Badbrainsfan, nowhere in that post did I say it was not a hit. I was saying I didn't consider it classic.

To answer nitcrt1, I think a classic is defined on it's lasting impression on society. People constantly referance Cheers, Lucy, Three's Company. Because on most boards or people I talk to go "Eh, I remember that show, it was ok", I consider Night Court as you say, an "underrated" classic. You say bald bailiff or sitcom in court and people know it. But they don't fondly drool over it like Seinfeld or Cheers. I'm just reeeeeally hoping it finds a new audience with the TV Land run to give it some clout.

The one good thing of the nominations was Larroquette's dominance of the best supp. emmy award for four years. Who knows what would've happened if he hadn't pulled himself from the running, he may have won more. Harry was also nominated, along with the writing and whatnot. But just giving John the award, to me, is like saying "Yeah he's great, the rest of the show isn't worth it and sucks". :mad:
If it's a hit, how come it's not a classic?

If it's a hit, how come it's not a classic?
Because a classic is MORE than JUST a hit, its something nearly universally timeless

Mikado, exactly. Go back to the time period, a lot of the stuff in the top 20, like The Hogan Family, or Mr. Belvedere, Silver Spoons, may have performed well back then but are collecting dust in a vault somewhere now.

On the other point, I don't think NC resorted to far-featched tough too much. Bull leaving with aliens or Dan getting slugged so hard he's embedded into a wall were few. I thought the toughest thing to take was how chaotic it sometimes got. People rushing around breathlessly or Harry trying to take the side of a defendant and help them.

But NC had a lot of serious stuff with adoption, single moms, homeless, or times when the characters quit and had like mid-life crisis'.