Well I watch Ellen Foley that played Billie last night. I watched her performed as acting to me it doesnt look like that she not doing very good job kind of clumsy acting sorta so Im going to have to give her grade average a C-.

For Markie Post she is a natural acting and her performence is good so I will give her a B+.

Didnt Jeff Melman the director & producer left the same time as Reinhold Weege left on 6th season? and Lindwood Boomer producer left on during 6th season.Many of them left during 6th and 7th season.

I wondering the young actor that play on "Saved By the Bell" Dustin Diamond is he related to Selma Diamond the both look similar?

Thank you for your time.

I always liked Ellen Foley on the show. Markie Post was good, too, but I thought Ms. Foley's character had nice chemistry with Harry and an enjoyable streak of New York toughness. I can envision an alternate Night Court history in which she stayed with the cast and was very good...

I never liked Ellen Foley. I tried giving her a chance, but I couldn't watch her act. I thought Markie and Harry had more "romantic' chemistry than Ellen and Harry. I saw Ellen's realtionship with Harry as more a brother/sister chemistry. I just think it was the nature of the characters themselves. I know Reinhold Weege was looking for a romantic link with Harry and one of the female characters. I know he really had Markie in mind for that. I thought Markie as Christine Sullivan was a better match for Harry. For me the mismatch of Harry and Ellen was very obvious in "The Birthday Visitor. " To this day I can't watch that episode without cringing. I do agree that Ellen exhibited that New York toughness, but that's not what Reinhold Weege wanted for the show. He needed someone with a softer edge. This is why Markie and her character were a perfect fit for the show. As John Larroquette said in the TV Tales episode on E! regarding Ellen's character, "She was too much like Harry."


As for the question asked about Reinhold Weege, Jeff Melman and Linwood Boomer, I want to say that I think they all did leave around the same time. This is why the show faltered in the later years. They just didn't have anyone on board who knew the show in those last few years.

I can understand why Reinhold want Markie soo badly to play Christine Sullivan in the beginning as she couldnt out get of contract it and Reinhold got her when contract end it seem to me that Markie has already met Harry Anderson before Night Court came along it look like it to me I may be wrong.
To me Ellen is not very good actress I watch her very carefully she is not like Linda Lavin at all. Linda Lavin that good actress and acting style ( in case some of you doesnt know who is Linda is she played 'Alice") Did you know that Florence Halop (the 2nd balioff on N.C)guest on "Alice" four time in a role? I have seen some of credit and I recongize their name jump over from Alice to Night Court when 'Alice" end in 1985.

This is my favorite part when Florence Halop as guest star on "Alice"
she play the mugger. She mugged Mel Sharples. You know how Mel Sharples is a tightwad.

Mugger say to Mel: "You are the cheapest guy I ever mugged":lol:

also she played a bag lady she has 25,000.00 in cash Mel thought she was poor and he been feeding her breakfast for free for about 15 year so she has to pay Mel money back that he tought she was poor.

Bag Lady: Mel! Mel! I didnt came here in 1965 I was out sick so I didnt eat any breakfast that day and she took the money from Mel that day she was out sick 1965.

Anyway Markie Post played better and it work out for N.C Im glad that Reinhold has made the right decission for N.C

I never liked Ellen Foley. I tried giving her a chance, but I couldn't watch her act. I thought Markie and Harry had more "romantic' chemistry than Ellen and Harry. I saw Ellen's realtionship with Harry as more a brother/sister chemistry. I just think it was the nature of the characters themselves. I know Reinhold Weege was looking for a romantic link with Harry and one of the female characters. I know he really had Markie in mind for that. I thought Markie as Christine Sullivan was a better match for Harry. For me the mismatch of Harry and Ellen was very obvious in "The Birthday Visitor. " To this day I can't watch that episode without cringing. I do agree that Ellen exhibited that New York toughness, but that's not what Reinhold Weege wanted for the show. He needed someone with a softer edge. This is why Markie and her character were a perfect fit for the show. As John Larroquette said in the TV Tales episode on E! regarding Ellen's character, "She was too much like Harry."


As for the question asked about Reinhold Weege, Jeff Melman and Linwood Boomer, I want to say that I think they all did leave around the same time. This is why the show faltered in the later years. They just didn't have anyone on board who knew the show in those last few years.

A lot of the comments that I read on the old Television Without Pity Forums about Ellen Foley (http://www.radiodiscussions.com/showthread.php?648779-Shows-where-a-secondary-character-became-the-reason-to-watch&p=5876817&viewfull=1#post5876817)'s Night Court character felt that Billie was too manic and "bug eyed". I guess for a otherwise irreverent and quirky show like Night Court it wasn't such a good idea to have too many eccentric acting people in the main cast.

http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/2008/10/favorite-night-court-cast-members.html

It's welcome news that the second season of Night Court will finally arrive on DVD (please, let them at least get as far as bringing out the third season with the Hurricane episodes). But that's the season where there's the most fan controversy over this show's many, many casting issues.

There was no real controversy about the first season, because everybody knew that two characters just didn't work: Lana (Karen Austin) and Liz (Paula Kelly, a great performer who had nothing to do here). Austin was actually dropped before the first season was even over, and they tried out a number of people in her place, including D.D. Howard, a tall blonde who appeared on almost every NBC show of the era -- I guess Brandon Tartikoff was looking for a place to put her.

So, needing to fill two slots for season 2, the producers found one by drawing from NBC's reject pile: Charles Robinson had been a regular on Buffalo Bill, and moved very successfully to Night Court. But they needed a female lead, and their choice was Shelley Hack, aka "the only Charlie's Angel worse than Tanya Roberts." But Hack did not work out -- who'd have thought adding Shelley Hack wouldn't work out for a show? -- and showrunner/writer Reinhold Weege borrowed Markie Post from The Fall Guy for the episode. But he couldn't use Post on a regular basis, because she was still a regular on The Fall Guy. So in the next episode, the show introduced its new full-time leading lady, singer/actress Ellen Foley. Foley was on the show for the rest of the season, but when the next season began, she was dropped and replaced by Markie Post, who had gotten out of her contract with Fall Guy. Scuttlebutt at the time was that when Post became available, the producers simply fired Foley, who didn't object because she thought she could do better with a singing career; a newspaper report from the time said that Foley "is departing partly because she wants to pursue a singing career and partly because the producers didn't think she was sexy enough."

As a kid watching the reruns, I actually liked Foley better than Post, because Foley's character seemed pleasantly spunky by comparison. (Post was hotter, but I wasn't really watching the show for that.) But now when I watch the second season episodes, it seems like the writers never came up with a funny persona for her; that was the same season where Dan developed into a pervert and Bull developed into an idiot savant, but Foley's character never really got funny. When they added Markie Post they were able to make a joke out of her character's innocence and prudishness, so she was funny, while Foley really wasn't. I don't know if that can be blamed on the actor, really, but it does seem like they couldn't write for her. (And while mostly the Token Hot Chick on action shows, Post had already done well in an episode of Cheers as Diane's trampy friend.)

Then you have the dead bailiff curse. My preference among Night Court bailiffs would be: 1) Selma Diamond; 2) Marsha Warfield; 3) Florence Halop. Diamond was by far the best; Halop's character was too clearly a carbon copy of Selma, though the resemblance finally turned tragic rather than funny.

Which means my ideal Night Court cast would be: Harry, Dan, Christine, Mac, Bull, Selma. There's only one episode that actually has this "ideal" cast and it's that one episode Post guest-starred in in the second season.