January 3, 1949
Colgate sponsors the early anthology series, Colgate Theater.
Like most dramatic programming at the time, the show consisted of weekly plays and/or scripts adapted for television. Among many other stories, the show produced two of the earliest TV adaptations of radio programs: Vic and Sade and Mr. and Mrs. North.January 4, 1984
The first episode of Night Court aired on NBC.
The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone (played by Harry Anderson). It was created by comedy writer Reinhold Weege, who had previously worked on Barney Miller in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Anderson had developed a following with his
performances on Saturday
Night Live and made several
successful appearances as con man "Harry the Hat" on another NBC
sitcom, Cheers. (For the first several years of its run, Night
Court aired on NBC Thursday nights after Cheers.) In later seasons,
while Anderson remained the key figure, John Larroquette became the breakout personality, winning a number of
awards and many fans for his performance as the lecherous Dan Fielding.
The comedy style on Night Court changed as the
series progressed. During its initial seasons, the show was often compared to Barney Miller. In addition to being created by a writer of that
show, Night Court (like Barney Miller) was set in New York City,
featured quirky, often dry humor, and dealt with a staff who tried to cope with
a parade of eccentric, often neurotic criminals and complainants. Furthering
this comparison, these characters were routinely played by character actors who
had made frequent guest appearances on Barney Miller, including Stanley
Brock, Philip Sterling, Peggy Pope, and Alex Henteloff. But while the characters appearing in the courtroom
(and the nature of their transgressions) were often whimsical, bizarre or
humorously inept, the show initially took place in the 'real world'. In an
early review of the show, Time magazine called Night Court, with
its emphasis on non-glamorous, non-violent petty crime, the most realistic law
show on the air.
Gradually, however, Night Court abandoned its initial "real world" setting, and changed to what could best be described as broad, almost slapstick comedy. Logic and realism were frequently sidelined for more surreal humor, such as having the cartoon character, Wile E. Coyote, as a defendant and convicting him for harassment of the Road Runner with an admonition to find a meal by some other means.
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