Hollywood’s love affair with reboots continues with this modern take on the 80s sitcom Night Court. The Big Bang Theory‘s Melissa Rauch stars as Judge Abbie Stone, the daughter of Harry, who in the “Pilot” episode takes over her dad’s old stomping grounds. The only character brought back from the original show is John Larroquette as Dan Fielding who is lured back to the courtroom by the spunky younger Stone as the court’s new public defender. Both the first two episodes are about Abby and Dan struggling to fit into their new roles as the show itself attempts to find its footing.
The new version, at least early on, lacks the both the bite and wackiness of the original. However, it took the first Night Court awhile to find its groove and both Rauch and Larroquette are pillars for the show to build on. The rest of the cast is a bit of a mixed bag. Both India de Beaufort and Lacretta are a bit one-note in the prosecutor looking to escape her current posting and the court’s latest goofy bailiff respectively, although a little more thought seems to have gone into Kapil Talwalkar‘s character as the court’s clerk. The first two episodes provided some nostalgia and laughs, but you can only write about characters learning their new roles as a crutch to buy time for so long.