Chris Cluess Movies

In the conclusion of Night Court's two-part Season Nine opener, Christine (Markie Post) has been abducted from a costume party by a masked "phantom",who bears a startling resemblance to fugitive prosecutor Dan Fielding (John Larroquette). This does not rest well with Harry (Harry Anderson), who was on the verge of telling Christine how much he loves her. Meanwhile, the courtroom is set on its ear by the antics of Dan's temporary replacement (Gilbert Gottfried). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of Night Court's two-part Season Eight opener, court bailiff Dan (Richard Moll) is in hot water with prosecutor Dan (John Larroquette) after allowing Dan's promiscuous sister Donna (Susan Diol) to seduce him. Also, Judge Harry T. Stone (Harry Anderson) may not get his belated high-school diploma if he doesn't agree to certain "favors" demanded by his overbearing history tutor (Fran Ryan). And finally, public defender Christine (Markie Post) has a hard time getting down to work after returning from maternity leave. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sam (Ted Danson) is naturally overprotective of his goddaughter Joyce (Cady McClain), the niece of the late and beloved Coach. To protect Joyce during her visit to Boston, Sam arranges for her to be escorted by a "safe" date; Woody (Woody Harrelson). The plan backfires when Woody and Joyce announce their engagement one day later. Meanwhile, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) drops some none-too-subtle hints about the present he expects from Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Introduced to NBC's Wednesday-night schedule as a mid-season replacement on January 4, 1984, the weekly 30-minute sitcom Night Court quickly built a large and appreciative audience, enabling the series to remain on the network for nine seasons. Harry Anderson, a comedian who had established his reputation as a smooth-talking, nimble-fingered street magician and self-styled con artist, was perfectly cast as affable, irreverent Manhattan night-court judge Harry T. Stone. Although he came across as an iconoclastic jokester who held standard legal procedure in contempt (in one episode, his verdict was based on the flip of a coin), Harry was a highly successful jurist with a well-honed sense of fair play, whose handling of the oddballs that paraded in and out of his court resulted in a gratifyingly low "return" rate and quite a few reformations. Even those who'd never stood before Judge Stone in court were familiar with his lovable eccentricities, including his fondness for faded blue jeans and his adoration of singer Mel Tormé. The supporting cast included John Larroquette as Assistant DA Dan Fielding, who spent as much time trying to score with the ladies in night court as he did trying to secure convictions, and Richard Moll as bald-headed bailiff "Bull" Shannon (Richard Moll), whose bark was worse than his bite, but not by much.

During the series' first season, Paula Kelly was seen as legal-aid defense lawyer Liz Williams, who was alternately appalled and fascinated by Harry's unorthodox tactics; Karen Austin also appeared as court clerk Lana Wagner, who harbored a not-so-secret crush on Harry. In subsequent seasons, Liz was replaced by Billie Young (Ellen Foley), who in turn was replaced by Christine Sullivan (Markie Post); as for Lana, her replacement was Mac Robinson (Charles Robinson). Both Christine and Mac remained for the rest of the series; not so with Selma Diamond as abrasive jail matron Selma Hacker, a character who lasted only until Diamond's death. The actress' replacement, Florence Halop as Florence Kleiner, likewise passed away after only a short time on the series; she in turn was replaced by Marsha Warfield as Roz Russell, a character who stayed in place until the series' own demise. The on-again, off-again romance between Harry Stone and Christine Sullivan was definitely "off" during seasons seven and eight, when Christine was wed to undercover cop Tony Guillano (Ray Abruzzo), a union which produced a baby. After Christine divorced Tony, her relationship with Harry heated up considerably, but before long the ardor had cooled. Eventually, Christine was elected to congress, whereupon she was pursued not by Harry but by the ever-libidinous Dan Fielding. The final episode of Night Court, which set something of a record for the number of bizarre, surrealistic incidents occurring within a single half-hour, was broadcast on July 1, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The pressures of his job have caused Harry (Harry Anderson) to come down with a bad case of ulcers. But when exploratory surgery is suggested, Harry balks, insisting that he'd rather endure the pain than go under the knife--or at least, that's what he's insisting at the BEGINNING of the episode. John Astin, who would later show up intermittently on Night Court as Harry's self-proclaimed "long lost father" Buddy Ryan, is here seen as Kenny. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Comedian Yakov Smirnoff makes the first of his recurring Night Court appearances as Russian émigré Yakov Korolenko, who spends much of his time waxing philosophical about life in the former Soviet Union. On this occasion, however, Yakov has been hauled into Night Court on a charge of selling stolen property. Having had plenty of experience in Russian jails, Yakov is not about to be locked up--and he's willing to set himself and the courtroom on fire to avoid this contingency! With this episode, Karen Austin makes her final appearance as perky court clerk Lana Wagner, while Mike Finnerman) shows up for the first time as maintenance man Art Fensterman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide