Night Court – The Complete Second Season (1985 – 86/Warner DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: C+
When Night Court arrived on TV, it was a hit
and had all kinds of critical acclaim, but I personally was not as big a fan
and though if anything that it was a step backwards after the far superior Barney Miller. Certainly having John Larroquette, Richard
Moll, Harry Anderson and Selma Diamond did not hurt, but it was more silly than
funny, more silly than substantial and watching The Complete Second Season (1985 – 86) on DVD from Warner Bros.
reminded me that the show had some variance.
It also ran nine seasons!
22
half-hours were taped and though the look of the show is not bad, it has aged
in mixed ways. It looks more ambitious
than when it first surfaced versus what we are getting now, yet its lack of
ambition shows it as a 1980s show and not 1970s groundbreaker. Stella Stevens, Lou Ferrigno and a pre-Seinfeld Michael Richards (Fridays was a memory and UHF was a few years away) are among the
guest stars.
The 1.33
X 1 image was shot on analog NTSC videotape and the harsh digital nature of
these transfers suggest they are older digital copies, making this the most
disappointing aspect of the set. The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Mono sounds better, if not perfect, but still showing the audio
limits of TV of the time. There are no
extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
