S01.E04: Dan v. Dating

[Bort]

With Abby's encouragement, Dan attempts to venture back into the dating world, but reigniting his love life proves more complicated than anticipated. Gurgs and Olivia search for a new office and find something they weren't expecting.

Airdate: January 31, 2023

[AnimeMania]

Originally Episode 4

Marypat Farrell as Helen  

[Annber03]

Hi, Wendie Malick! Neat to see her pop up. 

So much for my thinking her character and Dan would hit it off in the end...I was thinking they had some good chemistry going, up until, well...yeah :p. I laughed at Dan' going, "This isn't my wallet!" 

Wondering if we'll meet Abby's fiance at some point, or if they'll eventually end things. 

[opus]

6 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Wondering if we'll meet Abby's fiance at some point, or if they'll eventually end things.

Spoiler

Yes. I believe I read he’s played by Pete Holmes

So, I see on the show it’s May 2022.

[AnimeMania]

19 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Wondering if we'll meet Abby's fiance at some point, or if they'll eventually end things. 

Yes, he will appear at some point.

[voiceover]

Yayy!! It is getting better!!

Two of the series’ best lines so far: Wendie Malick’s “You need help…and that’s coming from someone who’s been diagnosed ‘criminally insane’”and Larroquette’s “I foiled her devious plan by being too sad.”

I was eyerolling the Gurgs and Olivia plot until that last scene.  So sweet and unexpected (for me anyway) that their neuroses meshed so perfectly.  Now I like them.

[ketose]

1 hour ago, opus said:

  Reveal spoiler

Yes. I believe I read he’s played by Pete Holmes

So, I see on the show it’s May 2022.

Or Gurgs just likes the guy in the May photo.

When MR said "the guy said that almost never happens" I finally laughed at a non-Fielding line.

[Msample]

The bailiff is annoying AF. 

[Irlandesa]

52 minutes ago, voiceover said:

I was eyerolling the Gurgs and Olivia plot until that last scene.  So sweet and unexpected (for me anyway) that their neuroses meshed so perfectly.  Now I like them.

I liked that scene too.  It'd be nice for this show to have another duo to write for. 

I liked the DA's line about romcoms.  "Don't leave the presentation.  The head of the company is there."  It's a funny line but also just encapsulates her POV.

[nelroy78]

4 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Originally Episode 4

Marypat Farrell as Helen  

It was still episode 4. So next week’s would be the original episode 3

[AnimeMania]

Just now, nelroy78 said:

It was still episode 4. So next week’s would be the original episode 3

That is correct, we will see if the cast act like they don't know anything about each other, like they should.

[Yeah No]

I'm glad I stuck with this now.  This episode was a definite improvement over the first few.  And Wendie Malick is always fun.  I hope they continue to bring on seasoned character actors like her.  

The bailiff is very annoying.  I hope they tone her down some soon.

Melissa also still needs some work but at least she didn't stand out as a low point in this episode either.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that the show continues to improve.

[RobertDeSneero]

Dan uses the Riker maneuver.

Am I weird for thinking about a potential Dan-Abby romance in the future?

[Taeolas]

Dan-Abby pairing? *shudder* Well the Internet will pair anything; but I don't see that ever happening. Considering Dan's friendship with her father, the May-September romance angle wouldn't really work for them. At best I'd see them in more of an Uncle-Niece relationship. 

The ep itself was fun, and I liked how we saw shades of the old womanizer Dan, and him realizing how he's changed and still misses his wife. Also liked the restaurant scene. 

The B-plot with the office space was a bit weak, but the characters still need to develop more in general so I guess it helps with that. Gurgs and Olivia are both a bit over the top in their own ways, but I suspect it's partly from the writers (and actors) having a small set of character traits to hook into. Hopefully they'll get more rounded later on as they come up with more things for the characters to do. 

[libgirl2]

I very much enjoyed this episode. 

No to a Dan and Abby pairing. I agree that it should be more like a uncle/niece or even a father/daughter as he was close to Harry. 

[TheOtherOne]

Watching Larroquette and Malick together was a pleasure, even if they're so clearly better actors than the rest of the cast it made everyone else look worse.

Nice moment between Olivia and Gurgs in the end. The rest was...fine.

Abby still needs a personality. I commented after the first episodes that I rewatched the pilot of the original and in the first five minutes we knew exactly who Harry was. After four episodes Abby has barely moved past "woman who won't stop talking about her father" to "woman obsessed with Dan's life," neither of which is a personality.

[ch1]

This is the first episode I had zero interest in.  The coworkers being that interested in the dating life of someone who 1. is a widower and 2. they have basically just met was just not a fun premise to me. 

I also think these writers are forgetting what made Night Court Night Court - the insane cases and the characters that came through.  The court seems to be a forgotten character.
 

 

 

[North of Eden]

I knew haters were going to hate on this reboot...but you know what...it's not bad. Not the best thing ever but not bad.

The heart of the show is the father/daughter vibe between Dan and Abbey. It's clear they both fill a void in each others lives and I enjoy their relationship.

Getting John back was the key...without Dan it wouldn't have the spark that it does.

He's the biggest plus...the biggest negative is the Court Clerk. I guess he's supposed to be....funny? Not seeing it. And Gurgs is a typical sitcom cartoon character come to life but then again so was Bull.

I'm in for the long haul. I want to know more about Abigail's life upstate. She said she moved 300 miles which is about the distance to the biggest town where I grew up so I'm fanwanking she's been in Ticonderoga, NY. There is plenty of cows around there!

[libgirl2]

3 minutes ago, North of Eden said:

I knew haters were going to hate on this reboot...but you know what...it's not bad. Not the best thing ever but not bad.

The heart of the show is the father/daughter vibe between Dan and Abbey. It's clear they both fill a void in each others lives and I enjoy their relationship.

Getting John back was the key...without Dan it wouldn't have the spark that it does.

He's the biggest plus...the biggest negative is the Court Clerk. I guess he's supposed to be....funny? Not seeing it. And Gurgs is a typical sitcom cartoon character come to life but then again so was Bull.

I'm in for the long haul. I want to know more about Abigail's life upstate. She said she moved 300 miles which is about the distance to the biggest town where I grew up so I'm fanwanking she's been in Ticonderoga, NY. There is plenty of cows around there!

Yea, I'm sticking around. I'm enjoying it enough to. 

[cinsays]

14 minutes ago, North of Eden said:

I knew haters were going to hate on this reboot...but you know what...it's not bad. Not the best thing ever but not bad.

The heart of the show is the father/daughter vibe between Dan and Abbey. It's clear they both fill a void in each others lives and I enjoy their relationship.

Getting John back was the key...without Dan it wouldn't have the spark that it does.

He's the biggest plus...the biggest negative is the Court Clerk. I guess he's supposed to be....funny? Not seeing it. And Gurgs is a typical sitcom cartoon character come to life but then again so was Bull.

I'm in for the long haul. I want to know more about Abigail's life upstate. She said she moved 300 miles which is about the distance to the biggest town where I grew up so I'm fanwanking she's been in Ticonderoga, NY. There is plenty of cows around there!

yeah, i am liking it enough to continue and i like all the characters well enough

ha on the cow towns.......i'm also from upstate 

[Claire85]

I loved Dan admitting he might decide to confide in Abby someday. He and Harry were good friends and I hope he develops a close (but not romantic!) relationship with Abby as well. She has the goofiness that made Harry so endearing, although she could dial it back a bit. 

[cmahorror]

First off, I am enjoying this reboot. It won't win any awards, except for the always amazing John Laroquette, but it is comfortable and sweet.

Moving on to this episode and my biggest pet peeve as a widow - people insisting that you need to meet someone else. I was widowed at 32 and have not dated again in the 17 years following his death. At first it was a practical matter of raising my children and figuring out my life. Right after my granddaughter was born I realized that I am perfectly happy being alone. I have gotten my Bachelor's Degree and am working on my Master's, I work two jobs, I spend plenty of time with family and friends, and I love to travel by myself and see new sights. I have created a great life and if I meet someone who fits into it, great, but I do not need anyone telling me I have to find someone. The cat and I are doing just fine.  

Dan may not be in the same situation, we still don't know if there maybe a Dan or Danielle Jr out there, but the show could go the route of not insisting that Dan needs a partner. Father figure to Abby, great, but some people are just fine living alone. To quote the great Kelly Clarkson "Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone."

Rant over - you may return to your regularly scheduled program 😉 

[Starchild]

Agree, @cmahorror. Guessing they want to make Dan a horndog again, like the old days. I like your way better.

[Yeah No]

I didn't get the impression that the show was making Dan a "horn dog" again.  He didn't show any signs of it, anyway.  He just wanted to go on a date, perhaps under pressure to do so.  In this episode Wendie Malick's character was the one with less than good intentions.  It remains to be seen whether he is truly reformed, and if he is he may still realize he wants the company of a woman at some point for friendship, sex and more.  I'd be happy about that as long as he doesn't turn into a sleazebag again, LOL.

[ch1]

I don’t think Larroquette would have agreed to do this show if Dan was going to be the same guy but in an old man’s body.  

 

[arachne]

14 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

I didn't get the impression that the show was making Dan a "horn dog" again. 

Me neither. Still, it would be nice if the show makes some reference to Dan's womanizing past -- just for continuity's sake.

[Yeah No]

23 minutes ago, arachne said:

Me neither. Still, it would be nice if the show makes some reference to Dan's womanizing past -- just for continuity's sake.

I have a feeling some heart-to-hearts with Abby are in the future, perhaps that'll be a way for him to admit to his past and demonstrate his recent personal growth.  At least I hope so!

[libgirl2]

2 hours ago, cmahorror said:

First off, I am enjoying this reboot. It won't win any awards, except for the always amazing John Laroquette, but it is comfortable and sweet.

Moving on to this episode and my biggest pet peeve as a widow - people insisting that you need to meet someone else. I was widowed at 32 and have not dated again in the 17 years following his death. At first it was a practical matter of raising my children and figuring out my life. Right after my granddaughter was born I realized that I am perfectly happy being alone. I have gotten my Bachelor's Degree and am working on my Master's, I work two jobs, I spend plenty of time with family and friends, and I love to travel by myself and see new sights. I have created a great life and if I meet someone who fits into it, great, but I do not need anyone telling me I have to find someone. The cat and I are doing just fine.  

Dan may not be in the same situation, we still don't know if there maybe a Dan or Danielle Jr out there, but the show could go the route of not insisting that Dan needs a partner. Father figure to Abby, great, but some people are just fine living alone. To quote the great Kelly Clarkson "Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone."

Rant over - you may return to your regularly scheduled program 😉 

Everybody is different and I think age plays a big factor. If you have been married a long while, it is hard to be alone all of a sudden. We have a family friend, who is a senior, who's husband passed away. He had been sick for awhile so it wasn't a shock. They were always very active in the senior community out here, going on trips, going to plays etc..... and she kept going after he passed. 2-3 years after he passed, she has a gentleman friend. He is also very active in the senior groups around here and they seem to be having a very nice time. Some people want that companionship or maybe some don't want to do it "alone". Me personally, I would not seek out another relationship. I'm 57 and I am fine being alone if God forbid anything happened to my husband. He tells me  he feels the same. If someone came along, fine, but I wouldn't look. 

Edited February 2, 2023 by libgirl2

[Taeolas]

1 hour ago, ch1 said:

I don’t think Larroquette would have agreed to do this show if Dan was going to be the same guy but in an old man’s body.  

 

In fact I think I saw a TVLine article a week or so ago (sorry can't dig it up at the moment) where John mentioned he explicitly did NOT want Dan to be the horn-dog type he was originally; he felt that at his age it wouldn't really be appropriate for him or the character. 

Personally, I think this episode had a good mix of both the old-Dan, and the touches of his past characterization, while also showing how he's changed since the original show.

[SnarkShark]

On 1/31/2023 at 10:06 PM, Msample said:

The bailiff is annoying AF. 

Mostly (so far) just not very well written.  Both her, and the Court Clerk.

 

The prosecutor has being mean/shallow as her thing.   Sort of.  She's a bit inconsistent.

 

But other than their jobs, and in the case of the Bailiff her appearance, there's little to define her and the Clerk. 

 

 

[Browncoat]

I loved that Abby had on a cat shirt at the end.  Nice callback to the earlier conversation about all the women named Carol.

[roseha]

I just binge watched the first four shows, and I particularly liked this episode.  The scenes between John Laroquette and Wendie Malick were fun to hilarious, especially the twist when it turned out she knew who he was all along.  I also thought this was the best episode featuring the prosecutor and the bailiff, their subplot gave them time to bounce off each other. 

I do think the show has promise, they've done a really good job with showing how Dan has changed over the years.  John is great of course.  I think Abby may start to tone down the references to her dad over time though of course it will stay in the background as the reason Dan returned.  Melissa Rauch seems all right to me (I haven't seen her in anything before) and I can't help wondering that although Harry was definitely an optimist, she also seems to be channeling Christine just a little.  When Dan mentions in one episode that it was good to work with someone who always saw the best in people, it was Christine rather than Harry that I thought of.  I think though that they may not want to mention her right now due to Markie Post's recent death.

I also loved the pigeon attack in the earlier episode (and that they were feeding them pizza).  No it doesn't have quite the edge of the original, but that may come and it's still entertaining.

Edited March 3, 2023 by roseha

[Gharlane]

On 1/31/2023 at 1:07 AM, kariyaki said:

"Dan v. Dating". With Abby's encouragement, Dan attempts to venture back into the dating world, but reigniting his love life proves more complicated than anticipated. Gurgs and Olivia search for a new office and find something they weren't expecting.

This was enjoyable, but Gurgs really annoys me.

Was Wendie Malick playing a character form the original or was she a retcon? 🤔