S01.E06: Justice Buddies

[Bort]

Gurgs's tween nephew and some of his fellow students visit the court for a school project. Things get out of hand for Abby, Dan and the night court team when the kids reveal their true motive is to grind the wheels of justice to a halt.

Airdate: February 14, 2023

[AnimeMania]

Jecobi Swain as Xavier
Cosette Hauer as Claire
Antonio Raul Corbo as Carlos
Jonathan P. Sims as Malcolm FX
Kenzo Lee as Lawyer
Kayden Koshelev as Max

[Annber03]

"What do we want?"

"Justice!"

"When do we want it?"

"Justice!"

That bit cracked me up XD. 

This whole episode was great, though, really. The kids were hilarious, and it was a good storyline for Gurgs. Her interaction with Xavier was cute and sweet, and I liked how the show handled the issue at hand with Malcolm FX as well. Dan and Abby getting in on the act at the end to show their support for Gurgs and the kids was a nice touch, too.

Also loved Max helping Neil with that nurse. I like how the whole thing escalated to Neil suddenly having an ex-wife and kids XD. 

I think this is my favorite episode of the show thus far :). 

[Irlandesa]

I thought it started a bit slow but once it hit the protest stage, everything started working for me.  And it was definitely Gurgs' best episode.

Edited February 15, 2023 by Irlandesa

[Browncoat]

I thought this episode felt a lot like Old School Night Court.

[libgirl2]

8 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I thought it started a bit slow but once it hit the protest stage, everything started working for me.  And it was definitely Gurgs' best episode.

It did give her character a chance to develop. 

[merylinkid]

Did not like this episode.   

1.  No one asked the artist if he minded being fined.   Which was all it was.   It's not like he going to jail for 30 years.  this is night court where they handle the little stuff so it doesn't clog up the day courts.   ANYONE can ask for a jury trial and be bound over for trial.   Or they can have the judge decide, take the MISDEMEANOR and pay the fine.   Felonies, this is just basically a bail hearing.  So maybe the guy was like "yeah I knew I would be fined, but I got made my point."

2.   No one explained the above to the kids.  

3.   or bothered to explain to the kids that civil disobedience does not mean freedom from consequences.   That actions have consequences.   In this case for the consequences, see 1.  

4.   Abby is a terrible judge who lost control of her courtroom - to KIDS.   While I get she didn't want to call the cops on the kids, she still should never have left the bench and she should have explained 1 and 3 to the kids.   

But they did all of this so Gurgs could explain how representation matters and she treats everyone like a human being.   There were better ways to do that.  

[Nashville]

This episode was great for Gurgs’ character development, and absolutely horrible for Abby’s.  I was a major fan of the original NC - but if the writers are going to continue with this Abby-as-combination-chipmunk/cheerleader crap, let me know now so I can bail early.  Harry would’ve never let himself be chased out of his own courtroom.

[Katy M]

6 hours ago, Nashville said:

Harry would’ve never let himself be chased out of his own courtroom.

It's a different world now.

[merylinkid]

7 hours ago, Nashville said:

Abby-as-combination-chipmunk/cheerleader crap,

THAT'S IT.    That's what bugs me about her character.    She just doesn't strike me as judicial.    They don't just hand these jobs, even NIght Court, to someone whose Dad had the job.   Not in NYC.    She's a little to rah-rah for me.   Harry while fun, had control of the courtroom.   He cared about people and getting to the bottom of what was really going on, so he could dispense JUSTICE.   Not fix people and be their biggest cheerleader.

[AncientNewbie]

This episode suffered from Angry Bernadette comparison for me, as Rauch still hasn't redefined herself outside that role. The bit with the adults poorly acting out a scene was funny. The clerk and ADA tend to be the weakest for me still, though, and this episode showing them to be buffoons didn't really nail it. The original Night Court worked, imho, because these were all serious and professional, if wholly demented and strange, adults. Dan wanted convictions to climb the ladder. Christine was a true believer in public defense. Mac wanted to get through the docket and buy a new sweater. In this new one, we have a slightly reformed Dan filling in as PD as a favor, which is what works best for me because it's the courtroom dynamic. I have no idea why Neil or the ADA (drawing a blank on the name, which is not a good sign) are there. 

[ch1]

1 hour ago, merylinkid said:

THAT'S IT.    That's what bugs me about her character.    She just doesn't strike me as judicial.    They don't just hand these jobs, even NIght Court, to someone whose Dad had the job.   Not in NYC.    She's a little to rah-rah for me.   Harry while fun, had control of the courtroom.   He cared about people and getting to the bottom of what was really going on, so he could dispense JUSTICE.   Not fix people and be their biggest cheerleader.

And the main reason why Harry was respected and his coworkers were loyal to him was due to the kind of judge he was - and we were not just told that - the writers showed us that.

Abby IMO is the weakest link in this show and I don’t see that getting better at all.

[Claire85]

I think right now she is trying to live up to her ideal of her father, since she has so many regrets about missing time with him. Hopefully Dan can help her realize that Harry was a good judge but also a flawed person like all of us. 

[Deskisamess]

Not digging the way they are dressing Abbie. That blue & white plaid blazer was 30 years too old for her, and loo long for her short frame.

Why did they paint over the Golden Girls with baseball mitts?

Editing to add...now that I've watched the episode, thoughts. Since when does the clerk in a courtroom manage clearing the room?

Almost everyone, except JL, is overacting and over emoting. They are obviously "hitting their marks" and just saying their lines, especially the prosecutor.  There is possibility here, but so far it's rough. I hope it improves.

I'd watch just for John L. He's terrific.

Edited February 18, 2023 by Deskisamess

[Nashville]

On 2/17/2023 at 5:14 AM, Katy M said:

It's a different world now.

Wrong series.  😉

 

22 hours ago, Deskisamess said:

Almost everyone, except JL, is overacting and over emoting. They are obviously "hitting their marks" and just saying their lines, especially the prosecutor.  There is possibility here, but so far it's rough. I hope it improves.

IMHO this is the core problem: the writing sucks rocks. There’s a significant degree of talent potential in this cast - the ADA being the biggest single exception - but we’re NEVER going to see that potential realized with the hackneyed scripting to which they (and we) have been subjected so far.

 

22 hours ago, Deskisamess said:

I'd watch just for John L. He's terrific.

 

Zero argument here.

[benteen]

On 2/16/2023 at 3:18 AM, merylinkid said:

Did not like this episode.   

1.  No one asked the artist if he minded being fined.   Which was all it was.   It's not like he going to jail for 30 years.  this is night court where they handle the little stuff so it doesn't clog up the day courts.   ANYONE can ask for a jury trial and be bound over for trial.   Or they can have the judge decide, take the MISDEMEANOR and pay the fine.   Felonies, this is just basically a bail hearing.  So maybe the guy was like "yeah I knew I would be fined, but I got made my point."

2.   No one explained the above to the kids.  

3.   or bothered to explain to the kids that civil disobedience does not mean freedom from consequences.   That actions have consequences.   In this case for the consequences, see 1.  

4.   Abby is a terrible judge who lost control of her courtroom - to KIDS.   While I get she didn't want to call the cops on the kids, she still should never have left the bench and she should have explained 1 and 3 to the kids.   

But they did all of this so Gurgs could explain how representation matters and she treats everyone like a human being.   There were better ways to do that.  

Yeah, I felt all Abby had to do was explain that the guy wasn't going to jail, that he would likely just pay a fine and maybe do some community service. Abby just looked weak here. Worst episode so far.

[ams1001]

On 2/17/2023 at 6:32 PM, Deskisamess said:

Why did they paint over the Golden Girls with baseball mitts?

IIRC, it was because the guy can't do hands so he gave them mitts.

[Deskisamess]

10 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

IIRC, it was because the guy can't do hands so he gave them mitts.

I know that, I was just hoping the mural would stay. It was whimsical.

[ams1001]

11 minutes ago, Deskisamess said:

I know that, I was just hoping the mural would stay. It was whimsical.

Oh, I didn't realize it was gone. Will have to look closer tonight.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

I agree with so much of what is said here.  Abby, as a character, is not coming together.  She is very two-dimensional and frankly annoying.  Harry was quirky, weird, and goofy, but he was also a good judge.  She does not come across as a good judge and not like someone who would be given any court. 

The prosecutor overdoes all of her line readings, which gives them zero nuance.  She is poorly written, but she was also particularly terrible in this episode. She's hugging someone and still speaking like she's booming out "wah! wah! wah!".   

This episode did give more depth to Gurgs. The conversation with her nephew was well done.  But the lead up to that was poor at best.  Also, she sees the artist's work and says he good, then what he was going to do was put a toilet on Columbus' head with a sign saying Colum-butt?  While I know it was meant to get a laugh, the whole thing would have worked better if the art didn't come across more like a jackass prank.    

[nora1992]

Was this a copycat?

https://nypost.com/2023/02/27/columbus-statue-in-central-park-vandalized-police/

[Fosca]

I doubt it; I recall a few years back a Columbus statue in Baltimore got thrown into the harbor.  As the article says, these things do happen.  If he had a toilet on his head, that would be a copycat.

 

[Gharlane]

On 2/14/2023 at 1:09 AM, kariyaki said:

"Justice Buddies". Gurgs's tween nephew and some of his fellow students visit the court for a school project. Things get out of hand for Abby, Dan and the night court team when the kids reveal their true motive is to grind the wheels of justice to a halt.

Hated it. This ended up being a VSE for juvenile SJW. 🙄

Edited April 12, 2023 by Gharlane