Night Court : "Halloween, Too"

Premiered October 31, 1985

It's four days before Halloween and Judge Harry Stone (Harry Anderson) is busy planning his annual Halloween bash.  Court bailiff Bull Shannon (Richard Moll) is experimenting with new methods of carving pumpkins.

In the middle of this, Harry meets a woman named Kim Daniels (Mary-Margaret Humes) and is instantly attracted to her.  The feeling is mutual and the pair begins dating.

The judge and Kim fall for each other fast.  Prosecutor Dan Fielding (John Larroquette) and public defender Christine Sullivan (Markie Post) are disgusted by Kim and Harry's public displays of affection.

Everything seems to be going great for Kim and Judge Stone.  However, things change on Halloween night.  Kim and another woman named Edna (Anne Ramsey) are brought before Harry for trial.  They are accused of building a bonfire and "dancing robustly" in Central Park.

Harry gets upset when Kim tells him she's a witch and that the fire was part of a Halloween ritual.  Since he's too close to the case, he recuses himself and holds Kim's case for the next court.

Christine tells Harry that continuing his relationship with Kim is a bad idea.  If anyone found out about it, she believes Judge Stone would be removed from the bench.  Harry will have to make choice between Kim and his career.

Is Kim really a witch?  If so, will Harry break up with her?  Plus, Dan's Halloween costume rental plans get complicated...

RigbyMel says: 

I have quite a few fond memories of Night Court in general.   Harry Anderson's goofy humor and magic tricks as Judge Harry Stone appealed to me as a kid, plus this was one of the first "workplace comedies" I remember watching on a regular basis.    The quirky characters and ensemble cast were always fun and the holiday setting allows things to kick up a notch.

Harry's dresses up as his idol, Mel Torme!

Often holiday episodes (like this one) feature a touch of the supernatural.  "Halloween, Too" definitely has lots of festive hijinks going on -- the main storyline of course has to do with witchcraft!

And in a non-supernatural vein, we see decorations and costumes around the courthouse and get a gander at wacky costume choices by our main characters.

Christine as a witch, Bull as a kangaroo!

I am not sure how actual practitioners of Wicca might feel about the portrayal of witchcraft in this episode, but I know that watching it now, I got quite frustrated that Harry wanted Kim to give up an important part of herself to be with him.   She rightly points out that asking her to do that would be like asking him not to be a judge.

There's also an amusing subplot involving Dan's desperate search to find a last minute costume for Judge Stone's annual Halloween bash -- if he doesn't come up with something, he could lose his parking space(!) -- and there's a great 1980s running gag involving Dan being unaware of what a Smurf is.   Needless to say, he does not go as a Smurf.

Some fun trivia:   Anne Ramsey - who plays Edna, Kim's Central Park partner in crime - was quite a busy character actor in the 80s.  She is probably best known for playing "Mama Fratelli" in The Goonies and for her Oscar-nominated role in Throw Mama From Train.

Mary-Margaret Humes, who charmingly plays Kim in this episode, has had a nice character actress career as well.  Some might remember her as Gail Leery aka Dawson's mom on the Dawson's Creek TV series. 

All in all, "Halloween Too" is an enjoyable episode of Halloween silliness from an enjoyable show.  Worth checking out, especially if one's 1980s nostalgia is in need of feeding!

RigbyMel's rating: 

3 jack o'lanterns

J.A. Morris says: 
Like my co-blogger, I was a big fan of this series and a regular viewer from the first episode.  It's a good Halloween episode with costumes, witches and a Halloween party.

Richard Moll is particularly funny in this episode.  There's a scene where Bull mixes up Halloween and Easter customs.  Moll really sells Bull's disappointment when Christine explains that most people don't dye pumpkins.

I agree with RigbyMel that Harry doesn't come off particularly well in this episode.  Nor does Christine, who is the first person to tell Harry that he must break up with Kim if he wants to remain a judge.

The episode ends on a high note, with the entire cast in costumes at the Halloween party.  The ending reminded me of lots of Christmas episodes where co-workers become a family and celebrate the holiday together.

Dan's costume: Humpty Dumpty!

It's worth mentioning that this episode has lots of reference to 1980s pop culture.  We get mentions of  1984 Olympic Gold Medalist Mary Lou Retton, the series TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes, the Smurfs craze and the Moral Majority.  So you may enjoy "Halloween, Too" a bit more if you were alive in the 80s.

While it's not a classic, "Halloween, Too" is a funny, solid Halloween trip back to the 80s and is recommended.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 jack o'lanterns