‘Night Court’ Recap: ‘Taught and Bothered’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

NIGHT COURT -- "Taught and Bothered" Episode 208 -- Pictured: John Larroquette as Dan Fielding -- (Photo by: Nicole Weingart/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 208 of ‘Night Court’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
​
Something that we all hope for in this life, is a relaxed workplace. One where we don’t feel the oppressive weight of corporate culture and where human resources isn’t always breathing down our necks about compliance and behavior. Because we are adults, and while we do indeed have our moments, the majority of us conduct ourselves in a professional manner, a majority of the time. It would just be nice… to have a little fun with those we spend so much time with, and who knows if that will ever be the case. For work is work and there are always roadblocks to having what we really want, as evidenced by this week’s episode of Night Court on NBC.

For ‘Taught and Bothered’ saw life in the courtroom going about like normal. After all, Gurgs and Olivia were living together for the moment while a murder investigation took place in Olivia’s building. And of course, Dan was being Dan and antagonizing Wyatt because that’s what the new guy was to receive in his eyes, and Abby was fine with it all. Because this was the courtroom she wanted for her work family, one that would give them joy and freedom and well… it did not take long for that to teeter on the edge of oblivion. All thanks to a man named Jake. Who caught Abby’s eye romantically and made it tough for her to make a romantic move, and enjoy work as she desired.

Simply because, Jake was with the state, and he was part of the state’s human resources division, and he was on site to check in, make sure compliance was in play and that everyone felt good about their job and uh, well that went about as one might expect. Because he was mortified by the lines being crossed and the antagonizing that went on. For none of that was HR compliant in the slightest and any changes were met with amazing resistance from Abby. Because she really did believe that Night Court was a different animal altogether and required a different line of thinking, because of what it required from each person that took the time to be there until the wee hours of dawn. 

Which fell upon silence and ‘smile and defer’ as Jake liked to call it, and well… that prompted Abby to take matters into her own hands. Wherein she found ways to prevent Jake from trying to shatter what she had built, and where she sat everyone down to help them understand what they were building, away from the prying eyes of the corporate/regulatory side of things. Which brought about peace at last, and a unified front to finally have the life at work, this team wanted. And it was such a shock to Jake to be pushed back in this manner, that well… it allowed for a wild love affair between Abby and Jake to come to life, because that’s how things go in the world of Night Court.

But that aside, this did make for one entertaining tale. One that basically, indulged the audience’s biggest hopes. Because corporate nonsense is at an all-time high right now, and we are all done with the madness. So, it was nice to escape into a fun and silly episode of television, where the the worker won. Complete with some amazing gags. Because the barbershop quartet thing to stick it to Wyatt was next level petty for Dan, and damn funny, as was how Abby managed to bring the group together, through illegal and dangerous coffee creamer. Not to mention, Ryan Hansen, this week’s guest star, was sublime as Jake. But what mattered most was the catharsis and the escape this episode provided, because that’s also what great comedy and television does for us, and it will be interesting to see if more moments such as these await us, as season two continues along. Until next time.

---

Watch ‘Night Court’

Powered by JustWatch