A rock thrown through the courtroom window and a fake bomb in the judge's chair, threaten the life of Harry Stone and this episode questions who the culprit is, quite a surprise, with homicide detective Womack (the rough noir-like George Murdock, not exactly the most comforting cop, his words to Harry leave him more concerned than feeling safe) on the case. Meanwhile Dan continues to evade a Hispanic shoeshine boy who wants his two dollars. The funniest scenes feature Phil Leeds (what a great face!) who claims to be God! Leeds speaking as the Almighty, using scripture and several incidents from the Bible in relative terms when talking to Harry (or Selma in one inspired scene) and others, is a blast. The people in Harry's court remaining on edge produces some tense but amusing sight gags (like when Bull reenters the courtroom with everyone in attendance ducking for cover!), but the story is kind of scary if one thinks about it. How Leeds' God attempts to comfort Harry, it shows how Night Court finds methods to get alternating story lines to connect so that characters can confront a crisis or obstacle in a meaningful way that progresses the plot. Even though Leeds is nutty as a fruitcake, he does give advice that is food for thought which Harry does apply to his fear of going back into that courtroom.
3 Reviews
Tip your shoe shiner
Calicodreamin26 June 2022
"He told Blumbert, 'be fruitful and multiply', but not in those words."
Hey_Sweden1 May 2023
The court has another eventful night when, first, a man claiming to be God (the distinctive-looking Phil Leeds, "Rosemary's Baby") comes before the bench. Then Harry receives a death threat, attached to a rock thrown through a window. Harry determines to soldier on, not wanting to let the situation get to him.
This script has some great moments, especially from Bull. It's also populated with quirky characters such as a homicide detective (George Murdock, 'Barney Miller') and a jittery bomb squad worker (Jack Murdock, "Rain Man"). Guest star Leeds, making the first of five appearances (he would play "God" one more time), is just brilliant, and his closing line when he's being taken away is a hoot. Harry once again shows his compassion when he ends up confronting the perpetrator; he had a real knack for knowing just how to handle people. He has a great line when the crowd reacts on instinct to Bulls' sudden, loud slamming of a door. Dan is his usual shifty self, trying to stiff a young shoeshine kid (Gabriel Gonzalez, in his only acting credit) out of two dollars. And *he* has one priceless quip when Liz says that a person would have to be deranged to actually issue a death threat, and he sarcastically says, "Know anybody like that in Manhattan?".
Overall, 'Death Threat' is a good, engaging episode with the whole cast in very fine form.
Eight out of 10.
This script has some great moments, especially from Bull. It's also populated with quirky characters such as a homicide detective (George Murdock, 'Barney Miller') and a jittery bomb squad worker (Jack Murdock, "Rain Man"). Guest star Leeds, making the first of five appearances (he would play "God" one more time), is just brilliant, and his closing line when he's being taken away is a hoot. Harry once again shows his compassion when he ends up confronting the perpetrator; he had a real knack for knowing just how to handle people. He has a great line when the crowd reacts on instinct to Bulls' sudden, loud slamming of a door. Dan is his usual shifty self, trying to stiff a young shoeshine kid (Gabriel Gonzalez, in his only acting credit) out of two dollars. And *he* has one priceless quip when Liz says that a person would have to be deranged to actually issue a death threat, and he sarcastically says, "Know anybody like that in Manhattan?".
Overall, 'Death Threat' is a good, engaging episode with the whole cast in very fine form.
Eight out of 10.
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