All episodes Season 9 S09E01 1991-09-18 30 min 1980s NBC

Night Court

A Guy Named Phantom (1)

TV Flash files “A Guy Named Phantom (1)” as the first listed hour of season 9 — Night Court (1984–1992) on NBC, season 9, episode 1, aired 1991-09-18, 30 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S09E01: listed hour 172 of 193 in the Night Court guide, first listed hour of season 9. It aired 1991-09-18 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Where There's a Will, There's a Tony (2)” (S08E24). Next is “A Guy Named Phantom (2)” (S09E02).

Night Court — A Guy Named Phantom (1) (S09E01)

Catalog log

Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.

Part one of two. Harry wrestles with his feelings for Christine. Meanwhile, with Dan missing, the court hires a loud-mouthed, amoral DA named Oscar and Christine, who is also wrestling with her feelings for Harry, gets kidnapped at a costume party.

Viewer FAQ

Where does A Guy Named Phantom (1) sit in the Night Court guide?

S09E01 is listed hour 172 of 193 — first listed hour of season 9, season 9 episode 1.

When did Night Court S09E01 air?

A Guy Named Phantom (1) aired 1991-09-18 and is listed at 30 minutes.

Is it a legal sitcom or vaudeville?

Vaudeville in a courtroom. Cases exist to parade eccentrics through Harry's night shift; the legal workplace is the carnival tent, not a civics lesson.

In the series

Why this series still plays

Larroquette's Fielding is a comic monsterpiece, and the ensemble farce still snaps. Harry Anderson's magic-loving judge runs Manhattan night court like a jazz set while Bull, Roz, and the after-hours weirdos process the city. Peak NBC multi-cam oddball energy on Must See's late slot. Court is adjourned; the Emmy streak remains.

Manhattan after hours, a judge who does magic, a prosecutor vacuuming Emmys like they were parking tickets. NBC's Night Court (1984–1992) put Harry Anderson's hanging-judge charm at the calm eye of a storm: John Larroquette's Dan Fielding, Richard Moll's Bull, Markie Post's Christine, later Marsha Warfield's Roz. Reinhold Weege's workplace as carnival, eccentric cases as the city's processor. **Larroquette's Fielding is a comic monsterpiece** — the heat-check, not a footnote. Nine seasons, 193 episodes, Must…

Open the Night Court package · Season 9 hub

Filed against

Also in season 9

← Full episode guide · Show package · All shows