History Awesome / NightCourt

* Episode 3.01, "Hello, Goodbye", there's a minor one for Dan that also crosses into Heartwarming and Funny. Bull has gone and drowned his sorrows for the passing of Selma, showing up to work drunk. Harry and Christine go to get food and coffee to try and sober Bull up, and instruct Dan to keep him from leaving. In one of his JerkWithAHeartOfGold moments, Dan stands his ground against Bull, knowing full well that he doesn't stand a chance against the bailiff. No snide remarks, no quips. Just crosses his arms, bracing for what he knows is coming, and says, firmly, [[HonorBeforeReason "I have my instructions."]]

'''Billie:''' Those are man's ''legs,'' we're even. ''[the streetwalkers '''oooh''' at that]''\\

* The gang are trying to clear a huge backlog of cases by [[RaceAgainstTheClock hearing all of them before midnight]]. They're just a minute away with the last defendant up for felony drunk driving, which Harry figures they can turn over to the grand jury. However, the guy has heard that anyone whose case isn't adjudicated by midnight will go free, so he refuses to waive the reading of the information -- that is, he wants his (lengthy) formal charges read aloud in court. As everyone else groans in defeat, Dan (who has a hot date planned) grabs the papers and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBma9Z5dOao proceeds to read all three pages in 30 seconds.]] He finishes with 20 seconds to spare, but most of that is used up by cheering from the audience. Everyone gapes in shock at Dan's MotorMouth delivery until he yells at Harry, "My God, man, ''GAVEL!''" Harry turns the case over to the grand jury and adjourns the court with one second left.

** Roz's response to the quip about how the large number of African Americans in the audience suggests "they need more security around here". "Actually, I AM security around here."
** Former soldier Mac and his understated punchline to the joke "What do you call an African American man in a uniform?" "A Veteran?"

** When Potter's idea of a parting shot at Harry is a trite YourMom joke, Dan, who has been defending the comedian's style of humor as satire throughout the episode, finally has enough and tells the guy off when he realizes that he [[MyGodYouAreSerious honestly believes the backward things he is saying]]. This leads to a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} and one of the few occasions when Dan was ever at a loss for words after the comedian - unable to think of any other comeback - [[BigStupidDoodooHead accuses Dan of being gay]], saying he bets he likes show tunes. A muscular audience member stands up and says ''he'' likes show tunes... and he doesn't like Potter, whereupon Potter flees with the man in hot pursuit. Crosses over into heartwarming too when one remembers that Harry's mom is a very tender spot for him. Dan's breaking point wasn't an insult against himself; it was insulting Harry's mom.

* In "Bringing Down Baby" the courtroom is used as the set for a TV show about a kid lawyer that the gang likes. However, they soon discover the kid is nothing more than a massive brat who throws his weight around to the point where a chief bailiff is telling Roz to just humor him. Roz openly tells the kid's mom she needs to control him. She finally snaps and berates the kid as an obnoxious brat no one likes. The kid demands that she be fired [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=895EZkfZ5T8 but the kid's mom finally stands up to him, telling him to shut up and it's time to change his attitude.]] As she marches off, Roz asks her superior about being on report.

* The barbershop quartet in season 5's "Another Day In The Life." On the charges of performing in public without a permit, all four members plead guilty..... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SdB_42XP2E in song.]] Their harmonies are so perfect, Harry and Christine just can't get the smiles off their faces. Bonus points for leaving the courtroom singing "I'm Just Wild About Harry."

* Dan gets a MagnificentBastard moment in one episode. One of the defendants in the court runs a business where, for $100 a pop, he'll hit someone in the face with a pie. Near the end of the episode, he nails Dan, and a laughing Florence says it was worth every penny. But then [[IAmSpartacus Harry says Florence doesn't need to cover for him - he hired the pie thrower.]] Christine says ''Harry'' doesn't need to cover for ''her''... and Mac says ''they'' don't need to cover for ''him''. Dan reveals that he knew all of them had separately taken the defendant up on his offer. He'd secretly made a deal to let the man keep $100 of everyone's money, give him the rest, and hit him with only one pie. As he wipes his eyes clear, he gloats that he's finally taken advantage "of being me" and goes off to buy a suede blazer from Brooks Brothers with the money.

* Season 5's "The Jung and the Restless" is a defining moment for Roz. An encounter group, attended by the entire main cast, is held up by an armed robber running from the police, who holds the whole group hostage. He has everyone on the ground and is shooting off his gun to try and intimidate everyone, when Roz, who was sent there specifically to temper her "volatile" attitude, suddenly gets up and tells everyone to leave, and because it's ''[[TheDreaded Roz,]]'' they actually listen, over the robber's protests. Roz then reveals that she's spent this entire time SpottingTheThread -- she's deduced by his body language, and the way he talks and holds his gun, that this robber is just a scared 16-year-old kid, running around with the wrong crowd, having committed his first robbery, and is in way over his head. Roz talks the poor kid down with empathy and compassion, and convinces him to surrender to police. She read this guy so well, she never once looks scared of this panicked kid with the gun.

* The gang are trying to clear a huge backlog of cases by [[RaceAgainstTheClock hearing all of them before midnight]]. They're just a minute away with the last defendant up for felony drunk driving, which Harry figures they can turn over to the grand jury. However, the guy has heard that anyone whose case isn't adjudicated by midnight will go free, so he refuses to waive the reading of the information -- that is, have his (lengthy) formal charges read aloud in court. As everyone else groans in defeat, Dan (who has a hot date planned) grabs the papers and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBma9Z5dOao proceeds to read all three pages in 30 seconds.]] He finishes with 20 seconds to spare, but most of that is used up by cheering from the audience. Everyone gapes in shock at Dan's MotorMouth delivery until he yells at Harry, "My God, man, ''GAVEL!''" Harry turns the case over to the grand jury and adjourns the court with one second left.

* The gang are trying to break a record by [[RaceAgainstTheClock doing all their cases by midnight]]. They're just a minute away with the last defendant up for felony drunk driving, which Harry figures they can turn over to the grand jury. However, the guy has heard that anyone whose case isn't adjudicated by midnight will go free, so he refuses to waive the reading of the information -- that is, have his (lengthy) formal charges read aloud in court. As everyone else groans in defeat, Dan (who has a hot date planned) grabs the papers and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBma9Z5dOao proceeds to read all three pages in 30 seconds.]] He finishes with 20 seconds to spare, but most of that is used up by cheering from the audience. Everyone gapes in shock at Dan's MotorMouth delivery until he yells at Harry, "My God, man, ''GAVEL!''" Harry turns the case over to the grand jury and adjourns the court with one second left.

** When Potter's idea of a parting shot at Harry is a trite YourMom joke, Dan, who has been defending the comedian's style of humor as satire throughout the episode, finally has enough and tells the guy off when he realizes that he [[MyGodYouAreSerious honestly believes the backward things he is saying]]. This leads to a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} and one of the few occasions when Dan was ever at a loss for words after the comedian - unable to think of any other comeback - [[BigStupidDoodooHead accuses Dan of being gay]], saying he bets he likes show tunes. A muscular audience member stands up and says ''he'' likes show tunes... and he doesn't like Potter, whereupon Potter flees with the man in hot pursuit.
*** Crosses over into heartwarming too when one remembers that Harry's mom is a very tender spot for him. Dan's breaking point wasn't an insult against himself; it was insulting Harry's mom.

* Dan gets a MagnificentBastard moment in one episode. One of the defendants in the court runs a business where, for $100 a pop, he'll hit someone in the face with a pie. Near the end of the episode, he nails Dan, and a laughing Florence says it was worth every penny. But then [[IAmSpartacus Harry says Florence doesn't need to cover for him - he hired the pie thrower.]] Christine says ''Harry'' doesn't need to cover for ''her''... and Mac says ''they'' don't need to cover for ''him''. Dan reveals that it was, in fact, all of them. Realizing that none of his friends could resist the chance to hit him with a pie, Dan told the pie assailant in advance that if he only hit him with one pie and forked over the extra cash, then Dan wouldn't sue him. As he wipes pie crust out of his eyes, he gloats that he's finally taken advantage "of being me" and goes off to buy a suede blazer from Brooks Brothers with the money.

* Episode 3.01, "Hello, Goodbye", there's a minor one for Dan that also crosses into Heartwarming and Funny. Bull has gone and drowned his sorrows for the passing of Selma, showing up to work Drunk. Harry and Christine go to get food and coffee to try and sober Bull up, and instruct Dan to keep him from leaving. In one of his JerkWithAHeartOfGold moments, Dan stands his ground against Bull, knowing full well that he doesn't stand a chance against the bailiff. No snide remarks, no quips. Just crosses his arms, bracing for what he knows is coming, and says, firmly, [[HonorBeforeReason "I have my instructions."]]

* The gang are trying to break a record by [[RaceAgainstTheClock doing all their cases by midnight]]. They're just a minute away with the last defendant up for felony drunk driving, which Harry figures they can turn over to the grand jury. However, the guy has heard that anyone not heard before midnight goes free so he refuses to waive the reading of the information, meaning they would have to recite roughly three pages of police notes. The gang groan about it but Dan (who wants out to meet a hot lady) grabs the folder and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBma9Z5dOao proceeds to read the entire report in just thirty seconds.]] Note how he finishes with twenty seconds before midnight but by the time the audience is through cheering, the time is almost up. Everyone just gapes in shock at Dan's MotorMouth delivery so he has to yell at Harry "My God, man, ''GAVEL!''"

-->'''Harry:''' Cleaver, you may be younger. You may be faster. You may even be smarter. But you will NEVER, EVER, be crazier, ''[pulls out an awl to puncture the balloon he's trapped him with and gets an absolutely crazed look on his face]'' ... than me.

* In "No Hard Feelings", Dan turns the tables on an aggressive lawyer with a big-name law firm, who only wanted to hire him because of his reported prowess of a lover and not because of his skill as a lawyer. This offended Dan because EvenEvilHasStandards and while Dan has no qualms about sleeping with a colleague or even a boss, he does not play games with the law and takes his job as a lawyer seriously. So he slept with the lawyer, gave her the greatest night of passion in her life... and then turned down the job after giving her a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, making it clear he had no interest in being a "high-price office gigolo".

* In "Top Judge", Harry gets into a duel with a younger prankster judge. In perhaps his most CrazyAwesome moment ever, Harry wins the duel after pretending to concede the fight, giving the younger judge his best silk robe (the prize he demanded if he won) and winds up trapping the younger judge inside a giant balloon he had rigged up to inflate by remote control, filling the courtroom.

-->'''Thursby:''' [[OhCrap I'm ready now.]]

** Even blind vendor Jack - who was only on the show during Season 8 - gets one after the comedian makes a crack about a blind man stealing his job because it was "Hire the Handicapped Week" and Jack laughs.

* Nearly everyone on the cast got one in "It's Just a Joke" - an episode in which a [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain Politically Incorrect Comedian]] nicknamed "Potty-Mouth" tried to score free publicity for his act by staging a First Amendment Battle over his right to Free Speech in Harry's court with a televangelist accomplice fanning the flames of censorship to increase donations to his church. Harry winds up turning the tables by arranging for the comedian to perform his act in front of the courtroom and...
** Christine tells the guy off and leaves after the first joke - a sexist one-liner about single mothers being sluts and welfare cheats.
** Lizette, the [[DitzySecretary mousy court stenographer]] whose major defining characteristic was not standing up for herself, actually stands up to the comedian and says that jokes about women being hurt aren't funny.

** In the end, Dan, who had been defending the comedian's style of humor as satire throughout the episode, finally has enough and tells the guy off when he realizes that the comedian [[MyGodYouAreSerious honestly believes the backward things he is saying]]. This leads to a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} and one of the few occasions when Dan was ever at a loss for words after the comedian - unable to think of any other comeback - [[BigStupidDoodooHead accuses Dan of being gay]].
** Even blind vendor Jack - who was only on the show during Season 8 - got one after the comedian makes a crack about a blind man stealing his job because it was "Hire The Handicapped Week" and Jack laughs.
--->'''Comedian:''' ''(defensively)'' Aha! See! See! The blind guy laughed!\\
'''Jack:''' Yeah, I was just imagining what it must be like if you look as stupid as you sound!
** The payoff to the scene has the comedian arguing that Harry just pulled these people off the street and that "These people aren't real Potty-Mouth fans!" Harry retorts that these people were standing in line for tickets to his show to see what all the fuss was about, thus exposing Potty-Mouth as the [[OnlyInItForTheMoney money-grabbing fraud]] he really is.
* In "Top Judge", Harry got into a duel with a younger prankster judge. In perhaps his most CrazyAwesome moment ever, Harry won the duel after pretending to concede the fight, giving the younger judge his best silk robe (the prize he demanded if he won) and wound up trapping the younger judge inside a giant balloon he had rigged up to inflate by remote control, filling the courtroom.

** The prank the young judge pulled on Harry wasn't bad either. The courtroom waited for his prank to strike at the time he said would happen. When it didn't, Harry called for a recess... and the pounding of the gavel caused Harry's ''entire bench to collapse''.

* Dan gets a MagnificentBastard moment in one episode. One of the defendants in the court runs a business where, for $100 a pop, he'll hit someone in the face with a pie. Near the end of the episode, he nails Dan, and [[IAmSpartacus everyone starts to take credit for paying for it.]] Dan reveals that it was, in fact, all of them. Realizing that none of his friends could resist the chance to hit him with a pie, Dan told the pie assailant in advance that if he only hit him with one pie and forked over the extra cash, then Dan wouldn't sue him.
* Bull, Harry and Christine ousting a sexually harassing judge in "Caught Red Handed".

-->'''Bull knocks the door off its hinges'''

** The payoff to the scene has the Comedian arguing that Harry just pulled these people off the street and that "These people aren't real Potty-Mouth fans!" Harry retorts that these people were standing in line for tickets to his show to see what all the fuss was about, thus exposing Potty-Mouth as the [[OnlyInItForTheMoney money-grabbing fraud]] he really is.

* Dan had a great one in "Constitution, Part 2". Roz, who was recently diagnosed as Diabetic, has gone into shock and is hallucinating that she's a little girl again. This is made more problematic by her standing on a roof-ledge while crying about how her father used to wake her up after he got off the late-shift at work and fixed her an ice-cream cone and how she'll never be able to think about him while having ice cream ever again. After failing to talk her down and taking two punches to the face and a GroinAttack trying to grapple her, Dan finally talks Roz down by pretending to be her father and offering to fix her an ice cream cone.

** Lizette, the mousy court stenographer whose major defining characteristic was not standing up for herself, actually stands up to the comedian and says that jokes about women being hurt aren't funny.

** In the end Dan, who had been defending the comedian's style of humor as satire throughout the episode, finally has enough and tells the guy off when he realizes that the comedian honestly believes the backward things he is saying. This leads to a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} and one of the few occasions when Dan was ever at a loss for words after the comedian - unable to think of any other comeback - accuses Dan of being gay.

* In "Bringing Down Baby" the courtroom is used as the set for a TV show about a kid lawyer that the gang likes. However, they soon discover the kid is nothing more than a massive brat who throws his weight around to the point where a chief baliff is telling Roz to just humor him. Roz openly tells the kid's mom she needs to control him. She finally snaps and berates the kid as an obnoxious brat no one likes. The kid demands that she be fired [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=895EZkfZ5T8 but the kid's mom finally stands up to him, telling him to shut up and it's time to change his attitude.]] As she marches off, Roz asks her superior about being on report.
-->'''Roz''': 24th General Order for a Baliff

* Roz pieing the official in "Her Honor Pt 2" after the group learns that she was the one who kept Harry from being re-appointed as a judge just because she didn't like the way he ran his court (for the pettiest of reasons, because he ''talks'' to criminals brought in rather then just sentence them right away). The way it played out is brilliant, the official gets in a haughty last word to Harry and makes to leave. Roz, holding a cake meant for Harry, turns it sideways just as she's reaching the door causing her to walk right into it.

* The gang are trying to break a record by doing all their cases by midnight. They're just a minute away with the last defendant up for felony drunk driving, which Harry figures they can turn over to the grand jury. However, the guy has heard that anyone not heard before midnight goes free so he refuses to waive the reading of the information, meaning they would have to recite roughly three pages of police notes. The gang groan about it but Dan (who wants out to meet a hot lady) grabs the folder and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBma9Z5dOao proceeds to read the entire report in just thirty seconds.]] Note how he finishes with twenty seconds before midnight but by the time the audience is through cheering, the time is almost up. Everyone just gapes in shock at Dan's high-speed delivery so he has to yell at Harry "My God, man, ''GAVEL!''"

* In "The Littlest Lawyer" the courtroom is used as the set for a TV show about a kid lawyer that the gang likes. However, they soon discover the kid is nothing more than a massive brat who throws his weight around to the point where a chief baliff is telling Roz to just humor him. Roz openly tells the kid's mom she needs to control him. She finally snaps and berates the kid as an obnoxious brat no one likes. The kid demands that she be fired [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=895EZkfZ5T8 but the kid's mom finally stands up to him, telling him to shut up and it's time to change his attitude.]] As she marches off, Roz asks her superior about being on report.

* Dan gets a MagnificentBastard moment in one episode. One of the defendants in the court runs a business where, for $100 a pop, he'll hit someone in the face with a pie. Near the end of the episode, he nails Dan, and [[IAmSpartacus everyone starts to take credit for paying for it.]] Dan reveals that it was, in fact, all of them. [[GenreSavvy Realizing that none of his friends could resist the chance to hit him with a pie]], Dan told the pie assailant in advance that if he only hit him with one pie and forked over the extra cash, then Dan wouldn't sue him.

* The gang are trying to break a record by doing all their cases by midnight. They're just a minute away with the last defendant up for felony drunk driving, which Harry figures they can turn over to the grand jury. However, the guy has heard that anyone not heard before midnight goes free so he refuses to waive the reading of the information, meaning they would have to recite roughly three pages of police notes. The gang groan about it but Dan (who wants out to meet a hot lady) grabs the folder and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBma9Z5dOao proceeds to read the entire report in just thirty seconds.]] Note how he finishes with twenty seconds before midnight but by the time the audience is through cheering, the time is almost up.
** Everyone just gapes in shock at Dan's high-speed delivery so he has to yell at Harry "My God, man, ''GAVEL!''"

-->'''Harry:''' Cleaver, you may be younger. You may be faster. You may even be smarter. But you will NEVER, EVER, be crazier," pulls out a awl to puncture the balloon he's trapped him with and gets an absolutely crazed look on his face, ''"... than me."''