WARNING! The following article contains SPOILERS for Night Court season 1, episode 9, "Two Peas on a Pod."The admittedly sleazy character of Dan Fielding was done a disservice when the Night Court reboot got one key fact about his past wrong. The break-out character of the classic Night Court, Dan Fielding came out of retirement to serve in the court of Judge Abby Stone in the Night Court reboot. While the new series has generally done a fine job in emulating the offbeat attitude of the original, it missed the mark in suggesting that the former prosecutor and aspiring politician would actively break the law, after the original Night Court repeatedly showcased Dan Fielding's strict morality when it came to the American legal system.
Dan Fielding's integrity was called into question in the Night Court reboot episode "Two Peas on a Pod," when Dan was interviewed about his job and his efforts to run for office in the 1980s. Dan accidentally implicated himself as having paid people for their votes, claiming that "I would have won had I handed out $20s instead of $10s." This revelation contradicted Dan's portrayal in the classic Night Court, where Dan Fielding was involved in all manner of illicit behavior regarding his love life but was beyond reproach when it came to his career.
Original Night Court Dan Fielding Was Sleazy, But Law-Abiding
While frequently engaging in behavior that would qualify as sexual harassment by modern standards, Dan Fielding was a paragon of legal excellence in the classic Night Court series. Multiple storylines centered around various figures attempting to bribe Dan, so they could get special treatment from the District Attorney's office. In every instance, Dan was quick to report the crime and worked within the system to try and expose the corruption. While Dan Fielding was a rampant womanizer outside the courtroom, he did not play games with the law.
Nothing showcased this odd dichotomy better than the Night Court season 7 two-part storyline "Branded," in which Dan Fielding faced disbarment after accusing another prominent attorney of offering him a job in exchange for dismissing the criminal charges against a rich client. Dan's womanizing was held up as proof that he was wholly immoral, but the truth was eventually revealed. Despite this, the judge was reluctant to reinstate Dan as a lawyer, saying that he was still a slimeball. Harry Stone, who was acting as Dan's advocate, was forced to admit that was true, but he defended Dan by saying he was "a law-abiding slime ball."
New Night Court Gag Would Explain Why Dan's Campaign Was Broke
On the other hand, while Dan Fielding was later redeemed in regard to how he treated women in the classic Night Court, he did engage in behaviors that, while not illegal, were morally questionable while running for office. This included sleeping with a wealthy dowager hoping to win a substantial donation to his campaign fund and failing to pay his printers. Despite this moral flexibility, Dan's campaign went so poorly that it became a running gag throughout Night Court season 6 just how severely he was cutting corners to keep afloat.
The low point came when Dan was reduced to forcing his sidekick Phil Sanders to sell his blood in order to pay his bills. Given that, the Night Court reboot gag might explain just how Dan lost his savings by paying for votes. Despite this, it still seems out of character for Dan Fielding to engage in bribery, given his ethical behavior in the original series.