Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Night Court, season 1, episode 7, "Train Court."The Night Court reboot referenced Dan Fielding's past risqué job. The former prosecutor is famed for his wild past, but was shown to have found true love with a woman named Sarah and to have found some degree of redemption in the past three decades. However, one of Dan's wisecracks indicates there are some things about him that haven't changed.
The action of the Night Court season 1 episode "Train Court" found the Night Court reboot cast faced with an unexpected night off, after Judge Abby Stone got trapped on a train. Bailiff Donna "Grugs" Gruganous declared that she was going to call her favorite strip club and tell a man named Russ to reserve the Champagne Room for her. While the aside was perfectly in-character for Grugs, it also allowed Dan to make a passing comment acknowledging a surprising previous job.
Night Court’s Dan Fielding Once Worked As An Escort
Following her strip club comment, Dan unexpectedly told Gurgs to give Russ his regards. When the confused Gurgs asked if Dan was aware that she was going to a male strip club, Dan replied, "I had a job before this." This remark hinted at some of Dan's past jobs in the original Night Court and acknowledged the show's previous history.
While he was respected in the original Night Court as a serious jurist who did not play games with the law as an assistant district attorney, Dan Fielding's behavior in private was often problematic and his obsession with sex drove him to take on several side-gigs that allowed him to mix business with pleasure. This occurred most famously in the Night Court season 3 episode "Dan's Escort," where Dan took on a job acting as arm candy for wealthy women. While Dan had gone into the position hoping to find a sugar mommy, his encounter with one heartbroken widow made him realize the folly of his ways.
Dan's Old Job Fits A Theme From The Classic Night Court
Despite his change of heart regarding escort work, Dan Fielding still sought side-gigs that allowed him to make money while enjoying himself in later seasons of the original Night Court series. Dan sought to "defile myself into a Porsche by the end of the year," after learning how much money he could make as a lawyer selling his sperm in the Night Court season 4 episode "Murder." He late sought paid work as a test subject for scientists studying human sexuality in Night Court season 6. Dan was also briefly employed as a surrogate in Night Court season 9, working with a therapist to help people overcome their intimacy issues.
Given that history, it is not implausible that Dan Fielding might have worked as a stripper. On the other hand, it is just as much in Dan Fielding's snarky character to try and mess with Gurgs' mind by making her wonder if he really did work at her favorite strip club before they become colleagues in court. In either case, the new Night Court reboot shows that while Dan Fielding may have become a better person, his personality is still largely the same.
Night Court airs Tuesday nights on NBC.