TVSquad

(S03E03) "What if Heroes had this new hero whose power was close-up magic?" - Harry Anderson

Holy crap, how did we miss the news that the cast of Night Court was going to be on tonight's episode of 30 Rock? Maybe all of the talk about Jennifer Aniston being a guest on the show (and Oprah and Steve Martin in the coming weeks) overshadowed that news, or maybe they didn't think it was big enough news to announce. But God I think it's even bigger news! Hey, Aniston is fine, but let me repeat: this episode features a reunion of the cast of Night Court! One NBC sitcom classic meets another.

And the reason they're on the show is even better...

I asked this question earlier today on sister site AdJab, but I figured the more people I ask, the better:

There's a funny new commercial out there from Sprint Nextel for their new GPS-enabled Nextel walkie-talkie phones. In it, two warehouse workers tell an inquisitive colleague about "the dots" they're watching, which are people with Nextel GPS phones on the road. The they tell the curious co-worker, "don't agitate the dots." Then a supervisor-type person walks in, wearing safety goggles and eating cake. "Who's agitating my dots? Are you agitating my dots?" he suspiciously asks the stranger.

That guy looks and sounds like Charles Robinson, doesn't it? You remember Robinson... he played court clerk Mac on Night Court. If it is, it sure is a heck of a comedown: a regular role on a network TV series to uttering a commercial catchphrase. Hey, a job's a job, right? Anyway, let's see if our eagle-eyed readers can confirm or deny this for me. You can watch the ad here.

This news instantly reminded me that Dennis Farina can be really funny in a comedy. You can see the movies Out of Sight and Get Shorty for examples, or try to track down copies of this short-lived CBS show from a few years back, Buddy Faro.

Farina starred as Buddy Faro, a famous private eye who disappeared in 1978 and is found twenty years later by Faro buff and fellow P.I. Bob Jones (Frank Whaley). It's hard to describe the plot (plots aren't that important anyway, as long as the cast and writing is good) except to say that the two team up to solve cases, and Faro tries to get by as a Rat Pack-type old school guy in an Internet world. To top off the casting, Allison Smith (Kate and Allie, The West Wing) played an actress who helped the duo, and Charles Robinson (Night Court) played a character named "El Jefe."

This shows seems like a natural for DVD (a cult show, short-lived, you can fit the whole run in one set), so I hope we see it some day. There are actually several episodes that never even aired.