Times Colonist

Checking in with MELISSA RAUCH

- BY JAY BOBBIN

The current “Night Court” boasts many new characters, but Melissa Rauch vows that the originals are being kept firmly in mind.

“That was our mission going into this,” says the alum of “The Big Bang Theory” who’s both a star and (along with her husband) an executive producer of NBC’s Tuesday “Court” revival. “So much of this is not only honoring the characters of the original show, but also the actors and what they created there, while also making this new for people who maybe haven’t seen that.”

At the same time, Rauch is grateful that multiple Emmy winner John Larroquett­e agreed to reprise his role as prosecutor turned public defender Dan Fielding ... who’s now both a foil and an inspiratio­n to Rauch’s Judge Abby Stone, daughter of the first show’s Harry Stone (played by the late Harry Anderson). “Every take from him is something fresh and new,” Rauch notes in praise of Larroquett­e. “Even though I was on a show for over a decade, there are a lot of firsts for me in this experience.”

Rauch has fond childhood memories of devotedly watching the original “Night Court,” which ran from 1984 to 1992 and was shown recently on the cable network Laff.

“My parents knew that TV was my everything,” she reflects, “so they let me have a set in my bedroom. I remember watching (the show) in black-and-white and just being transfixed. I knew there were things that went over my head, but it was unlike anything else on TV at the time. As funny and irreverent as it was, there were moments where it hit real, and there was something exciting in that.”

Birthdate: June 23, 1980

Birthplace: Marlboro Township, N.J.

Current residence: Los Angeles

Marital status: Married to fellow “Night Court” executive producer Winston Rauch; they have two children

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