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| Dark Justice | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | Jeff Freilich |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Mark Snow |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 66 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Jeff Freilich |
| Producers |
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| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | April 5, 1991 – September 28, 1993 |
Dark Justice is an American crime drama television series about a judge who becomes a vigilante by night so that he can bring high-level offenders who use technicalities to "escape" the legal system to what he calls "dark justice." The role of Judge Nicholas Marshall was played by actors Ramy Zada (1991) and Bruce Abbott (1992–1993).
The series began airing on April 5, 1991 and ran for three seasons (66 episodes) finishing on September 28, 1993.
During the first season, the series was shot in Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain. Before the second season, the series had to switch locations due to budget constraints caused by the 1992 Summer Olympics. The second and third seasons were shot in Los Angeles, California.
Actor Ramy Zada, who played the lead role of Judge Nicholas Marshall during the first season, was said to be unavailable for the second season due to the location change, and Bruce Abbott was chosen as his replacement. The location was also the main reason behind the casting of some Spanish actors like Begoña Plaza in lead roles. When the series shifted to Los Angeles, Janet Gunn permanently assumed the role of the female member of "The Night Watchmen," Kelly Cochrane.
Gunn later starred for three seasons as Cassandra St. John in Silk Stalkings , another Crimetime After Primetime drama, after it had moved exclusively to the USA Network.
Nicholas Marshall, a former police officer and district attorney, is a judge who loses his faith in the legal system after his wife and daughter are murdered in a car bombing intended for him. After the killer walks free due to a technicality, Marshall becomes a vigilante by night, dedicated to bringing what he calls "dark justice" to criminals who evade penalties due to technicalities. Marshall had already had his faith in the legal system shaken even before his wife and his daughter were murdered:
To help him achieve his goal, Marshall uses a team of specialists whom the local press refers to as "The Night Watchmen." The team, a civilian counterpart to the mission teams of the governmental Impossible Missions Force, consists of people who were prosecuted for lower-level offenses, and who help him with some tasks; this can be seen as a form of community service for their offenses. The members of the watchmen were Arnold "Moon" Willis (Dick O'Neill), who had once been a con man; Jericho "Gibs" Gibson (Clayton Prince), a special effects expert; and a female companion that changed several times during the three seasons. Kelly Cochrane (Janet Gunn) was a rape victim whose attackers had been acquitted in Marshall's court. After she killed one of her attackers, Marshall added her to the team; she remained until the end of the series.
Marshall would typically target criminals whom he had encountered in his courtroom, but whom he was forced to release for technical reasons of one kind or another. Marshall would generally dismiss these defendants with the warning, "Justice may be blind, but it can see in the dark." He would then assume his alter ego as a long-haired, leather jacket-wearing, motorcycle-riding vigilante. His team would construct an elaborate sting operation, usually involving undercover work and even special effects. These operations were designed to elicit a confession from the criminal or otherwise trip him or her up so that courtroom-admissible (and/or technicality-resistant) evidence either of the original crime or of a different crime could be gathered.
Unfortunately for the Night Watchmen, the very police department in which Marshall himself had once served came to view them as criminals, and their crusade as illegal. By the time of the series conclusion, even the FBI had commenced to look into the activities of the Night Watchmen, a probe Marshall was, presumably, able to defuse when a federal agent provided him with the FBI file on the Night Watchmen.
| Nº | Ep | Title | Director | Writer | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Nowhere to Hide" | Jeff Freilich | Jeff Freilich | April 5, 1991 |
| 2 | 2 | "What Comes Around" | David Calloway | Duke Sandfer | April 12, 1991 |
| 3 | 3 | "Out of Mind, Out of Sight" | Tim Hunter | James Cappe | April 19, 1991 |
| 4 | 4 | "To Die For" | David Calloway | Gordon Mitchell | April 26, 1991 |
| 5 | 5 | "In Mysterious Ways" | Ken Wiederhorn | Terry Black | May 3, 1991 |
| 6 | 6 | "The Carnival" | John Nicolella | Michael De Luca & Alan J. Scott | May 10, 1991 |
| 7 | 7 | "Brother Mine" | Jeff Freilich | Chris Bunch & Allan Cole | May 17, 1991 |
| 8 | 8 | "Broken Toys" | Ken Widerhorn | E Nick Alexander | May 24, 1991 |
| 9 | 9 | "I Hate Mondays" | Tom DeSimone | Michael De Luca & Alan J. Scott | May 31, 1991 |
| 10 | 10 | "Simon Says" | John Lafia | Story by : John Carlen Teleplay by : John Carlen & James Cappe | June 7, 1991 |
| 11 | 11 | "Urban Renewal" | Tom DeSimone | Michael De Luca & Alan J. Scott | September 13, 1991 |
| 12 | 12 | "Once Upon a Time in Krestridge" | Luis Valdivieso | James Cappe | September 20, 1991 |
| 13 | 13 | "Forbes for the Defense" | Luis Valdivieso | Rebecca J. Pogrow | September 27, 1991 |
| 14 | 14 | "Marshall Law" | David Calloway | Jeff Freilich & Michael De Luca | October 4, 1991 |
| 15 | 15 | "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" | Tom DeSimone | Rift Fournier & Michael De Luca | October 18, 1991 |
| 16 | 16 | "Smokescreen" | David Calloway | Tony Kayden | October 25, 1991 |
| 17 | 17 | "The Neutralizing Factor" | Ken Widerhorn | Susan Estabrook | November 1, 1991 |
| 18 | 18 | "Playing the Odds" | John Lafia | James Cappe | November 8, 1991 |
| 19 | 19 | "Diplomatic Immunity" | Ken Widerhorn | Rift Fournier | November 15, 1991 |
| 20 | 20 | "Caught in the Act" | David Calloway | Story by : Jeff Freilich & James Cappe Teleplay by : Rift Fournier | November 22, 1991 |
| 21 | 21 | "Once Loved, Twice Dead" | Ramy Zada | Duke Sandefur | February 7, 1992 |
| 22 | 22 | "Judgement Night" | Jeff Freilich | Christopher Trumbo & Jeff Freilich | February 28, 1992 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 1 | "Bump in the Night" | Unknown | Karen Clark | April 17, 1992 |
| 24 | 2 | "Anniversary" | Unknown | James Cappe | April 24, 1992 |
| 25 | 3 | "Prime Cuts" | Unknown | Alan J. Scott & Michael De Luca | May 1, 1992 |
| 26 | 4 | "Lead Rain" | Unknown | Duke Sandefur | May 8, 1992 |
| 27 | 5 | "Lush Life" | Unknown | Christopher Trumbo | May 15, 1992 |
| 28 | 6 | "The Specialist" | Unknown | James Cappe | May 29, 1992 |
| 29 | 7 | "Needy Things" | Unknown | Susan Estabrook | June 5, 1992 |
| 30 | 8 | "Snitch" | Unknown | Christopher Trumbo | June 12, 1992 |
| 31 | 9 | "Instant Replay" | Unknown | Duke Sandefur | September 25, 1992 |
| 32 | 10 | "The Highest Court" | Unknown | Terry Black | October 2, 1992 |
| 33 | 11 | "Deadline" | Unknown | Christopher Trumbo | October 9, 1992 |
| 34 | 12 | "A Better Mousetrap" | Unknown | Greg Strangis | October 16, 1992 |
| 35 | 13 | "Happy Mother's Day" | Unknown | March Kessler | October 23, 1992 |
| 36 | 14 | "Black Heart" | Unknown | Michael De Luca & Alan J. Scott | October 30, 1992 |
| 37 | 15 | "Jail Bait" | Unknown | Karen Clark | November 6, 1992 |
| 38 | 16 | "Venus Flytrap" | Unknown | Duke Sandefur | November 13, 1992 |
| 39 | 17 | "Teenage Pajama Party Massacre: Part IV" | Unknown | Greg Strangis | November 20, 1992 |
| 40 | 18 | "Shrink" | Unknown | Christopher Trumbo | November 27, 1992 |
| 41 | 19 | "The Merchant" | James Cappe | James Cappe | February 5, 1993 |
| 42 | 20 | "Blast from the Past" | Unknown | Story by : Jeff Freilich Teleplay by : Karen Clark | February 12, 1993 |
| 43 | 21 | "Cold Reading" | Unknown | Story by : Ken Wiederhorn Teleplay by : Ken Wiederhorn & James Cappe | February 19, 1993 |
| 44 | 22 | "Suitable for Framing" | Unknown | Story by : Jeff Freilich Teleplay by : Duke Sandefur | February 26, 1993 |
| Nº | Ep | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | 1 | "Joyride" | April 16, 1993 |
| 46 | 2 | "Night Games" | April 23, 1993 |
| 47 | 3 | "Last Rites" | April 30, 1993 |
| 48 | 4 | "Person or Persons Unknown" | May 7, 1993 |
| 49 | 5 | "Clean Kill" | May 14, 1993 |
| 50 | 6 | "The Greening of Glenda Ross" | May 21, 1993 |
| 51 | 7 | "Uncle Tony's Cabin" | May 28, 1993 |
| 52 | 8 | "Pygmalion" | June 4, 1993 |
| 53 | 9 | "Backfire" | June 11, 1993 |
| 54 | 10 | "Second Anniversary" | June 18, 1993 |
| 55 | 11 | "Squeeze Play" | June 25, 1993 |
| 56 | 12 | "Incorrect Dosage" | July 2, 1993 |
| 57 | 13 | "2nd Story" | July 9, 1993 |
| 58 | 14 | "Three on a Match" | July 16, 1993 |
| 59 | 15 | "Crash Course" | July 23, 1993 |
| 60 | 16 | "The Push" | July 30, 1993 |
| 61 | 17 | "My Dinner with Nick" | August 6, 1993 |
| 62 | 18 | "In Cover of Darkness: Part 1" | August 17, 1993 |
| 63 | 19 | "In Cover of Darkness: Part 2" | August 24, 1993 |
| 64 | 20 | "The Doctor Is In" | September 14, 1993 |
| 65 | 21 | "A Kiss Goodbye" | September 21, 1993 |
| 66 | 22 | "A Novel Way to Die" | September 28, 1993 |
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