Sirota's Court

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Sirota's Court
Sirota's Court cast 1976.jpg
Genre Sitcom
Starring Michael Constantine
Cynthia Harris
Fred Willard
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13 (3 unaired)
Production
Producers Harvey Miller and Peter Engel
Running time30 minutes
Production company Universal Television
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseDecember 1, 1976 (1976-12-01) –
April 13, 1977 (1977-04-13)

Sirota's Court is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC on Wednesday nights from December 1, 1976 to April 13, 1977. [1]

Contents

Premise

The series centered on Matthew J. Sirota, a night court judge in a large metropolitan city. Others shown were court clerk Maureen O'Connor (with whom Sirota had an on-again-off-again affair), public defender Gail Goodman, District Attorney Bud Nugent, attorney Sawyer Dabney, and Bailiff John Bellson.

The episode "Court Fear" featured the first gay marriage ever shown on network television. Judge Sirota notes that the law does not explicitly state that a marriage can only be between a man and woman, and decides to perform the ceremony, though warning that upper courts might invalidate the marriage. He also asks the couple to shake hands and not kiss, pronouncing them "man and--uh--other man", with the writers already knowing they were pushing the boundaries of network television. The idea for the storyline was sparked by a same sex wedding which occurred in Arizona in 1975. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Producer Peter Engel commented in 2016 that the show was never officially cancelled but just "sort of faded away," and he was heartbroken that it did not succeed. "However, we were before our time. In 1977, we did a gay wedding on television. I must've been out of my mind (laughs). ... We did things that were outrageous at that time and, quite frankly, NBC was afraid of it." [9] While some seem to have complained about the gay marriage storyline in one episode (it was only one of the plotlines in that episode), it did not get much attention at the time. The real major problem the show had was its time slot -- a "death slot" first opposite All in the Family , and then against Alice . [10]

The show's close similarity in concept to Night Court , which debuted in 1984 and lasted nine seasons, has been noticed. [10] [11]

The show debuted on December 1, 1976, as an early season replacement. While it had good critical reviews, they did not translate into ratings. Its best ratings only reached 20 percent of the viewing audience, and its viability was very shaky with the network waffling on whether to cancel it or keep it running. Finally cancelled after seven episodes had played in January 1977, but with six unaired episodes, the network brought it back briefly in April 1977 in a new later time slot, but it fared no better after a few more episodes had aired. [12]

Cast

Episodes

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"The Reporter" Mel Ferber Jack WinterDecember 1, 1976 (1976-12-01)
2"Sirota's Car"Mel FerberJim ParkerDecember 8, 1976 (1976-12-08)
3"The Election"Mel FerberJudy Ervin & Christopher Thompson & Marc SotkinDecember 22, 1976 (1976-12-22)
4"Court Fear"Mel FerberJack WinterDecember 29, 1976 (1976-12-29)
5"The Hooker"UnknownJack WinterJanuary 12, 1977 (1977-01-12)
6"The Judge"Mel FerberGary MarkowitzJanuary 19, 1977 (1977-01-19)
7"D.A./D.O.A." Harvey Miller Jim ParkerJanuary 26, 1977 (1977-01-26)
8"Pilot"UnknownUnknownApril 6, 1977 (1977-04-06)
9"The Split-Up"UnknownUnknownApril 13, 1977 (1977-04-13)
10"The Alien"TBDTBDUNAIRED
11"The Old Friend"TBDTBDUNAIRED
12"Snake and the Old People"Mel FerberStory by : Michael Kagan & Jordan Tabat & Carole Ita White
Teleplay by : Jordan Tabat & Carole Ita White		UNAIRED
13"The Vacation"Mel FerberKenny SolmsUNAIRED

See also

Night Court

References

  1. ↑ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 1078. ISBN   0-345-45542-8.
  2. ↑ American Nationhood in Transition, Journal of American Studies In Italy (2022) ("The earliest example aired in 1976 on NBC’s Sirota’s Court where the judge marrying the male couple pondered its legality (“Court Fear” 1976). Given that the networks were not willing to go too far, the couple’s ceremony ends with a handshake and not a kiss.")
  3. ↑ Capsuto, Steven. Alternate channels : the uncensored story of gay and lesbian images on radio and television, p. 354 (2000)
  4. ↑ Sirota's Court (Court Fear), paleycenter.org, Retrieved 17 October 2025
  5. ↑ (11 January 1975). County Seeks Action To End a Marriage, Arizona Daily Sun (Associated Press story)
  6. ↑ (17 January 1975). Homosexual charged with lying under oath, The Arizona Republic
  7. ↑ (23 March 1975). Homosexuals' Marriage Ruled Illegal by Court, Yuma Daily Sun
  8. ↑ (29 December 1976). Episode summary TV listings, Cleveland Press ("A convict drops Judge Sinota a card telling him his 10-year prison sentence has been served and he intends to pay the judge a call. Sirota remains calm as he copes with night court cases involving a dognapper, pornographic film based on fairy tales and the request by two members of the gay community that he marry them.")
  9. ↑ Price, Jason (11 November 2016). I Was Saved by the Bell: Legendary Producer Peter Engel on his Epic Memoir, Icon v. Icon
  10. 1 2 Erickson, Hal. Encyclopedia of Television Law Shows (2009), p. 197 ("Languishing in a death slot opposite CBS's All in the Family and Alice, Sirota's Court was cut short after 14 episodes, but the NBC higher-ups were certain that the series' premise would be worth reviving at a later date.")
  11. ↑ Malleck, Bonnie (12 January 1984). Here come da judge, Waterloo Region-Record
  12. ↑ Lewis, Dan (8 May 1977). Life and death at a network, The State Journal (widely syndicated story)
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