Now, that I got your attention with a blog post entitled" No good, No bad", and an image of John Larroquette as Dan Fielding is plastered across your screen, you are probably already expecting what's to come. Yes, Dan Fielding, the character known as being a narcissistic sex-fiend district attorney, seems like the appropriate jumping off point for a blog about the good and bad in all people. You may ask, can any good can be found in Dan Fielding of all people and I shall respond with a qualified YES. I mean, just look at that face, the face of a charismatic asshole that only a mother could love and plenty of fans alike, mind you. ***
In actual fact, there is a TON more good within the character of Dan Fielding than bad. Furthermore, if you dove deep into the choices of the other characters, you'd come up finding some bad in each of them, beloved as they all are. As fans of Night Court, we hold up Dan Fielding as this marking of what not to be both for ourselves and for the other characters, Larroquette's character a beacon of all that is disgusting in society. Yet, perhaps the most profound reasoning for art is to hold a mirror up to humanity, to reveal within each of us all parts both positive and negative. Thus, the character Larroquette portrays is one that we love to hate but even more hate to love because his character opens our eyes to our own darker impulses and decisions.
Fans of Night Court, as well as others, find themselves raising up the other characters, especially Harry, in contrast vilifying Dan. Yet, when Dan enters the scene or the show follows his storyline we cannot take our attention away, we laugh, we shriek, "oh my god, why", and, yes, we even sometimes cry. A character who is completely saintlike is uninteresting to us equally as much as one that is purely evil. Fortunately, none of the characters in Night Court fell into either category. Yeah, you read that right.
The point of good storytelling, whether it be drama or comedy, is the struggle that the character must go through in order to find his or her resolution. Along the way, antics ensue and situations unfold that may throw a snag into the character getting what they want or need. The choices they make within the context of each instant is based not just on their sole purpose, but their inner desires and what brought them to this particular moment. Okay, that's acting and storytelling 101, for you.
The point is, no one person is both good or bad. Didn't Harry snap at Christine when she was trying to help Bull? Didn't Christine mis-read Harry and judge him as insensitive? Didn't Mac mis-lead Quon-Le's affection with their marriage? These four characters are those we all look to with great admiration seeking some guidance and wisdom in their words and actions. Yet, here we have instances when they weren't completely good, they failed another in some fashion, and had to find a way to make it right, if they could, sometimes this backfired and they were left in the lurch. Yet, again do you recall how Dan, engaged to a rich heiress, chose to stay with her because he truly loved and needed her, instead of being bought out by her father? And, it was Dan who stayed behind in the seedy poolhouse to encourage Harry not to quit when he was ready to walk away. So, beneath that sleezy exterior of Dan Fielding beat a heart of immense love and loyalty as much as the other characters, perhaps more so for he truly felt and expressed himself to such degree, and that is the biggest reasoning for our love for him.
The point of it all is, people aren't good or bad, but full of nuance. The nicest person in the world can also be equally as hurtful. In actual fact, the idea of what it is to be nice or to be mean is subjective and up to conjecture. This is a lesson I am consistently faced with in my recovery from relationship addictions and energy vampire relationships. Although the diagnosis of sociopath does exist (and, hell no, dan fielding is NOT one), most people behave in ways based on how their past history affected and influenced them. Case in point, I have acted in extremely hurtful ways I feel shame for today based on my history of abuse and dyfunction yet somehow I have managed to acquire these beautiful angels of loyal, loving friends who have stayed, never ceasing to believe in me. (That reality astounds me!)
Therein, the nuance of each person requires us not to label their actions as bad because we are not fond of their choices and ourselves or those we admire as positive. The truth of the matter is, everyone is capable of both good and bad, including ourselves.
And, that is that.
***John Larroquette as Dan Fielding is the reason I became an actor, so put that in your pipe and smoke it.
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