Jump to content

Dark Justice

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dark Justice
GenreCrime drama
Created byJeff Freilich
Starring
Music byMark Snow
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes66 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerJeff Freilich
Producers
Running time45–48 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseApril 5, 1991 (1991-04-05) –
September 28, 1993 (1993-09-28)

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.

Production and filming

[edit]

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.

Plot synopsis

[edit]

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:

  • as a youth, growing up in an unnamed ghetto in an unspecified city, his father was murdered by a hoodlum with local connections;
  • as a police officer, technicalities often voided his arrests;
  • as a prosecutor, having obtained his law degree through night school studies, crooked defenders would sometimes undermine his prosecutions; and
  • after his election to a judgeship, the letter of the law often bound his hands.

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.

Cast

[edit]
  • Ramy Zada as Judge Nicholas Marshall (1991)
  • Bruce Abbott as Judge Nicholas Marshall (1992–1993)
  • Janet Gunn as Kelly Cochrane (1992–1993)
  • Dick O'Neill as Arnold "Moon" Willis (1991–1993)
  • Clayton Prince as Jericho "Gibs" Gibson (1991–1993)
  • Begoña Plaza as Catalana "Cat" Duran (1991)
  • Viviane Vives as Maria Marti (1991)
  • Kit Kincannon as District Attorney Ken Horton (1991–93)
  • Carrie-Anne Moss as Tara McDonald (1991–1993)
  • Elisa Heinsohn as Samantha "Sam" Collins (1993)

Episode list

[edit]
  • = Overall episode number
  • Ep = Episode number by season

Season 1: 1991–92

[edit]
Ep Title Director Writer Air date
11"Nowhere to Hide"Jeff FreilichJeff FreilichApril 5, 1991 (1991-04-05)
22"What Comes Around"David CallowayDuke SandferApril 12, 1991 (1991-04-12)
33"Out of Mind, Out of Sight"Tim HunterJames CappeApril 19, 1991 (1991-04-19)
44"To Die For"David CallowayGordon MitchellApril 26, 1991 (1991-04-26)
55"In Mysterious Ways"Ken WiederhornTerry BlackMay 3, 1991 (1991-05-03)
66"The Carnival"John NicolellaMichael De Luca & Alan J. ScottMay 10, 1991 (1991-05-10)
77"Brother Mine"Jeff FreilichChris Bunch & Allan ColeMay 17, 1991 (1991-05-17)
88"Broken Toys"Ken WiderhornE Nick AlexanderMay 24, 1991 (1991-05-24)
99"I Hate Mondays"Tom DeSimoneMichael De Luca & Alan J. ScottMay 31, 1991 (1991-05-31)
1010"Simon Says"John LafiaStory by : John Carlen
Teleplay by : John Carlen & James Cappe
June 7, 1991 (1991-06-07)
1111"Urban Renewal"Tom DeSimoneMichael De Luca & Alan J. ScottSeptember 13, 1991 (1991-09-13)
1212"Once Upon a Time in Krestridge"Luis ValdiviesoJames CappeSeptember 20, 1991 (1991-09-20)
1313"Forbes for the Defense"Luis ValdiviesoRebecca J. PogrowSeptember 27, 1991 (1991-09-27)
1414"Marshall Law"David CallowayJeff Freilich & Michael De LucaOctober 4, 1991 (1991-10-04)
1515"Fruit of the Poisonous Tree"Tom DeSimoneRift Fournier & Michael De LucaOctober 18, 1991 (1991-10-18)
1616"Smokescreen"David CallowayTony KaydenOctober 25, 1991 (1991-10-25)
1717"The Neutralizing Factor"Ken WiderhornSusan EstabrookNovember 1, 1991 (1991-11-01)
1818"Playing the Odds"John LafiaJames CappeNovember 8, 1991 (1991-11-08)
1919"Diplomatic Immunity"Ken WiderhornRift FournierNovember 15, 1991 (1991-11-15)
2020"Caught in the Act"David CallowayStory by : Jeff Freilich & James Cappe
Teleplay by : Rift Fournier
November 22, 1991 (1991-11-22)
2121"Once Loved, Twice Dead"Ramy ZadaDuke SandefurFebruary 7, 1992 (1992-02-07)
2222"Judgement Night"Jeff FreilichChristopher Trumbo & Jeff FreilichFebruary 28, 1992 (1992-02-28)

Season 2: 1992–93

[edit]
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date
231"Bump in the Night"UnknownKaren ClarkApril 17, 1992 (1992-04-17)
242"Anniversary"UnknownJames CappeApril 24, 1992 (1992-04-24)
253"Prime Cuts"UnknownAlan J. Scott & Michael De LucaMay 1, 1992 (1992-05-01)
264"Lead Rain"UnknownDuke SandefurMay 8, 1992 (1992-05-08)
275"Lush Life"UnknownChristopher TrumboMay 15, 1992 (1992-05-15)
286"The Specialist"UnknownJames CappeMay 29, 1992 (1992-05-29)
297"Needy Things"UnknownSusan EstabrookJune 5, 1992 (1992-06-05)
308"Snitch"UnknownChristopher TrumboJune 12, 1992 (1992-06-12)
319"Instant Replay"UnknownDuke SandefurSeptember 25, 1992 (1992-09-25)
3210"The Highest Court"UnknownTerry BlackOctober 2, 1992 (1992-10-02)
3311"Deadline"UnknownChristopher TrumboOctober 9, 1992 (1992-10-09)
3412"A Better Mousetrap"UnknownGreg StrangisOctober 16, 1992 (1992-10-16)
3513"Happy Mother's Day"UnknownMarch KesslerOctober 23, 1992 (1992-10-23)
3614"Black Heart"UnknownMichael De Luca & Alan J. ScottOctober 30, 1992 (1992-10-30)
3715"Jail Bait"UnknownKaren ClarkNovember 6, 1992 (1992-11-06)
3816"Venus Flytrap"UnknownDuke SandefurNovember 13, 1992 (1992-11-13)
3917"Teenage Pajama Party Massacre: Part IV"UnknownGreg StrangisNovember 20, 1992 (1992-11-20)
4018"Shrink"UnknownChristopher TrumboNovember 27, 1992 (1992-11-27)
4119"The Merchant"James CappeJames CappeFebruary 5, 1993 (1993-02-05)
4220"Blast from the Past"UnknownStory by : Jeff Freilich
Teleplay by : Karen Clark
February 12, 1993 (1993-02-12)
4321"Cold Reading"UnknownStory by : Ken Wiederhorn
Teleplay by : Ken Wiederhorn & James Cappe
February 19, 1993 (1993-02-19)
4422"Suitable for Framing"UnknownStory by : Jeff Freilich
Teleplay by : Duke Sandefur
February 26, 1993 (1993-02-26)

Season 3: 1993

[edit]
Ep Title Air date
451"Joyride"April 16, 1993 (1993-04-16)
462"Night Games"April 23, 1993 (1993-04-23)
473"Last Rites"April 30, 1993 (1993-04-30)
484"Person or Persons Unknown"May 7, 1993 (1993-05-07)
495"Clean Kill"May 14, 1993 (1993-05-14)
506"The Greening of Glenda Ross"May 21, 1993 (1993-05-21)
517"Uncle Tony's Cabin"May 28, 1993 (1993-05-28)
528"Pygmalion"June 4, 1993 (1993-06-04)
539"Backfire"June 11, 1993 (1993-06-11)
5410"Second Anniversary"June 18, 1993 (1993-06-18)
5511"Squeeze Play"June 25, 1993 (1993-06-25)
5612"Incorrect Dosage"July 2, 1993 (1993-07-02)
5713"2nd Story"July 9, 1993 (1993-07-09)
5814"Three on a Match"July 16, 1993 (1993-07-16)
5915"Crash Course"July 23, 1993 (1993-07-23)
6016"The Push"July 30, 1993 (1993-07-30)
6117"My Dinner with Nick"August 6, 1993 (1993-08-06)
6218"In Cover of Darkness: Part 1"August 17, 1993 (1993-08-17)
6319"In Cover of Darkness: Part 2"August 24, 1993 (1993-08-24)
6420"The Doctor Is In"September 14, 1993 (1993-09-14)
6521"A Kiss Goodbye"September 21, 1993 (1993-09-21)
6622"A Novel Way to Die"September 28, 1993 (1993-09-28)
[edit]