You know what they say, flattery will get you, er, everywhere.
And in E! News' exclusive sneak peek at Night Court's Feb. 14 episode, flattery is exactly what it takes to get John Larroquette's Dan Fielding on board with helping Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch) show a group of kids a typical day-in-the-life working in the justice system.
As Abby helps bailiff Donna "Gurgs" Gurganous (Lacretta) give her tween nephew and his schoolmates a tour, she assigns one of the kids, Carlos (Antonio Raul Corbo), to be Dan's "justice buddy" for the day, much to Dan's displeasure.
"Mr. Fielding, would you like to meet your justice buddy?" Abby asks her co-worker in the preview, to which he unenthusiastically responds, "I reject the premise that I have a 'justice buddy.'"
Seeing that Dan is a tough cookie to crack, Carlos decides complimenting him is the best way to change his mind. "Mr. Fielding, it'd be my honor to work with you," he says, catching Dan's attention. "What you do as a Public Defender is so noble. And may I say, sir, you are one of the true heroes."
His praise does just the trick, as Dan not-so-humbly tells the student, "I'm no hero. I'm just a man who just constantly does heroic things."
Dan then tells Abby, "This one will make a fine assistant," before giving Carlos some rules to follow. Handing Carlos his newspaper, Dan hilariously instructs him, "Two steps behind me, no eye contact."
But the justice buddies' visit won't go exactly as planned, as the episode's description states, "Things get out of hand for Abby, Dan and the night court team when the kids reveal their true motive is to grind the wheels of justice to a halt."
Night Court airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)