Thursday, February 14, 2008

Why so many courtroom shows on TV?

When a friend told me he might be appearing on the Judge Alex show, my first thought was, "Judge Who?" Then he told me he thinks Judge Alex is hot. So I thought I'd set the DVR and record one of his shows. Sure, it would've been easier to search for a picture online, but I'm not that smart. So I checked the daytime TV listings and discover a whole cornucopia of these shows on the local Fox and CW stations.

From 10 am to 2 pm the CW has nonstop episodes of Judge Mathis, Judge Maria Lopez, Judge David Young (he's gay, by the way -- and his tag line is "Justice With A Snap!"), and The People's Court, which is also on from 5 to 6 pm.

Fox, meanwhile, counters with a five-hour court block, including one or more episodes of Judge Hatchett, Divorce Court, Cristina's Court (Huh? Not Judge Cristina?), Judge Joe Brown and Judge Judy. If that's not enough, Judge Hatchett gets a re-air at the wonderful time of 4 am.

Clearly, this is why our judicial system is such a mess. All the best, brightest judges head for TV Land.

Oddly, the local station that used to be the WB affiliate and is now a MyNetwork station (did MyNetwork come before MySpace? And why is the local Fox station's website known as MyFoxPhilly.com? Shouldn't someone have copyrighted the use of the word "My" by now?) has no court TV shows. They just have to make do with multpile episodes of Jerry Springer, Maury Povich, Montel Williams, Steve Wilkos (who used to be "Director of Security" for Springer, which obviously qualifies one to become a host), and Cheaters.

4 comments:

Craig said...

My mother and I are court show addicts. Judge Judy is the most fun because she hurls invective at her litigants lie nobody's business. (In tonight's episode she screams at a defandant, "You're a MORON! You are an example of why people should have to take tests before having children!") She's rude and nasty and arrogant, and a total hoot. Judge Marilyn Milian, the Cubana hottie who runs the People's Court, is the smartest, sharpest knife in the drawer. Everything she says is right on target.

The least likable is Judge Maria Lopez, who has a raspy smoker's voice and face and reminds me of a Latina street thug. David Young is obnoxiously swishy, a gay cartoon judge. We watch him anyway.

You WILL let us know when your friend appears on Judge Alex, won't you?

Joe in Philly said...

I would, but as it turns out he won't be on the show.

Glitter Queen said...

Every time I have my car serviced, no matter where the TV in the waiting room is tuned to non-stop court shows. I thought I'd escaped it all yesterday when I walked in the waiting room just before 10, and they were watching Rachel Ray, but alas, Rachel, unlike diamonds, is not forever. Since I was working and, briefly, napping, they all merged together into one mega-trial about the girl who wanted back the deposit on the home she'd shared with her abusive boyfriend who could have been an opera singer if he hadn't joined a street gang that did faulty repairs on an old woman's house.

But I love Judge Milian, too.

Uncle Robbie said...

Judge Wapner is the only TV judge I've ever watched (unless you count Judge Ito).