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Review of TV Judges Shows: A Trip Through Justice TV

Celebrity Fit Club, Divorce Process

There is something evil and very human in how much we like to see how others fall under the heavy weight of Justice. We avidly watch shows where bad guys are always caught when they try to shorten their path to fortune, using robbery and murder, and we enjoy to be assured that they are not smarter than we are.

I think this is one of the main reasons we love TV judges shows. It is sort of comforting to see people being punished for stupid and miserable mistakes, and watch how couples show naked their irritating domestic disputes, and the best thing of all this, is that we can comment on them, call them names and bet who will win the judge’s favor. A legal roman circus on TV.

The first TV judge was Joseph A. Wapner, who did his debut in People’s Court in 1981. His show was pioneer on domestic justice, and Judge Wapner took his time to explain his sentences and each law twist.

Judge Judy came a little later, in 1997, and she became a legend of acidity and ferocity. She is an opinionated woman who treats the litigants with humiliation and sarcasm. She frankly scares me, and the reasons for the people to visit her show to face such a gorgon escape to my knowledge of human nature. However, maybe that is the secret of her success, because everybody gets too scared to argue her rulings.

Much friendly and nice is Marilyn Milian, the Hispanic face of TV Justice. From “People’s Court” Judge Milian rules with a warm and feminine touch, although she can also show a strong Cuban temperament. Her decisions are very agreeable, but the cases get too similar one to another.

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More in the new technologic age is Judge Joe Brown, who gives Justice using a poll to measure what the audience thinks about the cases. He is the image of a successful black intelligent lawman, and he is kind and soft in his relation with the defendants, even sometimes a little too soft, and I think the use of the polls rests credibility to his capacity for take decisions.

Judge Larry Doe Dougherty, in Texas Justice, rules following the stereotype of the cowboy, using the Texan language and examples, in my opinion going a little too far in his personification. The funny think is that he uses a lie detector to decide his rulings, and lie detectors’ results are inadmissible in Texas!

Greg Mathis is the bad-saw-the-light guy; he had problems with the Law when he was younger, but full of remorse promised change to his mother. This is what he says at the beginning of his show, and really, he practices what he calls “taught love”, trying to straighten up the still savable confused almost-criminals. He is funny, and his show is very pleasant to follow.

My favorite judge show is “Divorce Court”, and Judge Mablean Ephriam is the star. She listens to the litigants with an incredulity look in her eyes, and always shows a constant surprise for the male stupidity. She cannot rule divorces, but she does it in some aspects of the divorce process.

She uses a lot of common sense, and we appreciate it, we are usually agreed with her decisions. Her only defect is her participation in the Celebrity Fit Club, watching your favorite serious and bossy judge break down about eating too much pie does not help for taking her seriously.

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TV judges are a fun entertainment, but do not add many more, the idea is loosing originality.