Late Night TV

I watch a lot of TV. Scratch that, my TV is on a lot. I was a latchkey kid as a child and the TV was comforting to me. Without it I heard every squirrel on the roof, bird in the yard and car driving by and would run into my hiding spot with the phone ready to dial 911. I also sleep with the TV on for partially the same reason. (The other part is because my great-grandmother who raised me slept with the TV on and I can't sleep when its too quiet.)


In spite of all the TV I watch, I am still amazed at some of the stuff I see on late at night. Enter the show "Eye for an Eye". This was not the worst judge show I have seen, but it was pretty bad. First of all, when the bailiff (who is named Big Sugar Ray - SMH), calls the court to order, he YELLS and throws his hands in the air like a heavyweight champion. Then the crowd (yes, crowd not the gallery or spectators...), stands and yells "Extreme Akim" over and over again. Think Jerry Springer and you have the idea. (I will not comment too much on the voices not matching the people's lips...).

The first case was a guy who forged a doctor's signature on some prescription pads to get drugs so he could get high. High being the keyword here, because after he was found "guilty", Extreme Akim, ordered the defendant hoisted into the air telling him "you want to get high, now you are high". He let the guy swing long enough to ask him "are you going to get high again?" The guy of course said no and then he let him down to be "arrested". Maybe I am missing something. Is this all it takes for someone who is addicted to drugs to kick the habit? Humiliation? I guess drug courts missed this approach.

I could go on but I actually found myself getting irritated at the show. Why? Because in my opinion shows like this make it easy for people to think its okay to act an ass in a courtroom. I taught at a university for a bit and of the questions I got repeatedly from students was "are those judge shows real?" and "are those actual licensed attorneys on those shows?". The students seemed to feel that the silliness and comedic issues on the shows either meant the show wasn't real or judges really behave that way. Sadly I had to admit that they are licensed attorneys. This was an undergraduate college course and the fact that they questioned the reality of says a lot. I thought for years I was being a legal snob in thinking that that some (if not most or all) of these shows were stupid. Now, I see that they are possibly giving the average person more fodder for lawyer jokes.

Topic #2 on "I should write about this more in depth"...: How do judges shows affect the effectiveness of our judicial system?