When Attorneys Attack

The cast lacks star power, the pace is glacial and there's no dramatic tension -- in TV terms, the Judiciary Committee's impeachment hearing is a bomb. The networks aren't even bothering, and judging by the recurring image of a lady touting a "How to Use Windows" video, advertisers aren't exactly beating down CNN's door to buy spots in its live coverage.

"This has none of the intensity of Iran-contra or Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas," says TIME TV correspondent James Collins. "The networks carried those gavel-to-gavel. This time the actual participants in the events under discussion aren't appearing, so there are no dramatic confrontations. Also, the material is all old and we already know the outcome." Indeed, if you want the nation to watch a show about lawyers at work, they'd better be wearing tiny skirts and spend a lot of time flirting in a coed bathroom.