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In contrast to the engrossing banalities of People's Court, the newer shows are filled with hokey courtroom theatrics. Defendants leap to their feet to protest adverse testimony, judges are portrayed as benevolent father figures ("This job sure gets to you once in a while," muttered Superior Court's Burns after one tough decision), and surprise witnesses abound. Viewers of Divorce Court have grown accustomed to salacious testimony that borders on parody. (Cross-examining lawyer to grocery delivery boy: "Aren't you the one ^ who propositioned Mrs. Cullen at the produce department, saying she was 'ripe and ready to eat?' " Delivery boy, indignantly: "No, I was talking about the avocados!") An attorney in The Judge breaks down while cross-examining an accused child abuser. Later, in the judge's chambers, she tearfully reveals her own abused childhood: "It was like I was facing my uncle up on that stand . . ." Though they could never be confused with the Supreme Court, these shows do deal with topical legal issues. The litigants on Superior Court have included a couple seeking a refund of their deposit on a new home after discovering that the previous owner had died of AIDS, a bank teller suing a TV station for libel after it falsely reported that he was a robbery suspect, and a retarded woman's mother petitioning the court to have her daughter sterilized. Among The Judge's tough assignments: a teenage brother and sister accused by their younger sister of committing incest.
Their advocates contend that these shows are educating viewers about the legal process. "I consider myself a judge doing on TV what I did for 20 years on the bench," says Keene of Divorce Court. People's Court, still the genre's great original, has clearly increased public understanding of small-claims procedures. "It tends to demystify the court system," says Wapner. The Judge and Superior Court have drawn good ratings in their initial weeks -- and another legal show, Parole Board, will debut in January -- but the jury is still out on whether TV viewers really want that much education in the law. Or whether, like the nation's real judiciary, TV's court system has already been overloaded.