| rdfs:comment | - The Ur Example of the judge talk show, The People's Court had its pilot episode taped in October of 1980 and premiered on September 14, 1981 when Judge Joseph Wapner took the court to the TV. The premise is that two parties, a plaintiff and a defendant, that would otherwise take their cases to small claims court would instead agree to have their case settled on television by Judge Wapner. After the verdict was given, each side would be interviewed by host and court reporter Doug Llewelyn, who would often end the show with the Catch Phrase "Don't take the law into your own hands: you take 'em to court." The show's other two regulars were bailiff Rusty Burrell and announcer Jack Harrell. The show was created by John Masterson, who previously created and produced Queen for a Day. It was execu
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| abstract | - The Ur Example of the judge talk show, The People's Court had its pilot episode taped in October of 1980 and premiered on September 14, 1981 when Judge Joseph Wapner took the court to the TV. The premise is that two parties, a plaintiff and a defendant, that would otherwise take their cases to small claims court would instead agree to have their case settled on television by Judge Wapner. After the verdict was given, each side would be interviewed by host and court reporter Doug Llewelyn, who would often end the show with the Catch Phrase "Don't take the law into your own hands: you take 'em to court." The show's other two regulars were bailiff Rusty Burrell and announcer Jack Harrell. The show was created by John Masterson, who previously created and produced Queen for a Day. It was executive produced by Ralph Edwards, who previously created and/or produced The Cross Wits, Truth or Consequences, and Name That Tune, and his production partner, Stu Billett. Both men packaged the show under their own separate companies until 1987, when the companies merged. The show was originally distributed by Telepictures until 1986, when that company merged with Lorimar, creating Lorimar-Telepictures. Lorimar-Telepictures continued to distribute until 1989, when it was purchased by Warner Bros, who continued to distribute until the show's cancellation in 1993. After Judge Judy started the judge show revival in the mid-1990s, one of the first shows on the block was a Revival of The People's Court. Former New York City mayor Ed Koch initially took the bench for the first two years, then was replaced by Jerry Sheindlin (husband of Judge Judy). He was replaced by Marilyn Milian in 2001, who presides over the court today. The bailiff during the Koch-Sheindlin years was Josephine Ann Longobardi. After Milian took the bench, she was replaced by Davy Jones, who only lasted relatively briefly and was in turn replaced by Douglas MacIntosh. Curt Chaplin took over the interview duties and became the new announcer, while host Harvey Levin, who worked on the Wapner version as the show's legal consultant, explains the legalese behind the judges' decisions while polling fans gathered outdoors. The original is best known nowadays for being the favorite program of Raymond Babbit.
* Catch Phrase: Like Judge Judy, Marilyn Milian has her own set of catch phrases:
* "Did I breathe and give you the impression I was done speaking?"
* "You redefine chutzpah!"
* "As my grandmother used to say, Un clavo saca el otro clavo - One nail drives out the other." (And various other "dichos," or short sayings/proverbs in Spanish. The judge is very proud of her Cuban-American heritage.)
* "Who am I gonna believe, you or my lying eyes?"
* "I wouldn't believe you if your tongue came notarized."
* "NOT here! NOT today! And NOT in my courtroom!"
* Early Installment Weirdness: In addition to the judge-bailiff turnover, Levin originally had a co-host, Carol Martin, who previously was an anchor at New York City TV station WCBS.
* Keep Circulating the Tapes: The Wapner version has not been seen since the late 2000's, when it was reran on In2TV, an internet television service jointly owned by America Online and Warner Bros.
* Rant-Inducing Slight: Judge Milian's verbal beatdown of a snotty law student below.
* "The Reason You Suck" Speech: So many instances with Judge Milian, all a Moment of Awesome for her. Judge Milian is actually pretty even-tempered compared with Judge Judy, but when something triggers her Berserk Button, watch out!
* October 15, 2007: A University of Miami law student says her ruling is "your opinion". Milian goes postal.
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