''The Judge'' is a dramatized court show which ran in first-run syndication from

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

1980s: Judges Played Judges, Actors Played Judges
/ref> to 1993. The series chronicled the family court cases heard by Judge Robert J. Franklin, played by Bob Shield. In contrast to ''The People's Court'', which featured actual litigants, ''The Judge'', along with ''

Divorce Court ''Divorce Court'' is an American court show that revolves around settling the disputes of couples going through divorces. The show has had four separate runs, all in first-run syndication. Since the debut of the original series in 1957, it is ...

'' and ''

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

'', was one of several popular shows of the day that featured dramatizations of actual court cases. ''The Judge'' was produced and licensed by

WBNS-TV WBNS-TV (channel 10) is a television station in Columbus, Ohio, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside the company's sole radio properties, WBNS (1460 AM) and WBNS-FM (97.1). The stations share studios on Twi ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, and was distributed by

Genesis Entertainment New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 19 ...

Show format

Each episode normally began with a pre-hearing

cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In Ameri ...

, usually featuring with one or both of the parties discussing the upcoming trial either inside or just outside the courtroom. In some episodes, the cold open would feature one of the lawyers talking to Judge Franklin in his chambers. The

title sequence A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with vi ...

would begin at Judge Franklin's home with Franklin preparing for work. The photographs that the camera pans across are actually of Shield himself, showing his days in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and as a young man. After a kiss to his wife and a wave to their neighbors, Judge Franklin would drive off to work as we heard him narrate: The building standing in for the courthouse is the

Pasadena City Hall Pasadena City Hall, completed in 1927, serves as the central location for city government in the City of Pasadena, California and is a significant architectural example of the City Beautiful movement of the 1920s. History In 1923, the people ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

. The title sequence would then end with him entering his chambers, sitting down, and signing some documents; concluding with a close-up of his signature. The episode proper would then begin with Franklin entering the courtroom while an off-screen narrator explains: Like the aforementioned courtroom dramas, episodes of ''The Judge'' involved shock value: cases that began as mundane or routine often ended up taking a serious or unexpected turn.

Other regular characters

*Janet Page (J.T. Solomon), Judge Franklin's courtroom assistant. *Sergeant Terrance Fox (Brendan Burns), a recurring character who was often used for comic relief. An honest police officer with an abrasive personality, Fox would often irritate Judge Franklin to no end; in one episode he told the officer that he would try the patience of a saint, adding, "And I am no saint!"

Broadcast history

A drama that later became ''The Judge'', called ''Municipal Court'' (changed to ''The Judge'' while still a local program), ran for 12 years as a local television program in

. Shield, playing Judge Franklin, won four regional

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for his performance. In 1986, ''The Judge'' was picked up for national syndication, where it enjoyed a seven-year run. Repeats of ''The Judge'' aired on the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

in the early 1990s. The nationally syndicated version was originally taped in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

for its first four runs of 10 episodes each (1986–89), and later moved to

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

for its final three runs (1990–93). The show was licensed by

in Columbus.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Judge, The 1986 American television series debuts 1993 American television series endings Court shows Dramatized court shows Television series by 20th Century Fox Television 1980s American drama television series 1990s American drama television series First-run syndicated television programs in the United States