History Main / HarshTalentShowJudge

* ''Series/{{Psych}}'': In the episode "American Duos," Sean and Gus are assigned the case of who's trying to kill Nigel Saint Nigel, [[CausticCritic notoriously nasty judge]] in charge of [[TitleDrop the eponymous talent show]]. Nigel takes pleasure in putting down contestants and belittling his costars. Sean and Gus are entered in the competition to keep a close eye on him despite their lack of talent and his constant criticisms and whining. At the end, after one of the costars overdoses, the other is arrested for causing her to overdose and admits to wanting to kill Nigel because his planned comeback was ruined by being overshadowed by Nigel judging the competition. As the guilty costar is dragged away kicking and screaming in handcuffs, Nigel just can't resist calling him a failure both as a musician and murderer. At the very end, when Sean and Gus give a genuinely good performance that earns them a standing ovation, Nigel shuts down the crowd's adulation, eliminates them from the competition by telling them they have no talent whatsoever, and rudely dismisses them by suggesting they kill themselves for being such failures.

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* ''Manga/YakitateJapan'': Ryo Kuroyanagi is Pantasia's go-to examiner for new recruits, and judge for the Newcomer's Battle. He's infamous for his almost sadistic habit of demeaning aspiring bakers who doesn't fit his high standards. In his introduction, he kicks out three recruits before the exam even starts due to their physical appearance (rather than anything to do with their skills), and he'd frequently call bakers who produce inferior bread as "trash".

* ''Series/RupaulsDragRace'' has Michelle Visage, who is notorious for her incredibly harsh (and often somewhat arbitrary) standards and tendency to not mince her words in the slightest during critiques. Her BrutalHonesty is so unending that other judges responding to her biting commentary with "I have to disagree with Michelle" and launching into a compliment-fest has effectively become a RunningGag.

* In the ''Series/BlackMirror'' episode "[[Recap/BlackMirrorFifteenMillionMerits Fifteen Million Merits]]," the talent show ''Hot Shots'' is dominated by three of these: Wraith, Hope, and Charity -- Hope being a pretty obvious parody of Simon Cowell and more than prepared to verbally rip contestants to bits. However, in the dystopian society in which this episode takes place, the Judges have enormous influence over society, as ''Hot Shots'' is the only desirable method for downtrodden members of the working class to achieve fame and fortune: They not only have the power to crush the dreams of contestants but to redirect them into the porn industry -- where said contestants will [[AndIMustScream spend their lives drugged-up and being raped on camera]].

* ''Series/MyKitchenRules'' has Colin Fassnidge, who is one of the most critical and hardest to please among the 6 judges. Initially introduced as ''MKR'''s own version of Gordon Ramsay, he often pulverizes the contestants' confidence with his aggressive critiques and tends to score lower than the rest of the panels. However, he drops most of his aggressive attitude after becoming one of the main judges in season 6, is more willing to praise a good dish (or at least point out the positive aspects of a mediocre one), and is generally a pleasant guy to be around.

* ''VideoGame/IdolManager'': In the ''Nation of Idols'' show, the judges consist of a former idol who likes almost everything, a former music producer who's expected to give the fairest evaluation and the rival, who is the harsh one who only sees the flaws in each constestant. The music producer is expected to be the tie breaker in most cases, but the rival is rumored to give his rare thumbs up not to the best, but to groups he wants to see in the next round for personal reasons that don't make the cut by the former music producer's standards.

* One ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'' story has the main group participate in a "[[Series/DancingWithTheStars Dance With Celebrities]]" contest. One of the unnamed judges is constantly mocking the contestants while giving 0 to negative scores. Even when Veronica's performance impresses him enough to give her team a 10/10, he doesn't actually praise her, but simply expresses relief that it was enough to make him forget Archie's terrible one.

** Len retained the same role in the UK counterpart ''Series/StrictlyComeDancing'', but the role of the harsh, critical judge went to Craig Revel-Horwood, who [[MeaningfulName reveled]] in the boos he got from the audience. After Len departed the show, the role of the kind yet critical judge has gone to Motsi Mabuse.

** Len retained the same role in the UK counterpart ''Series/StrictlyComeDancing'', but the role of the harsh, critical judge went to Craig Revel-Horwood, who [[MeaningfulName reveled]] in the boos he got from the audience. After Len departed the show, the role of the kind judge has gone to Motsi Mabuse.

Most formats of the TalentShow and TalentContest utilize at least one judge. Their job is to use their experience and reputation in the industry the show is about to evaluate the contestants' output and explain the goings-on to the audience. One common archetype is the Harsh Talent Show Judge, who has incredibly high standards and is critical and rude towards those who don't meet said standards. This judge will unforgivingly pick apart the contestants' offerings, [[AccentuateTheNegative point out all the flaws however minor]], and [[BrutalHonesty won't mince words if the presentation is awful]]. They'll probably send the HopelessAuditionees home in tears. Particularly vicious examples might stop just short of kicking the contestant out mid-presentation, but will express a desire to spit on their grandmother's grave instead.

* One ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'' story has the main group participate in a "[[Series/DancingWithTheStars Dance With Celebrities]]" contest. One of the unnamed judge is constantly mocking the contestants while giving 0 to negative scores. Even when Veronica's performance impresses him enough to give her team a 10/10, he doesn't actually praise her, but simply expresses relief that it was enough to make him forget Archie's terrible one.

* In the ''Series/BlackMirror'' episode "[[Recap/BlackMirrorFifteenMillionMerits Fifteen Million Merits]]," the talent show ''Hot Shots'' is dominated by three of these: Wraith, Hope, and Charity -- Hope being a pretty obvious parody of Simon Cowell and more than prepared to verbally rip contestants to bits. However, in the dystopian society in which this episode takes place, the Judges have enormous influence over society, as ''Hot Shots'' is the only desirable method for downtrodden members of the working class to achieve fame and fortune: They not only have the power to crush the dreams of contestants, but to redirect them into the porn industry -- where said contestants will [[AndIMustScream spend their lives drugged-up and being raped on camera]].

* ''Series/{{Psych}}'': In the episode "American Duos," Sean and Gus are assigned the case of who's trying to kill Nigel Saint Nigel, [[CausticCritic notoriously nasty judge]] in charge of [[TitleDrop the eponymous talent show]]. Nigel takes pleasure in putting down contestants and belittling his costars. Sean and Gus are entered in the competition to keep a close eye on him despite their lack of talent and his constant criticisms and whining. At the end, after one the costars overdoses, the other is arrested for causing her to overdose and admits to wanting to kill Nigel because his planned comeback was ruined by being overshadowed by Nigel judging the competition. As the guilty costar is dragged away kicking and screaming in handcuffs, Nigel just can't resist calling him a failure both as a musician and murderer. At the very end, when Sean and Gus give a genuinely good performance that earns them a standing ovation, Nigel shuts down the crowds adulation, eliminates them from the competition by telling them they have no talent whatsoever, and rudely dismisses them by suggesting they kill themselves for being such failures.

* ''Series/TheGreatBritishBakeOff'' has a two-man judging panel. In contrast to the sweet and grandmotherly judge Mary Berry and her replacement, the friendly Prue Leith, Paul Hollywood tends to be more snobby, critical and pompous (though not outright mean) about contestants' outputs.

Most formats of the TalentShow and TalentContest utilize at least one judge. Their job is to use their experience and reputation in the industry the show is about to evaluate the contestants' output and explain the goings-on to the audience. One common archetype is the Harsh Talent Show Judge, who has incredibly high standards and are critical and rude towards those who don't meet said standards. This judge will unforgivingly pick apart the contestant's offering, [[AccentuateTheNegative point out all the flaws however minor]], and [[BrutalHonesty won't mince words if the presentation is awful]]. They'll probably send the HopelessAuditionees home in tears. Particularly vicious examples might stop just short of kicking the contestant out mid-presentation, but will express a desire to spit on their grandmother's grave instead.

* In the ''Series/BlackMirror'' episode "[[Recap/BlackMirrorFifteenMillionMerits Fifteen Million Merits]]," the talent show ''Hot Shots'' is dominated by three of these: Wraith, Hope, and Charity - Hope being a pretty obvious parody of Simon Cowell and more than prepared to verbally rip contestants to bits. However, in the dystopian society in which this episode takes place, the Judges have enormous influence over society, as ''Hot Shots'' is the only desirable method for downtrodden members of the working class to achieve fame and fortune: they not only have the power to crush the dreams of contestants, but to redirect them into the porn industry - where said contestants will [[AndIMustScream spend their lives drugged-up and being raped on camera]].

If the format of the show involves HoldUpYourScore, this one tends to grade low (or lower than everyone else), but when they ''do'' score something highly, it means the contestant has really succeeded. Indeed, some shows frame this judge as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who aims for ToughLove and gives credit where credit is due.