History Series / TheJudge

* EvilPrincipal: A teenage girl is fighting for reinstatement after she was expelled from her Catholic high school (which has a strict moral code) when she posed for a swimsuit calendar. However, the principal's values come into question when the girl's attorney reveals that he may have had more involvement with the calendar (and similar projects involving underage teen girls) than he's willing to admit.

* StuffBlowingUp: One episode has a man (completely unconnected with the trial taking place) come in and threaten the whole courtroom with a homemade bomb hidden in a briefcase. He turns out to be someone the judge had put in jail some years earlier; after confiscating bailiff Lewis' gun, the bomber commandeers the bench and later shoots Lewis when he attempts to help the father of the teenager on trial, who had just deactivated the bomb. After learning Lewis' gun only had one bullet, the bomber tries to flee the courtroom, but is stopped by attorneys and the defendant's father.

* StalkerWithACrush: In one episode, a man is accused of stalking a soap opera actress, even to the point of showing up on the set wearing a tuxedo the day they her character's wedding was shot. While the man's attorney tries to portray the whole thing as a series of misunderstandings, the defendant eventually reveals himself to be completely unstable, culminating in him proclaiming his love for the character she plays.

** In one, a young couple with limited resources are fighting the state to keep custody of their 10-year-old son, who has serious behavior issues (a social worker initiated the hearing after an incident where the boy was accused of poking a girl's eyes out with a pair of scissors). While his parents seem to be winning Judge Franklin over to their side, the hearing is interrupted when a small wastebasket fire in the judge's chambers, revealing that the boy does indeed have the problems his parents are in denial about.

** In one, a young couple with limited resources are fighting the state to keep custody of their 10-year-old son, who has serious behavior issues (a social worker initiated the hearing after an incident where the boy was accused of poking a girl's eye out with a pair of scissors). While his parents seem to be winning Judge Franklin over to their side, the hearing is interrupted when a small wastebasket fire in the judge's chambers, revealing that the boy does indeed have the problems his parents are in denial about.

* EnfantTerrible: A young couple with limited resources are fighting the state to keep custody of their 10-year-old son, who has serious behavior issues (a social worker initiated the hearing after an incident where the boy was accused of poking a girl's eye out with a pair of scissors). While his parents seem to be winning Judge Franklin over to their side, the hearing is interrupted when a small wastebasket fire in the judge's chambers, revealing that the boy does indeed have the problems his parents are in denial about.

* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: In the same episode where the Army Colonel is contesting his son's emancipation suit, the Colonel and his son have a heated exchange while the Colonel is on the stand. While Franklin is trying to restore order, the Colonel makes the mistake of telling "Bob" to tell his son to sit down and shut up... which, needless to say, earns the Colonel an angry rebuke, a reminder that ''he'' is to be addressed as "Your Honor" or "sir," and a contempt of court citation.

* OddCouple: Judge Franklin is known to have a "love/hate" professional relationship with recurring character Sgt. Terrance Fox; while an honest police officer, it's clear that Fox's abrasive personality often rubs the judge the wrong way. Despite this, Judge Franklin respects Sgt. Fox, even telling him in one episode that "Sometimes I think you move to a different drum; but you do get results".

-->''I'm Judge Robert J. Franklin. I chose the law as my way of serving my fellow citizens. As a judge in the Family Court, I pray each day that God will give me the wisdom to always temper justice with mercy.''

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Generally, Judge Franklin was an even-tempered man who had the patience of a saint, but when someone stepped over the line, he didn't hold back. One infamous example was when an Army colonel, during an emancipation hearing for a teenage boy wanting to get away from his abusive, overbearing father; while the father was being grilled by his son's attorneys and he clearly had lost the upper hand, he tried to get into a shouting match with Franklin, but the judge quickly put a stop to it: "Colonel, in this courtroom, '''''I''''' give the orders!" ([[ForegoneConclusion Needless to say, the Colonel lost custody of his son]].)

* StuffBlowingUp: One episode has a man (completely unconnected with the trial taking place) come in and threaten the whole courtroom with a homemade bomb. He turns out to be someone the judge had put in jail some years earlier.

* SurpriseWitness: Not as frequently as the series’ brethren Divorce Court and Superior Court, but enough to satisfy fans of 1980s-era courtroom TV shows.

* TheJudge: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

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'''''The Judge''''' was a syndicated daily courtroom show that ran from the mid-1980s to early-1990s, and was part of the 1980s wave of courtroom shows. Unlike the current wave of shows that typically deal with real-life small-claims arbitration, these dramas that featured fictional stories but were said to be based on real-life cases and [[RippedFromTheHeadlines current issues of the day]]. Often, the show aired alongside fellow courtroom dramas ''Divorce Court'' (with real-life Judge William Keene) and ''Superior Court'' (with a rotating series of judges).

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: A man who was about to have his parental rights terminated barges into the courtroom with a gun and holds everyone hostage. The man is a psychopath and cannot be reasoned with, despite everyone's best attempts... and things reach a boiling point where, when someone tries to disarm him, he fires the gun... and accidentally shoots his own son. Only then does the man realize he is sick and needs professional help. As the man bawls and holds his badly-injured son -- it is implied the boy will recover -- Franklin makes sure the man understands the seriousness of his actions.
* ObfuscatingDisability: During a hearing, a young man accused of killing his parents to inherit a large estate, attempts to use an insanity defense. A mental health expert, however, reviews a video tape and notes serious inconsistencies between his insanity claim and the psychopath he is revealed to be.
* OpeningNarration: The show always began with a series of clips of the judge getting ready for working, kissing his wife goodbye, patting his dog, and waving to the neighbors. Once he reached chambers and sat down at his desk, the montage concluded with him signing his name while giving one of these.

* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: In the same episode where the Army Colonel was contesting his son's emancipation suit, the Colonel and his son have a heated exchange while the Colonel is on the stand. While Franklin is trying to restore order, the Colonel makes a mistake by telling "Bob" to tell his son to sit down and shut up... which, needless to say, earns the Colonel an angry rebuke, a reminder that ''he'' is to be addressed as "Your Honor" or "sir," and a contempt of court citation.

'''''The Judge''''' was a syndicated daily courtroom show that ran from the mid-1980s to early-1990s, and was part of the 1980s wave of courtroom shows.

Not the current wave of shows that typically deal with real-life small-claims arbitrations, but dramas that featured fictional stories but were said to be based on real-life cases and [[RippedFromTheHeadlines current issues of the day]]. Often, the show aired alongside fellow courtroom dramas ''Divorce Court'' (with real-life Judge William Keene) and ''Superior Court'' (with a rotating series of judges).

* CycleOfRevenge: In one episode, Franklin hears the sick, demented case of three former friends getting revenge on each other with sexual assaults of their own, this after a boy rapes his teenaged girlfriend. (The girl's best friend gets revenge ... and to make thing even sicker, the original victim rapes her best friend.) Franklin is disgusted and outraged and asks the district attorney to file charges against each of them.
* Main/TheJudge: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: A man who was about to have his parental rights terminated barges into the courtroom with a gun and holds everyone hostage. The man is a psychopath and cannot be reasoned with, despite everyone's best attempts ... and things reach a boiling point where, when someone tries to disarm him, he fires the gun ... and accidentally shoots his own son. Only then does the man realize he is sick and needs professional help. As the man bawls and holds his badly-injured son -- it is implied the boy will recover -- Franklin makes sure the man understands the seriousness of his actions.

* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: In the same episode where the Army Colonel was contesting his son's emancipation suit, the Colonel and his son have a heated exchange while the Colonel is on the stand. While Franklin is trying to restore order, the Colonel makes a mistake by telling "Bob" to tell his son to sit down and shut up ... which, needless to say, earns the Colonel an angry rebuke, a reminder that ''he'' is to be addressed as "Your Honor" or "sir" and contempt of court citation.

* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: In the same episode where the Army Colonel was contesting his son's emancipation suit, the Colonel and his son have a heated exchange while the Colonel is on the stand. While Franklin is trying to restore order, the Colonel makes a mistake by telling "Bob" to tell his son to sit down and shut up ... which, needless to say, earns the Colonel an angry rebuke, a reminder that ''he'' is to be addressed as "Judge Franklin" or "sir" and contempt of court citation.

* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: In the same episode where the Army Colonel was contesting his son's emancipation suit, the Colonel and his son have a heated exchange while the Colonel is on the stand. While Franklin is trying to restore order, the Colonel makes a mistake by telling "Bob" to tell his son to sit down and shut up ... which, needless to say, earns him an angry rebuke and contempt of court citation.