Court TV: (n) reality TV

I am afraid I am not going to be a very objective observer and writer on this subject. Even though I should offer both sides of the situation concerning Court TV, I personally am a fan.

I’m embarrassed by that, because normally I don’t relish reality TV, and find it to be rather, shall we say, unrealistic.

But the lack of realism is what grant the appeal to Court TV. Seeing people who cannot escape the truth, although they try repeatedly to do so, standing before a judge and having their inconsistencies and misrepresentations aired in front of the entire audience, is just too sweet to resist.

Some of these judges are better than others—but honestly, all of them have a particular boiling point, where they go from jurisprudence to “what the hell were you thinking?”

It is enriching to know that lying, though common, also has a very definite result: you get caught and you look stupid.

Court TV exposes you if you sold a rotten car or if you cheated your landlord or if you failed to maintain enough distance on the highway. In the meantime, it will also uncover all sorts of emotional struggles, unfaithful partners and nasty feuds.

I feel the need to apologize for my dependence, and I will tell you that I’ve watched less and less as the years have gone by.

But recently I discovered that Judge Judy comes on in the afternoon—right after I’ve finished writing my blogs. And honest to God, I’ve been tempted to hurry up an edit in order to go see her fillet the latest lying fish.

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