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Courthouse (TV series)

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Courthouse
GenreDrama
Created byDeborah Joy LeVine
Written byIan Biederman
Dennis Cooper
Dan Levine
Deborah Joy LeVine
Roger Lowenstein
Gina Prince-Bythewood
Directed byRon Lagomarsino
Michael Fields
James Frawley
Dan Lerner
Alan J. Levi
Martha Mitchell
James Quinn
Jesús Salvador Treviño
StarringPatricia Wettig
ComposerJay Gruska
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes11 (2 unaired)
Production
Executive producerDeborah Joy LeVine
ProducersDan Levine
Vahan Moosekian
CinematographyMichael Gershman
EditorsSusan B. Browdy
David Post
Ron Rosen
Running time60 minutes (with commercials)
Production companiesKedzie Productions
Columbia Pictures Television
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseSeptember 13 (1995-09-13) –
November 15, 1995 (1995-11-15)

Courthouse is an American drama television series that ran on CBS from September 13 to November 15, 1995. The series was created and executive-produced by Deborah Joy LeVine.[1] The Courthouse plot centered on a tough female judge,[2] and was partially inspired by NYPD Blue and the television coverage of the O. J. Simpson murder case.[3] Patricia Wettig led the cast which also included Bob Gunton and Robin Givens.[4] Wettig intended to leave the show due to "creative differences", with sources saying that she wanted the show to be more of a star vehicle for her, rather than an ensemble cast, but the show was cancelled before her character could be written out.[1][5]

The show included Jenifer Lewis and Cree Summer as the first recurring African American lesbian characters on TV,[6] but the role was ordered to be toned down for broadcast.[3] Lewis played Juvenile Court judge Rosetta Reide, who was having a relationship with her housekeeper Danny Gates (played by Summer).

The show failed to catch on with audiences, the pilot ranked 47 out of 108 shows, according to the Nielsen ratings for that week, with 9.2 million viewers (16% share), and it was cancelled two months after it premiered.[2][7][8] One critic described the show as "a hopeless amalgam that strains the senses".[9]

Synopsis

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Courthouse is a TV drama with much sex and violence; it follows the lives of the judges and lawyers and all the staff at a big-city courthouse in fictional Clark County. The court has a limited budget and an overcrowded case load, and the courthouse itself is falling into disrepair.[1]

The court is led by the no-nonsense presiding judge, Justine Parkes.[3] Then, amid all the turmoil, Wyatt Jackson, a hunky new judge, arrives from Montana.[10] He gets off to a shaky start with Parkes as he is not used to the way big-city courts are run, but there is a hint of romantic tension between the two.[1]

There are several romantic couplings among the staff, including an interracial coupling of two prosecutors in Moore and Graham[4][10] and a lesbian affair between Judge Reide and her housekeeper.[3][6]

New York magazine described the show as follows:[10]

"Ready to believe in Robin Givens as a tireless defender of public justice? Courthouse's idea of gritty moral realism is to divide the world into the good and the bad: Bad judges go to the opera while their charges die in jail; good judges have interracial affairs with members of their own gender; and the best judge of all rolls in from Montana looking like he just shot a 501 commercial".

Cast

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  • Patricia Wettig as Judge Justine Parkes, the no-nonsense presiding judge
  • Bob Gunton as Judge Homer Conklin, an autocratic "hanging judge" and a by-the-book traditionalist
  • Brad Johnson as Judge Wyatt E. Jackson, a hunky, non-conformist recently arrived from Montana
  • Michael Lerner as Judge Myron Winkleman, a neurotic Family Court judge
  • Jenifer Lewis as Judge Rosetta Reide, a struggling, gay single mother presiding over Juvenile Court
  • Dan Gauthier as Jonathan Mitchell, a conceited prosecutor, who is dating public defender Gilbert
  • Nia Peeples as Veronica Gilbert, a public defender, who is dating Mitchell
  • Jeffrey D. Sams as Edison Moore, the hard-charging young prosecutor in a secret romantic relationship with Graham
  • Robin Givens as Suzanne Graham, an investigator for the D.A.'s office
  • Annabeth Gish as Lenore Laderman, a naive young prosecutor just reassigned to the sex crimes unit
  • Cree Summer as Danny Gates, the housekeeper and lesbian girlfriend of Judge Reide

Other cast members included Jacqueline Kim, Shelley Morrison, Roma Maffia, Christopher Michael, Larry Joshua, Kelly Rutherford, Cotter Smith, George Newbern, David L. Crowley and John Mese.

Episodes

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No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date U.S. viewers
(millions)[11]
1"Pilot"Ron LagomarsinoDeborah Joy LeVineSeptember 13, 1995 (1995-09-13)9.2
2"One Flew Over the Courthouse"Bill D'EllaDeborah Joy Levine & Dennis CooperSeptember 20, 1995 (1995-09-20)7
3"Conflict of Interest"UnknownIan BiedermanSeptember 27, 1995 (1995-09-27)5.7
4"Order on the Court"Alan J. LeviGina PrinceOctober 10, 1995 (1995-10-10)7
5"Sex, Law and Videotape"Dan LernerDan LevineOctober 11, 1995 (1995-10-11)7.3
6"Child Support"Jesús Salvador TreviñoIan BiedermanOctober 18, 1995 (1995-10-18)6.3
7"One Strike and You're Out"James A. ContnerRoger LowensteinNovember 1, 1995 (1995-11-01)5.4
8"Fair-Weathered Friends"James QuinnGina PrinceNovember 8, 1995 (1995-11-08)5.8
9"Injustice for All"Martha MitchellDennis Cooper & Deborah Joy LeVineNovember 15, 1995 (1995-11-15)5.1
10"Mitigating Circumstances"TBDTBDUnairedTBD
11"Justice Delayed"TBDTBDUnairedTBD

References

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  1. ^ a b c d The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 251. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
  2. ^ a b "Courthouse Episodes". TV Guide.
  3. ^ a b c d Jicha, Tom (September 13, 1995). "'Courthouse' Settles For Law Of Averages". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on May 18, 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Robin Givens returns to TV in legal drama 'Courthouse'". Jet. September 18, 1995.
  5. ^ Wire Reports (October 11, 1995). "Bette Midler Sitcom On CBS Next Season". The Spokesman-Review.
  6. ^ a b "Lesbians on series TV". TheFreeLibrary.com.
  7. ^ Margulies, Lee (September 20, 1995). "TV Ratings : Networks' Fall Warm-Up Gets Cool Reception". Los Angeles Times.
  8. ^ "CBS Hits Bottom, Trails Even Fox". Sun-Sentinel. September 21, 1995. Archived from the original on 2014-09-30. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
  9. ^ Storm, Jonathan (September 13, 1995). "Bombs Away? CBS And ABC Unlease A Barrage Of New Series Tonight". Philly.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2014.
  10. ^ a b c "Courthouse (CBS)". New York. September 11, 1995.
  11. ^ "Courthouse – Series – Episode List". TV Tango.
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