Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Sex, drinking, and loose ethics in just-OK sitcom.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
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Where to Watch
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Bad Judge
What's the Story?
With a personal life that ranges from bohemianism to blackouts, even when she's on the job and doing her not-so-level best to hold it together, Rebecca Wright (Kate Walsh) is a BAD JUDGE. She is unrepentant about her multiple affairs, her penchant for drinking until she drops, playing drums in a two-woman punk band called Lady Cock, and her single, childless state. Her loyal and long-suffering bailiff Tedward (Tone Bell) helps keep her from losing her seat on the bench entirely, but coworkers such as defense attorney Tom Barlow (John Ducey) think she's a giant mess. And with 8-year-old Robby Shoemaker (Theodore Barnes) entering her life after Wright put both his parents in jail, things are about to get messier.
Is It Any Good?
As with the main character, Bad Judge is a mess. It's more or less a rip-off of Bad Teacher and other well-trodden Workplace Irony: She's a judge, but she has bad judgment! You get it? Sigh, we get it. And we wish charming, louche Kate Walsh had better material to work with. Would a judge who hands her just-peed-on pregnancy test to her bailiff have a job for long? What about one who explains that she had wine and cake for breakfast before coming to work? Ummmmm, grounds for a mistrial much?
Pity, because Walsh is great, and the interplay between her and Bell is effervescent. But asking the viewer to buy Walsh's antics and then adding on a layer of schmaltz by putting a young almost-orphan in her life is just too much. Frantic, unbelievable humor followed by saccharine plot twists? Even Walsh can't put that over.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether Rebecca Wright of Bad Judge is good at her job or, as the title states, bad. What makes her an effective or ineffective judge? What is shown on-screen that influences your opinion?
Shows that feature a fallible main character are common on TV these days; this is the tradition of "antiheroes." Name some antiheroes in movies or on television. How is Rebecca Wright like or unlike these characters?
TV Details
- Premiere date : October 2, 2014
- Cast : Kate Walsh , Tone Bell
- Network : NBC
- Genre : Comedy
- TV rating :
- Last updated : September 25, 2022
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