BAD JUDGE On Bad Show

Article first published as BAD JUDGE Review on Seat42F.

It’s not hard to figure out what NBC’s BAD JUDGE is about. Obviously, there’s a judge who is bad. But is she bad at being a judge? Is she bad at professionalism? Does she exhibit bad behavior in her personal life, such as drinking too much and sleeping with too many men? Yes.

The similarities between BAD JUDGE and last year’s Bad Teacher are numerous, and do not stop at the title. Both have a female lead in a profession that takes many years of education and evaluation, but somehow, they hold the position, despite having personalities and behavior that would never be tolerated in such a role in a million years. Both women show a tenderness towards children, but also say things they should not in front of said children. Both wear leopard print bras; both have Ryan Hansen (Veronica Mars) portraying a love interest for the protagonist. Both BAD JUDGE and Bad Teacher are not very good shows that have been, or likely will be if there’s justice in the world, quickly canceled.

There are some differences. Whereas Bad Teacher’s central figure is incredibly selfish and greedy, the judge here, Rebecca Wright (Kate Walsh, Private Practice, Fargo), is kind and good-hearted. She makes a ton of mistakes, but not out of cruelty. Her mess is her mess, and it doesn’t automatically negatively affect everyone around her, not really causing problems for them.

Rebecca is rude and crude in the courtroom, asking frequent prosecutor Tom Barlow (John Ducey, Jonas) to keep his voice down because she’s hung over and expecting bailiff Tedward (Tone Bell, Whitney) to dispose of her pregnancy test. However, she makes rulings that benefit people. And she takes her responsibilities so seriously that when a child whose parents she put away calls her for help, she runs to his side at a moment’s notice, repeatedly, much to her boss’s (Miguel Sandoval, Medium) chagrin.

Walsh is experienced at playing a character who is both smart and compassionate, while being someone who can’t get own her life together at the same time. She’s probably the right actress for the role, even more so than co-creator Anne Heche, whom I would have expected to want to star in her own vehicle. I don’t think the problems with BAD JUDGE lie in the her.

That being said, the writing is as messy as Rebecca herself. BAD JUDGE can’t decide what it wants to be, flitting around with different scenarios, then discarding them like a woman trying on many dresses for an important date, the material scattered on the floor, still in sight, but not looking the way it’s meant to be seen. The project suffers from this scattershot approach, whereas if one or two ideas were honed in on (a judge who goes out of her way to help criminal’s disadvantaged families, for instance), the series might still not be spectacular, but at least it would be cohesive. With any structure that could work, this should probably be an hour-long dramedy, not a half-hour sitcom.

The other problem is the complete lack of realism. As mentioned in my comparison of BAD JUDGE to Bad Teacher, there is no way anyone like Rebecca exists in the real world. Judges, like other professionals, may have their dirty little secrets, but for someone to flaunt her antics in the workplace the way Rebecca does and stay employed is completely ridiculous, and it would never stand. BAD JUDGE does a huge disservice to the career it portrays and the legal industry in general. Many viewers will be smart enough to tell the difference between reality and fiction, and I do think BAD JUDGE won’t perpetuate false ideas as much as Bad Teacher does, but the underlying principle remains the same.

In short, I recommend skipping BAD JUDGE, not because I dislike Walsh or Hansen or the others, but rather so this unfortunate experiment in bad comedy can be quickly cancelled and forgotten, and the team behind it move on to projects more worthy of them.

BAD JUDGE premieres this Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

BAD TEACHER Makes For Bad Show

Article originally published as BAD TEACHER Review on Seat42F.

A couple of years ago, a pretty awful “comedy” film hit theaters. Called BAD TEACHER, it followed the antics of an abandoned trophy wife as she became an educator in the public school system. For some inexplicable reason, someone thought a terrible movie would make a great TV show. Hence, we now get BAD TEACHER on CBS, beginning this Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET.

The premise itself is highly flawed. A woman with absolutely no educational training is somehow hired, without license, degree, or credentials, to teach youngsters. She then acts completely unprofessionally in front of staff, students, and parents, and still gets to keep the job. Not only is this completely unrealistic, teaching standards being quite high and requiring much preparation and schooling, but it just isn’t funny.

Perhaps my own feelings about the field of education, having studied to become a teacher myself, color my opinion of BAD TEACHER. I’m sick of teachers being looked down upon, criticized for the “high” pay (low compared to most positions that require a Master’s degree), working hard for little credit, and being blamed for things that are wrong with the system, graded on student performance they often can’t control that much. At a time when press about teachers is not good, it really irks me that a network would be irresponsible enough to put this drivel on the air, further reinforcing negative and untrue stereotypes.

Getting off my soapbox, I guess I’ll tell you a little about the show itself. Ari Graynor (Fringe, Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist) stars as Meredith Davis, the titular woman. She gets nothing in her divorce, due to an iron-clad pre-nup, and so sets about finding herself a new sugar daddy. While crashing with her friends (‘Til Death’s Kat Foster and Luck’s Richard Kind), Meredith discovers that their child’s school is full of eligible, rich dads. Tricking inept sad-sack Principal Carl (David Alan Grier, In Living Color) into giving her a job, Meredith begins trying to land the next big one.

Even though Meredith routinely blows off everyone at her new place of employment, she is slotted into a place in the building’s hierarchy. Dorky Irene (Sara Gilbert, The Big Bang Theory) latches on, forcing herself into position as Meredith’s bestie. A former classmate, Joel (Ryan Hansen, Veronica Mars), decides he likes Meredith and sticks around to be her love interest. Well, he will be when she gets over her obsession with wealth. And the current Top Dog at the school, controlling Ginny (Kristin Davis, Sex and the City), decides Meredith is a threat, even though the blonde shows no ambition whatsoever, and casts herself as the enemy.

Of these people, Joel is the only one that comes across as interesting. Joel has an odd backstory, his penis being posted in photographs all over the school by Meredith’s predecessor, even though he doesn’t come across as the type of guy who would spark such venom. He isn’t pushy with Meredith, hanging around but waiting for her to come to him. He also seems the only one not participating in the game, standing by with a smirk as Meredith makes a fool of herself. He’s a normal, sane guy in a world populated with stereotypes.

Of course, as a series like this must, Meredith finds a heart at the end of the pilot. Unfortunately, there is no build up or character growth to support this. For the entire half hour, Meredith acts like a selfish jerk, and then, without any warning or catalyst, she suddenly pretends to care. If the first episode can’t give her even a hint of an arc, it’s unlikely the rest of the series will correct the mistake.

It isn’t unusual for CBS to present a crass, unfunny comedy. It’s not even unheard of for them to land really good actors and force them into parts that are beneath them, though seldom has been assembled on a bad project a group this good (being a fan of Gilbert, Davis, Graynor, Hansen, and a number of non-central cast members), wasted immensely. But BAD TEACHER has barely any redeeming qualities and is certainly worth no one’s time.