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.

Whitney Has Her "Cake, Cake, Cake" and Eats It, Too

Article first published as Whitney Has Her "Cake, Cake, Cake" and Eats It, Too on TheTVKing.

NBC's Whitney surprised many when it got picked up for a sixteen episode second season last spring. Now, sitting on the bubble again, hopefully it will defy the odds once more and get a third year's order. It has worked on correcting the initial flaws hard enough to deserve it.

I really like Whitney. At the end of season one, I was of the opinion that only the stuff between Whitney (Whitney Cummings) and her boyfriend, Alex (Chris D'Elia), worked, while their friends should go. With a bit of retooling, though, I've ended up liking the other three that were kept from the first season. Newcomer RJ (Tone Bell) has yet to establish himself as a valuable member of the ensemble, but that can be worked on, or he could be replaced, too. The series has found its groove, with a good balance between the comedy and emotion, and I think it has the legs to run awhile longer, at least four or five seasons, anyway.

In the season finale, "Cake, Cake, Cake," Roxanne (Rhea Seehorn) gets jealous when Mark (Dan O'Brien), who has been pursuing her for awhile, begins dating another girl. Mark is frustrated with waiting, and assumes Roxanne isn't ever going to come around. But after seeing her reaction, he ditches the date and kisses Roxanne.

As Whitney and Alex move to "fixed" status, which I'll get to in a minute, Whitney still needs the messed up characters. Roxanne and Mark can serve that purpose nicely. The problem in season one is that Roxanne and Mark seemed too stable. Now that they have been shown to be amusingly and majorly flawed, too, they fit in the show. I look forward to the possibility of seeing them work on a relationship, and the foibles that will come with such a plot, should the series get renewed.

Lily (Zoe Lister Jones) doesn't have a lot to do in "Cake, Cake, Cake," but instead gets her story in the penultimate episode, "Alex, Meet Lily," which also aired this week. She used to appear to have things together, but as she acknowledges why her relationships don't work, and vows to work on herself, she also, like her co-stars, steps into a role that will be interesting moving forward.

Now that these three have solidified their places in the larger scheme, Whitney becomes a true ensemble.

At the same time, Whitney realizes that Alex has fixed her. Despite her screwed up childhood, a long-term bond with Alex has left her happy and relatively well-adjusted. Yes, it's fun to see Whitney freak out and show off her damage. But it's also great for her to finally see that these things are in her past, and while everyone has problems, hers aren't so bad right now. If the show ends here, at least Whitney has managed to come around and achieve her happy ending.

Lest you think they are now destined to become a boring couple, Alex starts to crack owing to his parents split. Just as Whitney is healed, Alex needs help himself. It's an intriguing swap, and it also not only opens the door for other developments in the future, but makes them feel like a fully formed, two-sided couple, which is a wonderful step forward for the show.

Should the series get a third season, and I definitely hope they do, there is another plot I'd like to see pursued besides those already mentioned, and that is the story of Whitney's therapist, Dr. Price (Chelsea Handler). This is a woman that eats a cake with her hands in the park in "Cake, Cake, Cake," reveals that she sees Whitney as her best friend, and is cool with being in Whitney's life after treatment has stopped. Dr. Price is extremely damaged, and while Handler probably doesn't have time for a full-time sitcom role, a recurring place for her would lend nicely to the already established direction.

Whitney is done for the year, and now awaits news on whether it will return to NBC or not. If the answer is not, might I suggest TBS as an alternative home? It has worked for Cougar Town.