First Monday

The cast is fabulous. The U.S. is going through a period of patriotism and the general public is interested in making a connection with the government because we are in `War Time.' Shows such `West Wing' are some of the best television shows at the moment. The movie `The American President' with Michael Douglas (Wonder Boys) and Annette Bening (American Beauty) has inspired many other movies and television shows. As a matter of fact actress Gail Strickland (How to make an American Quilt) played the wife of the President's advisor in `The American President'.

I believe that the series is very promising because it shows a different stage of a case, which is appeals before the Supreme Court. I have no recollection of any show on television to this date on this topic. All other shows deal with murder, defense lawyers, prosecutors, detectives, and this show is breaking new ground.

It generates public interest in finding out why attorneys cannot object at the Supreme Court. My husband was asking me why not. I explained to him that the Supreme Court is not looking at depositions by witnesses which happens in the first level court, meaning not on any type of appeal. People will understand when The Supreme Court can 'grant cert.' or deny it, when the Supreme Court can decide to hear an Appeal. The shows reveals a totally new stage in legal proceedings so it is very educational. Basically the show will deal with a facet of the Constitution that the general public is not exposed to such as how the Founding Fathers established in the Constitution the laws under which the Court operates. The title of the show is good because that is when the Court starts hearing cases in the Fall after the Summer recess. It is just great!!!!

Hopefully it will not be too legalize and that the general public will truly enjoy it! Otherwise I am sure that the legal community will truly enjoy it. The first episode showed that the Court has a new member and how the Junior will relate to the other Justices, specially because it shows how the Chief Justice sets the mood of the Court. There was a real case of a staying of execution which raises issues of death penalty among others. As someone in the legal profession I truly enjoyed the show and think that pretty soon all the clerks will start imitating the Supreme Court Justices. Attorneys use copy Susan Day's hair style on L.A. Law.

Finally, the viewing public will see the "Judicial Branch" of our government. The portrayal of this branch of our government is very necessary. I do wish that James Garner would not smoke on the show. We watched John Wayne smoke through his career and die through the media. Please eliminate the smoke screen and allow the stars to shine.

I loved that a major network show was trying to dramatize the Supreme Court, but I hated that it was done so poorly. This show was dumb from start to finish. Not only was it horribly inaccurate to anyone with even a basic knowledge of the Supreme Court (or law in general), but it was also ridiculous as a drama and its handling of moral discussions was superficial and inane. ABC's "The Court", though certainly not perfect, was a much better attempt, both at depicting the Court, and at making an intelligent drama.

'First Monday' is (was) a terrific show. Unfortunately, it appears that CBS has canceled it. The cast was great; each character portrayed their respective justice well. I particularly enjoyed the scenes with some of the law clerks, played by Hedy Burress, Randy Vasquez (of "JAG" fame), and Christopher Wiehl. Each episode tackled a controversial current event extremely well. "Novelli" (played brilliantly by Joe Mantegna) always seemed to be the 'breaking vote,' as the other eight justices always had more solid opinions about appeals. Of course, Novelli was always drawn in by the others in hopes that his vote would sway to their side. Novelli dealt with this well, explaining his problems with both sides and his agreements. It would be terrific if CBS were to start the show up again, but unfortunately that doesn't appear likely.

This show gets into the politics of our high court. It's nice to see a show about lawyers that deal with the soft side, with clothes on. The show is well written and moves well on a theme. I recommend it to anyone who wants to think about an issue.