History Series / ThePeoplesCourt

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: When Judge Milian goes on a tear, she's entertaining; one suspects she has a theatrical personality anyway. When a litigant crosses a line (most likely trying to get away with a [[BlatantLies bald-faced lie]]), and she stares at that litigant and starts [[TranquilFury talking to them in a low, quiet voice,]] she is ''terrifying.'' And if you're unlucky enough to be on the receiving end, you are ''screwed.''

-->'''Plaintiff''': ''[swats her hand as she storms out]'' I don't wanna tell you about nothin'.

->''What you are witnessing is real. The participants ARE NOT ACTORS. They are the actual people who have already either filed suit or been served a summons to appear in a California Municipal Court. Both parties have agreed to dismiss their court cases and have their disputes settled here... in our forum... The People's Court!''

--> '''Judge Milian:''' No, it's NOT. And I resent that! And you know what? [[GetOut Get out of my courtroom]]. Get out. I resent that, not only because I have family members who would be very offended by what you just said. Get out of here and stop playing victim.

-->'''Judge Milian''': Gentlemen! I'm gonna quote you line, chapter, and verse 'cause I am SO ANGRY at you! Show some integrity! Sometimes YOU'VE gotta eat the problem and not the nice guy who's being nice to you! I can't believe you took it this far! It's one thing for you to ask to have the money back, but you're actually SUING him for it?! When I hear in there, "That's true." I – when he says to you, "Well, then you're obligated 'cause it's a month-to-month, so you'd be obligated for the first month," your response is, "That's true, I just want to be clear that you're not gonna be o – that we're not gonna be obligated for the rest of it." At that point you're relieved to just see the $900 go and know he's not gonna sue you for $450. ''[one of the plaintiffs leans into the microphone on his lectern to try to get a word in edgewise]'' But then – no, don't talk! Just listen! – But then you gotta get greedy. Then you gotta get greedy with the nice guy. Later, he tells you, "So just come back and drop it off tomorrow, drop it off anytime, you know, drop it off tomorrow some–" "What do you mean, drop it off tomorrow? Moving in tomorrow. What do you mean?" There's none of that. He says, "We were looking forward to having you here." "Well, we were looking forward to BEING here." Does that sound like you're moving in the next day? And then what do you do? You're such trash that you come in the next day to be able to take pictures of the roaches that you know he didn't clean because you weren't moving in, for you to use it an an EXCUSE for why you now get your money back 'cause it wasn't ready? No, gentlemen! No!

--> '''Judge Milian''': ''[in one early case]'' GOD, do I hate being underestimated! It is SO insulting! It is so - he [the defendant] thinks... ''[makes a paper airplane out of defendant's faked evidence and throws it as audience laughs]'' ...that I have absolutely NO brains in my head!

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In addition to the judge-bailiff turnover, Levin originally had a co-host, Carol Martin, who previously was an anchor at New York City TV station WCBS. Unlike Levin, however, Martin hosted from a studio.

After ''Series/JudgeJudy'' started the judge show revival in 1996, one of the first shows on the block was a {{revival}} of ''The People's Court'', which premiered in 1997. Once again, the show was produced by Ralph Edwards-Stu Billett Productions and distributed by Creator/WarnerBros. Former New York City mayor Ed Koch initially took the bench for the first two years, then was replaced by Jerry Sheindlin (husband of Judge Judy). He was replaced by Marilyn Milian in 2001, who presides over the court today. The bailiff during the Koch-Sheindlin years was Josephine Ann Longobardi. After Milian took the bench, she was replaced by Davy Jones, who only lasted relatively briefly and was in turn replaced by Douglas [=MacIntosh=]. Curt Chaplin took over the interview duties and became the new announcer, while host Harvey Levin, who worked on the Wapner version as the show's legal consultant, explains the legalese behind the judges' decisions while polling fans gathered outdoors. In 2016, as part of the show's [[MilestoneCelebration 35th Anniversary]], Doug Llewelyn returned as interviewer. Curt Chaplin, however, is still remaining with the program as the show's announcer.

Due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, Season 24 has a few differences. Milian and the litigants communicate through Zoom, with only Douglas in the courtroom, with Llewelyn stationed next to the logo sign in the hallway. Levin continues to provide commentary from his office at TMZ headquarters in Los Angeles, although his banter with viewers in Times Square has been replaced by having viewers send in legal questions for him to answer, and a new segment called “After the Verdict” was added, showing Milian and her husband, John Schlesinger (a real judge in his own right) discussing the verdict of the case. The intro was changed as well, with Chaplin narrating an altered version of the disclaimer, represented by scrolling text as in the Wapner and Koch eras, though they reverted to the standard intro a few weeks into the season; it was altered later on to use footage from Zoom cases.

* RantInducingSlight: Judge Milian's verbal beatdown of a snotty law student below.

* EpicFail / TooDumbToLive: For one Wapner-era plaintiff. Said plaintiff sued a store owner for $5000. The reason? The plaintiff had bought a candy bar from the defendant's store, took a bite, and found maggots inside. The store owner had offered to either refund the plaintiff's money or replace the candy bar, but the indignant plaintiff insisted that the store would be hearing from his lawyer, because the store had sold him a product that ''could have'' made him sick. Wapner got the plaintiff to testify that he ultimately did not consume any of the candy bar and, therefore, did not become sick. Still, the plaintiff kept insisting that the store owner was to be held accountable for the tainted candy bar and [[WhatAnIdiot practically accused the man of willfully trying to poison him and other people]]. Wapner did find for the plaintiff... in the amount of 50 cents, the cost of the candy bar.

* TakeThat: One of Judge Milian's early cases involved an elderly woman suing a hair salon for pain and suffering over a botched hair extension job. In her testimony, the plaintiff described being in pain while hearing ''Judge Joe Brown'' playing on television in the background.

* EverythingIsRacist: Circa 2003, an elderly couple sued for alleged damage to their awning by a bottle rocket, charging their neighbors with anti-Semitism and claiming they had done it on purpose. It turned out that the plaintiffs had a track record of making baseless claims of anti-Semitism against neighbors - they had called the police on the defendants no fewer than 58 times, and had done the same in previous neighborhoods, alleging anti-Semitism with each call. The defendants had filed a counterclaim for ''one dollar'', which was more about sending a message than anything else. Judge Milian skewered the plaintiffs for filing a frivolous complaint and for taking her time and attention away from ''legitimate'' cases, before dismissing their case and ruling for the defendant for double the amount he'd sued for - $2.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: So many instances with Judge Milian, all a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for her. Judge Milian is actually pretty even-tempered compared with Series/JudgeJudy, but when something triggers her BerserkButton, watch out!

**In a case aired ca. Spring 2007 a landlord who wouldn't give the deposit back to his former tenants was very picky about how he was addressed by the judge. After he told her to watch herself she threw him out of the courtroom.
Milian: "You make this purchase it's supposed to be a happy day in your life, this is like financial security for quite some time, and instead you gotta you gotta jerk around with this for the next year".
Defendant: Watch yourself your honor.
Milian: GET OUT OF MY COURTROOM. GET OUT. NO. Oh no He's not moving fast enough Douglas.
Defendant: If Douglas touches me you will not be happy your honor.
Milian: You know what if Douglas BEATS YOU to a pulp I'll be delighted. Get out.

-->-- '''Opening narration''' [[labelnote:Current version]]''"What you are about to witness is real. The participants ARE NOT ACTORS. They are actual litigants with a case pending in civil court. Both parties have agreed to drop their claims, and have their cases settled here..."''[[/labelnote]]

->''What you are witnessing is real. The participants ARE NOT ACTORS. They are the actual litgants with a case pending in a California Municipal Court. Both parties have agreed to dismiss their court cases and have their disputes settled here... in our forum... The People's Court!''

->''What you are witnessing is real. The participants ARE NOT ACTORS. They are the actual litgants with a case pending in a California Municipal (or New York Metropolitan Area) Court. Both parties have agreed to dismiss their court cases and have their disputes settled here... in our forum... The People's Court!''

Due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, Season 24 has a few differences. Milian and the litigants communicate through Zoom, with only Douglas in the courtroom, with Llewelyn stationed next to the logo sign in the hallway. Levin continues to provide commentary from his office at TMZ headquarters in Los Angeles, although his banter with viewers in Times Square has been replaced by having viewers send in legal questions for him to answer, and a new segment called “After the Verdict” was added, showing Milian and her husband, John Schlesinger (a real judge in his own right) discussing the verdict of the case. The intro was changed as well, with Chaplin narrating an altered version of the disclaimer, represented by scrolling text as in the Wapner and Koch eras, though they reverted to the standard intro a few weeks into the season.