Judges Joe Brown, Judy hold the line

Two of the biggest daytime court TV shows, Judge Joe Brown and Judge Judy, are holding the line in the new season. Few changes were made to either program for the 2005-2006 season.

Judge Joe Brown saw the most significant change, with his audience now voting on cases before he rules on them. The results are shown on the TV monitor behind the judge that was introduced last year. Until now, it's mostly been used to show photos of exhibits.

There's also a female announcer now. His court reporter returns for another season. She's alright, but the less of her the better. The opening segment has been cleaned up and is not as annoying or self-serving to Judge Joe.

On Judge Judy, the only change I could see was the addition of a banner that indicates the program is in its 10th year. Luckily for us, one of my favorite announcers, Jerry Bishop, continues to introduce the cases. Judge Judy seems to be her same caustic self, which has been the very thing that has kept the show going a decade.

Overall, not many changes to the two major court shows. I only hope the cases are more interesting this season. They've focused too much on personal relationships, in my opinion. The old People's Court, which focused mostly on business disputes, was more interesting. But people must like the personal feuds or these programs wouldn't survive for so long.