Eye For An Eye (TV Series)

Eye for an Eye is a nontraditional court show that has run in syndication since 2004. The series is presently into its 9th season as of 2012-13.

Eye For an Eye is presided over by Judge "Extreme Akim" Anastopoulo, with bailiff and former boxer Big Sugar Ray Phillips. The series was formerly hosted by Cheaters host Tommy Habeeb and Kato Kaelin. The show is unusual among courtroom reality shows for its lack of courtroom decorum; One example is the courtroom is very brightly lit. Another example, when Big Sugar Ray Phillips instructs the audience to rise as Judge Akim enters the room carrying his bat of justice, (also unusual to have a bat for a gavel), the audience rises while cheering and chanting "Extreme Akim" repeatedly. They frequently shout remarks throughout the entire hearings. The plaintiffs and defendants have to enter ring shaped cages that have a microphone attached to them.

More unusual things are some of the rulings issued by Judge Akim. In addition to ordering how much the defendant has to pay, he also sometimes orders them to do ridiculous tasks. In one case, he ordered a man who impregnated a girl to wear a fat suit for a month; in another, he ordered a landlord whose apartments were not suitable for living to write a new policy while sitting in a truck full of cow manure. Such rulings depend upon the fact that the show is a form of binding arbitration rather than an actual court; in normal small claims court, the remedies available at law are generally constrained to monetary compensation for damages caused. In a more famous episode "The Bar Poured a Stiff One", where Dallas based band STRANGLEWEED was sued for an unpaid bar tab. The counter claim was that the bar owner of "Jay's Lounge" stiffed the band on a "Free Bar Tab" and allegedly stole the band's mixing board as compensation. Judge "Extreme Akim" gave the "bat of justice" to Strangleweed and allowed the band to destroy the same amount that the bar owed them. They used golf clubs, chainsaws and bats until the bar and all of its liquor was demolished. Often in such cases, an appraiser will determine the value of property. One time enough property was taken, and a table in new condition was selected as the last item, but the table's value exceeded the maximum amount in value. As a result, the table was sawed in half and only half of the table was taken.

The reason for the extreme sentencing is because the show believes that the justice system is not always fair. The series follows the Eye for an eye system. At the end of each hearing, Extreme Akim will say "Now THAT's justice."

Eye for an Eye is shown in syndication in 69 countries. It is also available on US Roku Players, using the FilmOn private channel application. It is located in the "Coming Soon" category, as its own station.