The People's Court - Opening Monologue

Opening Monologue

When the original People's Court first hit the air, The monologue was as follows:

What you are about to witness 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 in the suit have agreed to dismiss their court cases and have their disputes settled here, in our forum: The People's Court.

Later, the show opened with:

What you are witnessing is real. The participants are not actors. They are actual litigants 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.

In the 1997 revival the line was:

What you are witnessing is real. The participants are not actors. They are actual litigants with a case pending in a New York metropolitan area court/civil court. Both parties/ sides have agreed to drop their claims and have their disputes settled here, in our/Judge Jerry Sheindlin's forum (the latter from the period when Jerry Sheindlin was the presiding judge): The People's Court.

When Marilyn Milian replaced Sheindlin in 2001, the previous intro was revised:

What you are witnessing is real. The participants are not actors. They are actual litigants with real cases. They will settle their disputes here, in Judge Marilyn Milian's forum: The People's Court.

Later, Milian's intro was revised:

There's a new judge in town, the honorable Marilyn Milian. She will be hearing real cases presented by real litigants who have agreed to have their disputes settled here in our forum: The People's Court.

Then the opening was changed to:

The whole country's talking about the honorable Marilyn Milian... ... the hottest judge on television. She'll hear real cases from real litigants. Here, in our forum: The People's Court.

After a few months the soundbites of Judge Milian's voice were dropped from the opening, and the wording of Curt Chaplin's introduction was slightly changed:

Everybody's talking about the honorable Marilyn Milian, the hottest judge on television. Real cases, real litigants. Here, in our forum: The People's Court.

In September 2009, the new opening was revealed when the new season premiered:

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, before Judge Marilyn Milian, in our forum: The People's Court.