A Date with Judy (TV series) for finding mischief and has a firm belief that her family doesn't understand her." The "Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010" described her as "bright, enthusiastic and 'blessed' with a knack for finding trouble." Judy's parents were Melvyn and Dora Foster, and she had a 12-year-old brother, Randolph. Her boyfriend was Oogie Pringle. The program was derived from the radio show of the same name. The table below shows the actors who portrayed the main characters in the two versions of the program. Source: "Total Television" The daytime version ran on Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. to noon, Eastern Daylight
Judge Judy mid-rank of the 159 syndicated shows on the air. At that time, it was never expected that the show's ratings would ever compete with highly successful daytime TV shows of the time, such as "The Oprah Winfrey Show", "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" and "The Jerry Springer Show". According to "Biography"s documentary film on Sheindlin, "Judge Judy: Sitting in Judgment" (aired February 21, 2000), producers of "Judge Judy" were disappointed that the show was barely making it on the radar. However, it did not take long for the court show to pick up momentum as "Judge Judy" rose to a 2.1