A Law Show Set 25 Years from Now

A Law Show Set 25 Years from Now 413

Posted by michael on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:28PM from the chung-chung dept.

aaron240 writes "CBS will be airing a pilot of a new show called 'Century City' tonight, Tuesday, March 16th. CNN has the story. The executive producer, Ed Zuckerman, had this to say about the future state of the law in America: 'Our future is a positive future. We assume that things are basically going to get better, progress will continue,' Zuckerman says. 'There will be problems -- new inventions, new technologies will bring with them difficulties -- but it's a bright future.' He also makes it clear that 'This is not a 'Blade Runner''. Is there any chance it will offer a decent treatment of the issues Open Source advocates worry about today? If he's so positive, could he possibly know anything about software patents to say nothing of SCO?"

A Law Show Set 25 Years from Now

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Bright Future? (Score:0, Funny)

by pholower ( 739868 ) writes: <longwoodtrail@3.14159yahoo.com minus pi> on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:29PM (#8583154) Homepage Journal

Yeah Bright Future alright, until nuclear war breaks out. I mean really, its inevitable.

First Episode of New Law Show (Score:5, Funny)

by Tongue In A Box ( 664849 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:30PM (#8583164) Journal

Microsoft is currently appealing the latest decision orcing them to break apart...details in the next law show set 25 years ahead of this one.

Great! I know some cases they will work on! (Score:5, Funny)

by ScottGant ( 642590 ) writes: <<TONten.labolgcbs> <ta> <tnag_ttocs>> on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:30PM (#8583176) Homepage

They'll STILL be waiting for SCO to tell us which code is in violation.

Show within the show (Score:5, Funny)

by raider_red ( 156642 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:31PM (#8583195) Journal

One of the features of the show will be the premiere of the 256th Law and Order spinoff: "Law And Order: Illegal Cloning Investigation Unit".

Hahhahaa (Score:1, Funny)

by stratjakt ( 596332 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:31PM (#8583196) Journal

Is there any chance it will offer a decent treatment of the issues Open Source advocates worry about today?

You mean like gay marriage, sodomy law reforms and legalized pot?

Things to come. (Score:3, Funny)

by C10H14N2 ( 640033 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:33PM (#8583223)

Pity Leni Riefenstahl isn't around to consult on such positive outlooks of the future.

IWNBAL (Score:1, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:34PM (#8583238)

in 25 years IWNBAL but...

Knowledge of the future... (Score:2, Funny)

by weeboo0104 ( 644849 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:36PM (#8583261) Journal

If he's so positive, could he possibly know anything about software patents to say nothing of SCO?"

Of course. SCO will not exist 25 years from now. Any reference made will simply be "SC-Who?"

Re:Not ANOTHER law show? (Score:5, Funny)

by Zordak ( 123132 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:36PM (#8583270) Homepage Journal

No, I'm betting it gets cancelled before it has a chance to get that far. I've seen the previews, and for the most part, it just looks silly and contrived. Sort of like "The Practice" spent a steamy night in a seedy motel with "Minority Report," and this was the unhappy result.

Didn't we already settle this issue? (Score:5, Funny)

by El ( 94934 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:37PM (#8583280)

should a player with a super-accurate bionic eye be allowed to play professional baseball? Should women with breast implants be allowed to compete in wet T-shirt contests?

Re:Not ANOTHER law show? (Score:3, Funny)

by Rosyna ( 80334 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:39PM (#8583298) Homepage

Well, it is obvious that I won't be watching it tonight. A new episode of Scrubs is on at the same time that deals with causality and the chaos theory. A subject much more interesting to me.

Re:Man science moves fast... (Score:5, Funny)

by mattkime ( 8466 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:39PM (#8583301)

twenty five years ago was not that *radically* different from today.
I beg to differ.

There was no slashdot.

I mean really, what did people do at work back then?

Re:Not ANOTHER law show? (Score:5, Funny)

by LostCluster ( 625375 ) * writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:45PM (#8583370)

Let's face it, Minority Report had some great vision-of-future-tech bits with an absolutely lame story. Maybe there is something interesting in the daily civil lawsuit during that time frame...

Re:Didn't we already settle this issue? (Score:5, Funny)

by DShard ( 159067 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:48PM (#8583401)

Conversely, should women who don't have implants get points deducted for lack of dedication to their sport.

Re:Not ANOTHER law show? (Score:5, Funny)

by corbettw ( 214229 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:51PM (#8583434) Journal

Well, it is obvious that I won't be watching it tonight. A new episode of Scrubs is on at the same time that deals with causality and the chaos theory. A subject much more interesting to me.

Scrubs has plots? I thought it was just a vehicle for watching Sarah Chalke occasionally flash her bra. At least, that's why I watch it.

Pepsi kids (Score:3, Funny)

by Lord_Dweomer ( 648696 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:52PM (#8583452) Homepage

So are they going to have an episode where they show a synopsis of all the kids who got busted by the RIAA that were on the pepsi commercial? It'll show a short summary of their lives after they stole music and where they are today. One of em is a crack whore on the street, another moved on to Grand Theft Auto after getting a taste of stealing from Kazaa, etc.
I'm sure this show will be doubleplusgood.

OSS Worries... (Score:2, Funny)

by Quarters ( 18322 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:58PM (#8583524)

Is there any chance it will offer a decent treatment of the issues Open Source advocates worry about today?
Like getting dates?

I nominate this comment for... (Score:4, Funny)

by douglips ( 513461 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:58PM (#8583530) Homepage Journal

Most Obscure Example of Godwin's Law.

Leni Riefenstahl [brightlightsfilm.com]

Re:Bright Future? (Score:3, Funny)

by orthogonal ( 588627 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @06:59PM (#8583536) Journal

Our future is a positive future. We assume that things are basically going to get better, progress will continue,' Zuckerman says....

So the premise of ther show is that John Ashcroft, Jack Valenti, and RIAA President Cary Sherman are all abducted by aliens before they can repeal the 4th Amendment in favor of the "Copyright is a Boot in the Face Forever Act"?

Re:IWNBAL (Score:1, Funny)

by CausticWindow ( 632215 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @07:02PM (#8583563)

In 25 years WWABL.

Re:Didn't we already settle this issue? (Score:5, Funny)

by GrayWizard ( 63076 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @07:06PM (#8583592)

To quote Futurama's Miss Universe Contest rule:
Contestants must not exceed 50% implant.

Re:Not ANOTHER law show? (Score:2, Funny)

by Pig Hogger ( 10379 ) writes: <pig.hogger@g[ ]l.com ['mai' in gap]> on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @07:07PM (#8583603) Journal

Won't this just end up like every other show about lawyers? Sex, Lies, and more sex..

There will be no videotapes in 2029???

Re:Show within the show (Score:2, Funny)

by deniable ( 76198 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @07:10PM (#8583631)

Nah, that's Law and Order: SUV.

Re:Man science moves fast... (Score:3, Funny)

by Joe the Lesser ( 533425 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @07:12PM (#8583659) Homepage Journal

Actual work? *shudder*

Cybernetic Estoppel! (Score:5, Funny)

by jeff.paulsen ( 6195 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @07:20PM (#8583738)

I'll see your cybernetic estoppel and raise you one affidavit of positronic imbalance.

This is way more fun than the tv show is, I bet. Just sitting around making up future law show stuff.

Your Honor, I object! The precedent set in United Posidyne vs General Subatomics clearly establishes that transmissions by tachyon mail cannot be used as an affirmative defense against a charge of q-spectrum barratry!

Objection sustained. The bailiffbot will mindwipe the jury regarding the last piece of evidence, and counsel will approach the hoverbench.

"Sex, Lies..." (Score:5, Funny)

by StarKruzr ( 74642 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @07:22PM (#8583769) Journal

"... and MRAM chips."

(with any luck)

Re:Show within the show (Score:3, Funny)

by raider_red ( 156642 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @07:22PM (#8583770) Journal

And that leads to the 257th spinoff: "Law and Order: Bad Beowulf Cluster, Natalie Portman, and In Soviet Russia Joke Investigation Unit"

Wait... (Score:3, Funny)

by yoshi_mon ( 172895 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @07:28PM (#8583825)

You mean people under 60 actually watch CBS?

Re:One review article: (Score:2, Funny)

by fermion ( 181285 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @07:30PM (#8583842) Homepage Journal

The pitch was simple. Technology has made the females skinnier, the breasts bigger, and the hemlines higher, and the go go boots taller, not to mention the rubber tighter.

Re:First Episode of New Law Show (Score:1, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @07:39PM (#8583914)

I thought that they were supposed to get rid of lawyers in 2015?

Future episodes (Score:3, Funny)

by RoboOp ( 460207 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @07:45PM (#8583965)

Divorce: Kitt from Knight Rider divorces life partner Michael for alimony and a monthly oil change. But who gets the fuzzy dice and the beaded seat cover?

Product Liability: Customer sues when a vegetable becomes mixed into his Soylent Green.

IP: RIAA sues ancient space faring race for IP infringement (Their eons-old anthem bears a striking resembelance to theme of 'Growing Pains'). Aliens carpet bomb Earth.

Technowhiz: Geek invents a lawbot the size of a hearing aid that translates between legalese and english. The firm goes bankrupt -the lawyers into the wilderness for the spin-off "Lawyers in the deadzone"

Murder: Peta activists genetically engineers sentient dog. Dog tells PETA to F-off and insists on his right to eat meat. Activists then kill animal under the defence of 'its just an animal'

Libel: Snake Pliskin hires firm to sue the guy that publicizes his death.

Re:Show within the show (Score:3, Funny)

by cr0sh ( 43134 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @07:49PM (#8584001) Homepage

What about the ultimate L&O:
"Law and Order: Extreme International Emergency Investigation Organization"

Re:"Sex, Lies..." (Score:5, Funny)

by Psiren ( 6145 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @07:59PM (#8584086)

"...and Duke Nukem Forever". No sorry, that's just silly. No way it'll be released by then ;)

Re:Not ANOTHER law show? (Score:4, Funny)

by macdaddy357 ( 582412 ) writes: <macdaddy357@hotmail.com> on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @08:19PM (#8584268)

This show looks like a bunch of crap. The future isn't going to be shiny and polished like Star Trek. You want to know how law will be in the future? Two men enter. One man leaves. Bust a deal, face the wheel.

I want Robot Law (Score:4, Funny)

by angryelephant ( 678279 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @08:32PM (#8584364)

Something along the lines of the robots from Futurama trying to hold legal proceedings. Imagine a tense courtroom full of judgebots, jury bots, shady criminal defense bots, idealistic district attroney bots, a comical oafish bailiff bot. Robot Judge: Before us stands the accused Bender. You stand on trial for five counts of stealing gin from orphans, 3 counts of vehicular petty larceny involving heavy construction equipment and 1 count of jay walking. How do you plea? Bender: Bite my shiny metal a$$ Robot Judge: I sentence you to 100 years gas mining on the sun. Bender: aww crap

Re:"Sex, Lies..." (Score:3, Funny)

by Guppy06 ( 410832 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @08:39PM (#8584413)

Come now! We all know that possession of a recordable media in the year 2030 is considered a felony!

Spoiler Warning!!! (Score:3, Funny)

by serutan ( 259622 ) writes: <snoopdoug@geekaz ... minus physicist> on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @08:43PM (#8584446) Homepage

I'm from the future. Century City was cancelled after 3 episodes, resurrected in 2005 after a fan email campaign, then cancelled again after the campaign proved to be the work of a lone haxx04 named dl3374, whose brain as of 2047 was still serving a 200,000-hour sentence as the CPU of the Volograd sewage treatment facility.

Television ceased to be a commercial medium after the Copyright Wars of 2019, when the Distributed Fiction Experiment proved that all copyrighted material could be randomly generated.

My Idea for a Sci-Fi show about lawyers... (Score:2, Funny)

by rhild ( 659603 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @09:12PM (#8584673) Homepage

Alien McBeal

Re:Not ANOTHER law show? (Score:1, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @10:07PM (#8585082)

If everyone hates lawyers, why do so many people watch all the shows about them?
Research.

Re:The Bronze Age sucked too (Score:2, Funny)

by kfg ( 145172 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @10:17PM (#8585150)

. . .biplanes with laser guns. . .

Sharks. Sharks with frickin' laser beams on their heads would be nice.

KFG

How could ANYONE ignore patents and SCO??? (Score:3, Funny)

by OnanTheBarbarian ( 245959 ) writes: on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @10:57PM (#8585408)

Yeah, sure. What a schmuck this Zuckerman fellow must be.

What kind of low-grade moron doesn't know that the SCO lawsuit and an overly liberal regime of granting software patents is the direct pathway to a horrifying, Blade-Runner-style future where gangs of midgets tear the fittings off your police aircar given half a chance?

I think it's very, very important for any show like this to offer detailed depictions of OSS-type issues. These issues should arise every other show at the very least, and possibly feature verbatim quotes of essays by Eric Raymond and Richard Stallman. A major character might take time out from the courtroom scenes, sex and scandal and face the camera and talk for about 10 minutes about the difference between 'free as in speech' and 'free as in beer'.

Something that will never happen (Score:1, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Wednesday March 17, 2004 @12:41AM (#8586055)

The TV show I want is a sitcom based on the Bastard Operator From Hell.

Re:One review article: (Score:3, Funny)

by JimBobJoe ( 2758 ) writes: on Wednesday March 17, 2004 @01:49AM (#8586364)

The show is set in a high-end L.A. law firm, circa 2030.

Already the show is exceedingly unrealistic. No reasonable person would expect Southern California to be around in 2030.

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Bright Future? (Score:0, Funny)

First Episode of New Law Show (Score:5, Funny)

Great! I know some cases they will work on! (Score:5, Funny)

Show within the show (Score:5, Funny)

Hahhahaa (Score:1, Funny)

Things to come. (Score:3, Funny)

IWNBAL (Score:1, Funny)

Knowledge of the future... (Score:2, Funny)

Re:Not ANOTHER law show? (Score:5, Funny)

Didn't we already settle this issue? (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Not ANOTHER law show? (Score:3, Funny)

Re:Man science moves fast... (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Not ANOTHER law show? (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Didn't we already settle this issue? (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Not ANOTHER law show? (Score:5, Funny)

Pepsi kids (Score:3, Funny)

OSS Worries... (Score:2, Funny)

I nominate this comment for... (Score:4, Funny)

Re:Bright Future? (Score:3, Funny)

Re:IWNBAL (Score:1, Funny)

Re:Didn't we already settle this issue? (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Not ANOTHER law show? (Score:2, Funny)

Re:Show within the show (Score:2, Funny)

Re:Man science moves fast... (Score:3, Funny)

Cybernetic Estoppel! (Score:5, Funny)

"Sex, Lies..." (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Show within the show (Score:3, Funny)

Wait... (Score:3, Funny)

Re:One review article: (Score:2, Funny)

Re:First Episode of New Law Show (Score:1, Funny)

Future episodes (Score:3, Funny)

Re:Show within the show (Score:3, Funny)

Re:"Sex, Lies..." (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Not ANOTHER law show? (Score:4, Funny)

I want Robot Law (Score:4, Funny)

Re:"Sex, Lies..." (Score:3, Funny)

Spoiler Warning!!! (Score:3, Funny)

My Idea for a Sci-Fi show about lawyers... (Score:2, Funny)

Re:Not ANOTHER law show? (Score:1, Funny)

Re:The Bronze Age sucked too (Score:2, Funny)

How could ANYONE ignore patents and SCO??? (Score:3, Funny)

Something that will never happen (Score:1, Funny)

Re:One review article: (Score:3, Funny)

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