TV judges Wapner, Sheindlin, Lane, etc., are modern day extensions of this pioneering televison series that portrayed the American legal system in thirty minutes or less. Viewing this 1957 series as a young fellow the terms "oath", "perjury" and "liar" took on new meanings. Filmed in black and white and obviously modeled after the then popular Perry Mason series, Divorce Court was the first program on American television to present courtroom dramas as "real life."