Series Description

The First Monday TV show was a 60 minute legal drama series on CBS about how the Supreme Court Justices on a court that was mostly evenly divided between liberals and conservatives dealt with the cases that came before them.

First Monday Cast

James Garner .... Chief Justice Brankin
Charles Durning .... Justice Henry Hoskins
Joe Mantegna .... Justice Joseph Novelli
Gail Strickland .... Justice Deborah Szwark
Camille Saviola .... Justice Esther Weisenberg
James McEachin .... Justice Jerome Morris
James Karen .... Justice Michael Bancroft
Stephen Markle .... Justice Theodore Snow
Lyman Ward .... Justice Brian Chandler
Dean Stockwell .... Senator Sheffield
Hedy Burress .... Court Clerk Ellie Pearson
Randy Vasquez .... Court Clerk Miguel Mira
Joe Flanigan .... Court Clerk Julian Lodge
Christopher Wiehl .... Court Clerk Jerry Klein
Linda Purl .... Sarah Novelli
Jim Jenkins .... Bill Monroe
Sandra Prosper .... Kayla Turner
Rachel Grate .... Beth Novelli

First Monday Trivia:

The First Monday TV Show only aired 13 episodes during the 2002 season.

The idea for the series came partly due to the 2000 Supreme Court decision over whether to allow a recount of the votes in the U.S. Presidential election between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush. The show may have done better in the ratings if it had premiered closer to that election when public interest in the court was higher.

The title of the series refers to the first Monday in October; the day each year that the Supreme Court begins its sessions.

The series began with Justice Joseph Novelli being sworn in as a new member of the court. He was moderate and therefore, even though he was the newest member, he was put in the often uncomfortable position of breaking a tie in the votes of the other members who were split evenly between liberals and conservatives.

Dean Stockwell who played Senator Sheffield on First Monday later took his character to the "JAG TV Series" and the Senator became the Secretary of the Navy on that show.

Composer Bruce Broughton received an Emmy nomination in 2002 for "Outstanding Main Title Theme Music" for the First Monday theme but the award was won by Thomas Newman for the HBO series, "Six Feet Under".

There was also a 1981 theatrical movie titled First Monday in October and starred Walter Matthau and Jill Clayburgh as two Supreme Court Justices who were at opposite ends of the political spectrum.