ury selection continued Tuesday in actress Nicollette Sheridan's civil case against "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry and Touchstone Television Productions.
Sheridan filed her suit against ABC and Cherry last year, claiming that she was unfairly ousted from the series after complaining that Cherry had slapped her during a 2008 argument.
Tuesday's proceedings may not have resulted in a seated jury -- questioning of potential jurors will resume at 1:30 p.m. PT Wednesday -- but it did offer some very non-focus group insights into how ABC and TV in general are perceived.
While the majority of those questioned said they did not watch "Desperate Housewives," several said they watched ABC's "Modern Family" and CBS's "NCIS" and several expressed disdain for reality programming,
Sheridan's attorney Mark Baute told one potential juror, a truck driver, that he was "shocked" that he has never watched "Desperate Housewives."
"How much TV do you watch?" Baute asked.
"Tons," said the man. He said that he liked "Two and Half Men."
When Baute asked if it was before or after Charlie Sheen left, the man said he watched both, then offered a mini-review.
"It's just as stupid now as it was then," he said. "I don't watch for inspiration. I watch for entertainment."
Asked what he knew about Nicollette Sheridan, he replied that, "I know that she's blonde."
He was dismissed.
A retired psychiatric nurse declared her love of the news and sports on TV, but allowed that she did like "Dancing Under The Stars." She was dismissed, too.
And in an apparent bid to determine if one potential juror knew that ABC was owned by Disney, Baute asked "Do you associate Disney with mouse ears or a conglomerate?"
Both Sheridan and Cherry were in court Tuesday.
She was wearing a three-piece blue suit, high heels and what appeared to be reading glasses. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Cherry was wearing a light grey jacket with dark grey pants and a lavender shirt with no tie.
Sheridan could take the stand on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday, depending on when a jury is seated.
At the end of the day, the judge instructed the potential jurors. "Don't go on the Internet. Don't go home and watch 'Desperate Housewives' -- if you can find it."
