Perry Mason

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Perry Mason ranks 1,665 out of the 18,228 shows on TV.com.

The 194 users who count themselves as Perry Mason fans have written a total of 8 reviews.

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There are few actors so closely tied to a persona than Raymond Burr as Perry Mason. This long-running series was built upon Erle Stanley Gardner´s many novels about a brilliant defense lawyer and his staff, that solved many a crime with surprise witnesses and stern cross-examinations.It was the first mystery... more »

There are few actors so closely tied to a persona than Raymond Burr as Perry Mason. This long-running series was built upon Erle Stanley Gardner´s many novels about a brilliant defense lawyer and his staff, that solved many a crime with surprise witnesses and stern cross-examinations.It was the first mystery series to feature chalk or tape outlines to mark the spots where bodies were found. Filmed almost exclusively in the Los Angeles area, Raymond Burr had Gardner's seal of approval in the role. The cases were usually won by way of pivotal confessions of witnesses, solicited by Perry Mason (Burr's) surgeon-like examination or with last-minute, key evidence brought into the courtroom by private investigator, Paul Drake (William Hopper). Della Street (Barbara Hale), Perry´s faithful secretary, was always at Perry's side in the courtroom where hapless Hamilton Burger (William Tallman) was the Los Angeles District Attorney who never seemed to win. As to the myth that Perry Mason never lost, there were 2 episodes where it did occur... but you'll have to watch to find out.The show was revived in 1973-74, with other actors in the familiar roles (Monte Markham as Mason), and then again with the some of the original cast, in a string of feature length TV films from 1985 until Raymond Burr´s death in 1993.


Programming Note: Sadly, Hallmark Channel is no longer airing the Perry Mason series but they have begun airing the TV movies on average of about one per week. Check the Hallmark Channel listings to find out the dates and times.
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• Perry Mason is now appearing in...

  I thought it might be helpful to list where Perry Mason episodes are being rebroadcast, whether on local stations or cable...more »

  I thought it might be helpful to list where Perry Mason episodes are being rebroadcast, whether on local stations or cable outlets. Thus this new topic. List the local station call letters, the city, the day(s) of the week the series is airing, and the name of the most recent episode that was broadcast. Upcoming scheduling would also be welcome as well as a final post when the series can no longer be seen at the listed channel and time. Jim Phoenix, AZ less «

  jimarnone Last online Jun 24, 2009
  3 comments, last one Apr 15, 2009 + Add Comment

• did Drake or Mason ever. . .

  . . .carry a gun on them? I know Drake might've carried one but did Mason ever have on?

  . . .carry a gun on them? I know Drake might've carried one but did Mason ever have on?less «

  aolhater
  1 comments, last one Jan 25, 2009 + Add Comment

• New Perry Mason DVD Collection Coming

  It's been rumored to be coming for a while now, but on April 8 , Paramount is rolling out the Perry Mason - 50th Ann...more »

  It's been rumored to be coming for a while now, but on April 8 , Paramount is rolling out the Perry Mason - 50th Anniversary Collection DVD. The set contains 12 episodes (none of which are available on DVD yet, so no double-dipping) as well as a horde of extras. The episodes are: "Case of the Wary Wildcatter" "Case of the Treacherous Toupee" "Case of the Envious Editor" "Case of the Barefaced Witness" "Case of the Counterfeit Crank" "Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe" "Case of the Constant Doyle" (Bette Davis fills in for an absent Perry) "Case of the Deadly Verdict" "Case of the Bountiful Beauty" "Case of the Twice-Told Twist" (the color episode) "Case of the Dead Ringer" "Case of the Final Fade-Out" (final episode) There's a ton of bonus features on this set (Paul Brownstein, the DVD producer, always does a good job. He handed Season 1 of The Wild Wild West and Image's releases of The Dick Van Dyke Show , among others). The full list is on TVShowsOnDVD.com, but the ones that jumped out at me were the interviews/intros with Barbara Hale and Perry Mason Returns ! Not sure how this will affect future season releases, but it looks like a great collection. less «

  jamoon2006 Last online Jun 14, 2009
  7 comments, last one Aug 27, 2008 + Add Comment

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  9 Superb

  Perry Mason was a popular show based on Erle Stanley Gardners long running book series. Not liking the movies made from his books Gardner accepted less money from CBS in exchange for creative control Gardner chose Raymond Burr as Perry. hide « show »

  Perry Mason is one of the most popular law series and I remember my mom watching the show. I like the main three characters. Perry the lawyer, Della Street his secretary and Paul Drake the detective. Many current TV stars guested on the show. Its one of the few black and white series still showing. A local UHF station still runs it daily. Thats why I can remember It well since I managed to see almost all the episodes.I saw it listed on a mystery book about detectives which included Paul Drake as a helper because Perry of course is the main character.

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  OLDERTVFAN Added Dec 5, 2008 All my reviews
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  10 Perfect

  Captivated without a requirment of succession.... hide « show »

  My words have an intensity not available to the English dictionary. There is not a single word that can explain the marvel exhibited from the superb acting that so glimpsed in a single flip of a remote control. Hardly had I even the time to change my preference let alone listen in my perception! The myriad captivities, I am sure understood by Mason veterans, is so unwillingly unleashed in torrents of drama and fear. I mean this not in an English sense that I had feared it by first sight, rather something beyond emotions that is exceedingly beyond me, but palpable to said video show. At first, a thought can easily perceive: "Cor, what unadulerated crime could've been unleashed in the maturation of drama in mere black-and-white!?" I need not tell you the answer, namely if you've read a single quote; if you are bereft of the marvel that is Perry Mason, persist in the viewing of it, for no review in the terminology of whatever language can fully appreciate the believable acting, and heightened drama -- prepare thyself.

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  holy_grenade125 Added Dec 17, 2006 All my reviews
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  9.1 Superb

  As I Love Lucy set the standard for future situation comedy series, so Perry Mason sets the standard for courtroom and investigation series that followed it. hide « show »

  Before there was Law & Order, Quincy, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, NCIS, JAG, Justice, Barnaby Jones, or any of the many crime, law, or investigation series there was Perry Mason.
  
  Perry Mason managed to combine all these various aspects of a good crime series into an hour show. With Paul as his detective and yes even Lieutenant Arthur Tragg helping from time to time Perry fought for justice inside the courtroom.
  
  Unlike many of today's courtroom drama series Perry put justice ahead of his winning record. While his courtroom antics were wonderful twists, skating close to being unethical, and a thorn in D.A. Hamilton Burger side, he wouldn't break the law (expect for the occasional parking ticket) and above all he sought the truth.
  
  Somewhere along the lines many of the series that followed forgot to seek the truth. It isn't their fault, as they only emulated the real life police and district attorneys who view their records as more important than justice or truth.
  
  Where the series that followed forgot their obligations (to set a higher standard and remind all those inside and outside of the real courtrooms of how truly unique, wondrous, and above all fragile our liberties and system of justice is to each person), Perry Mason doesn't forget nor does he fail to find a calling higher than the truth and justice.
  
  Perry Mason like its Black and White format showed us the grey tones guilty people use to conceal the truth. But also like its format the series viewed its world in very simple terms, such as a guilty person when faced with his guilt will confess. Life doesn’t always imamate art and there in lies Perry Mason’s greatest and its flaw.

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  bmoshier Added Oct 16, 2006 All my reviews
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  9.5 Superb

  The ultimate who done it! A crime drama with the leading character, being the great trial lawyer, Parry Mason. hide « show »

  With the last show being now 40 years ago, it is still being followed by fans world wide. They have tried two remakes, with the original cast (Raymond Burr as Perry Mason and Barbara Hail as Della Street) having the only success.
  This is the best of the best. A show that would fit in the 21st century as it did when I was a boy in the 1960's. I can never wait for the show to run on one of the local PBS stations. They at least run it seven days a week.
  

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  cptreft Added Jun 11, 2006 All my reviews
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  7.8 Good

  Perry Mason is the standard courtroom drama series. hide « show »

  Perry Mason is a well-acted, beautifully photographed and fairly well-written courtroom drama to which all other programs of this genre will be compared. Mason, a sharp, forty-something criminal-defense attorney sometimes takes personal risks to give his clients effective legal representation. With a mind more logical than that of Mr. Spock, he loses only one trial in the entire series. Ably assisted by confidential secretary Della Street (Barbara Hale) and his swinging P.I. Paul Drake (William Hopper) Mason never fails to make D.A. Hamilton Burger (William Talman) lose his cool and veteran cop Lt. Tragg (Ray Collins) grind his teeth. More than a little subversive for the mores of a half-century past, one must wonder how many innocent persons not represented by Mason, particularly those non-rich, non-white or non-Protestant, were sent to the gas chamber. We can only speculate how Mason would respond to today's legal climate of an American gulag archipelago and the use of torture blessed by the Federal judiciary.
  
  Good in the Eisenhower years, with the barely-suppressed hysteria of the '50s as a thematic backdrop, Perry Mason started to get dull and predictable by 1962. Tragg disappeared after Ray Collins had a stroke and was replaced by the less entertaining Lt. Anderson (Wesley Lau) who seems to have been cloned from Sgt. Joe Friday of Dragnet fame. Implausible stories toward the end, such as Mason defends in a communist show-trial. Generally as Mason's hair got thinner and waistline wider, the show worsened.
  
  Give Perry Mason a look in those episodes which included Ray Collins, particularly the first season. Also check those episodes in which Bette Davis substituted for Mason.
  
  jHh

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  ac4aq Added Dec 20, 2005 All my reviews