Perry Mason - General Discussion

[chessiegal]

Anyone else wonder what Barbara Hale is writing on the steno pads in court and the office? Doodling? I wish this scene was over, I'm hungry. Just me? Okay then.

[dttruman]

4 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Anyone else wonder what Barbara Hale is writing on the steno pads in court and the office? Doodling? I wish this scene was over, I'm hungry. Just me? Okay then.

I wonder if she was doodling anything, because I didn't even know if she was faking writing?

[Ghost of TWOP Past]

Lately I have become obsessed with the 50s/60s series. I watch it every night before bed and think about it while I'm not watching it. The thing is, it's Perry himself that fascinates me. I find the plots overly complex and confusing, the acting uneven, and the final reveal is always so formulaic. But Perry glides through life with serene confidence. He is a respected professional and even the police who are his opponents are not his enemies and know he plays a valuable part in the same justice system that they do. Perry is always immaculately polite, even when arguing with the prosecutor in court. Raymond Burr has a nice voice and good diction, and he's pleasant to listen to. Perry is intelligent and well-spoken with a strong vocabulary. He says precisely what he means to say, and no more and no less. His meaning is always clear. Perry does not hurry, is rarely surprised, and never dismayed. He doesn't throw money around but he clearly does not worry about making rent or paying medical bills. His suits are always tidy and he drives a new-ish car. Unlike modern tv characters, Perry is not feuding with an ex-wife nor does he have a substance abuse problem. He's self-employed so his boss is not nagging him or making unreasonable demands. The one time we see him outside of work (at least in the episodes I've seen so far) he spends his free time quietly at home, reading a book on the couch. Perry always knows what to do and is confident that he can do it. In short, I envy Perry's relaxed mastery over his sedate life and find the show soothing to watch. I want Perry Mason's life. 

[alvajon]

Ghost of TWOP Past--Best summary ever of our Perry Mason.  I’ve watched the early episodes from #1 to #271 probably eight or ten times.  When nothing else is on t.v., there is always Perry Mason.  MeTV is running all the Perry Mason movies and I just watched The Case of the Sinister Spirit--one of the best movies/episodes ever, so suspenseful and fun to watch--shades of The Shining, and Ten Little Indians, sort of.  

[dttruman]

3 hours ago, alvajon said:

Ghost of TWOP Past--Best summary ever of our Perry Mason.  I’ve watched the early episodes from #1 to #271 probably eight or ten times.  When nothing else is on t.v., there is always Perry Mason.  MeTV is running all the Perry Mason movies and I just watched The Case of the Sinister Spirit--one of the best movies/episodes ever, so suspenseful and fun to watch--shades of The Shining, and Ten Little Indians, sort of.  

They also run the TV series twice a day, 9 am and 11pm (different episodes) EST M-F. If you can't get get enough there, The Sundance channel shows them Thursday, 1-6am and Friday, 2-6am EST.

[dttruman]

7 hours ago, Ghost of TWOP Past said:

Lately I have become obsessed with the 50s/60s series. I watch it every night before bed and think about it while I'm not watching it. The thing is, it's Perry himself that fascinates me. I find the plots overly complex and confusing, the acting uneven, and the final reveal is always so formulaic. But Perry glides through life with serene confidence. He is a respected professional and even the police who are his opponents are not his enemies and know he plays a valuable part in the same justice system that they do. Perry is always immaculately polite, even when arguing with the prosecutor in court. Raymond Burr has a nice voice and good diction, and he's pleasant to listen to. Perry is intelligent and well-spoken with a strong vocabulary. He says precisely what he means to say, and no more and no less. His meaning is always clear. Perry does not hurry, is rarely surprised, and never dismayed. He doesn't throw money around but he clearly does not worry about making rent or paying medical bills. His suits are always tidy and he drives a new-ish car. Unlike modern tv characters, Perry is not feuding with an ex-wife nor does he have a substance abuse problem. He's self-employed so his boss is not nagging him or making unreasonable demands. The one time we see him outside of work (at least in the episodes I've seen so far) he spends his free time quietly at home, reading a book on the couch. Perry always knows what to do and is confident that he can do it. In short, I envy Perry's relaxed mastery over his sedate life and find the show soothing to watch. I want Perry Mason's life. 

Perry has a couple of pastimes and a "substance abuse problem" in a way. Perry likes to go deep sea fishing, he also likes art (paintings), and he also has a work shop. His substance abuse is very evident, but understandable and he needed to do something about it since the last few seasons of the show. Perry had kind of a weight problem. It was nice to see that Perry wasn't smoking in the last few seasons. In the first few seasons of the show, it seemed like everyone was smoking a lot, except for Della. In fact, I don't ever remember her smoking at all.

Edited June 8, 2022 by dttruman

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 hours ago, dttruman said:

His substance abuse is very evident, but understandable and he needed to do something about it since the last few seasons of the show. Perry had kind of a weight problem.

That had to do with Raymond Burr's back problems. And he was always a heavy guy--he was forced to lose the weight in the early seasons, when he looked slimmer. I've never heard that Burr had any substance abuse problems. And it's why in the movies, he's almost always sitting, and using a cane.

I love Original Perry. And for all the reasons stated above by @Ghost of TWOP Past. And it's why I will never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER, watch that insult of a "reboot" on HBO Max supposedly about Perry before he was Perry.

Edited June 8, 2022 by GHScorpiosRule

[dttruman]

33 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

That had to do with his Raymond Burr's back problems. And he was always a heavy guy--he was forced to lose the weight in the early seasons, when he looked slimmer. I've never heard that Burr had any substance abuse problems. And it's why in the movies, he's almost always sitting, and using a cane.

I may have misdirected everyone here a little. I thought his problem was just over-eating. As for his sitting, do you mean his Ironside tv series? I thought his back problems came later and was only prevalent in his sort of retirement years when he did his Perry Mason movies.

[GHScorpiosRule]

20 minutes ago, dttruman said:

I may have misdirected everyone here a little. I thought his problem was just over-eating. As for his sitting, do you mean his Ironside tv series? I thought his back problems came later and was only prevalent in his sort of retirement years when he did his Perry Mason movies.

No. I meant the Perry Mason movies.

And no. He had back problems going back to the original series. It's why we had those handful of episodes of other defense attorneys like Bette Davis, and that other dude whose name I can't remember, being the focus and representing the defendants.

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

No. I meant the Perry Mason movies.

And no. He had back problems going back to the original series. It's why we had those handful of episodes of other defense attorneys like Bette Davis, and that other dude whose name I can't remember, being the focus and representing the defendants.

There were four. Bette Davis whom you mentioned, Walter Pidgeon, Hugh O'Brien and Michael Rennie.

[alvajon]

11 hours ago, dttruman said:

They also run the TV series twice a day, 9 am and 11pm (different episodes) EST M-F. If you can't get get enough there, The Sundance channel shows them Thursday, 1-6am and Friday, 2-6am EST.

ddtruman:  All my sources... And, all the old Colombo episodes are right up there with Perry Mason, in my book--lawyer, cop, they go hand in hand, almost. 

[dttruman]

6 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

There were four. Bette Davis whom you mentioned, Walter Pidgeon, Hugh O'Brien and Michael Rennie.

What about Joe Mannix or Mike Conners?

[GHScorpiosRule]

5 minutes ago, dttruman said:

What about Joe Mannix or Mike Conners?

He appeared once in the movies. Never on the original show. The movies, after Raymond Burr passed away, had Mike Connor, Paul Sorvino, and Hal Holbrook. There may have been one more, or Hal appeared twice.

[Milburn Stone]

9 hours ago, dttruman said:

Perry has a couple of pastimes and a "substance abuse problem" in a way. Perry likes to go deep sea fishing, he also likes art (paintings), and he also has a work shop. His substance abuse is very evident

I'm really confused about this. Are you talking about Perry (which you say you are), or Raymond Burr? The only "substance abuse" problem I can think of in relation to Perry is that he's usually very happy to have a drink in the evening. But problem? I'm reminded of Dean Martin's quote: "People say I have an alcohol problem. I don't have a problem. I drink, I fall down, I pass out. No problem."

@Ghost of TWOP Past, I share the appreciation of your post. When you write how refreshing it is to see a character whose private life, and possible dysfunctions, we know next to nothing about, I would add it's not the absence of this that matters, it's the positive way it puts the focus on his superb professionalism. That's what's refreshing--seeing a character who is really good at what he does. His professional life defines him, not because he "has no life" outside the office, but because his profession is the most important thing to him. In this, he is really like most people in real life. Most competent people are quite proud of the job they do every day, and don't go around sharing their dysfunctions with every Tom, Dick, and Harry. To watch TV, though, you'd come away thinking real life is just the opposite, since modern day TV elevates incompetence to a virtue. (Perhaps the result is a dysfunctional society in which incompetent people are no longer ashamed of their incompetence.)

[Egg McMuffin]

This is an interesting discussion. We love competence and steadiness because I think it’s relatively rare in real life. I was watching old movie “The Trouble With Angels” the other day, and was admiring the Mother Superior character, played by Rosalind Russell. That character too is competent and steady, stern when she needs to be, but with a warm and compassionate side (and also has a biting wit).

[chessiegal]

11 hours ago, dttruman said:

In the first few seasons of the show, it seemed like everyone was smoking a lot,

Well, back in the 50s and 60s, cigarettes didn't cause cancer. 😉

[dttruman]

18 minutes ago, Egg McMuffin said:

This is an interesting discussion. We love competence and steadiness because I think it’s relatively rare in real life. I was watching old movie “The Trouble With Angels” the other day, and was admiring the Mother Superior character, played by Rosalind Russell. That character too is competent and steady, stern when she needs to be, but with a warm and compassionate side (and also has a biting wit).

There was a great line or series of remarks made by Mother Superior that was profound to me. "But, Mary... oh, Mary has a will of iron. To bend but not to break... to yield but not capitulate... to have pride but also humility. This has always been my struggle, Sister. Can I be less tolerant of Mary than the Church has been of me?". This is from the IMDb about the movie.

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

He appeared once in the movies. Never on the original show. The movies, after Raymond Burr passed away, had Mike Connor, Paul Sorvino, and Hal Holbrook. There may have been one more, or Hal appeared twice.

Mike Conners appeared once on the 50's60's tv series when he represented brothers who owned a bowling alley and were being a harassed by a lady called the "Dutchess".

[Maverick]

 Only Sorvino and Holbrook headed the TV movies after Burr's death.  Sorvino did one while Holbrook did the final three. It was a lot like the episodes of the show with the guest lawyers (contrivances as to why the supporting cast was helping the guest lawyer), minus the check ins with Perry at the hospital. 

[dttruman]

On 6/8/2022 at 1:41 AM, Ghost of TWOP Past said:

Lately I have become obsessed with the 50s/60s series. I watch it every night before bed and think about it while I'm not watching it. The thing is, it's Perry himself that fascinates me. I find the plots overly complex and confusing, the acting uneven, and the final reveal is always so formulaic. But Perry glides through life with serene confidence. He is a respected professional and even the police who are his opponents are not his enemies and know he plays a valuable part in the same justice system that they do. Perry is always immaculately polite, even when arguing with the prosecutor in court. Raymond Burr has a nice voice and good diction, and he's pleasant to listen to. Perry is intelligent and well-spoken with a strong vocabulary. He says precisely what he means to say, and no more and no less. His meaning is always clear. Perry does not hurry, is rarely surprised, and never dismayed. He doesn't throw money around but he clearly does not worry about making rent or paying medical bills. His suits are always tidy and he drives a new-ish car. Unlike modern tv characters, Perry is not feuding with an ex-wife nor does he have a substance abuse problem. He's self-employed so his boss is not nagging him or making unreasonable demands. The one time we see him outside of work (at least in the episodes I've seen so far) he spends his free time quietly at home, reading a book on the couch. Perry always knows what to do and is confident that he can do it. In short, I envy Perry's relaxed mastery over his sedate life and find the show soothing to watch. I want Perry Mason's life. 

Just saw an episode of Perry Mason that I thought showed exactly what Perry Mason was really like, besides his extreme loyalty to his clients. It's from the case of the "Misguided Model. Perry mentions that other lawyers don't want to know if their clients are guilty or innocent, they just represent them to the best of their abilities. Where in Perry's case, he wants to seek out the truth no matter how the cards fall or in this case, not see a innocent man go to jail despite

[GHScorpiosRule]

I never realize how STOOPID the cops in the movies were.

In tonight’s “The Case of the Murdered Madam” the cops decide that Tony killed Suzanne because they found those clips that states she was a prostitute/madam. No physical evidence. Tony was the one who called the cops. And Tony only decked the sergeant because he provoked him with that line about how “proud” Suzanne was of him.

And the case was just super sped to a trial while Paul is still investigating trying to find Miranda-another stupid waste of space. Who held onto the tape Suzanne asked her to mail for several days after her murder.

The whole case just seemed to be nothing but stuff about Suzanne’s past and that it was Tony’s gun that was the murder weapon. Where was the proof? No blood on Tony? No mention of fingerprints. The original show did better when there weren’t as many advances!

The best part was Della telling Perry that her short engagement to Tony’s uncle was “a very long time ago” and the final scene “Just you and me.” As Perry hugs Della and she nestles her head against him.

[dttruman]

I watched the case of the Negligent Nymph today and I saw something interesting. The Judge was played by James Nusser and he was also the town drunk on Gunsmoke for a long time. He was a character actor, but I don't know if I was prejudicial because I knew about his character on Gunsmoke, but his character as a judge here just seemed so out of place or unbelievable. In his bio, it mentioned he did have a drinking problem.

[dttruman]

Did anyone catch the Perry Mason episode on MeTV today? It was the Case of the Sun Bather's Diary, and I was watching some old Perry Mason movies from the 1930's earlier. Did anyone notice that this episode of Perry Mason is very similar to the movies because both Perrys seem to sum up the cases and expose the murder at the end? The only difference is Perry (from TV) does it from the witness stand, while the movies Perry does while addressing the judge and the jury.

[peacheslatour]

3 hours ago, dttruman said:

Did anyone catch the Perry Mason episode on MeTV today? It was the Case of the Sun Bather's Diary, and I was watching some old Perry Mason movies from the 1930's earlier. Did anyone notice that this episode of Perry Mason is very similar to the movies because both Perrys seem to sum up the cases and expose the murder at the end? The only difference is Perry (from TV) does it from the witness stand, while the movies Perry does while addressing the judge and the jury.

They're all taken from the Erle Stanley Gardner books.

[dttruman]

5 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

They're all taken from the Erle Stanley Gardner books.

I know that, but some episodes are manipulated a little with just a change or two.

[GHScorpiosRule]

8 hours ago, dttruman said:

Did anyone catch the Perry Mason episode on MeTV today? It was the Case of the Sun Bather's Diary, and I was watching some old Perry Mason movies from the 1930's earlier. Did anyone notice that this episode of Perry Mason is very similar to the movies because both Perrys seem to sum up the cases and expose the murder at the end? The only difference is Perry (from TV) does it from the witness stand, while the movies Perry does while addressing the judge and the jury.

Since I never watched the movies, I can't answer.

5 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

They're all taken from the Erle Stanley Gardner books.

14 minutes ago, dttruman said:

I know that, but some episodes are manipulated a little with just a change or two.

That's true of any adaptation. So I'm not sure what you're asking?

[dttruman]

11 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Since I never watched the movies, I can't answer.

That's true of any adaptation. So I'm not sure what you're asking?

Since the Perry Mason movies from the 1930's are very old, you can probably track them down on Youtube. Shouldn't be too hard to get their titles by Googling them.

But my original point was that this episode more or less followed the format of the original movies (where Perry was played by Warren Williams, Ricado Cortez and so on) except for that little change in the tv episode.

[alvajon]

Tonight I watched the Perry Mason TV movie (#10) “The Case of the Lethal Lesson” on MeTV.  I read on IMDB trivia that this was the first movie without Paul Drake, Jr., but there was no mention or explanation of his leaving the story lines, or at least if so I missed it.  And speaking of Paul Drake, Jr., I don’t recall how he was written into the TV movies to start with.  I’ve watched all the old Perry Mason episodes several times over, and don’t recall Paul Drake ever having a son.  Was this mentioned somewhere along the line, and I missed it? Would appreciate knowing, if anyone knows this, just for my curiosity. Thanks. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

6 hours ago, alvajon said:

Tonight I watched the Perry Mason TV movie (#10) “The Case of the Lethal Lesson” on MeTV.  I read on IMDB trivia that this was the first movie without Paul Drake, Jr., but there was no mention or explanation of his leaving the story lines, or at least if so I missed it.  And speaking of Paul Drake, Jr., I don’t recall how he was written into the TV movies to start with.  I’ve watched all the old Perry Mason episodes several times over, and don’t recall Paul Drake ever having a son.  Was this mentioned somewhere along the line, and I missed it? Would appreciate knowing, if anyone knows this, just for my curiosity. Thanks. 

They never said why Paul left.

And no, original show never had Paul, Jr. It was a retcon for when the movies started. It was 19 years later, and Paul was very much a bachelor on the show. But it’s a believable retcon as it’s possible one of the many women Paul was involved with had his child.

But then again, you have that line from Perry about him knowing Junior “all his life” so there you go.

In real life, William Katt had a pilot or went to do another show that never got picked up. I would have preferred they bring him back as I love the actor. But Junior wasn’t the great detective his father was.

[dttruman]

11 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

In real life, William Katt had a pilot or went to do another show that never got picked up. I would have preferred they bring him back as I love the actor. But Junior wasn’t the great detective his father was.

You forgot to mention the one special reason why William Katt was selected. His mother in real life was Barbara (Della Street) Hale. It just all seemed to fit in perfectly .

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 minutes ago, dttruman said:

You forgot to mention the one special reason why William Katt was selected. His mother in real life was Barbara (Della Street) Hale. It just all seemed to fit in perfectly .

But Dean didn’t know that Katt was Barbara’s son when he told her that they had cast him to play Paul Drake, Jr.

He asked if she knew of him/who he was, and she told him yes-she “used to change his diapers!” That’s a direct quote from the interview that’s on the 25th Anniversary DVD. She then told Dean that Katt was her son.

[dttruman]

11 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

But Dean didn’t know that Katt was Barbara’s son when he told her that they had cast him to play Paul Drake, Jr.

He asked if she knew of him/who he was, and she told him yes-she “used to change his diapers!” That’s a direct quote from the interview that’s on the 25th Anniversary DVD. She then told Dean that Katt was her son.

I don't want to say anything that sounds bad about Dean Hargrove and I don't mean this in the wrong way, but wasn't he always looking over everybody's shoulder. It wasn't that he was being dictatorial, but just making sure everyone was doing their job correctly. He knew who everybody was and what they were suppose to do. That's why he was so successful. What made it even more surprising was that no one had any real complaints about it. I guess he just looked over everybody's shoulder in a nice friendly personable way.

[GHScorpiosRule]

6 minutes ago, dttruman said:

I don't want to say anything that sounds bad about Dean Hargrove and I don't mean this in the wrong way, but wasn't he always looking over everybody's shoulder. It wasn't that he was being dictatorial, but just making sure everyone was doing their job correctly. He knew who everybody was and what they were suppose to do. That's why he was so successful. What made it even more surprising was that no one had any real complaints about it. I guess he just looked over everybody's shoulder in a nice friendly personable way.

I liked Dean, but not sure why you quoted what I wrote to post your comment? Both William and Barbara had different last names. He honestly didn't know what William was Barbara's son when he cast him as Paul, Jr. when he was thinking about bringing the series back. And he asked Barbara what she thought of him.

Dean wasn't as bad as Erle Stanley Gardner was, though. Barbara said in the same interview, that he made sure everything was just so. Like there was one scene where Della was leaning over Perry's shoulder. He didn't like that and made them reshoot it so that there is no...inference of any flirting or that they're too close, or something like that.

[dttruman]

2 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I liked Dean, but not sure why you quoted what I wrote to post your comment? Both William and Barbara had different last names. He honestly didn't know what William was Barbara's son when he cast him as Paul, Jr. when he was thinking about bringing the series back. And he asked Barbara what she thought of him.

I wasn't trying to throw you under the bus or anything, or even trying to infer anything you wrote because that is not my intentions. I even liked what you said. I am not disagreeing at all with you. I am just chalking it up to a new viewpoint about him I just learned.

[GHScorpiosRule]

20 minutes ago, dttruman said:

I wasn't trying to throw you under the bus or anything, or even trying to infer anything you wrote because that is not my intentions. I even liked what you said. I am not disagreeing at all with you. I am just chalking it up to a new viewpoint about him I just learned.

Ah, okay. 

It just confused me that you posted what you thought after quoting me; made me think it was in response to what I wrote!😜

[Egg McMuffin]

William Katt left to do a show called “Top of the Hill”, which lasted 13 episodes. I wish they had brought in someone more dynamic that BIlly Moses, who was kind of dull. I guess that’s what Alexandra Paul was for (she played Ken’s girlfriend, Amy), but she disappeared after just a couple of episodes.

There was talk about bringing Paul Jr back as the defendant later on, but it never happened.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I absolutely LOATHED the introduction of Amy. In the two or three movies she appeared, both she and Ken took away screen time from Perry and Della.

I wish William Katt had just come back. And if the plan was to have Paul come back, but be charged with murder, that would be something he shared with his father, as Paul Drake in the original series had also been charged with murder in "The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma" in season three.

[dttruman]

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I wish William Katt had just come back. And if the plan was to have Paul come back, but be charged with murder, that would be something he shared with his father, as Paul Drake in the original series had also been charged with murder in "The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma" in season three.

There was a great quote by Perry Mason (at the end of the episode) that he said to that rich guy about trying to cover up some of the facts and about his own kids.

Here is the whole thing, from IMDB, quotes from this episode.

"Perry Mason: You know, when I leave here, I'm meeting Paul Drake at a restaurant. He'll pick up the check for dinner. That'll be the fee for my services. He's just a friend, but I never once doubted his innocence.

Henry W. Dameron: What do you mean by that?

Perry Mason: Mr. Dameron... I've never before met a person so far removed from humanity that he believed every one of his own children capable of committing a murder."

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, dttruman said:

There was a great quote by Perry Mason (at the end of the episode) that he said to that rich guy about trying to cover up some of the facts and about his own kids.

Oh yeah. The original show had so many great lines, and I've said this before, but even with less time, the original show was so much tighter and better. The only thing the movies had going for them, for me, was seeing Perry and Della finally get together. Raymond and Barbara had such wonderful chemistry. So natural and organic. But I always giggle when I watch these movies, because Don Galloway, who starred with Raymond in Ironside, appeared in two of the movies, I think. Once in "The Case of the Avenging Ace" as the general, in like, two scenes, and I think he might have been the killer in another one? Or maybe I'm just misremembering. I do know I was disappointed that Richard Anderson didn't reprise his role as Lt. Steve Drumm in Perry Mason Returns, but instead was the killer.

Found it! "The Case of the Defiant Daughter" was the other movie. And that should be coming up soon.

Edited July 18, 2022 by GHScorpiosRule

[Egg McMuffin]

Did they explicitly say that Perry and Della were a couple in the movie series? They seemed to imply it but your comment made me wonder if I missed something really obvious.

I think the two-hour run time is very challenging for any regular series, even if it’s only a few times per year. Even the old Columbos were much better when they were 90 minutes as opposed to two hours.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Just now, Egg McMuffin said:

Did they explicitly say that Perry and Della were a couple in the movie series? They seemed to imply it but your comment made me wonder if I missed something really obvious.

I think the two-hour run time is very challenging for any regular series, even if it’s only a few times per year. Even the old Columbos were much better when they were 90 minutes as opposed to two hours.

Well, there was that one movie (and I'm sorry, I'm blanking on it), where at the end Perry and Della kissed. Throughout these movies, you had him as her "secret admirer" who delivered gifts/flowers to her, and Della figured out it was Perry; you had Della assure Perry in "The Case of the Murdered Madam" that her engagement to Tony's uncle "was a long time ago" when it came out during her testimony during the trial.

So I take that as the show telling me they were.

I was also very disappointed that we lost David Ogden Stiers as the movie version of Hamilton Burger. 

[Egg McMuffin]

I’m guessing it was a kind of a dull role for David Ogden Stiers. He was in nine of the movies, and that was probably enough for him. I wish they had had a regular replacement though. After he left, it seemed like they just rotated DAs.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Just now, Egg McMuffin said:

I’m guessing it was a kind of a dull role for David Ogden Stiers. He was in nine of the movies, and that was probably enough for him. I wish they had had a regular replacement though. After he left, it seemed like they just rotated DAs.

The same number as William Katt!

We had Valerie Mahaffey as the DA in two of the movies: last night's "The Case of the Musical Murder" and next week's "The Case of the All-Star Assassin."

I am sooo not looking forward to the one where Chachi is the smug and pissant ADA.

[Egg McMuffin]

LOL - Scott Baio played a DA? Kind of a lame adversary for the great Perry Mason. But it makes sense given that Baio went on to Diagnosis Murder, from the Perry Mason producers.

[GHScorpiosRule]

17 hours ago, Egg McMuffin said:

LOL - Scott Baio played a DA? Kind of a lame adversary for the great Perry Mason. But it makes sense given that Baio went on to Diagnosis Murder, from the Perry Mason producers.

Yup. And he looked so skeevy, too! Said how he was a huge fan of Perry's or something like that and that he was looking forward to beating him. Or something along those lines.

As to the show, Della has always seemed so even tempered; never saw her lose it; well, she did break down when Paul was poisoned, but in "The Case of the Dead Ringer" which I watched last night (I've got over 40 saved up in my DVR queue), Della let it rip to the client, when that secretary Dunkel, accused Perry of bribing her, when it was actually Grimes.

Now Paul, we've seen get angry, but I can't recall Della ever getting to that point.

And in the series finale, "The Case of the Final Fade-Out" I see MeTV, basically cut out all the real life crew who "told" Steve Drumm what their jobs were and what they were responsible for when he was questioning them after Barry's murder. a Big giant BOO!🤬 That was an homage to the actual crew who had worked on the show during its entire run.

But I did like how it ended, even though what we saw over the years, the cases just came to Perry, most times; don't ever recall them going over what is our next case and what do we need to do? All in all, I liked it. 

I mean, we had Uncle Jesse (who had appeared several times on this show) from The Dukes of Hazzard, and yes, he played that Darling on The Andy Griffith Show; but Denver Pyle will always be Uncle Jesse to me. And we had a baby-faced Dick Clark! Who knew he could act? I didn't when I first saw this episode. I'd just known him from American Bandstand and then the annual Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve.

Of course we had so many, many up and coming stars, who I would see on my favorite soaps and movies. Robert Redford, anyone?

[Broderbits]

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

And in the series finale, "The Case of the Final Fade-Out" I see MeTV, basically cut out all the real life crew who "told" Steve Drumm what their jobs were and what they were responsible for when he was questioning them after Barry's murder. a Big giant BOO!🤬

I can't believe they did that! What a stupid move! I've been watching the episodes on Amazon Prime's Freevee and they showed all the crew stuff. My only complaint about Freevee (besides the fact that these episodes are no longer on Paramount+) is they interrupt dialog with commercials and then go back to let the poor actor finish his/her sentence.

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Of course we had so many, many up and coming stars, who I would see on my favorite soaps and movies.

I've seen Leonard Nimoy and George Takei!

[GHScorpiosRule]

Just now, Broderbits said:

I've seen Leonard Nimoy and George Takei!

And Lee Marvin! Bette Davis! Ruta Lee, David Lewis, Gary Collins, Mary Ann Mobley (Collins's real life wife!), and I could go on and on and on!

[Broderbits]

29 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Mary Ann Mobley

I think there were 2 episodes with her and they were terrible due to her lack of acting skill. She should have used her Miss America scholarship for acting lessons!

[Egg McMuffin]

I never understood how Mary Ann Mobley got the acting roles she did. She was always pretty awful.

At least MeTV shows the final episode. And the color episode. For years, those two were left out of the syndication package. But it’s a shame they’re still editing - didn’t they expand the time slot to 65 minutes? What was the point if they’re not showing it unedited.

[dttruman]

21 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Of course we had so many, many up and coming stars, who I would see on my favorite soaps and movies. Robert Redford, anyone?

When I first saw that episode, up until the end I thought he was the murderer.

When they cast James Coburn as the murder victim in two of the episodes, they knew what they were doing. He could play a very good antagonistic character

Edited July 20, 2022 by dttruman

[GHScorpiosRule]

God, I absolutely LOATHE Jason Beghe, and I have to suffer his asshole of a character’s petulant whining as Perry’s client in The Case of the All-Star Assassin. I hate that Trapper John, M.D. was the asshole victim.

I was also surprised and felt stupid that I never caught this in the last few viewings: that Asshole Client was at Trapper’s Horton’s deposition in the opening. Only the one being deposed is supposed to be there, along with counsel for the parties.

But thank the TV GODS this is the last I’ll see of Amy.