Perry Mason - General Discussion

[dttruman]

On 7/18/2023 at 7:55 PM, shapeshifter said:

Hrrmmmm. Any chance the box is picking up OTA (Over The Air) stations?
That is: Could the box be a glorified antenna that's supposed to give customers more channels and only cost the cable company the price of the box?
If so, I guess the cable signal is supposed to be somehow boosting the OTA signals, but not be doing it very well. 
Maybe your cable guy can fix it?

I think this is from the Perry Mason shows on the Sundance Channel that are on over night

[Fool to cry]

Watching the first episode of season 4 "The Case of the Treacherous Toupee".

Boy that Perry is a real legal eagle. A natural not like  ordinary people or even all the President's men. Can take the sting out of any indecent proposal. Reminded me the way we were taking that flight out of Africa when the sun danced on that condor for 3 days...okay I'll stop.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Fool to cry

[dttruman]

On 8/3/2023 at 5:38 PM, Fool to cry said:

Watching the first episode of season 4 "The Case of the Treacherous Toupee".

Boy that Perry is a real legal eagle. A natural not like  ordinary people or even all the President's men. Can take the sting out of any indecent proposal. Reminded me the way we were taking that flight out of Africa when the sun danced on that condor for 3 days...okay I'll stop.

Did the intro to this episode (Toupee) make any sense at all when it came to the surprise return of the company's owner? They didn't explain much about it, except that they inferred he ran off with the plant manager's wife and was gone for two years and the owner felt like he didn't have to explain himself, but that his wife must explain herself.

[Fool to cry]

On 8/10/2023 at 5:51 PM, dttruman said:

Did the intro to this episode (Toupee) make any sense at all when it came to the surprise return of the company's owner? They didn't explain much about it, except that they inferred he ran off with the plant manager's wife and was gone for two years and the owner felt like he didn't have to explain himself, but that his wife must explain herself.

I think it's just that he was a jerk. 

Just watched the first 10 minutes of season 4 episode 6 "The Case of the Wandering Widow" and am now going go look up when Agatha Christie's "Ordeal by Innocence" was published. 

ETA: Where the hell was Hale? 

Where the hella was Della?

Edited August 13, 2023 by Fool to cry

[Fool to cry]

The Case of the Fickle Fortune:

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 6/20/2023 at 9:11 PM, shapeshifter said:

We were discussing closed captioning on another thread, but I can't find it?

Anyway, I missed the denouement of a Perry Mason episode that aired this morning on MeTV, 9.23 "The Case of the Tsarina's Tiara," so I was able to find it on FreeVee and Pluto (apps on my Roku TVs). 
I too always use closed captioning, and was surprised to see at about the 45 minute mark on both FreeVee and Pluto:

• [VYACHESLAV GERZNOV] She never told me about this bullshit Dorrow

which was a miss-translation for:

• [VYACHESLAV GERZNOV] She never told me about this Bolshevik Dorrow

Character Gerznov was played by Russian émigré and character actor Leonid Kinskey, whose accent may have confused the transcriber (human or machine) and/or "Bolshevik" was not in the word list used by the transcriber.

I guess it will be many months before it airs again on MeTV, so I won't get to see how it is transcribed into closed captions there. 😒

From the Retro thread. This episode aired on feTV last Saturday night. Watching it now and I doubt that this channel will show “bullshit” in the closed captioning as it edits out innocuous words. But will return and state what was used at the 45 minute mark.

ETA: it’s at the 52 minute mark and closed captioning spelled the name “Boleshevik” so fetv got it right. We’ll see if iMeTV does to when season nine airs.

Edited August 26, 2023 by GHScorpiosRule

[shapeshifter]

2.18 “The Case of the Jaded Joker” aired on MeTV today, but due to having only slept from 1am-5am the previous night, I kept falling asleep during the commercials and then not waking up until it was almost time for the next commercial. 
Unfortunately this episode is not included on any of the streaming options, both free and subscription, perhaps because of implied marijuana smoking — although there’s so much smoking in the show, I thought it was ambiguous.

Descriptions:

• Perry navigates the strange world of beatniks when a comedian's sidekick is accused of murdering a network executive who gave his friend's part to someone else. (tv24.co.uk)
• Fading funnyman Danny Ross has been promised a new television show, which he desperately needs for a comeback. Charles Goff, the executive who promised Danny the show, double-crosses the jaded joker and pitches the show for another talent. (IMDb)
• Singer Frankie Laine as a comedian whose try for a comeback is blocked by a double-crossing agent and a murder charge. Buzzie: Bobby Troup. Goff: Harry Jackson. Mason: Raymond Burr. Sheila: Martha Vickers. Burger: William Talman (ontvtonight.com)

[dttruman]

11 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

2.18 “The Case of the Jaded Joker” aired on MeTV today, but due to having only slept from 1am-5am the previous night, I kept falling asleep during the commercials and then not waking up until it was almost time for the next commercial. 
Unfortunately this episode is not included on any of the streaming options, both free and subscription, perhaps because of implied marijuana smoking — although there’s so much smoking in the show, I thought it was ambiguous.

Descriptions:

• Perry navigates the strange world of beatniks when a comedian's sidekick is accused of murdering a network executive who gave his friend's part to someone else. (tv24.co.uk)
• Fading funnyman Danny Ross has been promised a new television show, which he desperately needs for a comeback. Charles Goff, the executive who promised Danny the show, double-crosses the jaded joker and pitches the show for another talent. (IMDb)
• Singer Frankie Laine as a comedian whose try for a comeback is blocked by a double-crossing agent and a murder charge. Buzzie: Bobby Troup. Goff: Harry Jackson. Mason: Raymond Burr. Sheila: Martha Vickers. Burger: William Talman (ontvtonight.com)

Sorry you had a tough time sleeping that night and I hope you get plenty of sleep before the next episode "Caretaker's Cat". That was a good one. Did you notice that James Hing as he was lighting the fire to the house? The propmen over did it with the gasoline and it caught Benson Fong off guard for a second.

[shapeshifter]

Knowing that Raymond Burr was a closeted gay man (wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Burr#Personal_life), I sometimes wonder about double entendres on the show, including in brief exchanges with Barbara Hale’s Della Street, but especially in dialogues with other gay male actors.

For example, today 2.28 “The Case of the Spanish Cross” aired, guest starring then-19-year-old Peter Miles, who, like Raymond Burr, would later find a partner to share his life with (wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Miles_(American_actor)#Death).

This dialogue seems so obviously to have a personal meaning beyond that of the episode:

• [PERRY MASON] Now, Jimmy, I want
  you to listen to me.
  More than that, I want you to listen like a man.
  A man knows when another man is lying to him, Jimmy.
  I can't explain how because maybe I don't know, but this I do know:
  honest men don't deceive each other.
  Now, you believe that, don't you?
   
• [JIMMY] I'm not lying.
   
• [PERRY] I know that.
  Honest men talk face to face.
  They don't hide from each other in dark holes.
  I'd like you to come out now and talk with me

[dttruman]

On 10/2/2023 at 4:35 PM, shapeshifter said:

Knowing that Raymond Burr was a closeted gay man (wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Burr#Personal_life), I sometimes wonder about double entendres on the show, including in brief exchanges with Barbara Hale’s Della Street, but especially in dialogues with other gay male actors.

For example, today 2.28 “The Case of the Spanish Cross” aired, guest starring then-19-year-old Peter Miles, who, like Raymond Burr, would later find a partner to share his life with (wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Miles_(American_actor)#Death).

This dialogue seems so obviously to have a personal meaning beyond that of the episode:

• [PERRY MASON] Now, Jimmy, I want
  you to listen to me.
  More than that, I want you to listen like a man.
  A man knows when another man is lying to him, Jimmy.
  I can't explain how because maybe I don't know, but this I do know:
  honest men don't deceive each other.
  Now, you believe that, don't you?
   
• [JIMMY] I'm not lying.
   
• [PERRY] I know that.
  Honest men talk face to face.
  They don't hide from each other in dark holes.
  I'd like you to come out now and talk with me

Hasn't there been some situations where Perry didn't want to put up with the BS and help Della out which I thought he would do anything for Della. The gorlla episode and the ceramic Weary Watch Dog episode?

[shapeshifter]

On 10/2/2023 at 4:35 PM, shapeshifter said:

Knowing that Raymond Burr was a closeted gay man (wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Burr#Personal_life), I sometimes wonder about double entendres on the show, including in brief exchanges with Barbara Hale’s Della Street, but especially in dialogues with other gay male actors.

I didn't notice any double entendres in 3.4 "The Case of the Blushing Pearls" (1959), but George Takei of Star Trek fame, an openly gay activist since at least 2005, is one of several Asian actors with significant speaking parts in the episode. 
This was at a time when Yellow Face was still common on TV and film.

 

On 10/3/2023 at 8:54 PM, dttruman said:

Hasn't there been some situations where Perry didn't want to put up with the BS and help Della out which I thought he would do anything for Della. The gorlla episode and the ceramic Weary Watch Dog episode?

I'm not sure what you mean by "Perry didn't want to put up with the BS," since I'm not familiar with these episodes, but I see "The Case of the Weary Watchdog" is also one that gave opportunities to Asian actors.

[dttruman]

11 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I'm not sure what you mean by "Perry didn't want to put up with the BS," since I'm not familiar with these episodes, but I see "The Case of the Weary Watchdog" is also one that gave opportunities to Asian actors.

At the Restaurant, Della bluntly says how far would you for for a friend, and then she mentions 25,000. He pulls out a check and makes it out for the 25,000 amount and tells Della, without questions and with out thanks and Della feels like she is 3 inches tall.

[shapeshifter]

On 9/18/2023 at 11:25 PM, shapeshifter said:

2.18 “The Case of the Jaded Joker” aired on MeTV today, but due to having only slept from 1am-5am the previous night, I kept falling asleep during the commercials and then not waking up until it was almost time for the next commercial. 
Unfortunately this episode is not included on any of the streaming options, both free and subscription, perhaps because of implied marijuana smoking — although there’s so much smoking in the show, I thought it was ambiguous.

Descriptions:

• Perry navigates the strange world of beatniks when a comedian's sidekick is accused of murdering a network executive who gave his friend's part to someone else. (tv24.co.uk)
• Fading funnyman Danny Ross has been promised a new television show, which he desperately needs for a comeback. Charles Goff, the executive who promised Danny the show, double-crosses the jaded joker and pitches the show for another talent. (IMDb)
• Singer Frankie Laine as a comedian whose try for a comeback is blocked by a double-crossing agent and a murder charge. Buzzie: Bobby Troup. Goff: Harry Jackson. Mason: Raymond Burr. Sheila: Martha Vickers. Burger: William Talman (ontvtonight.com)

2.18 “The Case of the Jaded Joker” (which is currently excluded by the streamers) should air at night on MeTV around January 29, 2024. I'll try to record it to a DVD, and maybe I can connect a cable to my laptop and upload it somewhere privately (so as not to violate copyright). 

[GHScorpiosRule]

Confirming that MeTV also got the closed captioning correct in “The Case of the Tsarina’s Tiara” just as feTV  did, @shapeshifter. He says “She never told me about this Bolshevik Dorow.”

[shapeshifter]

Today on GeTV the Ironside episode 4.23 "Accident" (1971) aired.
It had a reverse captioning oddity that made me do a double-take. 
The bad guy (Hanson) had a line that included "…a fellow like me…" but the captioning inserted the F word! 🤣

[dttruman]

If you want to watch episodes of Perry Mason and you don't have the series on DVD. suggest you watch the episodes on Freevee than Pluto. The episodes on Freevee (as far as I know) they are the entire episodes, whereas Pluto has the edited ones. Probably for the commercials, just like they do for regular TV.

[dttruman]

On 11/2/2023 at 6:05 PM, shapeshifter said:

Today on GeTV the Ironside episode 4.23 "Accident" (1971) aired.
It had a reverse captioning oddity that made me do a double-take. 
The bad guy (Hanson) had a line that included "…a fellow like me…" but the captioning inserted the F word! 🤣

A cable system in our area has trouble with the audio, but they say it's no them but the source. Are you having any problems with the sound in your area?

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, dttruman said:

A cable system in our area has trouble with the audio, but they say it's no them but the source. Are you having any problems with the sound in your area?

Are you using a Roku TV with an Over The Air antenna?

I managed to fix the stuttering audio using this procedure:

1. Put in a USB stick
2. Press the pause button very briefly
3. Press it again to resume

My son-in-law says it's because of buffering, which makes sense, because it doesn't happen on the little bedroom TV that isn't blocked from the OTA signals by brick buildings.

Edited November 21, 2023 by shapeshifter

[dttruman]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Are you using a Roku TV with an Over The Air antenna?

I managed to fix the stuttering audio using this procedure:

1. Put in a USB stick
2. Press the pause button very briefly
3. Press it again to resume

My son-in-law says it's because of buffering, which makes sense, because it doesn't happen on the little bedroom TV that isn't blocked from the OTA signals by brick buildings.

I don't have streaming, I am back in the stone age and have cable. I had problem with GET for a while, I should tell Buckeye Cable in Toledo, Ohio to give me access to another channel until it gets fixed.

[Calvada]

I recently started watching this series on Freevee.  I've watched various episodes of Perry Mason in syndication for years, but decided I'd like to see the entire series from beginning to end.  I'm in the middle of season 2 and have discovered that Freevee doesn't have all the episodes.  Season 2 is missing one episode.  At first I thought I somehow had forwarded past it, since the numbering went from episode 17 to episode 19.  I checked the other seasons and only three appear to be complete; some other seasons have up to three episodes missing.  I think it's a total of 13 episodes that are missing.  I requested the DVDs with the missing season 2 & 3 episodes from the library; I'm hoping they are in OK condition.  I'll do that for the other seasons with missing episodes as I get to them.  But this is very aggravating!  

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, Calvada said:

Season 2 is missing one episode. 

I'm guessing that's 2.18 “The Case of the Jaded Joker”?

See my comments about it upthread here and here.

[Calvada]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I'm guessing that's 2.18 “The Case of the Jaded Joker”?

See my comments about it upthread here and here.

Thanks for the info.  It seems sort of odd that a streaming service would find a story line about pot smoking to be inappropriate in a series which is all about murder, extortion, adultery, embezzlement, etc. and characters are constantly having a drink while lighting up a cigarette!  I wonder what the issue is with the other missing episodes.  

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Calvada said:

Thanks for the info.  It seems sort of odd that a streaming service would find a story line about pot smoking to be inappropriate in a series which is all about murder, extortion, adultery, embezzlement, etc. and characters are constantly having a drink while lighting up a cigarette!  I wonder what the issue is with the other missing episodes.  

Yeah, I assume pulling 2.18 “The Case of the Jaded Joker” predates streaming services. Perhaps it happened during the popularity of the "marijuana is a gateway drug" theory.

But if TPTB censored depictions of casual use of tobacco or alcohol on older TV shows, that would mean burying this popular cash-cow of a show, and many others too.

As for "murder, extortion, adultery, embezzlement, etc.," they were never portrayed on the show as acceptable means of getting rich quick, LOL.
But the pot smoking in 2.18 “The Case of the Jaded Joker” was definitely portrayed as a bit cool and hip, and not a concern of law enforcement, or, at least, not something Perry & Co. were worried about.

Anyhoo, do you have titles of some of the other missing episodes so we might (unscientifically) test my theory?

Edited November 28, 2023 by shapeshifter

[Calvada]

14 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Yeah, I assume pulling 2.18 “The Case of the Jaded Joker” predates streaming services. Perhaps it happened during the popularity of the "marijuana is a gateway drug" theory.

But if TPTB censored depictions of casual use of tobacco or alcohol on older TV shows, that would mean burying this popular cash-cow of a show, and many others too.

As for "murder, extortion, adultery, embezzlement, etc.," they were never portrayed on the show as acceptable means of getting rich quick, LOL.
But the pot smoking in 2.18 “The Case of the Jaded Joker” was definitely portrayed as a bit cool and hip, and not against the law.

Anyhoo, do you have titles of some of the other missing episodes so we might (unscientifically) test my theory?

I've only looked closely at season 3 since that's where I am in my viewing.  (The other seasons I've just compared the # of episodes Freevee has with the list on IMDB.)  In season 3, the missing episodes are 3.6 "The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma," 3.18 "The Case of the Singing Skirt," and 3.19 "The Case of the Bashful Burro."  

[shapeshifter]

9 minutes ago, Calvada said:

I've only looked closely at season 3 since that's where I am in my viewing.  (The other seasons I've just compared the # of episodes Freevee has with the list on IMDB.)  In season 3, the missing episodes are 3.6 "The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma," 3.18 "The Case of the Singing Skirt," and 3.19 "The Case of the Bashful Burro."  

I saw 3.19 "The Case of the Bashful Burro" on MeTV recently and can't think of why it might have been censored. So maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree and it's more a matter of skipping lower rated episodes, episodes with complicated plots that don't make sense when they are edited for time for commercials? 
Here's some details about that episode: perrymasontvseries.com/wiki/index.php/EpisodePages/Show88

The remarks from the same site regarding 3.18 "The Case of the Singing Skirt" potentially hint at reasons the episode was removed from the lineup at some point: perrymasontvseries.com/wiki/index.php/EpisodePages/Show87
Hrmmm...I just noticed here:
trakt.tv/shows/perry-mason/seasons/3/episodes/18
— that the episode also includes marijuana use.🤷🏻‍♀️

I also saw 3.6 "The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma" on MeTV, but I am generally multi-tasking when the show is on at 9am.
There are a slew of comments down the page for this episode that may or may not hint at why this episode is not included on Paramount+ or FreeVee, but is on MeTV:
perrymasontvseries.com/wiki/index.php/EpisodePages/Show75

 

[Calvada]

I'm just beginning Season 5 and I thought there were three missing episodes.  But I have discovered that one of the episodes which appears to be on Freevee actually requires a Paramount+ subscription, which I don't have.  Do they really think I'm going to pay for that just to get one episode?  I looked at all the remaining seasons and it appears only this one episode requires Paramount+. 

[chessiegal]

Since there are several channels that air Perry Mason you might be able to catch the missing episode there.

[Calvada]

9 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Since there are several channels that air Perry Mason you might be able to catch the missing episode there.

I've requested the DVDs with the missing episodes from the library.  The issue with that is the condition of DVDs from the library is not always great.  Fortunately this is not like some episodic dramas where you miss pivotal story lines if you cannot see one episode.

I'm eager to get past the episodes with the David Gideon character.  I find the episodes with him annoying, since his presence changes the dynamic of Perry, Della, and Paul.  Perry is slightly exasperated by him or having to instruct him on points of law, Gideon takes screen time from Paul, and Della suddenly seems all maternal and in the scenes where she appears with him she's always smiling in this sickeningly indulgent way.  Whenever he shows up in an episode, I think please go away.  

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, Calvada said:

Gideon character.  I find the episodes with him annoying, since his presence changes the dynamic of Perry, Della, and Paul.  Perry is slightly exasperated by him or having to instruct him on points of law, Gideon takes screen time from Paul, and Della suddenly seems all maternal and in the scenes where she appears with him she's always smiling in this sickeningly indulgent way.  Whenever he shows up in an episode, I think please go away.  

He’s gone by season 6.

[Calvada]

16 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

He’s gone by season 6.

At this point I have 3 episodes with him left, per IMDB.  I knew he wasn't a long-term character.

I think once I get through season 5, I'm going to take a brief break before diving into the last 4 seasons.  271 episodes is a lot.  Also, I need a respite from all the smoking. Everyone is constantly smoking.  There was an episode where they showed a rare in-chambers conference between Perry, Hamilton Burger and a judge, and the judge immediately lit a cigarette.  It's to the point where I feel all the smoke is coming through the screen and affecting my lungs! 

[chessiegal]

42 minutes ago, Calvada said:

Also, I need a respite from all the smoking.

You've got to remember these were filmed before cigarettes caused cancer. 😉

[Calvada]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

You've got to remember these were filmed before cigarettes caused cancer. 😉

When I watch these episodes I look up a lot of the actors on IMDB, usually because I'm trying to figure out where I know them from, and it is not surprising to read that many of them died of cancer, emphysema, and other smoking-related ailments.  A friend of mine is also slowly going through this series, and she jokes that Paul Drake is constantly going in and out of the courtroom because he's so desperate for a cigarette.

[Ghost of TWOP Past]

Not only are they smoking, but when finished they pitch the butts just wherever. 

[shapeshifter]

25 minutes ago, Ghost of TWOP Past said:

Not only are they smoking, but when finished they pitch the butts just wherever. 

[dttruman]

On 11/27/2023 at 12:07 PM, Calvada said:

I recently started watching this series on Freevee.  I've watched various episodes of Perry Mason in syndication for years, but decided I'd like to see the entire series from beginning to end

If you are interested in binge watching, the Justice Central channel is showing the entire 1st season of Perry Mason today, and it started at 6am.

[dttruman]

16 hours ago, chessiegal said:

You've got to remember these were filmed before cigarettes caused cancer. 😉

And Cigarette sponsors were shelling out a lot of money on TV shows at the time.

[Calvada]

9 hours ago, Ghost of TWOP Past said:

Not only are they smoking, but when finished they pitch the butts just wherever. 

In my parents' home and those of my friends at that time, there were always ashtrays out, since it was just expected that people would smoke and you accommodated that.  And outdoors, it was not uncommon that people would drop a cigarette butt down and stomp it out.  (Not like Paul Drake who just pitches his away.)  In parking lots you would see little piles of cigarette butts and ashes from people emptying the ashtrays from their cars.  It's a filthy habit in so many respects.  

5 hours ago, dttruman said:

And Cigarette sponsors were shelling out a lot of money on TV shows at the time.

Actors were required to smoke or be seen lighting up.  What is sort of amusing is that often Perry is shown lighting a cigarette but he rarely seems to be actually smoking because he has so many lines to say.  But I'm sure whatever company was sponsoring the show required that he be shown with a cigarette in hand.

5 hours ago, dttruman said:

If you are interested in binge watching, the Justice Central channel is showing the entire 1st season of Perry Mason today, and it started at 6am.

Thanks - I have been watching regularly, perhaps not binge watching since I rarely watch more than 1 episode at a time, and I'm in the middle of season 5.  But I'll be spending the day watching college football! That's always my binge on January 1.

[chessiegal]

On 12/30/2023 at 6:59 PM, Calvada said:

I've requested the DVDs with the missing episodes from the library.  The issue with that is the condition of DVDs from the library is not always great. 

I hear you on that. If they're scratched, you're screwed. I have found if it's just a fingerprint or smudge, you can clean them with a microfiber cloth.

[chessiegal]

fetv is running first episodes today. They're airing the first 2 episodes this afternoon.

[dttruman]

On 1/1/2024 at 12:08 PM, Calvada said:

Thanks - I have been watching regularly, perhaps not binge watching since I rarely watch more than 1 episode at a time, and I'm in the middle of season 5.  But I'll be spending the day watching college football! That's always my binge on January 1.

Did you get a chance to watch the second season, and did you watch the "Case of the Fancy Figures? If so, did you notice the characters Jonathan Hyett and Valerie Brewster? They were father and daughter, but in real life he was just 4 years older than her. I wonder if other viewers were wondering why she was cast as his daughter?

[shapeshifter]

On 11/27/2023 at 12:07 PM, Calvada said:

Season 2 is missing one episode. 

On 11/27/2023 at 4:42 PM, shapeshifter said:

I'm guessing that's 2.18 “The Case of the Jaded Joker”?

See my comments about it upthread here and here.

On 11/27/2023 at 7:33 PM, Calvada said:

It seems sort of odd that a streaming service would find a story line about pot smoking to be inappropriate in a series which is all about murder, extortion, adultery, embezzlement, etc. and characters are constantly having a drink while lighting up a cigarette!  I wonder what the issue is with the other missing episodes

 2.18 “The Case of the Jaded Joker” is on now. It just showed a scene about halfway through in which a character visibly contemplates suicide with a gun. I'm guessing the depiction of suicide why it was pulled rather than pot smoking. 

And/or:
“The Case of the Jaded Joker” has a pot smoking beatnik character named Buzzie, who is played by actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter Bobby Troup, who, 13 years later, would begin playing the straight arrow character of Dr. Joe Early for 126 episodes on the show Emergency! 
So maybe “The Case of the Jaded Joker” was pulled to avoid tarnishing Dr. Joe Early's squeaky clean image? 
Also:

Spoiler

At the end of the episode, Buzzie confesses to smashing the skull of a "square."

Bobby Troup also plays a character named Bongo in "The Case of the Missing Melody" and the character of Smitty in "The Case of the Wrongful Writ."

But Perry Mason aired on CBS, and Emergency! aired on NBC, so probably it was just the suicide parts that got the episode pulled.

Edited January 27 by shapeshifter

[dttruman]

For what it's worth, I think the Justice Channel is no longer carrying the Perry Mason TV episodes anymore, nor are they carrying the Matlock TV episodes also.

[Schnickelfritz]

29 minutes ago, dttruman said:

For what it's worth, I think the Justice Channel is no longer carrying the Perry Mason TV episodes anymore, nor are they carrying the Matlock TV episodes also.

In our area, starting the 5th, the line-up changes to various judge shows during the day and Perry at 2-6pm (central), Matlock 6-10pm, Perry 10-2, Matlock 2-5(am). Perry is scheduled for all day Saturday the 10th. Can't see the schedule past that. Until then, Perry and Matlock are on continuous loop.

[howiveaddict]

On 12/31/2023 at 2:52 PM, Calvada said:

When I watch these episodes I look up a lot of the actors on IMDB, usually because I'm trying to figure out where I know them from, and it is not surprising to read that many of them died of cancer, emphysema, and other smoking-related ailments.  A friend of mine is also slowly going through this series, and she jokes that Paul Drake is constantly going in and out of the courtroom because he's so desperate for a cigarette.

I'm an oncology nurse. One night I looked at Burger and told my hubby that man has lung cancer.  Then I looked it up and he did die of lung disease.  I could tell by his coloring.

I record PM off of Justice TV.  It seems less edited up and the episode seem longer.  I'm going to look it up on freevee.  This became our go to show this summer and fall with first all the summer reruns and then the writer's strike and no new shows to watch.

[Calvada]

I'm nearing the end of season 7 and I decided to figure out which episodes are missing in Freevee for Seasons 8 & 9 to get the corresponding DVDs on request at the library.  I suspend the request until I get to that point in my viewing.  There are 2 episodes missing in Season 9 and my library system doesn't have those DVDs!  They have the entire series on DVD (plus the later movies) except for the second half of season 9 - why??  MeTV is showing the series, but right now they are in the middle of season 6.  I figure they will show the episodes I need at some point in May, assuming they show the entire series in order, which cannot always be relied upon. 

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Calvada said:

I'm nearing the end of season 7 and I decided to figure out which episodes are missing in Freevee for Seasons 8 & 9 to get the corresponding DVDs on request at the library.  I suspend the request until I get to that point in my viewing.  There are 2 episodes missing in Season 9 and my library system doesn't have those DVDs!  They have the entire series on DVD (plus the later movies) except for the second half of season 9 - why??

Which season 9 episodes are missing? 

As a retired librarian, my first guess is that that someone else checked out the season 9 DVDs for the same reason and never returned them.

I just logged into Prime, and it shows all of the season 9 episodes via "Freevee (with ads)."

It looks like season 9 should start on MeTV on April 25.

[Calvada]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Which season 9 episodes are missing? 

As a retired librarian, my first guess is that that someone else checked out the season 9 DVDs for the same reason and never returned them.

I just logged into Prime, and it shows all of the season 9 episodes via "Freevee (with ads)."

It looks like season 9 should start on MeTV on April 25.

When I go into Prime and look at season 9, it shows 28 episodes, not 30.  The missing episodes are #20 The Case of the Scarlet Scandal and #22 The Case of the Avenging Angel.   

In my library system, if the DVDs were checked out and not returned, they wouldn't be deleted from the system, they would be marked "lost."  

As I figured, I should get the missing episodes on MeTV in May.  

[shapeshifter]

12 hours ago, Calvada said:

When I go into Prime and look at season 9, it shows 28 episodes, not 30.  The missing episodes are #20 The Case of the Scarlet Scandal and #22 The Case of the Avenging Angel.   

Same for me today. Yesterday Prime showed 30 episodes for season 9, but I did not scroll though to see if they were all there. Still, was 30 just a glitch??
Today the seasons are displayed as a grid; yesterday was a list.

Anyway, right now Pluto is including #20 "The Case of the Scarlet Scandal," On Demand here:
https://pluto.tv/en/on-demand/series/61c5041b12f2e7001ab7ef34/season/9/episode/6426595a737654001d9a2db7
and on my Roku TV.

But 22 is not included even thought 23 is.

 

12 hours ago, Calvada said:

In my library system, if the DVDs were checked out and not returned, they wouldn't be deleted from the system, they would be marked "lost."  

Right.

But eventually wouldn’t they be removed from the catalog?

However, I can't recall how often checking the shelves and then culling the records was done, but it might have only been every few years, and maybe not at all now.

Edited February 19 by shapeshifter

[Calvada]

This is a mystery that I need a Paul Drake to investigate.  Season 9 has two volumes, each with half the season's episodes.  In my library system (which encompasses over 50 libraries) there are copies of volume 1's DVDs at two separate libraries, located 85 miles apart, but no library has volume 2 of season 9.  I'm wondering what are the odds that each of those libraries lost half a season to theft.  But what if they never had volume 2?  The two volumes are sold separately.  So I'm also wondering if a decision would have been made to acquire volume 1 but not volume 2, and would both libraries have made that decision?  Was it theft?  Or was it tight library budgets?  

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Calvada said:

This is a mystery that I need a Paul Drake to investigate.  Season 9 has two volumes, each with half the season's episodes.  In my library system (which encompasses over 50 libraries) there are copies of volume 1's DVDs at two separate libraries, located 85 miles apart, but no library has volume 2 of season 9.  I'm wondering what are the odds that each of those libraries lost half a season to theft.  But what if they never had volume 2?  The two volumes are sold separately.  So I'm also wondering if a decision would have been made to acquire volume 1 but not volume 2, and would both libraries have made that decision?  Was it theft?  Or was it tight library budgets?  

Based on my experience as a librarian (including, FWIW, 19 years in a library that was part of consortium of 76 academic libraries), my best guess would be that the missing DVDs were stolen and not replaced. 

A quick look at the WorldCat catalog indicates there are currently only 4 libraries worldwide that own Season 9, volume 2 (https://search.worldcat.org/title/1037892417) and they are in New Hampshire, Virginia, Minnesota, and Texas.