The Good
A tightly written show that set the standard for courtroom procedurals.
The Bad
No Extras. Only half a season.
Perry Mason: Season 2, Vol. 1 sadly only gives us the first 15 episodes from this Second Season. What it may not have in quantity, it makes up for in quality as we see Perry (Raymond Burr), Della Street (Barbara Hale) and Paul Drake (William Hopper), constantly figure out ways to outwit both DA Hamilton Burger (William Talman) and Lt. Arthur Tragg (Ray Collins). Some of the episodes in this 4 disc set are “The Case of the Lucky Loser” in which we see Mason defend a man who is on trial for killing the same man. As you can guess, there’s a lot at stake but Mason manages to not only defend him but find out who really committed this vile act. “The Case of the Married Moonlighter” shows all too well that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, as a man who drives a drunk home is later accused of killing him. “The Case of the Shattered Dream” finds Perry and his team on the trail of a killer who murdered a diamond cutter.
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Features
No Extras came with this DVD.
Video
Full Screen Format. I hate to say it but Paramount Home Entertainment doesn’t seem to clean up their TV on DVD releases that much. Make no mistake, I am simply happy to own these things, but I found that this show seemed a little dark. As it’s in black and white there really isn’t a color range for it to move from. In addition to this, I noticed that there also seemed to be a flickering on the screen at times. I don’t know what this was, maybe it’s residue from the show being cleaned up? Overall, I guess maybe I expected these episodes to sparkle more.
Audio
Dolby Digital - English Mono. The audio on this show was good. I have the pleasure of having this show play in reruns on on one of the local stations in my area. I was able to sort of compare and contrast, and I would say that these episodes of Perry Mason than the ones that play on TV everyday. There’s nothing too special about the audio but I didn’t hear any glaring problems.
Package
This green colored slipcase features misleading full color images from the show. I say that this is misleading because people might not realize the show is in black and white, or they might think that the show was transferred to color for this release. The back has a collage of green tinted colors, and another color image of Perry Mason sitting in court. There is a small description on this show and some technical specs. The four discs in this set are housed in two slim cases, all of which feature more artwork from the show and offer up episode descriptions and airdates.
Final Word
As this is one of the pioneering efforts of procedural/court room TV, I was trying to figure out why early audiences were so taken with this show. Perry Mason is always well acted and the writing is such that nothing ever feels forced. That is saying a great deal when one considers that the writers only had one hour to get their story points across. In fact, a lot of the show, sometimes over half of it, was simply building up and establishing the characters. Also, I think another reason why this show grabbed people is because it showed flawed human beings. It gave us people everyday situations and as such it almost seemed to say, “That could be you or me in that courtroom.” Granted, it didn’t really get too heavily into Perry Mason’s personal life (today the show would probably make him a drunk or drug addict), but for what it did do, it managed to shine a light on the underbelly of society below us.
Perry Mason: Season 2, Vol. 1 is as solid as TV on DVD gets. If you have bought the other releases you’ve got to own this one.
