tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post2797136561921061939..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: The new Perry MasonBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52077522443069845862021-04-26T18:47:53.110-07:002021-04-26T18:47:53.110-07:00Yes, I totally agree with you, what the hell was t...Yes, I totally agree with you, what the hell was they thinking, I was not expecting this messed up piece of garbage, and while I'm trying watch this poor excuse if a remake, why is Della Street looking SO DAM HOMELY, WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT!!! I AM SO DAM DISAPPOINTED. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-28958828294159953252021-01-22T18:22:59.330-08:002021-01-22T18:22:59.330-08:00@Neem nah this series isn't Perry Mason this i...@Neem nah this series isn't Perry Mason this is a loud, vulgar, over the top melodrama that's masquerading as Perry Mason. Don't disrespect Rsymond Burr or the character he made iconic .When this show is finally gone no one's gonna remember Matthew Rhys as Perry Mason. Burr is the one dude end of story. Kendall Rivershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16401646799797849078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-5730741028103348212020-08-16T18:59:22.996-07:002020-08-16T18:59:22.996-07:00How about put your fantasy Perry away and keep goi...How about put your fantasy Perry away and keep going. This series is very interesting. This Perry is a much more developed character than you ever saw in the tv series. I advise hang in there. And enjoy. Can’t wait for Season 2. Neemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11233853700928097611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-27380184232546971032020-07-21T11:44:07.969-07:002020-07-21T11:44:07.969-07:00I saw enough good reviews (and I was looking for s...I saw enough good reviews (and I was looking for something to watch) that I watched it this past Sunday. Surprisingly, I liked it and by episode 5 they start to deal with the lawyer question. I'm not sure if it'll all make sense in the end, but I'll give it a shot.Charles Bryannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-76483679329889890322020-06-30T11:01:17.687-07:002020-06-30T11:01:17.687-07:00I think actors are wise to stay away from iconic r...I think actors are wise to stay away from iconic roles played by a famous actor. Perry Mason is no exception. They've been trying to get a Rockford Files reboot off the ground for years, but who wants to be compared to James Garner?JShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13376748020962332059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4686401945734390112020-06-30T09:24:23.011-07:002020-06-30T09:24:23.011-07:00Well, what do folks think after episode 2? Person...Well, what do folks think after episode 2? Personally, I’m enjoying the series, and find that there are riveting performances to keep things flowing along nicely. Plenty of gruesome moments, but hey we’ve experienced a couple of decades of CSI autopsies by now so we’re “battle-hardened”: As for the “re-characterization” of Perry Mason, other famous sleuths like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot have undergone various cinematic and TV transformations over the years, so now I suppose it’s Perry’s turn. As with other big-budget miniseries, I find it’s fun and worthwhile to check out the detailed episode recaps that certain websites post as soon as the episode has aired, to remain fully on top of the fine points in the plot. Here, just Google “HBO Perry Mason episode 2 recap” and you’ll find a list of them. For example, the NY Times does these recaps well. MSOLDNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10696841167754727852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-407907510617096512020-06-27T20:20:15.474-07:002020-06-27T20:20:15.474-07:00I dunno, I liked it. It frankly does not bear muc...I dunno, I liked it. It frankly does not bear much of a resemblance to the "Perry Mason" TV show, no. And even if you imagine Perry is a decade younger than Matthew Rhys' actual age of 46, he's going to be getting an awfully late start on being a lawyer. <br /><br />But I still liked it. Dark, gritty private eye noir. Maybe they should have called him "Philip Marlowe". But the show was engrossing and Matthew Rhys is excellent at playing a guy who is haunted by his past and world-weary but also fundamentally decent.Vidorhttp://gg.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82521728725227942062020-06-27T17:06:28.279-07:002020-06-27T17:06:28.279-07:00I liked it...hey, Angel's Flight and banging y...I liked it...hey, Angel's Flight and banging your way onto the floor...What is NOT to like...tvfatshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05334224433587533124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35214849940482417802020-06-27T15:14:06.282-07:002020-06-27T15:14:06.282-07:00"MSOLDN said...
Also the use of the Angel’s F..."<i>MSOLDN said...<br />Also the use of the Angel’s Flight as the scene of the baby handover and subsequent action seems slightly trite to me, since it has been used as a landmark in previous 'noir' films over the years.</i>"<br /><br />"I thought the use of Angel's Flight was one of the extremely few nods to the original TV series in the episode. The one and only color episode of the original Perry Mason, "The Case of the Twice-Told Twist" (Which was a naked adaptation of <i>Oliver Twist</i>, only "Bill Sikes" is the victim, not the murderer, with Victor Buono as Fagin. The "twist" in the title refers to Oliver Twist), features a scene in which Perry and Della ride Angel's Flight. So at least there, we had the new, fake Perry literally walking in the footsteps (and riding on the buttprints) of Raymond Burr's Perry.D McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-34345219683897744432020-06-27T06:59:22.177-07:002020-06-27T06:59:22.177-07:00The HBO miniseries is also currently airing here w...The HBO miniseries is also currently airing here where I am in the UK and, although I enjoyed the first episode, my immediate reaction was the same. Apart from a marketing gimmick, why name it “Perry Mason” when it is in no credible sense a prequel to the Perry Mason we know and love? Also the use of the Angel’s Flight as the scene of the baby handover and subsequent action seems slightly trite to me, since it has been used as a landmark in previous “noir” films over the years. Anyway, I’ll keep watching. Unfortunately, they’ve already grossed out and lost my wife who loves to watch some of the old Perry Mason TV episodes that air 5 times a day on two CBS-branded cable/satellite channels in the UK these days! MSOLDNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10696841167754727852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-18981201418342223392020-06-26T15:32:12.281-07:002020-06-26T15:32:12.281-07:00Ben Starr was the writer who balked at calling the...Ben Starr was the writer who balked at calling the DA "Ham Burger." He's not closeted about it, and in interviews has told the story of his calling on the carpet for his refusal to use Burger's name and his having Perry drink a martini, when, as Gail Patrick told him, "All the world knows Perry Mason only drinks daiquiris." I suspect that there are people in the world who don't know Perry's drink preferences. Oh, and Mr. Starr claims that he was not fired, but quit, over the daiquiris and "George Burger."<br /><br />Given that Gail Patrick got pushed out of shape over what Perry drinks, imagine her reading the HBO script. All the world knows that Perry Mason is a lawyer.<br /><br />The pilot episode, <i>The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink</i>, was the 13th episode broadcast. It was one of the ones that they shot twice, doing it again in the final season, 9 years later, as "The Case of the Sausalito Sunrise."<br /><br />Mike McCann, I like that Perry's brother idea. He could be Perry Mason's brother James, who had a lovely speaking voice and an English accent.D McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1066082597990067042020-06-26T13:11:56.543-07:002020-06-26T13:11:56.543-07:00Has anybody here heard this true story about the o...Has anybody here heard this true story about the original <i>Perry Mason</i> pilot film, from 1956?<br /><br />Paisano Productions, Erle Stanley Gardner's company, brought in an outside writer to do the script for "The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink", intending that to be the first episode in a year's time. <br />This writer (whom I won't name) read the Gardner novel, and hated it - to the extent that he simply decided to write everything his own way.<br />When Mr. Writer brought in his script, Gail Patrick Jackson, who was running the production for Uncle Erle (as his friends called him), wanted to know why he'd changed the DA's name to <b>George Burger</b>.<br />Mr. Writer answered to the effect that "Hamilton Burger was an obvious joke name, and that 1956 TV was too grown-up for such things" (or something like that).<br />Mrs. Jackson (Mr. Jackson was Uncle Erle's longtime literary agent) pointed out that the <i>Perry Mason</i> novels were the best-selling books of their genre in the USA, and had been for some years; further, that the series's fans would only accept <b>Hamilton</b> Burger as the DA.<br />Mr. Writer stood his creative ground, and was shown the artistic door.<br />The rest, you know.<br /><br />As to who owns <i>Perry Mason</i>?<br />Since nearly everybody connected with past iterations of the characters is long since gone from the scene, my semi-educated guess would be that a legal corporation of some sort was set up for the Gardner family to deal with such matters as name use, etc.<br />If whatever descendants Erle Stanley Gardner may have had had no interest in direct involvement with future uses of <i>Mason</i>, it could be as simple as HBO writing somebody a check; once it clears, they could do <i>Mason</i> any damn way they pleased (which they've obviously done …).<br />I don't know any of this for sure - it just seems to fit the known facts.<br />As always, correction is welcomed.Mike Doranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14427528138598549103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58286768275068150972020-06-26T10:40:31.382-07:002020-06-26T10:40:31.382-07:00I understand why, in today's world of infinite...I understand why, in today's world of infinite video choices, resurrecting a familiar brand makes marketing sense... BUT...<br /><br />As noted, Raymond Burr became so associated with the character, it might take a century before someone else can credibly handle that role.<br /><br />While Erle Stanley Garner created the character, Burr molded it -- he BECAME Perry almost 300 times (let's not forget the 25 very successful prime time movies for TV). And those 300 cases have been endlessly rerun. So, Burr continues to defend the wrongly accused seven days a week, on multiple channels. <br /><br />So we know who Perry is, the champion of the underdog, the earnest attorney who was probably an Eagle Scout as a teeanger in the 1930s (it's fair to say that the TV Perry and Raymond Burr were the same age). Although the classic series never included his backstory.<br /><br />Now, we're shown a "young" Perry Mason -- not the one who has been in practice for the last 63 years. This Mason is a 30-something in the early 1930s. In other words, about 15 years off from "our" Perry.<br /><br />Why not just call this character Ralph Mason or Charles Mason? And somewhere during this "arc," we met *this* Mason's kid brother, a heavyset, dark haired Eagle Scout, maybe the valedictorian of his L.A. high school's graduating class -- the bright and brilliant guy who can take his brother's dream and, as he grows to adulthood, turn it into a life as the respected and feared attorney, Perry Mason.<br /><br />That might have given us a great pre-quel. Perry (Raymond) was inspired to be an attorney because his flawed brother couldn't get to the finish line.<br /><br />Instead of giving us a new dimension to a beloved character, HBO just gave us a bad reboot of a beloved brand name.<br /><br />Imagine, Nathan's or Pink's selling Chic-Fil-A type sandwiches? Or Ford calling its new SUV a Mustang? Oh, wait, they did...<br /><br />Mike McCannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06369457898152250682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-88475141337189067042020-06-26T10:07:31.149-07:002020-06-26T10:07:31.149-07:00A mistrial means you were not able to reach a fair...A mistrial means you were not able to reach a fair judgement. You would then have to watch it again.<br />MikeNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54696411891302885372020-06-26T07:37:30.687-07:002020-06-26T07:37:30.687-07:00@D McEwan First off how is representing men on tel...@D McEwan First off how is representing men on television as sophisticated, intelligent, tough, badass, vulnerable and with a sense of humor is bullshit machismo and killing millions? You realize that most male characters who were masculine and yes, very manly were also represented as noble heroes who did what was right and had actual personalities and complexities? Let's face it most of them now are represented as either psycho killers like the bogus "prestige" dramas these days or just idiot manchildren who don't take any responsibility for anything. Don't we have enough horrible things like our "president" and other nonsense going on right now? Kendall Rivershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16401646799797849078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-41857838002468404792020-06-26T06:47:36.630-07:002020-06-26T06:47:36.630-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Kendall Rivershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16401646799797849078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75725551912153995032020-06-26T06:39:18.374-07:002020-06-26T06:39:18.374-07:00@Troy McClure Well, some people like that "re...@Troy McClure Well, some people like that "redneck entertainment" so no harm in that if it provides comfort. I personally enjoyed it and it's considered a classic even by Alfred Hitchcock so that's just yours and @D McEwan's opinion. Odd you say you don't need tv characters as role models when you're named after a famous Simpsons character. Kendall Rivershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16401646799797849078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55591842253508065712020-06-26T01:49:45.561-07:002020-06-26T01:49:45.561-07:00Kendall
I love well made fun action comedies. Smo...Kendall<br /><br />I love well made fun action comedies. Smokey and the Bandit is redneck entertainment. <br /><br />I don't need TV characters as role models. Troy McClurenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-86474518950109751472020-06-25T23:47:49.167-07:002020-06-25T23:47:49.167-07:00If they had just called him Mason Perry, so much l...If they had just called him Mason Perry, so much less angst.Rockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07246890185058126395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70438725708533538552020-06-25T19:01:29.664-07:002020-06-25T19:01:29.664-07:00"Troy McClure said...
It's true that Batm...<i>"Troy McClure said...<br />It's true that Batman Forever and Batman & Robin are terrible, but I don't think it's fair to dismiss his entire career based on those two films. Tigerland is a fantastic film that most people haven't heard of, let alone seen. Falling Down is a classic. No matter how many times I've seen it, I still find Frederic Forrest's performance as Nick the Nazi absolutely chilling. You watch it now and his character is basically a Trump supporter."</i><br /><br />I am not dismissing his entire career because of two movies, I just chose two particularly egregious examples of his crap movie-making. (One Critic said that "<i>Batman Forever</i> for the most part looked like "the inside of Elton John's dishwasher.") I'm dismissing his entire career based on every movie of his I've ever seen being crap. I did not see <i>Tigerland</i> as by then Schumacher's name in the credits to meant to me, "See something else instead." (Also, I seldom like war movies.) The only film of his in my collection is <i>Phantom of the Opera</i>, and it's a bloody awful mess, with an insanely miscast Gerard Butler.<br /><br />If you ask for my opinion, as you did (I didn't bring him up), you're gonna get my opinion, not merely your own opinion reflected back at you.<br /><br />Kendall Rivers, I find the <i>Smokey and the Bandit</i> movies unwatchable, and a dreadful waste of the great Jackie Gleason. Plus I've gotten to where I loathe wife-beater Burt Reynolds, and avoid his movies. I knew a make-up man who worked with Sally Field on a picture, who told me of his often having to apply make up on her to hide the black eyes she'd shown up for work with after Burt's frequently beating her up. There's your testosterone-rich man, a guy who beats up women.<br /><br />Bullshit machismo kills millions. Look at Trump: obsessed with being "tough," which results in his cruelty, his viciousness, his sexism, his racism, his homophobia, and now more American deaths than were caused by World War I. What does all that testosterone get Humanity? War after war after war. Death after death after death.D McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58452755692751855212020-06-25T16:49:26.129-07:002020-06-25T16:49:26.129-07:00@ Troy McClure ok so what's wrong with Smokey ...@ Troy McClure ok so what's wrong with Smokey and the Bandit? You got something against fun and well made action comedies? Also you gotta admit most men represented on tv are either pathetic man children or broken psychopaths. If those are your role models ok then lolKendall Rivershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16401646799797849078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12088672006105022532020-06-25T13:38:22.317-07:002020-06-25T13:38:22.317-07:00@Fed by the muse Don't forget the unfunny Stev...@Fed by the muse Don't forget the unfunny Steve Carrell Get Smart movie of 2008. It was just another dumb gross out comedy that Hollywood makes more and more of today. I'm not Carrell's biggest fan but he's a good actor for the most part but he's not Don Adams and Anne Hathaway is not Barbara Feldon or even the great Alan Arkin isn't Ed Platt.Kendall Rivershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16401646799797849078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77369960378535219752020-06-25T13:26:30.371-07:002020-06-25T13:26:30.371-07:00I HATE reboots so I'm definitely not a fan jus...I HATE reboots so I'm definitely not a fan just for that alone but like you said also Raymond Burr IS Perry Mason as is Barbara Hale IS Della Street and Bill Hopper IS Paul Drake. It's the same mess as the lame and gimmicky Magnum, PI remake. Tom Selleck certainly can't be topped and neither can his other three co stars. I'm glad that you seem to not like it as well though lol.Kendall Rivershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16401646799797849078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71984298092046606832020-06-25T10:27:39.207-07:002020-06-25T10:27:39.207-07:00Many good series take a while to find their footin...Many good series take a while to find their footing. Maybe Perry Mason will get there. But after the first episode, I am not optimistic. Jon B.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-28386856260015049582020-06-25T09:28:33.524-07:002020-06-25T09:28:33.524-07:00It's true that Batman Forever and Batman &...It's true that Batman Forever and Batman & Robin are terrible, but I don't think it's fair to dismiss his entire career based on those two films. Tigerland is a fantastic film that most people haven't heard of, let alone seen. Falling Down is a classic. No matter how many times I've seen it, I still find Frederic Forrest's performance as Nick the Nazi absolutely chilling. You watch it now and his character is basically a Trump supporter. Troy McClurenoreply@blogger.com