This past weekend, J and I watched an episode of "Perry Mason." For those of you who aren't familiar with this television show from the 1950s and 1960s, "Perry Mason" is a legal drama which revolves around a famous defense attorney (Mason) who defends clients that are accused of murder. And Mason wins (just about) every single case.Watching the show was quite a blast-from-the-past for me. My older sister and I used to watch "Perry Mason" on a regular basis. This past Friday I was surprised to see how much I remembered from the show - I could introduce J to each of the main characters. I know that the acting in the show isn't stellar (that was really apparent as I watched the show this past weekend), and that each episode is predictable (i.e. the murderer always dramatically confesses in the courtroom during the last two minutes of the show), but I love it.
J says that now he understands why I love Hitchcock films and murder mystery stories, given that I grew up watching "Perry Mason." In his opinion, Hitchcock is "a step up" from the television series - I guess suggesting that my taste in murder mysteries has refined with age. Hmm. Maybe he's right. I wonder what "a step up" from Hitchcock would be? What murder mystery show/film will I like when I'm fifty?
Has anyone read any of the Perry Mason books? I know that the television series was based on novels written by Erle Stanley Gardner, but I've never read any of them. Should I try them out?
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6 comments:
I love Perry Mason and I don't care what anyone says! Ha ha ha. Though, yes, the acting is a bit, umm ... absurd.
I also love Hitchcock and am thrilled beyond measure that my mission includes Bodega Bay!
I think you would like the show "Bones." It is about a forensic anthropologist. It is not a law drama, but it is very intelligent and puzzle piecing together. THe characters are really good too! And you would appreciate the feminist title character. She is woman power!
Lately I've been reviewing the lexicon of Dick Wolf (Law & Order, Law & Order SVU, Law & Order Criminal Intent, Law & Order Los Angeles! Criminals! Mayhem! Trials! Arrests! Law & Order ad nauseum), which has led me to the following rant:
Why was it that, with 3 channels total, television serial plotlines tended to provide the same story over and over again? And that once we had not 3 but 3000, nothing changed???!? What is it about the relentless formula of the same story repeated that comforts us? This is what made Lost initially great (no formula) and then not quite as great (total formula). We think we want variety, but we GET repetition in endless minute variations.
Sigh...is is still Monday?
http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/01/15/feminist_obsessed_with_mormon_blogs/index.html
Totally unrelated to Perry Mason, but definitely related to YOU.
Thanks for the comments! I've heard of "Bones," and maybe I'll give it a try (even though AI has now started, and that's going to fill my television quota for a long time!).
Yeah, Aunt Bee, you're right. All of those shows regurgitate the same plot line over and over. Why don't we get tired of them, decade after decade? I think you're right: we don't really get/want variety on television. (Have you seen commercials for the new show "Off the Map"? It looks like a not-awesome LOST spoof. My gut reaction is to not be interested, but maybe I'll like the show because I don't really want variety (or originality?) in my television dramas. Ha!)
And I saw that article! J showed it to me on Sunday. I thought it was really interesting. Although I don't consider (or want) my blog to be like the Mormon housewife blogs that are discussed in the article, I really liked reading that woman's perspective.
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