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Perry Mason (TV series): Difference between revisions
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We need Perry Mason<br />
Someone to put you in place<br />
Calling Perry Mason again"''|'''[[
''Perry Mason'' is an iconic 1957-1966 CBS series descended from the radio drama of the same name and inspired by (and frequently dramatizing) the series of books by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is a skilled defense attorney who takes seemingly hopeless cases and turns them into victories. Aided by his secretary Della Street (Barbara Hale) and private investigator Paul Drake (William Hopper), he specializes in discovering the one fact that unravels the case against his client, and often ends up getting the true criminal to confess on the stand.
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The series is very popular overseas -- a ''Turkish'' version (also called ''Perry Mason'') was produced in 1983.
In an odd twist, the series made the jump from radio to TV ''twice'' -- and this instance was the ''second''. The first time was in 1956, but at the last minute Erle Stanley Gardner withdrew his support for the project, and it was [[Retool|retooled]] into... the soap opera ''[[The Edge of Night]]''. The attorney also [[Filk Song|inspired a song by]] [[
Many episodes of the 1943-1955 radio series have fallen into the public domain in the United States, and can be [http://www.archive.org/details/Perry_Mason_Radio_Show downloaded courtesy of the Internet Archive].
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* [[Acting for Two]]: Burr in a season nine episode.
* [[Always Murder]]: A strong codifier in television - this show quite popularly used the idea that if the initial issue didn't involve murder, the viewer could be sure that only meant there would be a murder later on to thicken the plot.
* [[Always
* [[Amoral Attorney]]: Very often played straight when an attorney turned up among the murder suspects. Either played straight or averted with District Attorney Hamilton Burger, depending on the writer. Guest prosecutors tended to run the gamut as well.
* [[Asshole Victim]]: Many of the murder victims were blackmailers, thieves, murderers themselves or just [[Jerkass|someone so irritating]] or otherwise evil that absolutely nobody would mind their being dead. Oddly enough, any crimes that the victims do (including murder) are often not investigated by Tragg and Burger which means [[Karma Houdini|they would have likely gotten away with them]].
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* [[Conflict Ball]]: Burger (or the prosecutor of the week) often ends up with this when Perry attempts one of his [[Courtroom Antic|"grandstand stunts."]]
* [[Continuity Reboot]]: ''The New Perry Mason'' attempted to do this.
* [[Conviction
* [[Courtroom Antic]]: Although usually justified either by the Antics being performed at a pre-trial hearing <ref>For those wondering, in California, at least, the Grand Jury requirement can be waived for a pre-trial hearing in front of a judge</ref>, or being explicitly designed to recreate the crime or [[Pull the Thread]].
* [[Creator Cameo]]: Erle Stanley Gardner in the first series finale.
* [[Crusading Lawyer]]
* [[A Day in
* [[Disregard That Statement]]
* [[Dramatic Downstage Turn]]: Used especially in the courtroom scenes to add movement and interest during witness testimony.
* [[Everybody Is Single]]: No one in the main cast is shown to be in any kind of committed relationship, at least during the first series.
* [["Everybody Laughs" Ending]]: Many episodes end with Perry, Della and Paul doing this.
* [[Friend
* [[For Great Justice]]: Often stated as the motivation of both the prosecution and the defense.
* [[Good Lawyers, Good Clients]]
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* [[Long Runner]]
* [[Love Martyr]]: Many women in numerous cases, towards their boyfriends / husbands.
* [[Married to
* [[Miscarriage of Justice]]: Perry's clients are saved from this by the end of the episode, of course, but various persons not represented by him are subjected to this fate.
* [[Mobile Menace]]: Tragg likes popping up at the worst possible times for Perry and his clients, with no notice and often very improbably.
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* [[Plea Bargain]]: Occasionally one will be offered to Perry's client, but he or she eventually turns it down.
* [[Pose of Supplication]]: "The Case of the Empty Tin." A wronged woman, sobbing, pleading for understanding, first holds her hands out in supplication and then collapses to her knees, throwing her arms around the man who holds her life in his hands... said man being Hamilton Burger. The woman is a murderess at least twice over.
* [[Power Trio]]: Perry, Paul and Della. May be subclassified as [[Three Amigos]], [[
* [[Private Detective]]: Paul Drake. Perry isn't far from one himself.
* [[Pull the Thread]]
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