Perry Mason
Recently Mrs.
C and I have taken to watching ME tv (Memorable Entertainment TV) in the
morning, one of the many joys of retirement.
I got hooked on “Leave it to Beaver” at 8:30 and then the following show
“Perry Mason.”
Perry Mason
involves a murder every episode. Every
episode Perry, a lawyer, solves the murder by forcing a court-room confession
out of the least suspected person in the show.
We never guess correctly who committed the murder. We never can even follow the plot of most
episodes. There are always multiple
potential murderers, all with a motive to kill, and a zillion little clues that
only the master criminal lawyer, Perry Mason, can figure out. We don’t really like the show, it is too
confusing. It is almost unwatchable.
Why then, do
we watch almost every morning?
We watch to
try and figure out who the various actors on the show were, or later became. This show was a veritable proving ground for young
character actors, or old almost washed up character actors.
“Who is that?”
“He’s somebody.”
“Ooh…that’s the Commissioner on “Batman!”
“YES!!”
Or.
“That dude is familiar, who is he?”
“I don’t know, look it up on IMDB,
its season 3 episode 9, Mr. Drumminger.”
“Here it is, Sam Pearlson, he’s no one, only a few bit parts including this one.”
“What about the secretary, Dolly, she
looks familiar, maybe the nosey neighbor in “Bewitched.”
“Wait, here she is…Hmmm, BINGO, she also played Mrs. Kravitz in
Bewitched…Well done!”
We love this
show.
I wonder how
anyone watched it before the actors used to be someone from another show.
Hubby does this with old westerns. He'll watch them and point out "this person was so and so on this show" etc. He's got a knack at it. I'll just look at someone and think they look familiar but then can't quite put it together for their later work.
ReplyDeletebetty
I remember the show, but don't remember anyone who watched it. If it gets a rerun here anytime I'll have a look at it.
ReplyDeleteI remember the show but can't remember if I was an avid watcher. Sad, huh?
ReplyDeleteWe do that with Seinfeld reruns. I guess there aren't as many actors out there as we thought!
ReplyDeleteThis cracks me up. It's as though you have your own little game show going there.
ReplyDeleteGrandpa always loved watching Perry Mason, i could never get into it.
ReplyDeleteWe even got Perry on this side of the pond - but I have not seen that it has been repeated, ever!
ReplyDeleteOur family loved Perry Mason when it was all brand new and exciting.......and Leave it to Beaver. TV was truly entertaining back in the day.
ReplyDeleteI watch all the law and order shows to see how many times they use the same actor in a different role on a different episode. Boggles the mind..well, my mind anyway. I got hooked on the Beave and Father knows best when I was home after my total knees surgery. At least they show a Mom and Dad with brains instead of Disney sitcoms where the kids are smart mouthed geniuses spawned by brainless idiots. Oops, that might not be PC.
ReplyDeleteI was always a bit crushy on Perry Mason. I know what you mean about recognizing actors. I do that on current shows when someone show up that I just can't place. It is so satisfying to track them down. What did folks do before the Internet
ReplyDeleteI've been watching a lot of Perry Mason and Matlock this summer while Jim is fishing. I like these old shows because they don't show all the blood and gore (or sex or cursing) and I always want to try and figure it out before they do. Gives the brain something to do.
ReplyDeleteI love watching these old shows too. Hubby and I do this often. Have fun.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day and weekend. ☺
Mother knew them all. You could have asked her.
ReplyDeleteMy husband watches Perry Mason (in bed) every weeknight at 11:30 pm with the TV timer on. He puts the sound down low & I go to sleep. He probably does, too!!
ReplyDeleteMy mom LOVED Perry Mason. She never missed that show. Or Combat, with Vic Morrow. I couldn't sit through either one. But I sure loved Leave it to Beaver.
ReplyDeleteME-TV also ran The Rifleman and like Perry Mason it is amazing how many actors played a cowboy on that show, Sammy Davis Jr. was a gunslinger on a couple of episodes.
ReplyDeleteI used to watch Perry Mason at noon every day. Yes, the way the trials were resolved was often preposterous, but how interesting that a lawyer was considered a bastion of integrity back then.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed some old Laugh-In shows, Merv Griffin, Johnny Carson, Dick Cavett in the past year or so.
ReplyDeleteHa - I can relate to this. The "Love Boat" is a great show for doing that, too!
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen that show in forever. I loved it. Beaver too. Later, Colombo became a favorite.
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