subject: Perry Mason A Vote For The Defense [print this page] I dont really like attorneys and Im not aloneI dont really like attorneys and Im not alone. Most Americans have a strong dislike for attorneys, lawyers, barristers (thats what theyre called in the U.K.) or, as they are often referred to, ambulance chasers.
Add to that the fact that the overwhelming majority of members of Congress (both houses) possess law degrees and its easy to understand why they are so disrespected. But, lawyers who ply their trade on TV theyre another story.
If your programming provider is treating you well, you may be fortunate enough to see re-runs of the great and I do mean GREAT Perry Mason TV show that dates way back to the 1950s. Each episode back then ran for a full hour and the stories were always compelling, involving, incredibly interesting.
I didnt get the opportunity to watch these shows more than fifty years ago, but I certainly watch them now. And, as Im sure is true for every other viewer, I try to figure out the identity of the real culprit (it is never Perry Masons client) before Mason confronts and exposes him/her in the shows climax.
The show, which aired in black and white in its early years in color later on starred Raymond Burr as Perry Mason, a California-based defense attorney who always beat the local District Attorney, a man named Hamilton Burger. Masons secretary and do-everything gal Friday was a woman named Della Street. There were no romantic sparks between them, probably because the show took place in the 1950s, well before sexuality and male/female relationships became an important component of TV programming.
Interestingly, Canadian-born Raymond Burr had been a character actor in movies before landing the plum role of Perry Mason and had, for the most part, performed bad guy roles. As Perry Mason, of course, Raymond Burr became the ultimate or quintessential good guy.
Each episode began with a murder and with Masons soon-to-be client (the one with the motive) singled out as the primary suspect. Week after week, it looked bleak, kind of like an open-and-shut case for the District Attorney, until Perry Mason decided to represent the accused.
Inevitably, Perry Mason would seem baffled and his client would appear to be doomed until the final courtroom confrontation between the great attorney and the real criminal took place. It was tense, exciting and the first-ever TV program that took place primarily inside a courtroom (no run-and-shoot action, just lots of talking) to gain a national audience.
Im glad that my programming provider has brought back older shows like Perry Mason so that I can enjoy the kind of entertainment that doesnt exist today. When it comes to the legal profession, Im definitely voting for the defense.
