Mini-DVD Review: Perry Mason Season 3, Volume 1

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Mini-DVD Review: Perry Mason Season 3, Volume 1

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the mini-DVD review! Today we take a look at CBS DVD's Perry Mason: The Third Season, Volume 1. Perry Mason of course is the very popular law series. The series stars the great Raymond Burr. See skees53's mini-DVD review of Perry Mason: The Third Season, Volume 1:

Perry Mason: The Third Season, Volume 1 (CBS DVD, $49.99) brings order back to the courtroom with the first 12 episodes of the 3rd season of the courtroom drama of the 50s. The three-disc set contains even more of the attorney defending the most impossible of cases, with the defendant knowing that the judge is going to lower the boom on them and find them guilty as charged, except by some miracle, Perry finds that despite all evidence supporting the other side, his client is always innocent and he is able to prove that in a court of law.
There are many great episodes in this set, beginning with the first one, "The Case of the Spurious Sister," where a man's wife turns up dead after she tells him she is going to divorce him. So where do all fingers get pointed? A jeweler turns up dead after accusing a young woman of theft in "The Case of the Blushing Pearls." Perry has to defend, of all people, Paul Drake, in "The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma." In "The Case of the Golden Fraud," a golden coin in a parking meter may play a part in one of Perry's cases. In "The Case of the Artful Dodger," a man is about to inherit a large sum of money, except a bunch of people turn up dead that he just so happens to be avoiding. Perry can't get a break from his cases, not even while on a hunting trip, as shown in "The Case of the Violent Village."
The video and audio quality on the episodes is, as usual, excellent. This has never been an issue on these sets, and isn't this time either. Closed-captioning can also be found on all of the episodes. A nice little feature, though probably unintentional, is the fact that many episodes have their original sponsorships on the closing credits, from Colgate. And CBS DVD has actually left the original CBS logo intact this time, although the CBS Television Distribution logo plays immediately after it. But there is bad news about the case. Unlike the previous sets that included the double slimcases, we now have the standard Amaray style case that CBS DVD seems to use for everything. It is simple packaging, but just seems so cheap to be using, particularly on a show as expensive as this one is on DVD.
Unfortunately, as has been the case with the previous sets, there are no special features, which is outright disappointing. Apparently they were able to find some nice special features for the 50th Anniversary release, so why couldn't they come up with more for the season sets? Commentaries, interviews, and other special features would have been nice. I find it ridiculous that CBS DVD continues to release this in half season sets. Although the first season had many episodes, there aren't as many in these later seasons, and it would be more practical to put them out as full season releases. Instead, CBS DVD chooses to continue releasing half seasons and putting full season prices on the sets. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the quality of the episodes on the set, but is the set really worth as much as fans are paying to buy the series on DVD? Not really. But don't be fooled—this is a great show that fans of classic TV and courtroom drama are sure to enjoy.
-- Reviewed by skees53

(4/5 stars)

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Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, May 21

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Funky Chili and Friends Who Take Their Clothes Off" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mandy and Jim butt heads when they take over the store for a sick Georgie and Ruben. Meanwhile, Audrey panics when Connor rekindles an old flame.

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A New Beau and Someone Else's Mom’s House" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Georgie and Mandy take matters into their own hands when Mary starts warming up to Fagenbacher (Matthew Letscher). Also, Audrey struggles to cope with Connor’s absence.

Ghosts - "Up the Creek" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
When Woodstone’s future is put in jeopardy, Sam and Jay join forces with the ghosts to protect the mansion by securing its place in history.

Ghosts - "Across the Pond" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
A trip abroad could determine Woodstone’s fate. Meanwhile, a major career opportunity takes Sam out of town, leaving others to step in and help with the ghosts.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 18)

Thursday, May 21

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert - Watch the series finale of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Jake Johnson (Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed/Minx/New Girl) - Jake appears on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Andrew is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Maya Rudolph (Loot/Bless the Harts/Forever/Up All Night) - Maya appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) and Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Andy Cohen interviews Keke and Brooke on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9pm on Bravo.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
LaKeith Stanfield (Atlanta) - LaKeith chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Laurie Metcalf (Big Mistakes/The Conners/Roseanne/The McCarthys/The Norm Show) - Laure discusses Death of a Salesman on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Niecy Nash (Reno 911!/Getting On/The Soul Man/Do Not Disturb) - Niecy is Sherri's special guest on the final Sherri show, so check your local listings.
Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - Michelle stops by for a very special Sherri's Laugh Lounge on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - The Drew Barrymore Show has a little bit extra from Drew-crewers Ross Mathews, Sunny Anderson and Valerie sharing their tips in the kitchen with knife skills 101, so check your local listings.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) and Nick Jonas (Jonas) - Paul and Nick can be heard on the Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
Judith Light (Who's the Boss?/Phenom/Transparent) - Judith talks about AMC+'s The Terror: Devil in Silver on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts) - Utkarsh talks about Ghosts on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.