Saturday, June 13, 2009
Blog DVD Review: Perry Mason - Season 4, Volume 1
The verdict is in for Perry Mason: Season 4, Volume 1 (CBS DVD, $49.99), and the verdict is: a great DVD set! Perry Mason, of course, is the classic 1950s/1960s TV series that starred Raymond Burr as a defense attorney that would take virtually any case that you would look at and say "nobody could win that case," yet he got a victory in all but one episode. The series was one of the first prominent law dramas to ever air on TV (and the oldest one that we even recognize these days) and aired for nine seasons on CBS. This DVD set presents the first 16 episodes of the 1960-1961 season in a four disc set.
Robert Redford guest stars in "The Case of the Treacherous Toupee," where a hairpiece may help clear a suspected murderer. A woman and her new lover (her husband's nephew) get involved in an extortion scheme gone wrong in "The Case of the Ill-Fated Faker." In "The Case of The Lavender Lipstick," Perry must defend a woman that is accused of killing her boss--and she was to be the heir of his fortune. A clown discovers that his wife is a bigamist in "The Case of the Clumsy Clown," and soon after, she turns up dead. Who else can prove him not guilty?
A girl's family is lost in "The Case of the Nine Dolls," but her family being lost may be the least of her worries. In "The Case of the Loquacious Liar," a man is threatened by his stepfather, but his stepfather is the one that turns up dead. John Hoyt guest stars in "The Case of the Resolute Reformer," where a land purchase deal ends in murder. In "The Case of the Fickle Fortune," a man hires Perry after it is discovered that another man that stole a large amount of money from him has been murdered.
The packaging on the case is the typical cheap CBS DVD movie style case that we all have a love-hate relationship with. They are nice, thin, and seem to "standardize" our collections, but they also scream "cheap" at the same time. As far as disc artwork, there really isn't any aside from the standard gray CBS DVD background with the show logo on each disc. Each disc contains exactly four episodes.
The menus on the set are very, well, basic. The main menu on each disc has a picture of Perry with a listing of episodes next to him, as well as a Play All option. You can't get simpler than that. Chapters are placed in all of the appropriate places.
As the case has been with previous sets, the video and audio quality on this set is excellent. The picture is crystal clear with very little grain (you can't even notice what is there unless you are paying VERY close attention) and the video is presented in pristine black and white. The audio is perfectly fine too, being presented in glorious mono (hey, it was the early 60s) with closed-captioning available for those that require it. The episodes appear to be unedited, as each one runs at almost exactly 52 minutes. That is further backed up by the fact that the set surprisingly does not have the standard CBS DVD disclaimer about episodes being edited. How often does a CBS DVD not have that?
Sadly, despite the fact that these sets always have great video and audio quality, and are always unedited, this set once again lacks in special features. CBS DVD did release a special anniversary set about a year ago that had some very nice special features, but it would be nice to have those on the season sets too. There has to be some old footage with Raymond Burr that they could include somewhere!
CBS DVD is keeping these sets very basic, but I'm still impressed with the quality of the episodes, and the fact that (as far as I can tell) they have yet to put out any truly inferior sets. The only thing that is frustrating about these sets is the half season model. With this model, it'll take 11 more releases to get the entire series out on DVD! But it has been popular with fans everywhere, and I'm sure that fans will support any number of releases. But there is no need to take CBS DVD to trial over this, because this is a set that fans of one of America's greatest defense attorneys (let us not forget about our good friend Matlock, of course) are sure to appreciate.
-- Reviewed by skees53
To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Perry Mason TV.com Page
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, October 10
Vampirina: Teenage Vampire - "First Final" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Vee leaves Transylvania for boarding school to chase her musical dreams. As she keeps her vampire identity a secret, unexpected obstacles threaten to return her to the shadows.
Vampirina: Teenage Vampire - "First Holiday" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Vee leaves Transylvania for boarding school to chase her musical dreams. As she keeps her vampire identity a secret, unexpected obstacles threaten to return her to the shadows.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 6)
Friday, October 10
- Seth Rogen (The Studio/Platonic/Undeclared) and Aziz Ansari (Master of None/Parks and Recreation) - Watch Seth and Aziz on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Carrie Preston (Crowded/Happyish/Emeril) - Carrie is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Rose Byrne (Platonic/Physical) - Rose appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She also chats about If I Had Legs I’d Kick You with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT and on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Bill Bellamy (Mr. Box Office/Men, Women & Dogs/Cousin Skeeter) - Bill is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
- Michael J. Fox (Family Ties/Spin City/The Michael J. Fox Show) - Michael discusses his new book Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Kenzi Richardson (Vampirina: Teenage Vampire) - Kenzi talks about Vampirina: Teenage Vampire on ABC's The View at 11am ET/10am CT-PT and on GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris sits down for a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE to chat about the Season 2 premiere of Watson on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Maya Rudolph (Loot/Bless the Harts/Forever/Up All Night) - Maya stops by the studio to discuss Loot on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Greta Lee (HouseBroken/Russian Doll) - Greta talks about Disney's Tron: Ares on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Dermot Mulroney (The Righteous Gemstones/Four Weddings and a Funeral) - Dermot is a guest on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Idris Elba (Turn Up Charlie) - Idris and Rebecca Ferguson talk about A House of Dynamite on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Aubrey talks about her new book Luna and the Witch Throw a Halloween Party on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Sheryl stops by to chat with Sherri about the new season of Abbott Elementary on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - TV legend Henry shares details about his 40th book, Detective Duck: The Mystery at Emerald Pond, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Teri Hatcher (The Odd Couple/Sunday Dinner/Karen's Song/The Love Boat) - Teri and her daughter Emerson Tenney talk about the Desperately Devoted podcast on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Jeremy Piven (Entourage/Ellen/Pride & Joy/The Larry Sanders Show) - Jeremy is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts