|
|
Post by telegonus on Feb 22, 2017 0:21:37 GMT
Mason is one of my favorites too, although all the "Well, this is the one case you can't win, Perry!" gets a little tedious after about a dozen episodes! I've always greatly appreciated clever whodunit plotting (the "puzzle plot"), even when I do guess whodunit, and Perry Mason has surprisingly clever plots, with good suspects, clues, and alibis. I was watching one the other day--I think it was "The Case of the Weary Watchdog," starring Keye Luke of all people--and I was really surprised with the writers' ingenuity. In particular, there's a rather brilliant alibi. Perhaps I simply grew used to years of Murder, She Wrote and its ilk, which tend (with a few exceptions) to present just about no clues to the viewer and then give no ingenuity in the solution (though Columbo, despite its "inverted" format, always had clever plots). The few detective shows nowadays that play fair? Actually, Death in Paradise is the only one I can think of right now! Truly, Salzmank, and there was also that strange, formal, reassuring quality to Perry. Some fans have described it as "kabuki-like", and that does sum it up nicely. To put it in more words: it's not the destination that matters so much when watching PM as the quality of the ride; the scenery, the twists and turns of the roads. The tale mattered less than how it was told, though the Big Reveal was certainly part of the show's appeal as well. It wasn't just "a good ride". I've noticed that the formal aspects of Perry are less in evidence in the early seasons, especially the first three. They evolved. Viewer mail was a likely factor. The five regulars became a team, of sorts, and viewers loved watching them play. |
|
