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Rating:  -
Great overview of a great series! The extras are worth it almost by themselves -- the inclusion of the single color episode is especially appreciated.
Rating: -
In one way, this collection is annoying, as the episodes included are bound to be included elsewhere, and I don't like buying something twice. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the short commentary before each segment with Barbara Hale, etc. It reminds me of having tea with a beloved aunt--she knows *everything* and manages to put it all in a positive light. And then, of course, there's the 'I spy' viewpoint, as most of the stars of the 80s and 90s were bit players sometime in the PM series. In the end, I'm glad I bought the DVDs, and I will enjoy seeing them again, and again.
Rating:  -
Watching the shows put together for this 50th Anniversary edition, I realized just how good the basic writing and story telling of the original series was. The closer the presentation got to nostalgia, especially the 1985 movie-of-the-week, the less I enjoyed the experience. It may be because I was only six-years old when the series debuted, but I ended up wishing this had been straight mysteries from Season 3.
Rating:  -
It was fascinating to see the interview with Barbara Hale and Arthur Marks about episode #262, "The Case Of The Twice Told Twist", the only episode filmed in color. Early in the ninth season, CBS president William S. Paley ordered a color episode to be made so that he could see what "Perry Mason" looked like in color, should it be renewed for a 10th season (for the 1966-67 season, the season all prime time shows went color). The cost of the color episode was not much more than black and white. During it's 9th season, "Perry Mason" was competing with the 7th season of "Bonanza", a show that was #1 in the ratings from 1964-67, and which had been in color since it's premier in 1959. When it was decided that "Perry Mason" would not be renewed for another season (in mid-November, 1965) this prototype episode for a proposed 10th season, was aired 2/3 of the way through season 9, as the 21st of 30 episodes, on February 27, 1966. The color print of "The Case Of The Twice Told Twist" on this DVD is astonishingly vibrant; a far cry from a murky VHS copy I have from a TBS marathon from 1994. It's also at least 5 minutes longer at 51 minutes, 30 seconds. I was reluctant to purchase this 50th Anniversary Edition until season 3, volume 1, was revealed for an August, 2008 DVD release. When I saw this on sale, I decided I couldn't wait 6 years for the release of season 9, volume 2, to see a restored copy of the color episode, and hear the explanation on why this sole episode was done in color.
Rating: -
This is the clear first choice among Perry Mason DVD packages. The fact that CBS is doing an inept job of marketing the series as a whole should not blind viewers to the virtues of this set, which contains a fine selection of episodes and the sort of supplementary materials that have been conspicuously absent from the half-season releases (Raymond Burr's 1958 tour of his home on "Person to Person," the compelling anti-smoking monologue by a dying William Talman, and the contemporary interviews with Barbara Hale and producer Arthur Marks are among the highlights).
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