ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

I've been a fan of this series for many years, and I bought the box set about six years ago so I could watch the entire series with the late Tim Edwards (Bulldogtrekker) while we chatted online using Facebook's chat room. We agreed that the episodes are consistently enjoyable, with terrific scripts and wonderful casts.

It took us quite a while, but we went through the whole series!

Recently I started watching them again, and it reminded me of an idea I had for a spinoff series which could be called Paul Drake Investigations.

This series would center on Paul Drake, Lt. Tragg, and Hamilton Burger (William Hopper, Ray Collins, and William Talman) as they solved crimes and convict criminals.

Occasionally Perry Mason would be involved as the attorney for someone suspected of the crime, but the investigation conducted by Drake, Tragg. and Burger would eventually clear them — rather than Perry saving the day every week!

The series would include other "operatives" (as Paul called them) who worked his detective agency, and we would also see Paul's private life in scenes as he romanced beautiful lades and drove around in the current year's black Thunderbird convertible he traditionally had.





One very appealing aspect of the series would be the way we'd show Hamilton Burger actually winning cases each week against attorneys not quite as smart as Perry Mason!

_____ Perry Mason - The Complete Series | Trailer


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The Perry Mason series is chock-full of familiar faces from 50s sci-fi.

For example, Morris Ankrum — who was in more sci-fi movies than any other actor, 15 in all — frequently played the judge.

Other actors we saw in various roles were Paula Raymond (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, William Schallert (The Monolith Monsters etc.), and Robert Cornthwaite (The Thing from Another World)

William Hopper starred in both 20 Million Miles to Earth and The Deadly Mantis.

Kenneth Toby (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and The Thing from Another World) took William Talman's place as the D.A. for several episodes when Talman was not available.

Both Michael Rennie and Walter Pidgeon stood in for Raymond Burr (in one episode each) as the defending attorney while the star was recovering from surgery.

And the murderer which Perry revealed in one episode was played by Leonard Nimoy — who became enraged when Mason accuses him, and two policemen had to drag him away!

The scene concludes with a funny moment when Hamilton Burger casually says. "You know, :Perry . . . maybe . . . for once . . . I was wrong." Then he quickly adds, "On this case."

Perry Mason, Hamilton Burger, and Lt. Tragg gang up on Mr. Spock!


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[WadeVC]

I watch Perry Mason every day on MeTv. I absolutely love this series. The entire series is also available on Amazon Prime, which I also watch quite often

I just love the storylines, the characters, eveything.

I especially enjoy seeing many familiar faces among the cast. Many have been in The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and many Sci-Fi and horror movies. Perry Mason seemed to be a who's-who of actors and actresses.
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"You look like a pooped out pinwheel."
-Robot Monster

[Bud Brewster]

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Some years ago, I bought the box set of the series.

During the six years that my friend Tim Edwards (ASF member Bulldogtreker) and I watched movies and TV series (including Perry Mason) while we chatted in All Sci-Fi's Chatzy Room (< — link).

I've seen the whole series at least twice.

The only one I really didn't care for was the ninth sason episode in color. It wasn't the color I disliked, it was the way they made the episode seem like it was from some other series — one I would not like.

But I admire the series for the way they handled their series finale', a yarn about a murder on a movie set. They used the plot as a good reason to show the investigating detectives interviewing small groups of the actual Perry Mason production staff.

Each person gave their real name and job descriptions. It was a wonderful tribute to the people who made Perry Mason such a great show.

About a year ago I decided to give the box set I'd own for a decade to my friend and long time ASF member Gord Green).

He really appreciated it.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)