Question for "Perry Mason" Advocates (1 Viewer)

[JeffCNY]

Thought I'd toss this one out to any of the resident "Perry Mason" experts/fans that might be present in the courtroom:

Once I got past being duly impressed with the sparkling transfers on the new DVD boxed set, I couldn't help but wonder if the opening of each episode is being presented in the wrong order?

To explain a bit better, as the episodes are presented now on DVD, we see the opening titles, and then a brief "teaser" like scene that sets up the premise or "grab" for each episode --- and then this is directly followed by the episode proper.

Wouldn't these have been originally broadcast with the teaser/grabber first, then the opening titles, and then the episode itself?

Or, is it my question that's out of order and needs to be stricken from the record?

Resting his case,

Jeff
Atty., Dewey, Cheatam & Howe

 

[Joe Lugoff]

I don't know, but I'm guessing a commercial came after the teaser. My memories of "Perry Mason" are that it always started with the titles and the theme song (which is one of my all-time favorites, by the way.)

 

[Steve...O]

I'm with Joe. I didn't watch PM during it's original run but have been watching since the mid '70s. The show has always started with the opening credits with a commercial after the opening teaser. In that era, most shows opened with the credits.

Whenver you hear music cues at the end of a scene and the beginning of the next is where a commercial probably was placed.

My big concern right now is the future of the series on DVD. S1 V1 was a very big seller. However recent comments in the film forum that the new head of Paramount Home Video has a disdain for classic product has me quite concerned. My hope is that CBS home video is run by someone else and that Paramount merely acts as a distributor.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

I can't stand it when the head of a company makes decisions based on his own taste instead of what the public wants. I've heard of this kind of thing before -- where the CEO cancels a profitable product line just because he doesn't care for it himself.

On the other hand, I do like it when a CEO continues an unprofitable product line because he feels its high quality promotes a good image for the company.

What this all has to do with "Perry Mason" is something we'll find out within a few months.

 

[JeffCNY]

To understand all this, you have to crawl inside the convoluted catacombs that make up the contents of a CEO's head and thought process.

How painful it must be to have a vintage (CEO cringes) product like PERRY MASON outsell a recent or current production! This would imply that current output is being overshadowed by past glories, and nothing could be more distasteful, disagreeable and shameful.

How then to correct this? Easy - Squash, Crush and Obliterate the offending vintage product!

Sad, ain't it?

Jeff

 

[FloydH]

I'll show my age and admit that I watched the original Perry Mason episodes as they premiered on TV in the 1950's and 1960's. Yes, the opening credits always showed first, followed by the "teaser" intro piece that set up the story. Then cut to commercial. The main body of the story started after the first commercial(s).