The Future of PERRY MASON (Season 6 & beyond) (2 Viewers)

[John Koehler]

Just saw The Case of the Bullied Bowler from November 1964, Season 6, in beautiful remastered print on local MeTV. It is clear that CBS is indeed remastering later episodes. Curiously, the closing titles these last few nights of Season 6 are in rough shape, but the entirety of the story segments are very obviously pristine remasters. So there MUST be hope for the best TV series ever, the inspiration and precursor to the excellent, long-lived Law and Order series. In the 50s and 60s CBS invested heavily in Perry Mason ($170,000 per episode right from the pilot, the equivalent of over 1 million today), the most expensive series on TV. They cared very much about the show. Why abandon it now, when it was the impulse for so many modern imitations? Mason, Drake, Street, Burger, Tragg....none better. Ever.

 

[Steve...O]

Quote:
Hi John,

Great post that provides some much needed hope.Bullied Bowler is actually a season 8 episode which is even more hopeful. Does ME-TV (which has yet to debut in my area) show the episodes uncut or are they edited for commercials, etc.?

Yes, I absolutely agree with your "none better. Ever." closing comment. The 1960s in general were the high mark for TV writing in my opinion with so many excellent dramas and comedies that have stood the test of time and are still popular today.

 

[John Koehler]

Hi Steve....

the episodes are not cut. Some earlier TV syndicate shows had fake superimposed video wipes or fade-outs to cut out or reduce time in certain longer scenes or expositions. These have none of that and look like they were turned off the lab development reels just yesterday. Commercials are pl;aced exactly as designed in the original episode edits.

I am a day late but I also wish to follow up on the post of another HTF member to toast the 89th birthday of Barbara Hale, the best example of a confidential, loyal secretary in her portrayal of Della Street. I should be so lucky to have a work colleague like Della!

 

[Steve...O]

Thank you, John. This is great news and makes me even more anxious for ME-TV to enter my market (which it will soon).

CBS/P should at least get kudos for taking care of the Mason 35mm negatives all of these years; they all do look spectacular.

 

[Berkshires]

Good news! Perry Mason, Season 6, Volume 1 will be released on October 4, 2011; with Volume 2 to follow before the end of the year!

I had contacted CBS Home Entertainment after seeing a rumor about the October 4 date on Amazon.com and they confirmed it. I expect they'll soon issue an official press release or an update to the Perry Mason Facebook page. (Or maybe HTF's own CBS/Paramount insider would care to chime in.)

I hope this means we can take Perry Mason off the "stalled series" list once and for all!

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Berkshires
Good news! Perry Mason, Season 6, Volume 1 will be released on October 4, 2011; with Volume 2 to follow before the end of the year!

Sounds good to me!


Gary "kinda strange that they'd wait so long and then give us both volumes that quickly" O.

 

[Rodney]

Originally Posted by Berkshires
Good news! Perry Mason, Season 6, Volume 1 will be released on October 4, 2011; with Volume 2 to follow before the end of the year!

This is good news! I am glad to hear that we will have more Perry Mason's this year.

-Rodney

 

[Steve...O]

Bob - thanks to you for breaking this wonderful news. And thanks to Gary for confirming (in another thread) that the crystal ball shows the two headed coin landing with Raymond Burr's face up

I had given up on this show getting released and now I'm feeling much better that we may actually see more seasons. I just hope that CBS/P doesn't repeat the S5/S6 gap with S7.

The CBS/P Syndication Bible is due for an update within the next month or so (it'll be a half year since the last update next month) so hopefully we'll get some idea of what else may be in the offering for 2012.

 

[Berkshires]

Steve, I was glad to share the news. You and Gary have provided many scoops over the years, and I was happy to do the same.

And thanks for the info about the CBS/P Syndication Bible updates. I hope we'll learn that seasons 7, 8 & 9 have been mastered in HD as well.

 

[Dave Jessup]

Marvelous news; thanks!
We're almost caught up here viewing Perry Mason; look forward to having a "backlog" again.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Could there have been issues with the original masters or something that led to S6V1 being delayed (as has happened to Shout's Ironside s5 release), or was it just some weird circumstance that led to CBS/P reversing their decision to stall the show?

Either way, I'm glad S6 is coming, especially of the entire season will be out by the end of the year.

 

[Jeff Willis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Jessup
Marvelous news; thanks!
We're almost caught up here viewing Perry Mason; look forward to having a "backlog" again.

Same here. This is one of the few shows in my collection where I have to pace myself with it so I don't run out of viewing before the next release.

 

[Qrusher14242]

great news! was hoping the delay was so they would release a full season set, but Volumes are still ok.

 

[Greg Chenoweth]

Keep in mind, there has been no official word from CBS/Paramount about this release yet. If it is coming out in October, then we should be reading about it on TVShowsonDVD.com in June or July.

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Chenoweth
Keep in mind, there has been no official word from CBS/Paramount about this release yet. If it is coming out in October, then we should be reading about it on TVShowsonDVD.com in June or July.

Trust me, Greg. It's coming on October 4th. The crystal ball has confirmed it.


Gary "unless there's an earthquake or some other disaster, it's a lock that we'll see Perry Mason S6, V1 on 10/4/11" O.

 

[stevelecher]

Just absolute great news. Thank you CBS/P!

Steve L.

 

[Jeff Willis]

Quote:

/forum/thread/308682/the-future-of-perry-mason-season-6-beyond/30#post_3817389
Just absolute great news. Thank you CBS/P!

Steve L.

10-4, Steve

 

[Jack P]

Originally Posted by Gary OS
Trust me, Greg. It's coming on October 4th. The crystal ball has confirmed it.
Gary "unless there's an earthquake or some other disaster, it's a lock that we'll see Perry Mason S6, V1 on 10/4/11" O.

Let us hope we never have to borrow the Fugitive S3 episode title "Crack In A Crystal Ball" for any of your predictions, Gary.

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:
LOL there, Jack. I'd never use a cracked crystal ball. At least not intentionally.



Gary "just glad that CBS decided to keep going forward with Perry Mason" O.

 

[stevelecher]

O.K., why hasn't this been picked up on tvshowsondvd.com? Is it a secret yet that Season 6 will be out?

Steve L.