A Great Classic Continues
For Perry Mason fans, the release announcement of Season 8 volume 1 is a sure sign that all entire nine seasons will be released, after all. For those who watch the series closely, you'll notice some subtle changes by the beginning of the eighth season. Maybe the 1964- 1965 season reflects the world that changed after JFK's assassination in November 1963, but you'll see a bit edgier Perry Mason---more reflective of the contemporary world. You'll also notice more close ups and changed lighting with the addition of cinemetographer John M . Nickolaus. In terms of music, the early years of Perry Mason reflected the stock CBS music library--much of which was created by Bernard Herrmann in the 1950's. Seasons 8 and 9 reflect specific music scored by Richard Shores. Ray Collins (Lt Tragg) is only seen very rarely--even though his name is listed in the credits of every show through the end of the 8th season-----he was suffering from emphysema and died in July of 1965.
Some...
From The Era of Great T.V.!
Wouldn't it be great if there more shows like Perry Mason on today rather than all of the T&A, foul mouthed and violent shows that have become the norm in today's T.V. offerings? When I was a kid, every Thursday evening, our whole family gathered around the T.V. to watch Perry Mason. We were usually joined by some of our neighbors since we were one of the few families in the neighborhood who owned a T.V. set. Perry Mason was/remains today a show that the whole family could/can watch together without worring about the content being inappropriate for the younger ones to watch. The incomprable Raymond Burr delivered a truly believeable performance as Perry Mason, a lawyer who in spite of District Attorney Hamilton Burger and his cohert the rascally Lt. Tragg, always managed to uncover the real perpetrators through factual evidence and solid reasoning. He did so all the while keeping the audience guessing "who done it?" right to the end of each show. Great entertaining and timeless...
Audio and Video Tracks on the DVDs
In the days "Old" when TV was... well, NBC, CBS, and ABC broadcast engineers would use a number of techniques to clean up errors in the production filming. When Perry Mason was being broadcast, the networks would send their programs out via tight-beam microwave and telephone lines. The video was transmitted using line-of-site microwave towers and the audio was sent via dedicated long distance telephone lines. The video was OK, but the audio had a very limited bandwidth. It had a frequency response of about 100 to 5000 Hz (cycles per second), slightly better than what a telephone conversation would sound like.
The audio of these shows you are now watching on DVD seem to be poorly mixed. Yes, they were probably getting sloppy in the 7th and 8th seasons when they printed the final copy. But, they knew then the filtering effect of the long distance telephone line amplifiers would even things out. That's why the music seems very bright and voices in comparison seem...
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