The New Perry Mason

They did make frequent TV movies of Perry Mason in the 80s and early 90s (until Raymond Burr died) and they were very successful even thought they were not part of a program "wheel" as were "McCloud", "Columbo", "McMillan and Wife", and such. They were successful because they starred the original Mason, Raymond Burr, and the original secretary Della, Barbara Hale, who had a tremendous screen chemistry between them. They had nothing to do with the Markham attempt at revival. It is hard to imagine what CBS was thinking to try to bring back such a big hit with an all-new cast just seven years after the original ended and while its star was still appearing in a second hit show, "Ironside". I also don't know what they were thinking in trying to have Monte Markham as Mason, either; the casting could hardly have been worse. Markham can play lot of things; Mason was NOT one of them.

As a dweebie kid projected by his 1960s classmates to be the next Perry Mason, I loved the Raymond Burr reruns - on after school at 4 pm. So when in the early 70s there was to be a new Perry Mason in the form of Monte Markham (a regular player on TV back then), I was excited.

Until I watched. Even at 16 I could see it was abominably bad and barely even recognizable as Perry Mason.

I today just peaked back into the past and checked whether any New Perry Mason episodes were on YouTube. There was. I watched.

Abominably bad, still.

And that nice lady who played the new Della Street? Whoa. Just awful.

Bad. Just bad.

This is the first Perry Mason series I've seen (since I wasn't even born when the original Raymond Burr starrer appeared) and saw it in its entirety (at least what the local station showed). Monte Markham may be a great stage actor, but he never found success on TV and this is why. He and the rest of the cast act like robots, mouthing lines with nary a trace of believability. Mason is supposed to be a criminal lawyer not a corporate one (I guess Markham forgot that). The best evidence of a live character there would be Harry Guardino's Ham(ilton) Burger. He's the only actor who looks the least uncomfortable with the role. The mysteries posed are good, almost Murder-She-Wrote-like quality. But the pace is too fast (though not by today's standards), the courtroom scenes (where the highest point of the drama is expected) are much too brief. If only they made them movies-of-the-month like Columbo or McCloud, there may have been a chance for this show to find its audience.

The New Perry Mason had the misfortune to come along in one of the writer's strike years, 1973. Shows for all three networks were delayed, and many scripts were rushed and weak as a result. Bill Bixby's show "The Magician" was another casualty, though it managed the full season and The New Perry Mason was canned after a half season.

For fans still well familiar with the original series, this cast simply doesn't' stand up, and I write that as someone who has always liked Monte Markham. The one interesting role was Match Game regular (and Jack Klugman's eternally estranged wife) Brett Summers in the role of Gertie, the receptionist.

But Markham didn't bring the presence to the role that Raymond Burr pulled off, and none of the other actors brought the same life to their characters, either. Still, part of that may have been the writing. Scenes were too brief and rushed, and the courtroom scenes were slap-dash and brief.

In May 1966, the original "Perry Mason" series ended on CBS after 9 successful seasons. Seven years later, an ill-advised remake was produced by some of the people associated with the original series.

Veteran TV actor Monte Markham won the role Raymond Burr made famous to the point that no one can ever associate the role of Perry Mason with anyone other than Burr. As far as I'm concerned, Markham did a credible job with the material given to him. I thought Harry Guardino as Hamilton Burger and Dane Clark as Lt. Arthur Tragg were OK in their roles as well. The less said about Sharon Acker as Della Street and Albert Stratton as Paul Drake, the better.

Brett Somers appeared in a few episodes as receptionist Gertie Lade and was a well-needed comic relief to some not-so-exciting mysteries.

This will probably be the only review which will acknowledge liking the theme music and who composed it, Earle Hagen (Andy Griffith Show, The Mod Squad, I Spy, among many others). As with Burr, Fred Steiner's Park Avenue Beat/Perry Mason theme will always be iconic. Hagen's stand-alone underscore serves its purpose and does not overwhelm the story lines.

So, why did the show flop? According to a New York Times article (September 26, 1973) no new shows appeared in the top 20 Nielsen ratings the week The New Perry Mason debuted. In addition, the original Perry Mason was in daily syndication in many television markets and Burr's other series, Ironside, was starting its 6th season. Considering that Burr would return to play Perry Mason in 1985, a decade after the failed remake, maybe the remake was just a case of terrible timing.

At least one YouTube user uploaded several episodes from the remake. Despite my agreement with many Perry Mason fans lambasting the remake, I thought it had potential but was painted in an unfortunate corner and was slated for a quick death.

Who did it? In my opinion, it was network executives who thought a remake was needed despite dedicated fans saying no.