Perry Mason: Season 1 [DVD]

There was a time when the defense attorney was a heroic everyman, not the butt of bad jokes; think Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, and, of course, Raymond Burr's incomparable Perry Mason. The first season of Perry Mason, which launched in 1957 on CBS, shows just how dramatic a "law and order" show could be. Shot in lush black and white, on film, the episodes have been lovingly restored (including lost minutes hacked from reruns to accommodate commercials). The story arcs and atmosphere feel more like film noir (Perry Mason + Philip Marlowe = separated at birth?) than early TV. The cast was stellar, including Burr's Emmy-winning Perry Mason, the indefatigable lawyer who takes tough cases no one else will touch. Burr's chemistry crackles from episode 1 with his costars, including Barbara Hale as secretary Della, William Hopper as private detective Paul Drake, and William Talman as Hamilton Burger, the well-meaning but overmatched district attorney.

While it's true that the last-minute witness-stand confessions strain some credulity, the case-cracking, character development, and dialogue set a high bar for the legal shows that followed. "The Case of the Negligent Nymph," for instance, involves a comely young woman--and murder suspect--fished out of the Pacific; Mason deadpans to Drake, "Call off the search, Paul; we've landed our mermaid." The shows unfold at a leisurely pace, and yet don't rely on the overly expositive dialogue that, say, Law & Order does; the viewer learns a lot about each case simply as it happens. The set contains the first 19 episodes of the first season and will hook you, even if you're not a procedural buff. --A.T. Hurley

The complete first season of the award-winning courtroom drama series starring Raymond Burr as defence attorney, Perry Mason. In each episode, Mason battles wits with his courtroom adversary, Hamilton Burger (William Talman). Aided by his devoted secretary, Della Street (Barbara Hale), and loyal private eye, Paul Drake (William Hopper), Mason usually manages to uncover evidence that clears his client of murder. Episodes comprise: 'The Case of the Restless Redhead', 'The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece', 'The Case of the Nervous Accomplice', 'The Case of the Drowning Duck', 'The Case of the Sulky Girl', 'The Case of the Silent Partner', 'The Case of the Angry Mourner', 'The Case of the Crimson Kiss', 'The Case of the Vagabond Vixen', 'The Case of the Runaway Corpse', 'The Case of the Crooked Candle', 'The Case of the Negligent Nymph', 'The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink', 'The Case of the Baited Hook', 'The Case of the Fan-Dancer's Horse', 'The Case of the Demure Defendant', 'The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary', 'The Case of the Cautious Coquette', 'The Case of the Haunted Husband', 'The Case of the Lonely Heiress', 'The Case of the Green-Eyed Sister', 'The Case of the Fugitive Nurse', 'The Case of the One-Eyed Witness', 'The Case of the Deadly Double', 'The Case of the Empty Tin', 'The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife', 'The Case of the Desperate Daughter', 'The Case of the Daring Decoy', 'The Case of the Hesitant Hostess', 'The Case of the Screaming Woman', 'The Case of the Fiery Fingers', 'The Case of the Substitute Face', 'The Case of the Long-Legged Models', 'The Case of the Gilded Lily', 'The Case of the Lazy Lover', 'The Case of the Prodigal Parent', 'The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde', 'The Case of the Terrified Typist' and 'The Case of the Rolling Bones'.