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Perry Mason - The Third Season - Vol. 2 | 
| Actor: Raymond Burr
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $50.99
Buy New: $34.99
You Save: $16.00 (31%)
Rating:  9 reviews
Format: Box Set, Color, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Unknown), English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Number Of Discs: 4
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
UPC: 097368927346
EAN: 0097368927346
ASIN: B001E6HUWK
Release Date: December 2, 2008 (In 1 Day)
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Not yet released
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Amazon.com
Perry Mason is an attorney who specializes in defending seemingly indefensible cases. With the aid of his secretary Della Street and investigator Paul Drake, he often finds that by digging deeply into the facts, startling facts can be revealed. Often relying on his outstanding courtroom skills, he often tricks or traps people into unwittingly admitting their guilt.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Park Avenue Beat October 26, 2008
Bobby Underwood (Bakersfield, California United States)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
Perry Mason is as much a part of American culture as apple pie and mom. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone of any age who doesn't at least recognize the name. Erle Stanley Gardner's books have millions of devoted fans. The television show it spawned was fabulous as entertainment, and today is widely regarded as one of the best shows the medium ever produced. Perry was the attorney you wanted on your side in a jam.
Raymond Burr had some good roles in films, but will always be remembered as Perry Mason. It was Gardner himself who picked Burr, even though the studio only agreed to let him test for Perry if he would test for Burger too! Barbara Hale was his pretty secretary, Della Street, who kept Perry human and was in love with him. William Hopper was the dapper detective, Paul Drake. He had a playful and flirtatious relationship with Della but every viewer knew that secretly her heart belonged to Perry.
William Talman as D.A. Hamilton Burger would almost be ready to gloat, Lt. Tragg (Ray Collins) not far behind, when Perry would spring his client by revealing the real killer on the witness stand. There has never been anything close to it in genre on television since. Its mix of drama, noir, and humor, and its truly likable characters, made for terrific viewing.
Season three had some great episodes, including a case where Paul was the accused, in a twisty tail of blackmail and murder. Releasing them in half seasons, the first half on volume one, the second on volume two, may indeed be an effective but annoying marketing scheme, but with all the junk out there we're lucky to actually have a few worthy releases such as Perry Mason even available.
Season three, beginning in October of 1959 and ending in June of 1960, is as follows: The Case of the Watery Witness--The Case of the Garrulous Gambler--The Case of the Blushing Pearls--The Case of the Startled Stallion--The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma--The Case of the Golden Fraud--The Case of the Bartered Bikini-- The Case of the Artful Dodger--The Case of the Lucky Legs--The Case of the Violent Village--The Case of the Frantic Flyer--The Case of the Wayward Wife--The Case of the Prudent Prosecutor--The Case of the Gallant Grafter--The Case of the Wary Wildcatter--The Case of the Mythical Monkeys--The Case of the Singing Skirt--The Case of the Bashful Burro--The Case of the Crying Cherub--The Case of the Nimble Nephew--The Case of the Madcap Modiste--The Case of the Slandered Submarine--The Case of the Ominous Outcast--The Case of the Irate Inventor--The Case of the Flighty Father
This was one of the best dramas ever to hit the air. Seeing it today reminds us just how good television can be, but is often not. It's a bit of nostalgia and a lot of entertainment for TV fans. Fred Steiner's "Park Avenue Beat" remains one of the most recognizable themes ever heard. A must for any serious collector.
 YES, MR. MORGAN + another problem with year sets. October 13, 2008
James A. Van Nus (Hilton Head Island, SC United States)
7 out of 15 found this review helpful
Even though my comment "AMEN" to Mr. Morgan's review indicated my total agreement, I'd like to add my thoughts to another change that is slowly growing in frequency and aggravation. DVD sets that suddenly loose their surface color graphics which relate to the TV program/movie's theme, characters or genre. NOW WE GREET the burnished silver disc surfaces with glossy silver writing. They all look the same, whatever the TV show or movie it is! PLUS, they are hard to read unless the light hits just at the right angle. (Even then, some of the print is so small, it's nigh onto impossible to read.)
The 1st time I noticed this was "Happy Days", Season Two. Season One the surface of the DVDs gave the discs an appearance of being a 45 rpm record. This makes sense, teens listening to rock 45's. But I guess the producers didn't think about aesthetics, just $$$. Here are a couple more absurd examples: #1- "7th Heaven", Seasons 1-5: Very nice character portraits that illustrated how the character's appearance changed as the years went by. Many times I've looked at the discs, thinking, he/she sure has grown, or lost weight (Rosanne) etc. Season 6 arrives. Generic silver discs with no portraits or color, or anything appealing. This unwelcome discovery ruining the inherent joy of their arrival Or, how about, #2- "Touched By An Angel"? Seasons 1-3, colored discs depicting the themes and the characters. Season 4 - OOPS! "Plain-Jane" silver. C'mon studios, give some thought to what appeals to the customers!
Are the studios saving money? I really don't know, but I've been in sales all my life and those years taught me the axiom "PRODUCT APPEARANCE AFFECTS SALES VOLUME"! Almost as much as what is does. Hard to believe they don't know that.
On the same theme, these double-sided discs that show fingerprints so easily, but theoretically save studios production costs. Since the advent of Double Layer discs, very few extra long movies are now printed on a two-sided disc. Here are 2 different product offerings, each the result of what subjects were of importance to studio officers sitting at their long, lavish mahogany tables in boardrooms resembling the Taj Mahal, pining over either how the economy hurts their sales volume, OR, what could be done to improve their product's value and appeal to the customer. (One, the antithesis of the other). #1- "Northern Exposure": Seasons 1 and 2, illustrated discs; Seasons 3 and 4, double-sided discs; Seasons 5 and 6, back to being illustrated. They may have finally moved in the right direction, but continuity is non-existent. #2- "The Waltons": Certainly one of the most loved TV series. but every year produced on 2-sided discs. It is bad enough to squint our eyes in able to see what we are putting in our disc player, but come Season 4, the producers didn't even bother to print which disc # the DVD was! I had to write in that tiny circle the correct disc # by looking through a magnifying glass at the even tinier ID number in that circular info area. (Example - 110884.1 or .2, or .3, etc.) The decimal point indicating which disc it is. Isn't this insane? I feel ridiculous writing this! Why bother? BECAUSE IT SHOWS HOW LITTLE THE MAKERS CARE ABOUT THE CUSTOMERS whose purchases pay their salaries & bonuses. End of soapbox.
4 Discs September 27, 2008
Chuck
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
Season 3, Vol. 2 is a set of four discs, not 1 disc. The Amazon information is simply an error.
great entertainment- the writing is great. September 26, 2008
Nancy Taylor (Wilkes-Barre, PA USA)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
These maybe from the 50's and 60's but I would be watching TV today if it was this good. You have to use you brain. The characters have held up over these many years. Well worth a look.
A minority opinion September 14, 2008
Music fan in the Midwest (USA)
25 out of 29 found this review helpful
[Note: I entered this same review for Season 3, Vol. 1, too.]
I appreciate the reasons for consumer gripes regarding the Perry Mason DVD releases. Like other Amazon reviewers, I'd like to pay less and see complete seasons rather than half-seasons released at a time.
I'd also like two-dollar gas, killer abs, and a winning lottery ticket, but they're not gonna happen either, so I'll just say here and now that Paramount has done a superb job of remastering the PM series for us diehards, and I encourage the company to stick with the project.
When I look at the quality of the prints, that the episodes have been restored in their entirety, that the episodes are generally longer than most of today's popular dramatic series, and the plain fact that paying several bucks for each episode of one of my all-time favorite shows is no big hit on my wallet when it's spread out over months and years, I'm okay with the pricing and staggered releases. (And no, I don't work for or represent Paramount, and yes, like everyone else I have only so much disposable income in any given month.)
I even bought the PM 50th Anniversary set for its extras and for the lovely Barbara Hale (sometimes joined by series producer/director Arthur Marks) providing the intros. It was worth the price and the duplication of episodes.
I expect many of my fellow Amazon reviewers will take the time to skewer me for my take on Paramount's approach, and that's okay. It's all a matter of opinion and perspective. But for me, the fact that Paramount is providing us fans with such great prints of the PM series is cause for celebration. "You get what you pay for," the saying goes, and my money is being well-spent.
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