#happybirthday #susanbay #actress #writer #director #admiralrollman #startrek #deepspacenine #eve #perrymason #MotherandChild #RemingtonSteele #lalaw #civilwars #familyties #mrmerlin #harttohart #starskyandhutch #mannix #TheBigMouth #DaysofOurLives #startrek59 @trekcore

#happybirthday #leslieparrish #actress #activist #LtCarolynPalamas #startrek #WhoMournsforAdonais #TheManchurianCandidate #TheWildWildWest #MyThreeSons #PerryMason #FamilyAffair #BatMasterson #TheManFromUNCLE #Adam12 #GoodMorningWorld #PoliceStory #Batman #McCloud #TheBigValley #startrek59 @trekcore

#remembering #lawrencemontaige #actor #Stonn #Decius #startrek #amoktime #balanceofterror #ofgodsandmen #captainsinbad #thegreatescape #youngladychatterly #escapetowitchmountain #hawaiifive0 #bonanza #missionimpossible #themanfromuncle #batman #perrymason #startrek59 @trekcore

#happybirthday #garylockwood #actor #garymitchell #startrek #wherenomanhasgonebefore #perrymason #wildinthecountry #combat #firecreek #thelieutenant #2001aspaceoddysey #barnabyjones #thesixmilliondollarman #thequest #thebionicwoman #harttohart #murdershewrote #macgyver #startrek59 @trekcore

#happybirthday #bobbyclark #actor #stunt #gorn #startrek #arena #gunsmoke #kungfu #invasionofthebodysnatchers #TheTenCommandments #CaseyJones #PerryMason #Lassie #MyThreeSons #startrek59 @trekcore

#happybirthday #mariannahill #actress #noel #startrek #messiahofevil #perrymason #batman #theouterlimits #thegodfather #redline7000 #thecondor #MissionImpossible #TheHighChaparral #mannix #kungfu #TheAstralFactor #RemingtonSteele #ChiefZabu #comagirl #thestateofgrace #startrek59 @trekcore

#HappyBirthday @officialbillmumy #billmumy #actor #willrobinson #LostinSpace #lennier #babylon5 #theroadhome #kellin #startrek #deepspacenine #thetwilightzone #perrymason #bewitched #thevirginian #themunsters #sunshine #superboy #buzzlughtyearofstarcommand #bravestwarriors #transformers #rescuebots @hbomaxlat @startrek @startrekonpplus

Once more unto the breach, embracing the freedom to be ignored. I'm reading the Perry Mason novels for the first time in many many years. I only read ones based on episodes I liked at that point, so now I'm going through and reading them chronologically. It's interesting to see the character evolve as the public buzz grew. I hope that Gardner never makes Perry exactly the way he is on TV, because I like that he's got an edge. I'm about to start Book 5. Fans of the series will probably know why I am at a moment of reflection and trepidation.

I think there was no one better suited to being Mason than Burr. Because it was prime time TV on CBS, they were pushing the boundaries, having a woman as producer without the schtick Dorothy Fontana pulled. CBS couldn't have Mason occasionally bribing cops (& ADAs), passing out money for tips in a sleazy way, and the like. There's a lot of stuff he pulls in the earliest books that just couldn't have flown on TV. So I feel like the show is a tamer Mason than the books, and I hope it stays that way.

But why did I pick this moment? Why should I have started to really think when I'm four books in, instead of sharing my thoughts from the jump? And why, a less-fanatical reader may ask, am I pausing between 4 & 5?

It's because I'm a little bit afraid. I know who shows up in the fifth book. I'm afraid of the beginning of a slow and possibly painful mutation of the milieu of Perry Mason. It's no spoiler to say that DA Hamilton Burger is in the fifth book for the first time. Sergeant Holcomb has shown up already in book 4. All we'll need is Lt. Tragg.

There's something magical in the earliest books of the series. While I'm being vague now, it's only by way of a lead-in. I will lay out my opinion on each of the first four books in ensuing posts.

Also note that I am working on breaking my allergy to hashtags for this post. It'll be a rarity.

#PerryMason #blog #books

TIL that the surname Carnegie is stressed on the second syllable, unlike Carnegie Hall.
#PerryMason