mason

21 Aug

Perry Mason: Detective Ennis Finally Takes the Stand

New DVD releasedetective, ennis, finally, mason, perry, stand, takes

The following contains spoilers for Perry Mason season 1. Perry Mason ended its introductory season with a hung jury for the accused, and never got the chance to put the main culprit on the stand. And, boy did defense attorney Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) want that. He fantasized about the confrontation, roleplaying it in front of an audience of legal authorities who all disagreed with his opinion. Mason wasn’t only robbed of a pure victory in the case, his true prey was stolen. Detective Ennis was sentenced to death by his own partner, and with him went one of the…

Read More

10 Aug

Perry Mason Ending Explained

New DVD releaseending, explained, mason, perry

This Perry Mason season 1 finale piece contains spoilers by legal definition. Perry Mason made its closing arguments for season 1. While the jury was deadlocked on whether Emily Dodson (Gayle Rankin) murdered her own baby, Charlie, or not, the verdict was a triumph for the defense attorney and the series named after him. A hung jury may not be a clear win, but it is a victory. It means Perry Mason’s (Matthew Rhys) first case was not a full on winner. Mason made mistakes. He is learning, probably to make more mistakes, but his education will turn him into…

Read More

10 Aug

Perry Mason Episode 8 Review: Chapter Eight

New DVD releasechapter, eight, episode, mason, perry, review

This Perry Mason review contains spoilers. Perry Mason Episode 8 “No one confesses on the stand,” Hamilton Burger (Justin Kirk) advises the title character on Perry Mason‘s season 1 finale, “Chapter Eight.” And it’s a shame. Not only because this is the very thing which made the iconic TV series character legendary, but because Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) is doing so well with it in rehearsal. At least that’s what he tells himself and everyone else around him before clearing out the room to fit his ego. The battle is over whether Mason should put Detective Ennis (Andrew Howard) on…

Read More

03 Aug

Perry Mason Episode 7 Review: Chapter Seven

New DVD releasechapter, episode, mason, perry, review, seven

This Perry Mason review contains spoilers. Perry Mason Episode 7 Perry Mason, episode 7, “Chapter Seven,” steers out of control to a very unexpected crossroads. There are deals with the devil happening in this installment and none of them are specifically satanic. Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) tries to exorcize demonic truths from the Assembly of God Church, while its leader plays god, and not just on the radio. In “Chapter Six,” Sister Alice (Tatiana Maslany) remarks to her mother, Birdy McKeegan (Lili Taylor), that she’s been remembering quite a few things, lately. The new installment brings up a memory, though…

Read More

27 Jul

HBO’s Perry Mason Episode Guide

New DVD releaseepisode, guide, mason, perry

The first half of HBO’s Perry Mason was a bit of a tease. Though everyone with even a passing familiarity with American television knows that Perry Mason is a devoted, capable lawyer, HBO’s version of the show introduced him as something else entirely. Through four full episodes of TV, Matthew Rhys’s legal hero was more of a grimy private investigator.  To be fair, this depiction of Perry Mason worked quite well within the HBO series’ gritty ‘20s aesthetic. But any show featuring Perry Mason was going to have to head to a courtroom eventually. And eventually Perry Mason did. The…

Read More

27 Jul

Perry Mason Episode 6 Review: Chapter Six

New DVD releasechapter, episode, mason, perry, review

This Perry Mason review contains spoilers. Perry Mason Episode 6 Perry Mason, “Chapter Six,” delivers the title character’s courtroom debut. For a man who is going to embody an icon of courtroom drama, Perry Mason is off to a much less than auspicious start. Matthew Rhys coughs, stammers, makes self-effacing jokes as he stumbles into objectionable oratory and forgets to bring water to court before he even makes it through the first paragraph of his opening statement. His worthy opponent, District Attorney Maynard Barnes (Stephen Root), is just finishing his two-hour opening statement as the episode opens, and we can…

Read More

22 Jul

Perry Mason Season 2 Confirmed by HBO

New DVD releaseconfirmed, mason, perry, season

Perry Mason will have another season on its docket for HBO, which has renewed the reboot series for a second season. Indeed, the series, which stars The Americans‘ Matthew Rhys as author Erle Stanley Gardner’s classic titular crime-solving lawyer, has managed to procure a Season 2 renewal slightly past the midway point of Season 1, which most recently aired its July 19 episode, the fifth of eight for the inaugural outing. The official announcement was made by Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming. “It has been an exciting journey to work with the immensely talented team behind Perry Mason,”…

Read More

20 Jul

Perry Mason Episode 6 Return Date, News, and More

New DVD releaseepisode, mason, perry, return

Perry Mason, a property practically synonymous with noir-driven detective dramas, has awaken from its dormancy, as evidenced by the arrival of HBO’s long-developing reboot series. Matthew Rhys, the Emmy-winning former co-star of FX’s The Americans, stars as the eponymous protagonist in this 8-episode whodunnit series, which puts author Erle Stanley Gardner’s embattled lawyer (famously played by Raymond Burr across four decades,) through HBO’s peak television lens, producing a stylish small-screen offering rife with class-contrasting aesthetics of the Great Depression. It all comes together to frame the case of a child kidnapping that proves to be dangerously connected to a diverse…

Read More

20 Jul

Perry Mason Episode 5 Review: Chapter Five

New DVD releasechapter, episode, mason, perry, review

This Perry Mason review contains spoilers. Perry Mason Episode 5 Perry Mason episode 5, “Chapter Five,” delivers what viewers expecting the classic series were waiting to see happen. The scruffy private investigator who has maintained a three-day stubble for five weeks cleans up and gets an education, not necessarily in that order. The first cleanup is actually done by Della Street (Juliet Rylance). “Chapter Four” ended with the suicide of E.B. Jonathan, esteemed but broken attorney at law. That act began almost imperceptibly at the start of the episode, as John Lithgow, who plays E.B., masterfully allowed his wounds to…

Read More

13 Jul

Perry Mason Episode 4 Review: Chapter Four

New DVD releasechapter, episode, mason, perry, review

This Perry Mason review contains spoilers. Perry Mason Episode 4 Perry Mason’s “Chapter Four” is a long denouement for the Emily Dodson (Gayle Rankin) legal team. The woman who has been accused of, at the very least, conspiring to aid in the kidnapping which led to the death of her child, is running out of options. The entire episode shows her falling through every loophole laid out for her, except of course, the ones that Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) employs to circumvent the law. John Lithgow can really elicit sympathy. Stephen Root’s district attorney Maynard Barnes is relishing his every…

Read More

06 Jul

Perry Mason Episode 3 Review: Chapter Three

New DVD releasechapter, episode, mason, perry, review, three

This Perry Mason review contains spoilers. Perry Mason Episode 3 Perry Mason, episode 3, “Chapter Three,” thickens the plot and solidifies the characters while delivering the biggest twist from on high. Matthew Rhys’ Perry Mason is still taking it all in. He’s surrounded himself with an idiosyncratic crew who bring their own tangents into the work play. But beyond that there is a master villain type who is rigging the game at every step. Los Angeles district attorney Maynard Barnes makes the opening statements of the episode and Stephen Root delivers them with a dire glee. Oh, the things people…

Read More