I have just caught up on Mason over the last 5 days. There is a lot I like about it (unlike Dave I really like Rhys, and don’t care about keeping American actors employed). There is the obvious problem - that there is no reason to call this Perry Mason. Okay, it’s an origin story, but I would have found it more convincing if he had been bitten by a radioactive lawyer and transformed into an attorney.
My main disappointment is that, unlike most golden age TV drama, the dialogue is particularly undistinguished. This is not The one of Chase, or Milch, or Simon, or Sorkin, or Weiner, or Gilligan, or Yost. This is particularly disappointing because there may be no genre better suited to snappy, memorable dialogue than noir, so what gives? I suppose if this series runs ten seasons like the Burr version, and for the last 9 Perry is a stalwart member of the SoCal legal community, sober and serious but taking the side of the wrongly accused in between cashing fat checks from corporate clients, we will be closer to a reimagined Perry Mason than the mostly unrecognizable confection we have been given so far, and I guess the time period is consistent with the early novels. But even if, I am not yet persuaded that the origin story part of this is worth it, or adds that much to the character. He used to be cynical, slovenly, corner cutting and suffering from WWI PTSD, now he is caring, meticulous, successful and straight. I think they could have communicated that in half of one episode, not an entire season. Or, put it this way: either the backstory is important to the HBO Mason, and then it has little in common with the original TV or novel Mason, or it winds up not being important, and then it is not necessary. On Thu, Jul 23, 2020 at 5:37 AM Mark Jeffries <[email protected]> wrote: > Meanwhile, HBO has renewed "Perry Mason: The Skinny Years" for a second > season: > > > https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/perry-mason-renewed-season-2-at-hbo-1303980 > > On Thu, Jul 23, 2020, 1:06 AM 'Dave Sikula' via TVorNotTV < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> I must say that, despite my apparently being the only person who doesn't >> think Tatiana Maslany is all that or even that good (her vocal technique is >> non-existent, among other flaws), this week's episode was the first really >> good one. It was coherent, interesting, and had an ending I didn't see >> coming at all. >> >> --Dave Sikula >> >> On Wednesday, July 22, 2020 at 9:24:43 PM UTC-7, Steve Timko wrote: >>> >>> An unscientific survey of people on my Facebook timeline shows they >>> declare it a hit. >>> The most common comment is that it compares to "Carnavale." I have not >>> seen that show so I can't comment. >>> One Facebook friend said it compares to "The Wire" and "The Sopranos." >>> Seems unlikely, but it is being praised. >>> >>> On Mon, Jun 1, 2020 at 7:26 PM Jon Delfin <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> On Mon, Jun 1, 2020, 8:49 PM 'Dave Sikula' via TVorNotTV < >>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Based on the profile of Rhys in Sunday's NY Times, it looks like it's >>>>> an origin story: >>>>> https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/arts/television/matthew-rhys-perry-mason.html?searchResultPosition=1 >>>>> >>>>> I fully expect that in the final episode, Mason will be sitting in a >>>>> dark study, opining that criminals are a cowardly, superstitious lot just >>>>> before Professor Kingsfield flies through the window. >>>>> >>>> >>>> Which reminds me (and almost certainly only me) of a comics trivia >>>> special that aired in the '60s. One of the questions showed that panel, and >>>> the celebs had to guess what the blanked-out dialogue box said. Jack >>>> Douglas's answer: "Oh boy, now I can go to the orphans' picnic!" >>>> >>>> I recall very little of my childhood, but somehow, that stuck. >>>> >>>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to [email protected]. >>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CABCcf4dWvN2ek05DxJ%2BdUHFzQaAKvzhF%3DtTM2pCG9qQ0wLsB%3Dw%40mail.gmail.com >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CABCcf4dWvN2ek05DxJ%2BdUHFzQaAKvzhF%3DtTM2pCG9qQ0wLsB%3Dw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/89b88602-6057-40d0-8688-239dc004f1e8o%40googlegroups.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/89b88602-6057-40d0-8688-239dc004f1e8o%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJ_uKi_udVFywq6nd65scPNxOQnTuCs%3Dj2_hBKyzq83%3DpH0eMQ%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJ_uKi_udVFywq6nd65scPNxOQnTuCs%3Dj2_hBKyzq83%3DpH0eMQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Sent from Gmail Mobile -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. 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