I was very lucky growing up. My parents were very cool, and spent a lot of time with me introducing me to all sorts of things. And what was even better was that I enjoyed this time I spent with them. This included watching TV, the good old all-American pastime. We didn’t watch it all of the time, but enough for me to gain an appreciation and recognition for and between good TV and bad. Just today I was having a conversation with one of my co-workers who was surprised that I new so much about "The Carol Burnett Show." (This review has nothing to do with that show, but bear with me.) She happened to mention seeing a special over the holidays and saw a scene where Carol was wearing a dress made from a curtain.

I immediately piped up and said that was from the skit where they were doing a take-off of "Gone with the Wind." I then waxed rhapsodic about what an awesome skit show it was and started gabbing about my favorite sketches. She was shocked that someone my age knew so much about the series. The point I'm trying to make is that, thanks to my parents I have a very well-rounded knowledge of vintage TV shows.

So in this age of TV-on-DVD, I get just as excited over the release of an older series as I do some of the newer ones. Take for example Paramount's release this week of "Perry Mason." This series debuted back in 1957 and starred Raymond Burr as the tough attorney. Each week, for a full nine seasons, Mason would take on a new case where someone is falsely accused of a crime. Everyone knew that Mason was the lawyer to call because he worked his tail off to prove his client's innocence. The only thing missing from this rather formulaic series was the anticipation of wondering if Mason would lose. Fans of the show knew that Mason never lost a case… well that's not entirely true… he did lose one (much to the surprise of regular viewers).

Burr was a well-known actor at the time he took on the role, but it was Mason that he would most be identified with throughout his career. He did veer from the role by starring in another very popular series, "Ironside", where he played a police chief confined to a wheelchair (another favorite of mine by the way). But shortly afterwards returned to fill Mason's shoes in a series of very successful TV-movies.

The character of Perry Mason was originally created by author Earle Stanley Gardner, and as such almost every incarnation of the character was presented in a pseudo-film noire fashion. The series was no different. Every episode was like a 1930's crime drama in its essence, if not in its production design. In other words, the feel was there, just not the overall look. The show's creative team did not rely on shadowy figures or darkened scenes to get the idea across.

As I mentioned, Paramount is releasing a part of the 1st season this week. I say part because they are splitting the 1st season into two volumes and this is volume 1. Spread across the 5-disc set are the 19 episodes that introduced audiences to Burr's version of Mason, as well as the great Barbara Hale as his hard-working secretary, Della Street and Paul Hopper as the ever-cool private eye, Paul Drake. We also meet Mason's chief adversary, District Attorney Hamilton Burger, played to the hilt by actor William Tallman. Evertime Burger thinks he has the upper hand in a case; Mason knocks the poor guy down a peg or two by forcing or coaxing confessions out of someone other than the accused… sometimes right in the courtroom.

This new DVD set offers up the series in a complete and uncut format, which means that we finally get to see some of the scenes that haven't been since the original airings. Generally what you see nowadays is chopped up to make more and more room for commercials, often killing the point of the story. These episodes also look pretty darn good considering their age. The studio obviously did a fair amount of re-mastering to return them to their former glory, but you do still catch the occasional spot and speckle. All completely forgivable.

The only disappointment to be had is a total lack of extra features. I realize the entire main cast is gone, but surely there are some interviews or the like collecting dust in some vault somewhere. Hopefully brisk sales will allow the studio the opportunity to seek out and add in some of these treasures.

Aside from that, "Perry Mason: Season 1, Volume 1" is a must have for fans of the good old days of television.

Starring: Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, William Talman
Extras: None
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital Mono
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 7/11/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Perry Mason: Season 1, Volume 1 a B+.