Perry Mason: The Ninth and Final Season, Vol. 2

I don't know of any other TV show that lasted 9 season where their last season was one of the best. In some episodes in later seasons you could tell the writing was getting a bit formulaic with overly convoluted plots. I've read that Burr actually complained about this and that the better scripts in the final season were a result of his sincere commitment to doing a quality show. Not sure how true that is but IMO this season is one of the best. My favorite seasons are the first two where they had more of a film noir approach and Mason had more of an edge to him. But every season was great due to the commitment of people like Earle Stanley Gardner to be as realistic as the melodramatic formula for TV drama of that time would allow and the excellent acting from Burr and everyone else that was a regular. It's interesting to watch things change over the many years. They end up including the obligatory cringy nods to folk and rock music that all shows of the early 60's did. But you can tell that everyone in the cast really liked each other and some of the scripts in the final season took some interesting chances that veered from their standard formula a bit. My absolute favorite of this season and of the show in general is the last episode where there is a murder on a TV soundstage during the filming of a fictional TV show and they include most of the crew, writers, etc. in the show as well as little in jokes like the producer of the Mason show playing a producer in the episode and talking to another person saying something like "they want us to go up against Bonanza, that's instant death" (one of the reasons the Mason show lost ratings was CBS put it up against Bonanza). With the rubbish that passes for entertainment on most TV shows these days it is a joy to look back on a show where the characters have believable motivations and act and talk the way real people actually did... at least back then. And Raymond Burr's acting really holds up. The wonderfully subtle style he has where he can communicate so much with just a sly little smile, nod, or pause. IMO he is one of the best TV actors of all time. If you like classic TV I highly recommend this.

Always loved him

Excellent!! Loved it!

September 12th 2013 will mark the 20th anniversary of the death of Raymond Burr, so it is entirely apposite that the last of the Perry Mason box sets will have been brought out to coincide with that date. Throughout the DVD release programme, one of the highlights has been the pristine quality of the prints (possibly accounting for the fairly high price of the sets). But in the final analysis we now have a superb complete record of one of the most successful of all American TV series, and people who 'grew up with' the show will surely not begrudge the fact that the project is now completed and can be sampled at leisure.With regard to this final season, a special mention should be made of Richard Anderson, who joined the cast as Lieutenant Steve Drumm. This fine actor, such a familiar star and guest-star in TV series from the 1960s onwards, always offered a thoughtful, dignified and serious presence in all his appearances, yet has never really received full credit for his contribution to the success of post-war American TV, so it was entirely fitting that he should have been chosen to play a part in the concluding season of this most iconic of series, when he was in the prime of his distinguished career.By now it should be clear that this is a 'must-have' recommendation. Enthusiasts of the show will, of course, waste no time in completing their collection, and, despite some quibbles about the pricing which have been registered over the years (noted earlier), Paramount should be commended for eventually giving us the complete 'official edition'.

The final season, and all good things must come to an end I suppose. This series has kept the standard very high. Good quality transfers. Good subtitles and good, if sometimes, very complicated plots. My enjoyment is enriched by the actors involved. as being of an age that lived through the 50's and 60's it is always a pleasure to see such actors as Denver Pyle, Gerald Mohr, Brian Donlevy, and many many beautiful actresses of the period. One episode is in COLOUR! (I think it was ep 7). I shall miss this and in due course go back to series ONE and start again. Good clean entertainment suitable for all.

Your honor... I do NOT object. Final season of Perry Mason on television. They all had aged, some of the plots were reused. but if you had made 271 episodes I think your plots would have run thin too. Earl Stanley Gardner was a masterful writer. His character was insightful, brilliant, and not too full of himself. Of course the original character in the movies was a little more arrogant , but also married Della Street as I remember.I think the thing I find most fun with the tv series is how they used the same actors in like 4 or 5 episodes under different character names... sometimes guilty, sometimes character witnesses.. Sometimes the murder victim. but that ends up playing tricks with you the viewer... do I know this one???? wait... isn't that the guy or girl who.... no, wait... I am not sure I remember this one... and you watch it again! clever!!Anyway... loved the series... Thanks Gail Patrick Jackson for developing the tv series. She was a good actress in movies like My man Godfrey.. Pretty too... So if you love the series and hate the heavy editing channels like metv,Fetv, Sundance channel has done, buy these before they are gone. Court is in recess until 10 am.

I now have all the 271 episodes of the original Perry Mason series, transmitted between 21st September 1957 and 22nd May 1966. The 69 episodes from series 1 and 2 are in region 2 format. Unfortunately the remaining are region1. I purchased a £35 Sony multi region DVD to play the region 2 and its worked well with these and other formats. The series was shot in black and white but has been digitally re mastered. One episode was experimentally shot in colour just before the series was axed. Although the episodes had a predictable format I found them very enjoyable. Good actors, often appearing in several episodes . Some to become well known, Ryan O'Neal, others in the twilight of their careers, such as Tom Conway of The Falcon a forties series and others to sink without trace like Kevin O'Neal, brother of Ryan. Good set dressing and an accurate portrayal of the ambiance and look of the era. I only disliked three episodes. One supposedly had a gorilla which was all too obviously fake, another had a supposed artist (Victor Bouno of Baby Jane fame) terribly over acting and the last was one in which Burr played his supposed double with an English accent. He was awful. A great pity as the story line was good.I am now considering purchasing the 26 Perry Masons Burr made between 1985 and his death in 1993. They are on 13 double features but only in region 1. I have ordered the first four of those DVDs.

I have now collected the whole series of these televised 1950s/ 60s Perry Masons, and am feeling slightly sad about that. For months now, I've been looking forward to my next delivery of these amazingly good courtroom dramas. I've also enjoyed watching a piece of fashion history as 1950s clothes turn into the more slick efforts of the 1960s, and the women's hair reflects the widespread use of wigs that came into play in the 60s. Great value. These later ones are not always as good as the earlier ones, storywise, but still wonderful to have. Raymond Burr made a wonderful Perry, and Barbara Hale was perfect as Della Street, his faithful assistant. Excellent prints.

This is the last set of this wonderful TV series.I now have the complete Perry Mason ,seasons 1 to 9 and put these at the top of my viewing list.Everyting is right in these issues, acting sound and clarity of picture.A treasured possession.

As an avid PERRY MASON fan, I do not regret the money expended on Season 9, but new buyers need to be aware that the later seasons of this seminal show dropped off the ratings in the mid-1960's for good reason! Not only do the scripts lack the intensity of earlier seasons, but Raymond Burr appears to be sleepwalking through the episodes without any apparent edge! Add to this recurring lame attempts to get in tune with prevailing new culture unleashed by Beatlemania, and it is no wonder that PERRY MASON was ended in 1966!

Love these dvd's. You realize how much METV cuts out of the originals! Never skipped or stuttered like the TV reruns do sometimes. Count me a big fan.