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Post by herald7 on May 9, 2011 22:13:07 GMT -5
Nice discovery the other day, I was going through my old VHS's and in particular one from 1991. And one of the commercials breaks included a promo for one of the Perry Mason TV movies. It was pretty quick, I believe the announcer said, "When an anchorman's memo gets out...it's gonna be murder!" Lol.
Now this wasn't one of William Katt's episodes, but this discovery did inspire me to check my Netflix and turns out it does have the Mason episodes Katt was featured in. It's really nice watching Katt perform with his mother again. His character's a lot more confident than Ralph in some ways (I imagine no aliens had to force him to be a detective for instance, lol) yet still a regular guy prone to embarrassing situations, hehe.
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Post by MelMac on May 9, 2011 23:01:17 GMT -5
I've seen I think all but one of the "Mason" stories that Katt was Drake Jr. in, and they're all rather good. I wasn't as fond of the ones with Billy Moses in them, though I liked his character in "Falcon Crest."
The chemistry was very good between Katt, his mom Barbara Hale and then Raymond Burr. There are interviews that Katt's done about his time in "Perry Mason" reminiscing about Burr.
The ONLY thing that may be bittersweet here is that Katt was signed up to play Drake for the movies when they decided to try and bring back "GAH." He has mentioned that it was tempting to return to Ralph, and was guaranteed two years, but he chose to stay with "Mason." I think in retrospect that was a good choice because it showed he could do more than play Ralph, and as Connie wasn't going to be able to come back as Pam unless she quit "Hotel" (and I admit I cannot think of an actress who would've been able to take over Christine and I don't think at the time they'd been able to have said character just depart), it was for the best anyway.
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Post by herald7 on May 12, 2011 14:45:33 GMT -5
I've seen I think all but one of the "Mason" stories that Katt was Drake Jr. in, and they're all rather good. I've seen a couple so far. I do have to ask, does Paul Drake always end up with a different girl at the end? Lol Oh yeah I know, it obvious would have been great if GAH could have a triumphant comeback and all (something fans of say The original Star Trek would have loved in TV form hehe). But as you say it's important for actors to be able to say they've done other things.
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Post by MelMac on May 12, 2011 16:31:59 GMT -5
I've seen a couple so far. I do have to ask, does Paul Drake always end up with a different girl at the end? Lol Let's just say the only girl who stays in his life is Della Street. I have a bit of a funny story here regarding a couple of loves in his life and mysteries he solves - can't say too specifically, but one of his crushes has the same first name as I do and one of the victims has the same. (but not the same person... lol). Oh yeah I know, it obvious would have been great if GAH could have a triumphant comeback and all (something fans of say The original Star Trek would have loved in TV form hehe). But as you say it's important for actors to be able to say they've done other things. [/quote] I think had Katt not taken it, he may not have stayed acting even now - too many people would stereotype him as Ralph Hinkley, even now. Out of the men who have played superheroes around his time, it's been pretty much Katt and Dean Cain who have broken that mold and continued acting with characters outside the superhero personas. Women I've noticed have tended to fare better, such as Linda Carter in "Wonder Woman" (Though I admit the last thing I've seen her in was "Sky High" and she makes an off handed reference to that persona - "I'm not Wonder Woman you know" (She plays a principal in that story).
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Post by herald7 on May 13, 2011 22:49:18 GMT -5
Let's just say the only girl who stays in his life is Della Street. Yeah I figured, lol. I'm a big Law & Order fan, which is pretty much always from the prosecution's side, so it's interesting watching Perry Mason which is the defense attorney's point of view (shows how pop culture has changed over the years). Both are very formulaic shows, but in a good way. You anticipate and look forward to certain moments. I did like one part in the episode called The Case of the Shooting Star where one of the characters asks Paul Drake if he really thinks the defendent is innocent. And he says, "I think so....Perry Mason thinks so." As if that pretty much says it all! Hehe ;D
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Post by prometheus74 on May 14, 2011 22:07:42 GMT -5
I've never actually seen any of the Perry Mason episodes that William katt guest-starred in. I'll have to remember to check those out!
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Post by herald7 on May 15, 2011 8:31:06 GMT -5
I've never actually seen any of the Perry Mason episodes that William katt guest-starred in. I'll have to remember to check those out! Yeah I'd definitely recommend checking them out. I mean granted, Perry Mason lives in a bizarre universe where every defendent is always a friend who's been framed, the police are always incompetent fools, the prosecutors blood thirsty jerks, and in the end the guilty party always stands up in court and says, "OK I did it! I did it!" Not to mention for some reason Paul Drake Jr. looks a lot more like Della Street than Paul Drake, half the time I keep thinking he's her son! (hehe ). But there's still something rather comforting watching the gang get the job done. Like I said it's a nice change from the prosecution always being right on Law & Order, hehe. Paul Drake Jr. does actually have a couple of very sweet moments in the "Case of the Notorious Nun" episode, which was a nice contrast from his usual sarcasm, hehe.
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Post by prometheus74 on May 16, 2011 23:19:38 GMT -5
So Perry Mason was a bit of a precursor to Ben Matlock? ;D
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Post by prometheus74 on May 16, 2011 23:22:29 GMT -5
By the way, Herald7, you might find it interesting to know that I happen to live in the city where the actor who played Perry Mason-----Raymond Burr-----was born, and where he is buried: New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, which is a suburb of Vancouver. I visited his grave once----it is located only about two miles from my home.
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Post by MelMac on May 17, 2011 14:33:47 GMT -5
So Perry Mason was a bit of a precursor to Ben Matlock? ;D Yes, because the original "Mason" series was in the 1960s while Matlock was in 1980s. That said I think at the time the movies came to be only Burr and Hale were still alive from the original cast. The original Drake died sometime during or shortly after the original series, the actor who played Hamilton had died (though I think David Odgen Stiers did a brilliant job playing Mason's foil in the movies as a variation of Hamilton), and I think the others such as officers and the like had passed away or too old to do the stories. The thing that gets me to this day was even more shocking - they filmed a couple without Burr - one totally as he died before it was filmed. From reading, apparently Hale was incensed (rightfully so - What's Mason without Perry Mason?) that she made it where Della quit the firm and left after that one. And yes, they are not good at all - you needed the Perry Mason character, and while it was difficult to recast the role, they should've just not made the movies if Burr was unavailable for whatever reason.
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Post by herald7 on May 17, 2011 23:03:49 GMT -5
Cool! Yeah I really enjoy his performance as well. Somehow both charismatic yet understated at the same time. ;D
Yeah I have to agree. It's such an iconic character, there's not much point in trying to do a show without him. I know they say "the show must go on" but sometimes it's just not the same show. ; )
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Post by prometheus74 on May 18, 2011 21:36:38 GMT -5
Yes, because the original "Mason" series was in the 1960s while Matlock was in 1980s. Yes, I'm indeed aware of that. ;D I guess what I meant was that Perry Mason served as inspiration for the creators of the Matlock series.
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Post by MelMac on May 18, 2011 23:47:15 GMT -5
Yes, because the original "Mason" series was in the 1960s while Matlock was in 1980s. Yes, I'm indeed aware of that. ;D I guess what I meant was that Perry Mason served as inspiration for the creators of the Matlock series. I'm a bit literal as it is, but with a sunburn along just my knees... well, it's worse because I'm sore. But I do agree with you - I think Mason was an inspiration for Matlock, though Matlock tended to have more comedic scenes. Then again, the one thing I'll always remember is that "Matlock" was the first time I ever saw the actor who played Dr. Mark Sloan in "Diagnosis Murder" in a completely different role than I was used to. (I hate word censors... we get some really funny results here. )
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Post by herald7 on May 20, 2011 5:22:12 GMT -5
Was just listening to a podcast interview with William Katt on iTunes and someone called in saying they had really enjoyed him on Perry Mason, much more than the guy who replaced him, hehe. Of course William was very gracious and said the other actor was just as good. But the caller did point out that it seemed like Katt's Paul Drake Jr. character got knocked around a lot more, lol. I actually had wondered earlier if that was perhaps a remnant of his Ralph persona, audiences expecting to see him be a little clumsy but triumphant in the end, lol.
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Post by MelMac on May 20, 2011 9:27:23 GMT -5
I'd say poor Paul got knocked around a lot. In the stories (will not say what stories so I do not spoil too bad), he was hit over the head with a vase, got shot in the leg, punched up a bit, run off the road over a short cliff (not killed), kicked where the sun don't shine... not to mention climbing outside the second/third story of a mansion, running around in a mall, and a few other things. Basically Paul Drake Jr. was the antithesis of his father in the original series. Wouldn't say he was quite clumsy, just a lot of times caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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Post by herald7 on May 20, 2011 10:22:04 GMT -5
Wouldn't say he was quite clumsy, just a lot of times caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yeah you're right, clumsy's not the word. More like em...unfortunate? Like with Charlie Brown, there's nothing exactly 'wrong' with him, more like the victim of a crazy world, lol. Not all the time of course, we know Paul's always going to find a way in the end. But there's something very endearing about that characterization. He's not some distant, all powerful super hero that you can't identify with. Instead you think, "You know, that would probably happen to me too." Lol. But he doesn't give up.
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Post by herald7 on Jun 3, 2011 20:51:34 GMT -5
Yay! I managed to find an old VHS (U.S. region) of one of the episodes, "Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love!" My father enjoyed it, though he thought there were times when they explained the plot points a little too much, lol. It took him a second to recognize William Katt (we've also been watching GAH, hehe) but then he said, "Oh yes the hair's different; more of a mullet." Lol
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Post by herald7 on Jun 29, 2011 21:36:01 GMT -5
Yeah I just saw that one, lol, and...SPOILER
I will say, after watching so many of these specials, I could tell immediately what was going to happen, lol. It was like, "Shadow of a guy walking down the hall...possibly has curly hair...about to meet with an unfortunate accident...You know, we haven't seen Paul Drake yet this episode...Gee I wonder how this will end!" Lol
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Post by MelMac on Jun 29, 2011 22:26:56 GMT -5
There were two stories that I could tell what was going to happen to Drake during the course of action - the vase and then later in another story where you seriously worry that Drake is going to die. BTW, congrats on the promotion to Agent and three stars. When you get to 500 I think you'll go up to four stars and superhero.
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Post by herald7 on Jun 30, 2011 12:21:26 GMT -5
There were two stories that I could tell what was going to happen to Drake during the course of action - the vase and then later in another story where you seriously worry that Drake is going to die. BTW, congrats on the promotion to Agent and three stars. When you get to 500 I think you'll go up to four stars and superhero. Are you talking about the nun episode or a different one? Ooo I hadn't noticed, yay I'm an Agent, what an awesome scenario. ;D
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