The one hundred and eighty-second TV show: #37 Perry Mason
While a lot of shows on this list are shows I just want to watch, just as many are to experience the history of TV and where things lead. Perry Mason is an early procedural, with a heavy bent, and one of the first hour long weekly shows on American TV - it seems like this was the year where they really started. At 40 episodes a week, that all seemed pretty intense as well. It's interesting to see how a number of traditions started, sometimes even out of necessity - starting off with some time without the regulars, instead showing the time before and after the crime, is something we see to set pu the show now, but was actually intended to give Raymond Burr some time off where otherwise he'd be in 98% of the episode.
The show is well written and feels well researched, but it also is of its time. The main thing where you notice is the pacing. There are some really interesting scenes, but there are some slow, unengaging sections in between that really seem to drag the show. The denoument happening in the courtroom is interesting enough, but it takes a while to get there and makes for another slower section of the slow. I'm not saying we need to end in an action filled chase, but it feels like other, later shows based on similar premises bring it some more things to keep your attention. It's why this was more of an interesting curiosity to watch, an insight into the TV shows of 65 years ago as the medium was developing, rather than something I could watch the full run of.