Perry Mason (HBO miniseries)

[Dr. Seymour Love]

First ep was great. Love the period setting. Dead baby close up was freaky.

[Jay H.]

I watched the first episode. Well-made, well-acted, not for me. I don't mind darkness and dreariness in TV series, but that's ALL it was for an hour. I can't imagine watching a show like this each week.

(A quick message to HBO: just because you can get away with graphic content doesn't always mean you always should. Seriously, what was the point of

[Show spoiler]the graphic sex scene with Perry and that woman whose name I forget?)

[ianungstad]

The pilot was gorgeous and the show is likely to be nominated for a slew of technical awards but otherwise it felt glossy and empty. The dialogue and performances are too understated for me. Narrative is also purposely confusing and not very compelling.

Unless it markedly improves it's more for people who have a fetish for vintage reproductions.

[hoejunter]

Really enjoyed the first episode. Now that we’ve established who the characters are I hope it picks up the further into the season we go.

Is this just a one and done series?

[SilverFox84]

Originally Posted by Jay H.

I watched the first episode. Well-made, well-acted, not for me. I don't mind darkness and dreariness in TV series, but that's ALL it was for an hour. I can't imagine watching a show like this each week.

Agreed, looked wonderful and well-acted. But i found the whole thing ultimately dull. Felt they spent far too long trying to know Mason but unfortunately it means we find out he leads a pretty dull life. Also when it finally got to the case itself they revealed those involved far too soon. I would have preferred discovering these things along with Mason as he pieces the clues together.

[McCrutchy]

I guess I'll be the odd man out here and say that I didn't find much to like in the first episode. Rhys is fine, I guess, but he seems a bit too modern (and too fond of the word "f**k") for 1931, and the episode often struggled to convince me it was really that year and not a time like the 1950s or 1960s.

To that end, I'm also going to have to disagree about how "good" the show looks. Normally, the show looks as fine as other digitally-shot shows, meaning not particularly special, but when it uses CGI...well, it's just not good. The whole sequence with the light coming in from the "window" and then the "train" going past looked extremely amateurish and likewise, the "rear projection" shots during the car ride at night and the subsequent "location" shots weren't much better and made me pine for the days of entirely practical set decoration and backgrounds. The digital seams were pretty obvious in these shots, though I may have missed others, and I felt a real sense of embarrassment watching them, if I'm honest.

The only good thing for me was making the acquaintance of the lovely Veronica Falcón as Lupe. The scene where she literally

[Show spoiler]screwed Mason out of his bed

was most amusing and unexpected. So far, though, she seems much too good for Rhys' Mason and why she would be interested in him beyond carnal desires is mystifying. Really, the relationship just seems like some sort of "prize" Mason gets for being the main character on the show.

I gather this is based on books that apparently present a far different version of the Perry Mason character than the one we all came to know and love, or at least, used to come to know and love, in Raymond Burr on the TV series and the later TV films, and that is why I was hesitant to begin this miniseries. So far, Rhys has some pretty big shoes to fill, and he isn't filling them, but I'm willing to give this a couple more episodes to see what happens.

After the stunning Chernobyl in 2019, HBO have had a pretty mediocre 2020 so far, in my opinion. The Outsider was decent but probably too long, while I Know This Much Is True has been really tough-going and I haven't been able to finish it, yet. Now Perry Mason has initially disappointed, too. The only true highlight so far, from what I have watched, has been the amazing Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children documentary, although I haven't watched any of The Plot Against America, yet.

[El Rey]

Well I guess I will really be the odd man out and say that I am really digging the show so far and look forward to every Sunday

[Joeker]

Originally Posted by El Rey

Well I guess I will really be the odd man out and say that I am really digging the show so far and look forward to every Sunday

I shall join you on this.

[Dr. Seymour Love]

Stephen Root is great as always in this. Also his 'stache is amazing.

[mrjeff]

The show looks great, Lithgow and Root are the gems here, and I'm definitely in it till the end at this point, but I've got a few beefs with the writing: Perry has spent 2 episodes now learning what the audience already knows about the murder. This is tedious and not exciting. Perry's also the least interesting character. But after the end of Episode 4, I suspect he'll become a lot more front and center.

[Dr. Seymour Love]

I'm trying to figure out how they're going to make him into a lawyer.

[Dr. Seymour Love]

Good to see Gretchen Mol again, haven't seen her since I watched Boardwalk Empire.

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

This show started out just okay for me, but it's become a must watch now. There's a lot of moving parts which can be tricky to follow, but the introduction of courtroom stuff is magic.

[jay166]

I still haven't warmed to this as much as I would have hoped. I love the recreation of the period setting, I like the cast a lot as well... its just missing something, but I'm not sure what. I've not watched last weeks and this weeks episode as of this post and not much drive to continue... but I will finish this season. It would have to do something special to get me to watch another series of this though... each to their own I guess.

[bootsy]

The show started off kind of slow and a little uninspiring but since episode 3 this show is must watch TV for me.

[trevanian]

This show just keeps surprising me and topping itself. The lead is just beyond good, feels very committed, which fuels his character transition in a credible way. Really didn't think they'd turn him into a lawyer just like that, but it works.

Like the raw period look as opposed to glossy glamour of LA CONFID, appropriate for this era and this program, reminds me of a better-executed version of how CAST A DEADLY SPELL went very hot/rough with the look for L.A., but that low-budget HBO film actually ran out of money during shooting, leading them to abandon the climax! (Was supposed to have characters dangling into the creature pit, and instead they just went for gunplay because they were out of everything.)

[McCrutchy]

So after a break, I've now watched the first four episodes, and the series has gotten markedly better. Matthew Rhys seems to have found something of a groove, and John Lithgow looks more comfortable after getting quite a bit of screen time. I also think Tatiana Maslany, Stephen Root and Lili Taylor have given the show a huge boost, too. Even the CGI generally looks a bit better, though they're wisely limiting the more complex bits that can look somewhat artificial at times.

I will say that, so far, the pace might be a trifle slow, but I'm more than willing to finish the series.

And I still can't get enough of the bewitching Veronica Falcón as Lupe. So far, I really want to see her in the show more, but I'd still buy the Blu-ray just for her. Here's a really sensual photo she put on her Instagram account:

[Show spoiler]

[Dr. Seymour Love]

^^^^You should check her out on USA's Queen of the South, she dresses to the nines on that show.

[El Rey]

Loved this show one of my favorites of the year! Has a season 2 been announced yet?

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by Dr. Seymour Love

^^^^You should check her out on USA's Queen of the South, she dresses to the nines on that show.

Thanks, she looked gorgeous in that scarlet dress in (I think) episode three.