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Interesting.
Jul. 19th, 2011 01:42 pmI don't think I ever quite realized how fiercely loyal I am to the cast of the classic Perry Mason until the other day when I attempted, out of utter curiosity, to watch a clip or two of The New Perry Mason from the seventies. I found the theme sequence completely dull, except for having some of the writing on book bindings. And I just couldn't wrap my mind around the actors playing Perry and Mr. Burger. They were fine as far as their acting went; I just couldn't comprehend them as those characters. The only episode of that show that I want to see is the one with Simon ... and of course I haven't been able to find it.
I also have no interest in the TV movies from the eighties and nineties. True, the original cast was present ... about two-fifths of it! Everyone else, sadly, was dead. They had to bring in someone to play Paul Drake's son (also named Paul), and I thought they said in-canon that Paul was dead. And sacrilege, in one of the movies they had someone else play Hamilton Burger! I can't picture Raymond Burr's Perry interacting with another man's Mr. Burger; that character was brought to life by William Talman. I have to admit, I'm morbidly curious to see how that went, but I'm sure I would groan and moan and find it not the same at all.
So I concluded that I am fiercely loyal to the cast as it was on the classic show, during the golden seasons: Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, William Hopper, William Talman, and Ray Collins. I'm curious about portrayals prior to this era, in movies and on the radio, but I doubt they had the same amazing qualities as the TV show. The original books kind of portrayed the characters as two (or one) dimensional archetypes, from what I've heard. It was the TV show cast that really fleshed them out over the years. And there was just such an amazing chemistry between Perry and Mr. Burger; I am endlessly fascinated by their interaction. I doubt the books had that, especially since the author detested Mr. Burger. He made Mr. Burger basically the stereotypical prosecuting attorney with an axe to grind. William Talman, by contrast, made the character so human.
I've somewhat wanted to write at least one fanfic, especially since it seems no one has tried to explore Mr. Burger or his relationship with Perry, but I've never had any ideas. An idea did just pop into my mind a short time ago, which would pretty much be an update of one of my standard ideas done over for the Perry Mason fandom. It would involve Mr. Burger being found dead ... or at least, everyone thinks it's Mr. Burger. In actuality, he would be on the run and trying to get back to Los Angeles from somewhere else. I have no idea who would want him dead (probably plenty of crooks) or how anything would pan out. And I doubt I would actually write it. But I wanted to get a record of it down so I wouldn't forget.
I also did have a vague thought of writing an AU for Misguided Missile where Caldwell is not the one to die, but I really doubt that would get written. I just don't care for AUs and in general find them a waste of time to write, since my mind is occupied with thinking "This isn't the way it really was and I'll never be able to fully enjoy writing this because of that knowledge." Plus, since the trial was a court-martial, Mr. Burger wouldn't be around.
Meanwhile, instead of pondering on these things, I need to get back to other topics, such as chapter 5 of the Kolchak fic and chapter 3 of the Schrank fic.
I also have no interest in the TV movies from the eighties and nineties. True, the original cast was present ... about two-fifths of it! Everyone else, sadly, was dead. They had to bring in someone to play Paul Drake's son (also named Paul), and I thought they said in-canon that Paul was dead. And sacrilege, in one of the movies they had someone else play Hamilton Burger! I can't picture Raymond Burr's Perry interacting with another man's Mr. Burger; that character was brought to life by William Talman. I have to admit, I'm morbidly curious to see how that went, but I'm sure I would groan and moan and find it not the same at all.
So I concluded that I am fiercely loyal to the cast as it was on the classic show, during the golden seasons: Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, William Hopper, William Talman, and Ray Collins. I'm curious about portrayals prior to this era, in movies and on the radio, but I doubt they had the same amazing qualities as the TV show. The original books kind of portrayed the characters as two (or one) dimensional archetypes, from what I've heard. It was the TV show cast that really fleshed them out over the years. And there was just such an amazing chemistry between Perry and Mr. Burger; I am endlessly fascinated by their interaction. I doubt the books had that, especially since the author detested Mr. Burger. He made Mr. Burger basically the stereotypical prosecuting attorney with an axe to grind. William Talman, by contrast, made the character so human.
I've somewhat wanted to write at least one fanfic, especially since it seems no one has tried to explore Mr. Burger or his relationship with Perry, but I've never had any ideas. An idea did just pop into my mind a short time ago, which would pretty much be an update of one of my standard ideas done over for the Perry Mason fandom. It would involve Mr. Burger being found dead ... or at least, everyone thinks it's Mr. Burger. In actuality, he would be on the run and trying to get back to Los Angeles from somewhere else. I have no idea who would want him dead (probably plenty of crooks) or how anything would pan out. And I doubt I would actually write it. But I wanted to get a record of it down so I wouldn't forget.
I also did have a vague thought of writing an AU for Misguided Missile where Caldwell is not the one to die, but I really doubt that would get written. I just don't care for AUs and in general find them a waste of time to write, since my mind is occupied with thinking "This isn't the way it really was and I'll never be able to fully enjoy writing this because of that knowledge." Plus, since the trial was a court-martial, Mr. Burger wouldn't be around.
Meanwhile, instead of pondering on these things, I need to get back to other topics, such as chapter 5 of the Kolchak fic and chapter 3 of the Schrank fic.
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