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Perry Mason: The Case of the Wandering Widow (1960)
Gilbert Gives Paul Drake The Business
It was amusing to see the same brat Gilbert who was always getting Beaver in trouble on Leave It To Beaver, on a differt show. He is still being an annoying brat when he takes a shot at Paul Drake at the end of this episode.
Another amusing moment occurred that reminded me of another old TV show. When Lieutenant Tragg is on the stand he is presented with a "mulage" of shoe prints which are key to the case. I could not help but be reminded of the Andy Griffith Show when the farmer was having a plague of cow thefts from his farm. When the state man comes to help the investigation he asks Barney if a mulage had been made. Barney replied "No we decided to keep it quiet and not make a big mulage out of it.
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes: The Problem of Thor Bridge (1991)
Mark Twain Gone Bad
In this episode a grouchy American who looks like Mark Twain having a rough day, tries to bully Holmes while wanting to free his governess. This is a great episode. It has everything from the hot blooded Brazilian wife to the young beautiful innocent governess accused of killing the wife. The only thing unbelievable is that the two women would fall so hard for such a rude grouch. Of course he is the gold king so I guess that has something to do with his magnetism.
I also found it humorous that the ugly American had been a senator of some western state. I guess those states out west aren't very discriminating when it comes to electing senators. Present day Missouri comes to mind.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Crooked Man (1984)
A Great Bar
The best thing about this episode was the bar that Holmes and Watson found the crooked man doing tricks. Everybody was happy and singing. All the women were beautiful. They were all so happy they weren't even put off by the odd appearance of the magician. Watson seemed to enjoy the place, but Holmes gave a frown.
The work done by Holmes was not that important as when the dead mans wife woke up she would have told the story to the police and both she and the crooked man would have been absolved of any suspicion of the colonel"s death.
Endeavour: Ride (2016)
An American Tune
The highlight of this convoluted episode was to hear the Velvet Underground's lovely song "Sunday Morning" playing as Morse meets his new friends. I also noticed that all the rock songs from this show is from American artists. The Velvet Underground, The Electric Prunes, The 13th Floor Elevators, Herb Alpert, and Julie London. When you add that the story is influenced from the American novel "The Great Gatsby", I would have to say this episode is more influenced by America than Oxford.
Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fetish (1965)
Fay Wray Gets Around
The most interesting thing about this episode was that Fay Wray seems to be friends with Hamilton Burger and Perry Mason. Thats pretty good work for a washed up actress now doing a voodo act. As a matter of fact its kind of intimated that Burger gave Fay Wray's son a job just from having the hots for his mother. Otherwise it is kind of a silly episode. Perry looks uncomfortable doing his Napoleon act with his arm under his coat due to some kind of injury.
Lewis: Counter Culture Blues (2009)
Midsomer Revisited
A few years before Midsomer Murders did a similar plot and did it much better. While I'm a big fan of Midsomer Murders, imitation is not the best form of flattery. Lewis is a more serious show and the multiple murders and bizarre situations is just not its cup of tea.
Lewis: The Quality of Mercy (2009)
Shakespeare For Lewis
As a big fan of the Morse series, I have been watching the Lewis series in the order in which they originally appeared. This episode is my favorite thus far. A story on Shakespearean actors is a natural for the Oxford based Lewis. They even give a passing mention of Timon Of Athens which a great overlooked Shakespeare play.
The only small complaint I have about this one is ease in which Hathaway got the insurance fraud duo to admit to their crime after only a few polite questions. Even more bizarre was the man admitting to the hit and run of Lewis' wife after 5 years of keeping it concealed. Again this happened after only a few questions. With criminals like that anybody could become a detective. Otherwise it was a great show.
Perry Mason: The Case of the Garrulous Go-Between (1964)
Miss Landers Wants To Teach A Lesson
The main attraction for this episode is the beautiful, girl next door looks of Sue Randall who was Beaver's big crush. Even normally cool and aloof Paul seems smitten. This was a good episode, easy to follow and an instance that Perry's client wasn't a complete nut case.
Perry Mason: The Case of the Absent Artist (1962)
Two Headed Monster
This was a great episode. First we have King Tut rolling his eyes reputing everything as a worst case stereo type beatnik. The female beatnik was Spock's bride, she must have been told that artistic types don't act because she just wandered around muttering. Then we have Zasu Pitts who was a kind of den mother to this crew. Incidently she was the model for the cartoon character Olive Oyl of Popeye fame. Roll all of this into a comic strip killing and it made for an easy to follow interesting episode.
The Mortal Storm (1940)
As Subtle As A Sledgehammer
I guess when this film was made there might have been some dim witted Americans who were indifferent about the politics of Germany. In that instance this film does its job in showing the world what was going on in Germany. With the luxury of hindsight this film comes off as a heavy handed propaganda piece. It was important to be made at the time but now it is dated.
The Waltons: The Conflict (1974)
Hillbillies
What a horrible episode. This one made the Waltons look like ignorant inbred hillbillies. They try and kill the law enforcement people who are only doing their job. Other episodes portrayed the Waltons as law abiding mountain people. Kind of like a mountain version of the Cartwrights. This one must have used a different writer or something.
Perry Mason: The Case of the Flighty Father (1960)
Dr. Bellows Having Escapades
For some reason I think the idea of Dr. Bellows having escapades is hilarious. I wonder if his escapades involved Major Nelson. Perry's client is so screechy and annoying it's no wonder her father cut out years ago if her Mother had a similar personality. It's funny how runaway Fathers don't mind coming back when their daughter inherits millions of dollars.
I See a Dark Stranger (1946)
Bigotry And Predjudice are not very entertaining
Deborah Kerr is great as always as a young terrorist. She never really follows through with the creepy characters she gets involved with. However, she is never really reformed either. It's almost like we need Bono to come in and explain to her what the true Irish position should be.
Midsomer Murders: Judgement Day (2000)
My Favorite Episode
I will have to give Joyce credit for making this my favorite episode of the series. When she is on the telephone describing to Tom how crazy her fellow judges are, it makes me realize the best episodes are the ones that include Tom's whole family.
Perry Mason: The Case of the Blushing Pearls (1959)
Mr. Sulu Would Be Out In Real Life
If this was real life Grove would have dropped his girlfriend like a rock when he finds out the dirty trick she played on Mitsou. Also as much as I hate to say it Mitsou would have dropped Sulu and gone back to Grove. After all he is rich and with his father going to jail the money is now in his hands. As much as we all love Mr. Sulu he was just the book keeper.
Midsomer Murders: Last Man Out (2017)
Captain Jack Will Take You Home Tonight
Yes Captain Jack turns out to be the much loved Ben Jones. It was great to see him again and Barnaby's reaction to him. The cricket angle was lost on me because I really don't understand the traditional game of cricket much less this bizarre version. Seeing Dallas style cheerleaders and other modern stuff in the village was funny.
Perry Mason: The Case of the Murderous Mermaid (1965)
Is Perry Even There?
This might be the only episode of Perry Mason where Paul has more dialogue than Perry. I was beginning to wonder if Perry was going to make an appearance at all. I guess his injured shoulder was hurting him so they filmed an episode that Perry doesn't have to say or do much.
Perry Mason: The Case of the Elusive Element (1963)
I am a little world
This is one of the best episodes of the whole series. It's clever, easy to follow and believable. My only concern is about the future of the absent minded professor and the bad guys widow. We know the professor is scatter brained so he needs a sharp focused woman to keep him on track. We also know that the widow is a bit flakey herself for being stupid enough to marry the creep she did. The professor would do better to hook up with Miss Clover. She is single, smart and better looking than the widow woman.
Midsomer Murders: The Sleeper Under the Hill (2011)
New Dawn Fades
I liked this episode with its usual great scenery, music and well written murder mystery. This episode had one feature that appears often in this series. A man pretty much living in the woods. Does that really happen often in England or is it just a plot device. In America we have homeless people but they are usually in cities. The feral human living in the woods like John The Baptist is a very rare occurrence here.
Midsomer Murders: Fit for Murder (2011)
Much Better Than The Final Morse Episode
The whole time I was watching this episode, I was so afraid that the writers were going to let Tom die like they did Inspector Morse. I was certainly happy when they allowed Tom to solve the case and ride off into the sunset with his family. Tom Barnaby was a happy family man, while Morse was a gloomy loner. It is only fitting that Tom should have a happy retirement. Eating his cake.
Midsomer Murders: The Glitch (2009)
Daisy, Daisy Continued
Gromitnyc wrote on a previous review about the song Daisy, Daisy being sung in this episode. I also thought about it being an homage to the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the Kubrick film HAL the computer sings the song as he is being deactivated (killed). In this episode it is sung before a possible murder is about to happen. Also HAL must be killed because he developed a glitch in his system.
The only part I found strange is that in 2001 HAL sings the lyric as a bicycle built for two. Which is how I was taught the song as a child.. In this episode the choir sings it as a bicycle made for two.
Midsomer Murders: Last Year's Model (2006)
Dear Prudence
A slightly different episode that has Barnaby second guessing himself in court, all the while making goo goo eyes with a friend psychiatrist named Pru. I'm assuming her full name is Prudence as I've never heard of anyone being named Pru. I enjoyed this episode. I must not be a true romantic, because I think Mr. Trevelyan at the end should have avoided the unstable Annie. First of all she lied various times to the police, even though she had committed no crime. The biggest reason to wonder about her judgement is that she had married that creep Lance.
Perry Mason: The Case of the Positive Negative (1966)
"I Love That Old Ramrod"
This episode was pretty interesting. My guess as the killer was Mayor Stoner from the Andy Griffith Show. Of course he was too obvious with his snarling voice and gritting teeth. The case against the General was not very strong and Burger seemed less than enthusiastic about the outcome of the trial.
Hot Summer Night (1957)
Leslie Nielsen Plays It Straight
It's hard to watch a young Leslie Nielsen play a straight role in a drama. He does a good job here. The plot was a little bit unbelievable, but the actors all do a good job, except for the wife who seems to have been picked for this role because she is pretty. The townspeople were kind of like the town in Columbia where Pablo Escabar lived. They knew their local guy was a crook but he was their crook and didn't need any outside people to tell them that.
Perry Mason: The Case of the Perjured Parrot (1958)
Uncle Joe And A Parrot
This episode may have been the funniest Perry Mason, but it was hard to take it seriously. First of all we have Uncle Joe from Petticoat Junction sort of conducting an inquest but not doing too good of a job. We then have good ole Mr. Wilson from Dennis The Menace trying to be a crime expert who ended up being just as inept as Mr. Wilson was at dealing with Dennis. The whole story was crazy and Mel Blanc topped it off as the voice of a parrot that didn't move his mouth half the time. I'll say this, it was entertaining.