The New Perry Mason

The New Perry Mason is a CBS TV series that ran from 1973 to 1974. It was a revival of the 1957 Perry Mason television series about Erle Stanley Gardner's brilliant defense attorney.

The New Perry Mason
GenreLegal drama
Created byErle Stanley Gardner
Written byErnie Frankel
Erle Stanley Gardner
Directed byMurray Golden
Arthur Marks
Michael O'Herlihy
E. W. Swackhamer
StarringMonte Markham
ComposerEarle H. Hagen
Country of originUS
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes15
Production
Executive producerCornwell Jackson
ProducersErnie Frankel
Art Seid
Running time60 mins.
Production companiesPaisano Productions
20th Century Fox Television
Release
Original networkCBS
Original releaseSeptember 16, 1973 (1973-09-16) –
January 20, 1974 (1974-01-20)
Chronology
Preceded byPerry Mason (1957–66)
Followed byPerry Mason television films (1985–95)

Plot

All of the major characters of the original series appeared in the revival, along with Gertie, a receptionist seldom seen in the original (and played by Connie Cezon on the few occasions when she was), and the plots and their devices were along the lines of the original. The familiar theme song of the original, "Park Avenue Beat," was replaced by a generic dramatic fanfare.

Cast

Production

Development

While several production personnel had worked on the original Perry Mason series (including executive producer Cornwell Jackson, producers Ernie Frankel and Art Seid, and director Arthur Marks), the series was made without the participation of any members of the original cast, with Monte Markham taking over the role that Raymond Burr played in the original series. Produced by 20th Century Fox Television, it aired Sundays at 7:30 pm (EST) on CBS, the same network which had aired the original series, during the 1973–74 season. A total of 15 episodes were produced and aired.

Cancellation

This revival was cancelled at midseason, after failing to overtake NBC's The Wonderful World of Disney and ABC's The F.B.I. in the ratings in its Sunday night time slot. It ranked 71st out of 80 shows airing that season, with a 13.1 household rating.[1] It was soon replaced by Apple's Way.

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"The Case of the Horoscope Homicide"Leo PennOrville H. HamptonSeptember 16, 1973 (1973-09-16)
A distraught widow is accused of murdering her astrologer husband, a conniving stargazer whose fortunes controlled the fortune of a cosmetics tycoon.
2"The Case of the Prodigal Prophet"Robert DayGerry DaySeptember 23, 1973 (1973-09-23)
A young religious crusader's past in pornography leads to him being blackmailed for $100,000 and eventually charged with murder.
3"The Case of the Ominous Oath"John Llewellyn MoxeyTBASeptember 30, 1973 (1973-09-30)
A mechanic, is defended by Mason in his retrial for the murder of a prominent physician. The first trial ended in a hung jury that voted 11-to-1 to convict.
4"The Case of the Wistful Widower"Leo PennErnie Frankel,
Orville H. Hampton		October 7, 1973 (1973-10-07)
When two men, one wanted by the law and the other by a crime syndicate killer, exchange identities, the result is murder.
5"The Case of the Telltale Trunk"Arthur MarksRobert W. LenskiOctober 14, 1973 (1973-10-14)
When the body of a missing millionaire, dead more than four years, turns up in Hong Kong, Mason is called upon to defend the man who admits planning the murder as a morbid joke.
6"The Case of the Deadly Deeds"Arthur MarksTBAOctober 21, 1973 (1973-10-21)
Mason defends a big-time gambler on a murder charge, with complications setting in when Mason must also defend his client in an action for custody of his daughter.
7"The Case of the Murdered Murderer"Lee MaddenGerry DayOctober 28, 1973 (1973-10-28)
Perry is hard-pressed to prove the innocence of his client, a brilliant inventor, when he is discovered standing over a dead man with a knife in his hand.
8"The Case of the Furious Father"Jeannot SzwarcDavid P. HarmonNovember 11, 1973 (1973-11-11)
Lt. Tragg is on both sides of a murder case when he must arrest one of his men for murder, followed by his request to Mason to give him the best defense possible
9"The Case of the Cagey Cager"Michael O'HerlihyOrville H. HamptonNovember 25, 1973 (1973-11-25)
Mugged in a crowded parking lot by an ex-basketball player who once had a million-dollar future, Mason turns around to defend the young man when he's charged with murder.
10"The Case of the Jailed Justice"Murray GoldenErnie Frankel,
Orville H. Hampton		December 2, 1973 (1973-12-02)
A Los Angeles judge with a reputation for being tough is arrested for poisoning his wheeler-dealer son-in-law, and then tries to tell Mason how to conduct his defense.
11"The Case of the Spurious Spouse"E. W. SwackhamerLarry AlexanderDecember 9, 1973 (1973-12-09)
A Vietnamese girl (Irene Tsu) is charged with murdering a man she claims is her husband.
12"The Case of the Frenzied Feminist"Murray GoldenLou ShawDecember 16, 1973 (1973-12-16)
Mason defends the fiery and beautiful editor of a women's liberation magazine on a charge of murdering a publisher who gave her job to another woman.
13"The Case of the Perilous Pen"E. W. SwackhamerDonn MullallyDecember 30, 1973 (1973-12-30)
After an author, who wrote a book exposing the crime of a politician, winds up dead, his publisher asks for Mason's help with the case.
14"The Case of the Tortured Titan"Michael O'HerlihyS. Bar-David,
Ernie Frankel,
Orville H. Hampton		January 13, 1974 (1974-01-13)
A chance meeting with a beautiful young girl leads Mason to become her defense attorney when she's arrested for murder.
15"The Case of the Violent Valley"Herb WallersteinWilliam BastJanuary 20, 1974 (1974-01-20)
The kidnapping of Mason's young counsel from the courtroom complicates his attempt to gain a fair trial for a man accused of murdering a hated ranch foreman in a rural California town.

References
  1. http://www.thetvratingsguide.com/2019/12/1973-74-tv-ratings-history.html
Preceded by
Wild Kingdom
1973		 The New Perry Mason
Super Bowl lead-out program
1974		 Succeeded by
The Wonderful World of Disney
1975
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