Perry Mason

Hallmark ran a Perry Mason marathon last weekend, and I recorded a half dozen episodes. Here are some of my observations:

• Miranda had not been invented yet
• Perry was not above bending the law
• I can't decide whether he was chivalrous or chauvinist
• He liked to contaminate crime scenes
• Dr. Gilbert (Gil) Grissom would have a conniption if he saw how Mason conducted his own pre-notifying the police investigation of the scene.
• Criminals had a conscience back then; they were always confessing on the stand.
• Finally, everything was black and white.