In recent years, Paramount finally began to release Perry Mason on DVD. At long last, the classic detective series starring the legendary Raymond Burr was getting a long-overdue series release. Unfortunately, Paramount seems to have stopped churning out the season sets, following the latter half of the second. Rather than releasing the much-wanted Season Three set, they have now released a 4-disc set covering “the best of” episodes beyond the second. ***

Episodes included in the 4-disc set range from the third season on. Discs 1-3 contain the following episodes: The Case of the Wary Wildcatter, The Case of the Treacherous Toupee, The Case of the Envious Editor, The Case of the Barefaced Witness, The Case of the Counterfit Crank, The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe, The Case of the Constant Doyle, The Case of the Deadly Verdict, The Case of the Bountiful Beauty, The Case of the Twice-Told Twist, The Face of the Dead Ringer, and The Case of the Final Fade-Out. Twelve episodes total. The fourth disc is devoted to special features. More on that later. ***

It's tough to review a release like this. I'm one of those guys that falls into the camp of “hurry up and release the season sets, not best-of packages!” Still, Despite my disappointment that Paramount still hasn't put out the third season, this is actually a very well-done best-of compilation. It's tough to represent the latter seasons in so limited a number of episodes, but as far as this stuff goes, Paramount chose the best possible ones out there. It's no substitute for complete season releases, but it's well put-together and features some classic material. Guest stars in these episodes include Burt Reynolds, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Redford, James Coburn, Bette Davis, Adam West, and Dick Clark. ***

Should you buy this set? It's hard to say, since we don't know for sure yet if Paramount plans to release the complete series on DVD eventually. If you're a casual fan of the series and don't want to lay down the cash for every last season (if they even get released), this will make for a fine alternative. Die-hard fans may want to hold off and see if a complete series release is on the horizon. But even those die-hards may want to consider picking the set up for the sake of the bonus features. ---

Image And Sound:

As with the season sets of Perry Mason, the production quality that went into this DVD transfer is incredible. The image quality is solid, with as little grain or blemishes as possible. It's as good as a show this old could possibly look. Sound quality is on par with the season sets, presented in the original mono.

Even if you're a die-hard fan and already started buying the season sets, this compilation is worth picking up just for the bonus material - there's a ton of it here, including plenty of rare stuff. There are vintage interviews with the cast and crew, including an interview with Raymond Burr at his home, showing off some of the unusual artifacts and pets he keeps around the place, as well as one with William Tallman speaking out against the dangers of smoking, episode introductions by Barbara Hale that reveal a good deal about the episodes (including little-known facts and what guest stars will be making an appearance. Arthur Marks also makes an appearance in some of these), rarely-seen screen tests featuring the actors (for the die-hard Perry Mason fans out there, these are worth the price of admission alone), a photo gallery chronicling various moments of the series spanned in this set, and even a rare clip from Stump the Stars, a little-known game show from the old days on which the show's cast appeared. Perhaps most notable, though, is the inclusion of the Perry Mason Returns TV movie from 1985. As this movie had not been included in any of the season sets released thus far, it's about damn time it got some type of a DVD release! The image and sound quality on these bonus features is all over the place - for instance, it's clear that the much more recent Returns movie didn't get the remastering treatment the actual episodes did - and thus despite being much newer, it is in far worse shape. It's not known if any of this stuff will be put into subsequent season sets for the die-hards who don't want to buy a compilation featuring some episodes they already own, or even if there will be later season sets, but anyone who is a big fan of the series will want this set for the bonuses alone.

Final Words: