Not your Grandparents Perry Mason

Book hangovers: That pervasive sense of loss and/or wanting more after completing a book or book series.

I’ve experienced this more than I’d probably care to admit. Every time I finish a Jim Butcher book. The first time I read the Harry Potter series. Book five’s was acute. American Gods. The Cormoran Strike series.

I’ll stop, so I won’t bore you with a scrolling list. But I think you get the idea. Anyone else with me? Since I can neither hear nor see you, I will assume some heads are nodding as you read this.

Movies can also cause the same feeling of loss and desire for more content. Not as frequently anymore, but they still have the power to wield. Back to the Future. Indiana Jones. I always get the hangover from those two in particular.

It is rarer, at least for me, to have the feeling come from T.V. I think the Zeitgeist is still reeling with the feeling over Game of Thrones. I tried to avoid a case from The Witcher but failed miserably. What do you think the wait is now for a new season? 2022? Ugh. It seems like a year and a half since I watched the first season of The Witcher. It was January. Maybe February.

I find myself right back in hangover mode. Sometimes you can see it or feel it coming. I knew with The Witcher, I was in for it. That show ticked a lot of boxes. A lot. But the show that’s currently got me tied up in knots, Perry Mason, I didn’t see it coming.

I’m talking about the latest iteration on HBO. Not the series from the late 50s. Although the two are based on the same source material, I wonder if the older series would reduce my current hangover—something to think about.

Adam and I don’t typically binge watch shows. But we did with this. We, in retrospect, should have paced ourselves. Perhaps then, we wouldn’t be having such a hard time finding another show to fill the gaping void in our T.V. schedule.

We had caught a commercial for the crusading lawyer’s newest reimagining before a recorded episode of Last Week Tonight. Usually, commercials give the whole damn thing away in 60 seconds. With Perry Mason, the advertising agency opted not to do that. They gave just enough away to insist we at least watch the first episode. So, we did.

Perry Mason is played this time around by Matthew Rhys of The Americans’ fame. He’s not an established lawyer but rather as a down on his luck, emotionally handicapped private investigator. And that’s not a great place to be in Depression-era California. Well, Depression-era anywhere.

But, he’s down on his luck, not out of it entirely. He is supported by long time friends E.B Johnson, played by John Lithgow, and Pete Strickland, played by Shea Wingham. They, along with E.B.’s Girl Friday and aspiring later Della Street (Juliet Rylance) and police officer Paul Drake (Chris Chalk), must get to the bottom of the city’s most gruesome murder.

I knew next to nothing about the original show, and had no clue there was a book series. But watching this first season makes me want to put the books on my ever-growing to-read list. I wouldn’t mind watching a few older show episodes, although I’m not sure the same magic would exist there. HBO’s version does make a point to poke fun at the popular 50s show. But who knows, maybe lightning will strike twice if the content is available somewhere.

So, if you’re looking for something new to try, I’d recommend getting your hands on season one of Perry Mason. There will be a second season, but I have not seen anything with actual dates. Ugh, why isn’t there an air date?

Anyone have suggestions to cure this hangover?