All the producers have done is used the name to encourage people to watch the show.
This is not the character of Perry Mason, who even in the 1930s, when the books first appeared, was not a detective. He was always an attorney.
Matthew Rhys is a wonderful actor, I love him, and this show is along the lines of a noir-type film like LA Confidential (another favorite of mine). Because it's HBO they've pulled out the stops on grossness, violence, foul language, and nudity. All of which are fine with me (except the grossness).
But watch the show for the above-described elements, not because you want to watch good old "Perry Mason" - this ain't it. I'm giving it a 5 because I resent the way they've just taken the name and not connected it to the Erl Stanley Gardner creation. Rhys as star and HBO budget and production values should have been enough to lure audiences in - with another title.
This is not the character of Perry Mason, who even in the 1930s, when the books first appeared, was not a detective. He was always an attorney.
Matthew Rhys is a wonderful actor, I love him, and this show is along the lines of a noir-type film like LA Confidential (another favorite of mine). Because it's HBO they've pulled out the stops on grossness, violence, foul language, and nudity. All of which are fine with me (except the grossness).
But watch the show for the above-described elements, not because you want to watch good old "Perry Mason" - this ain't it. I'm giving it a 5 because I resent the way they've just taken the name and not connected it to the Erl Stanley Gardner creation. Rhys as star and HBO budget and production values should have been enough to lure audiences in - with another title.