Perry Mason

THE TELEVISION shows of 45 years ago were fairly tame fare compared to what the networks and cable deliver today. But certainly when this medium was relatively new - and the arrival of a fresh set in the neighborhood was still something of a novelty - gathering around the black-and-white screen was an event. No more so for me than on Saturday evenings, when our family friend and neighbor played host for the "Perry Mason" show. Mr. Mason, of course, was the fictional attorney who defended the falsely charged against murder raps.

My favorite moment in Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings was when Judge Sotomayor spoke earnestly about being inspired by a particular episode of the classic TV series Perry Mason. Newly installed Minnesota Sen. Al Franken leaned into his microphone and deadpanned: "What was the one case in Perry Mason that [District Attorney Hamilton] Burger won?" His satire was so subtle, even Judge Sotomayor seemed caught off guard, addressing his question at first seriously and succinctly.

Let's say you were sitting there on the evening of Sept. 21, 1957, and caught the premiere on CBS of "Perry Mason," with a relatively slim Raymond Burr in the role of writer Erle Stanley Gardner's famous defense attorney.Could you have imagined that you might be sitting down to see Perry/Burr at work again tonight, in 1991, and in a ratings "sweeps" month to boot?Yet it's true, for NBC tonight has another movie-length return, "Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin" (at 8, Channel 2, also featuring the return of Peter "Newhart" Scolari)

NEW YORK - No matter the size of your paycheck, if you spend it, save and invest nothing and just add to your debt, your chances of a comfortable retirement are slim. In their book Girl, Make Your Money Grow!, Glinda Bridgeforth and Gail Perry-Mason have created a list of questions to ask yourself, if you're concerned that you might be a compulsive debtor: Does worry over debts keep you awake at night or interfere with your work? Do you get cash on your credit card to pay for rent or food?

You could call it "The Case of the Dogged Defender." Truly devoted mystery buffs may welcome a four-film run of "Perry Mason" movies airing Sunday on WNUV-Channel 54.Beginning at noon, the films include "Perry Mason Returns," "The Case of the Notorious Nun," "The Case of the Shooting Star," and "The Case of the Lost Love."So here are some trivia items from the case file on writer Erle Stanley Gardner's famous defense attorney:* The first movie came out in 1985, with Raymond Burr returning to the role 10 years after his successful 1967-75 run as wheelchair-bound police detective "Ironside."

The options tonight aren't many, but they're interesting.* "Barbarians at the Gate" (8-10 p.m., WBFF-Channel 45) -- James Garner is one of the two main reasons this HBO telemovie works. It's a docudrama -- actually, more of a docucomedy -- about a real-life hostile corporate takeover, and Mr. Garner's winning, easygoing acting has a lot to do with it.So does Larry Gelbart's script, which, except for some almost unavoidably clunky exposition, speeds along cleverly and crisply. It's an insider's view of the RJR Nabisco buyout, with Mr. Garner as CEO F. Ross Johnson.

At first, the "Perry Mason" script infuriated Geraldo Rivera. The plot: Self-aggrandizing talk show host is murdered for revealing his sexual conquests in a tell-all autobiography.Just more "Geraldo bashing," Mr. Rivera thought."They sent me the script. I said, 'Hell no.' My lawyer suggested we sue them. We were going to get real nasty and aggressive."What a difference a second reading makes.The author of the best-selling "Exposing Myself" decided he was overreacting to NBC's "Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo," which will be broadcast 8-10 p.m. tonight (WMAR, Channel 2)

A "Perry Mason" movie without Perry? It happens tonight, in what might be called "The Case of the Greedy Network Executives."* "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr." (8-9 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45) -- Brisco (Bruce Campbell) and Dixie (Kelly Rutherford) have their relationship tested by her former husband, who returns to woo Dixie away from Brisco -- and to the other side of the law. Fox.* "A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Wicked Wives" (9-11 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) -- I know the show must go on, but this is ridiculous.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Taking a page from a Perry Mason script, lawyers for Vice President Al Gore turned an expert witness for Texas Gov. George W. Bush into an ally in their fight for a hand count of contested Florida ballots that could overturn the presidential election. "You need either a reinspection or a manual recount ... if you've got a very close election," John Ahmann, a mechanical engineer who helped design punch-card voting systems and later sold them to counties in Florida, acknowledged under questioning from Gore attorney Stephen Zack.

1957: Kerouac "On the Road" 1957: "Perry Mason" on the case 1957: "The Price is Right" 1957: "American Bandstand"

It's a long road from Perry Mason, who won nearly every case of his career - often by extracting confessions on the witness stand - to The Practice's conflicted Bobby Donnell (Dylan McDermott), whose firm's innocent clients - and even its lawyers -seem more likely to go to jail than his guilty ones. TV prosecutors may have the limelight now, but for decades, we've watched their opponents. Among them: Lawrence (E.G. Marshall) and Kenneth Preston (Robert Reed), the father-son team from The Defenders (1961-1965)

THE TELEVISION shows of 45 years ago were fairly tame fare compared to what the networks and cable deliver today. But certainly when this medium was relatively new - and the arrival of a fresh set in the neighborhood was still something of a novelty - gathering around the black-and-white screen was an event. No more so for me than on Saturday evenings, when our family friend and neighbor played host for the "Perry Mason" show. Mr. Mason, of course, was the fictional attorney who defended the falsely charged against murder raps.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Taking a page from a Perry Mason script, lawyers for Vice President Al Gore turned an expert witness for Texas Gov. George W. Bush into an ally in their fight for a hand count of contested Florida ballots that could overturn the presidential election. "You need either a reinspection or a manual recount ... if you've got a very close election," John Ahmann, a mechanical engineer who helped design punch-card voting systems and later sold them to counties in Florida, acknowledged under questioning from Gore attorney Stephen Zack.

1957: Kerouac "On the Road" 1957: "Perry Mason" on the case 1957: "The Price is Right" 1957: "American Bandstand"

While growing up in the District of Columbia, Keith Cave had few professional role models, with the exception of an idealistic defense attorney on the television show "Perry Mason."That hero and his courtroom theatrics turned Cave on to law -- but not as a defense attorney.Instead, he became a prosecutor, the nemesis of Mason, and was promoted this month to head the juvenile unit for the Howard County state's attorney's office."Some people said that would sound corny, about Perry Mason," said Cave, 31. "But I didn't have any role models who were lawyers.

WASHINGTON -- As the White House prepared to launch a vigorous defense of President Clinton before the Senate this week, Democrats insisted yesterday that witnesses were not necessary and would only prolong the president's impeachment trial, to the dismay of the country.With Clinton's lawyers hoping to deflate the case for removing the president made last week by the House managers, administration allies argued yesterday that the Republican call for witnesses such as Monica Lewinsky -- and the president himself -- was politically motivated and would shed little new light on the facts.

Raymond Burr'Perry Mason' starDRY CREEK, Calif. -- Raymond Burr, the portly actor who became a TV icon as a crime-solving lawyer in the "Perry Mason" series, died Sunday of cancer. He was 76."Perry Mason" appeared weekly on CBS from 1957 to 1966, and Mr. Burr's portrayal of the relentless lawyer won him the Emmy for best series actor in 1959 and 1961.Mr. Burr also starred as the crusty, wheelchair-using San Francisco detective in the NBC series "Ironside," which ran from 1967 to 1975.The Canadian-born Mr. Burr also made scores of other movies.

RAYMOND BURR, the actor who has played Perry Mason on television for the past 36 years and will continue to for another 36 in re-runs even though he just died, said once that he thought he had helped Americans understand their criminal justice system.Your honor, I object!Plenty of judges and prosecutors will tell you that the Perry Mason series has had a harmful impact on a key element of the system -- jurors. There are jurors who because of the series figure that if a criminal case presented to them is not absolutely, positively, unequivocally proven, the defendant is innocent.

O.J., schmo-J. The real news today is the return of the best sports broadcaster on network TV.* "Dateline NBC" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Challenger explosion, Jane Pauley interviews family members of several of the astronauts. They include June Scobee Rodgers, wife of Cmdr. Dick Scobee, and Grace Corrigan, mother of Christa McAuliffe. NBC.* "Beverly Hills, 90210" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45) -- A retrospective look at the series' Top 25 moments includes glimpses at former cast members Shannen Doherty and Luke Perry.

A "Perry Mason" movie without Perry? It happens tonight, in what might be called "The Case of the Greedy Network Executives."* "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr." (8-9 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45) -- Brisco (Bruce Campbell) and Dixie (Kelly Rutherford) have their relationship tested by her former husband, who returns to woo Dixie away from Brisco -- and to the other side of the law. Fox.* "A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Wicked Wives" (9-11 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) -- I know the show must go on, but this is ridiculous.