I concur with all the viewers who like the "new" Perry Mason. It should not be compared unfavorably with the "old."
For starters, this latest incarnation of Erle Stanley Gardner's erstwhile detective turned lawyer is probably closer in tone and personality to the author's original creation than Burr's otherwise excellent portrayal on television in the 1950's. Although Gardner was an avowed fan of Burr, his first written appearance of Perry Mason in the 1930's sits well in that earlier time and place. In fact, one can easily imagine a young and gritty Perry as played by Rhys evolving into the mature one twenty years later.
In its own right the Rhys version is, contrary to opinion based on a sentimental attachment to Burr, quite substantial. Moreover the production values are to my mind monumental in an age where films of that time distort the twentieth century mercilessly, much to the chagrin of those of us who actually lived through it. The subdued lighting, the merging of old photographs with the new, the actual recorded music of the time, the mode of dress, the many solidly black Model T's and A's form one brilliant tableau vivant after another. Of course it's not entirely without error, but the rule is proven by exceptions. One of these is inevitable: a script tuned into 21st century vernacular, which dissonance can be heard only by a fine ear accustomed to hearing the echo of actual voices from those years. Watch an original old crime drama and you'll get the idea.
In short, Rhys has outlived his sweetly sentimental portrayals of the past, and is now a mettlesome new voice.
For starters, this latest incarnation of Erle Stanley Gardner's erstwhile detective turned lawyer is probably closer in tone and personality to the author's original creation than Burr's otherwise excellent portrayal on television in the 1950's. Although Gardner was an avowed fan of Burr, his first written appearance of Perry Mason in the 1930's sits well in that earlier time and place. In fact, one can easily imagine a young and gritty Perry as played by Rhys evolving into the mature one twenty years later.
In its own right the Rhys version is, contrary to opinion based on a sentimental attachment to Burr, quite substantial. Moreover the production values are to my mind monumental in an age where films of that time distort the twentieth century mercilessly, much to the chagrin of those of us who actually lived through it. The subdued lighting, the merging of old photographs with the new, the actual recorded music of the time, the mode of dress, the many solidly black Model T's and A's form one brilliant tableau vivant after another. Of course it's not entirely without error, but the rule is proven by exceptions. One of these is inevitable: a script tuned into 21st century vernacular, which dissonance can be heard only by a fine ear accustomed to hearing the echo of actual voices from those years. Watch an original old crime drama and you'll get the idea.
In short, Rhys has outlived his sweetly sentimental portrayals of the past, and is now a mettlesome new voice.