Scott Baio appears in this New York Based Perry Mason tale, as does Diana Muldaur aka Doctor Polaski from Star Trek.
This is one of the Better"Malansky" eps, Moses appears without his irritating rich detective-girlfriend. Here, he is forced to make Buds with Gangster Tony Loomis (Robert Clohessy), and it is a perfect match.
Valerie Harper is Dyan Draper, who is making everyone's lives miserable. She's Muckraked up dirt on the whole planet, but it's anyone's guess who she is going to target in her next column. And several people, including Lauren Jeffrys (Polaski/Muldaur) try to get access to Draper to find out if they are to be the subjects of Draper's Muckraking festivities the next day. But Draper cleverly dodges all attempts from 4 people and she does not even tell her Girl Friday Julia Collier (Ally Walker) who is to be the special recipient of her ministrations.
So there are four possible suspects, maybe 5 even.
What is interesting about this episode, is that it talks about using a Modem to transfer a column digitally to the computer at a Magazine Office. At the desk in Dyan's apartment, is a little Macintosh, same design as the 1984 model. Back then such a modem would probably be 300 baud. In fact, I have a one of the modems that would have been used on the floor in front of my PC. It would have been an Appletalk Network.
But of course none of this is talked about in any great detail, this episode plods along while Perry deftly recuses each possible suspect - Until he is left with the last one, and even then it is not who you expect it to be.
Which makes this one of the better Perry Mason Mysterys segment. Of course, is was directed by Original Perry Mason director Christian I. Nyby's son, Christian I. Nyby II.
What I lov ed about therse later Mason TV Movies is that they finally left the confines of "Colorado" (Colorado-in-Canada?) to visit venues like France, and in this episode, New York City.
And as much as I miss William Katt as the Bumbling version of Paul Drake, and I really did like that it was Della's Real Life son, William R Moses was finally hitting his stride with this episode.
I would have liked an explanation of what happened to Paul Drake, Junior, in this series, but I never saw it. My only complaint with the TV Movies of the 80's is the hole left by Paul Drake's absence, who left us WAY too soon at age 54. Where William Hopper exuded "The Competent Man", William R Katt, excuse me, William Katt sometimes overplayed the comedic aspects, always losing his detective-prey, being smashed over the head constantly, having his wallet stolen, being hospitalized, etc. His "Father" never had that happen. But William R. Moses was able to create a Bridge between Paul Drake and Paul Drake, Jr. He does so magnificently here.
I remember watching these when they were Broadcast, I watched them with my parents. But I haven't seen these since they were originally broadcast, and now that I have a huge 50" TV, the only copies I can find are recorded from Low Quality DVR, sometimes with commercials intact. Even my original Perry episodes are on DVD, which suit me fine, except that the one colour season 9 episode "Twice Told Twist" is not in colour.
I am totally pleased however, that Mason socked it to Scott Baio.
