Bear in mind that Perry Mason and I Love Lucy are the only black & white programs still showing in syndication on broadcast television.
Also note that Law and Order (the original series) took the same first half investigation/second half in the courtroom format, except of course doing it from the perspective of the forces of repression (cops & D. A.s).
Caveat Emptor: The episodes available for broadcast syndication are often (especially the earlier seasons, when network shows ran several minutes longer than now) edited, and the Hallmark Channel showings (when P. M. was running there) were even more edited. Anyone who'd like to know what's been cut should visit www.storrer.com and go to the esg/perrymason page therein. Dr. Storrer obviously has too much time on his hands, as he has written detailed synopses of every single episode, and kindly made them available to all through the miracle (being sarcastic here) of the information superhighway.
One last note: Many others who've commented here refer to the fine B&W cinematography, but it seems as if every night exterior was shot day for night, which I always find highly amusing, especially when they almost always throw crickets on the soundtrack, just in case we can't figure out it's supposed to be night.
