Perry Mason: Season 05 (1961)

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Season Five of Perry Mason marked the series' last stand in its traditional Saturday-night timeslot. Though ratings were quite good (the series ended the season in the Top Five), the CBS executives thought that the show would be more valuable on Thursdays, where the network had been floundering--so Thursdays it was, beginning with Season 6. Raymond Burr of course is still in harness as the fabulously successful defense attorney Perry Mason, with Barbara Haleas secretary Della Street, William Hopper as Paul Drake and William Talman (now fully reinstated after the unpleasantness of Season 3, during which the actor had been briefly fired because of his off-camera shenanigans) as prosecutor Hamilton Burger. Ray Collins is also on hand as irascible Lt. Trag, though illness had forced the veteran actor to curtail his appearances. The guest star roster this season includes Denver Pyle in the opener, "The Case of the Jealous Journalist"; Burt Reynolds in "The Case of the Counterfeit Crank", James Coburn in "The Case of the Angry Astronaut; future TV icons Alan Hale Jr. (Gilligan's Island) and DeForest Kelley (Star Trek) in "The Case of the Unwelcome Bride"; and James Drury, one year removed from his ascent to stardom as The Virginian, in "The Case of the Missing Melody". Significant to the overall Perry Mason saga is the presence of Bill Williams, real-life husband of series regular Barbara Hale, as the defendant in "The Case of the Crippled Cougar"; and Wesley Lau, who later joined the cast as Lt. Anderson, in a markedly different role in "The Case of the Impatient Partner". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi