THE PERRY MASON/BATMAN CONNECTION, PT. 2: Neil Hamilton

Of all the actors who we are fortunate enough to have seen on both Batman and Perry Mason, the most prolific of them all was Neil Hamilton. He played Police Commissioner James Gordon on every episode of one series and faced off against Perry on seven episodes that spanned nearly the entire series, from Season One through Eight. Born … Continue reading THE PERRY MASON/BATMAN CONNECTION, PT. 2: Neil Hamilton

THE PERRY MASON/DARK SHADOWS CONNECTION, PT. 3: Dennis Patrick

In the early, pre-Barnabas Collins, days of Dark Shadows, the show tried to behave like a normal soap opera, albeit with Gothic trappings. The main storylines centered around Victoria Winters, a grown-up orphan who had come to Collinsport to take a job as governess to the young Collins heir because of a hint she had received that … Continue reading THE PERRY MASON/DARK SHADOWS CONNECTION, PT. 3: Dennis Patrick

CREATIVE HOPSCOTCH: The Perry Mason/Dark Shadows Connection

You all know how much I love Erle Stanley Gardner, especially his most famous creation, defense attorney extraordinaire Perry Mason. For the past few years, I’ve been weaving across the Mason canon and, as is my wont, whenever I review a novel, I like to cover any film adaptations that exist. On that score, I tend to … Continue reading CREATIVE HOPSCOTCH: The Perry Mason/Dark Shadows Connection

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE PROBLEM OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

Let’s talk about the public domain. Because, frankly, I’m confused. “Every year when the clock strikes midnight on January 1, while most people are singing Auld Lang Syne and partying with their loved ones, copyright lawyers and librarians celebrate a different occasion: the annual expansion of the public domain, AKA Public Domain Day. All copyrights … Continue reading SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE PROBLEM OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

NETFLIX CLOCKS IN: Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials

You probably won’t ever find me sitting on a panel extolling the superiority of Agatha Christie’s thrillers. Oh, there’s fun to be had, but there’s also a good deal of silliness: Christie veered toward ideological conspiracies and hidden master criminals a lot. Still, even in the absence of Marple or Poirot, she could be clever … Continue reading NETFLIX CLOCKS IN: Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials