As if to prove my point…
I was ready to write up our second Perry Mason Season 1 defendant matchup, a battle of the Reeds between Helen and Daniel.
There’s just one problem.
Helen Reed isn’t the defendant in The Case of the Deadly Double! Her brother, Robert Crane, is.
Welp. There goes that.
Of course, it makes the contest easier. Robert Crane can’t very well win a battle between memorable defendants when I couldn’t remember if he was the defendant in the first place!
I quickly went back and scoured my bracket. I wish I could say this was the only case where this happened. It wasn’t.
For The Case of the Sulky Girl, I wrote down Fran Celane. The defendant, of course, is Rod Gleason.
For The Case of the Baited Hook, I wrote down Abigail Leeds. Now that one was a rookie mistake. Of course, the defendant is Abigail’s daughter, Carol Stanley. Abigail is the murderer!
But it makes a more significant point. Guess who the most memorable character in The Case of the Baited Hook is? It’s certainly not Carol Stanley!
So in my mistakes, I find some hope. I’ve given myself a more manageable task in evaluating a few early-round matchups. I’ve given myself a chance to lighten up; I’m not the infallible font of Perry knowledge I thought I was. Finally, I’ve given myself the chance to go through some great Season 1 episodes, which was the whole point!
Case solved (I hope)!