Show109
Hooray! Della briefly wears her monogrammed dress this episode! Ed Zoerner, 5/1/10.
I think it is especially wonderful and not at all unbelieveable that in this episode Perry Mason is representing a citizens’ group making their voice heard. That’s democracy in action! And concern for the environment to boot! Submitted by gracep 10/30/2010.
+ I’m also very impressed to see government in action over corporations. The hearing reminds me of some hearings going on today where I live, over hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus Shale on certain properties to extract natural gas. I'm very impressed that this fictional government exercised its power when concerns about safety and contamination of drinking water were raised, whereas my real-life local government caved in to the energy company over objections of landowners and taxpayers. Submitted by gracep 10/30/2010.
+ The character of Perry Mason was changed somewhat from the novels, especially the earlier ones. The Perry of the TV series was more "ethical" than Mason in the novels and the novel Perry would have been bored with representing a citizen's group. He often stated he liked the excitement and challenge of a murder case and the trial which resulted and often turned down cases that didn't involve a murder unless something personally interested Perry. Submitted by Wiseguy70005, 7/3/14.
That might explain why Burger and Tragg are sometimes gleeful when they think they 'caught' Mason in some unethical behavior. It doesn't make sense since Mason always wins his cases, finds the true culprit and never breaks the law. I wonder if that reflects more of the Mason from the novels, rather than the character in the TV show. --yelocab 11FEB19
I got all excited about a "lost" Mason episode when I saw "The Case of the Irresolute Performer" listed on the Zap2It.com TV listings for today. Not being able to find such a title here on the Wiki, I wondered if somehow I'd never seen it. MeTV (and TV Guide) were slightly better with "The Case of the Irresolute Reformer" which might have been more recognizable. alan_sings, 6/29/2012.
+ The Comcast Cable Guide on MeTV lists the episode title as "The Case Of The Resolute Performer"
jfh 24Jan2019
That's a very strange door at 1244. Submitted by scarter 9/3/14
After Mr. Cain leaves Perry's office and Della re-enters to read Paul's report to Perry (at about the 17 minutes mark) Perry's eyes move as though he's reading along with Della on the cue cards. jfh 30Sep2019.
At the end of the story Mrs. Witt refunded $6,000 to Peter Caine and kept $3,000 for the land purchase. Peter still owned the land that was the only alternate site inside the canyon for the aqueduct. Submitted by H. Mason 11/5/14
Mrs Witt forged her dead husband's signature; the land sale thus would be void and the Caines off the hook. It would seem the entire $9,000 should have been returned.
Boy, the Caines are naive. Peter never questions how Debra learned the Witte’s entire life story overnight, and dad doesn’t question making the check out to Debra. A couple of fish just waiting to be reeled in.
The Curious Coffee Set makes two appearances; in the brief restaurant scene, where we also see that groovy triangular carafe, and the final office scene.
Anyone else think Douglas Dick looks a bit like Michael Keaton, especially when he knits his brow? DODay 9/6/17
In this episode Douglas Dick looks more like Patrick McGoohan, especially the way he looked in Danger Man (Secret Agent Man here in the US), and some of the early Prisoner episodes. Submitted by Arisia, 03/12/18
The Caines strike me as extraordinarily naive; doesn't it seem odd to them that Debra should know so much so soon about the Wittes? DOD 09/20/18
Random thoughts: I really like this episode because I care about the characters under duress, Peter and his father. Mrs. Witt, with her nonstop smirking and giggling, makes me want to throw something at the screen. And Lawrence KENT? How can I not think of Clark Kent every time he's on the screen with his square features, slicked back dark hair, and thick black glasses? A kind of production joke? Interesting trivia: Kent was played by Phillip Terry, who was briefly (4 years) married to Joan Crawford. Submitted by JazzBaby, 9/3/2019.