Court TV

Speaking of courtrooms: The Hallmark Channel has started filling many hours each day with old episodes of Perry Mason starring Raymond Burr as the world's greatest attorney.  The shows stand up well, thanks to strong performances and a nice parade of guest actors…though, like many older programs, it's jarring to see how cheap they now appear.  Most corners were cut, even to the extent of having Mr. Mason argue most of his cases (and win) in preliminary hearings, where there's only a judge.  That way, the producers didn't have to spring for twelve extras to fill a jury box.  In many episodes, the most interesting (and therefore, costly to film) story elements occur off-screen and get described by someone.  Still, like I said, they hold up, largely due to Mr. Burr.

You might want to set your VCR or TiVo, grab a few and see if you like them.  And you can find out absolutely everything you want to know about the series at this website, which is an online version of the definitive volume on the topic, The Perry Mason TV Show Book by Brian Kelleher and Diana Merrill.  (The Hallmark Channel, by the way, seems to be airing the shows in sequence.  They're currently about halfway through the first season.)