# Why do all episodes of Perry Mason have a murder? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [April 8, 2024, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008 "2024-04-08T14:00:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/21 "2024-04-08T19:59:57Z")
You also wouldn’t think Oxford University, of all places, would be teeming with murderers, but _Inspector Morse_ says otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/22 "2024-04-08T20:06:17Z")
> [@Bumbazine](#): > > The one thing that stood out to me about Perry Mason was that he always seemed to get the guilty party to confess on the witness stand. Of course I didn’t watch the show all that often, so maybe I’m mis-remembering. You’re remembering right. Even as a kid that felt off to me. I guess it was the updated version of the Charlie Chan ending exposition. Didn’t those criminals always fess up too? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/23 "2024-04-08T20:11:37Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Several of the original Sherlock Holmes stories do not involve murder. Indeed, in a few of them there isn’t even an actual crime committed. But I doubt you could get away with that today. Mystery readers want their dead bodies. Even the cozy fans, who pretend to be all dainty and refined. You still have to give them a corpse. 😀 Over this past weekend, my wife was binge-watching _The Madame Blanc Mysteries_, an English cozy-mystery series, set in a small town in France. A few of the early episodes were based around non-murder mysteries, but that didn’t last long, and later episodes all seemed to center on murders. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/24 "2024-04-08T20:12:52Z")
Don’t even get me started on _Perry Mason goes shopping then does the laundry_ ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/25 "2024-04-08T20:13:32Z")
Jessica Fletcher had quite the body count too - _Murder, She Caused._ Apart from all those episodes in season 6 where she wasn’t even in the thing - those were _Murder, She Missed._ ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/26 "2024-04-08T20:17:15Z")
Don’t take a train or boat trip with Poirot. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/27 "2024-04-08T20:20:52Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Short stories can get away with less serious crimes. Readers have been demanding murders in their, ahem, murder mysteries for almost two centuries. TV shows and movies make sure to scratch those itches. Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot both got short stories that involved thefts, typically of expensive jewelry. M. Poirot once was hired to trace a missing cook. No, that one ended up with a body. And there was one with a Pekingese, but that would be too easy to spoil. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/28 "2024-04-08T20:24:42Z")
What?? Crossover with _All Things Great and Small_? Mrs. Pumphrey misplace Trickie-woo? I wanna read that. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/29 "2024-04-08T20:27:43Z")
> **[If Your Housemate Was Agatha Christie's Poirot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sVqUUqPN04%2F)** > > Agatha Christie's great Belgian detective has called a house meeting. Support me on Kofi, so I can make more of this rubbish: https://ko-fi.com/misterabkSubs... ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/30 "2024-04-08T20:30:15Z")
There have been tens of thousands of mystery short stories. I’ve read probably a thousand. Most of them do not feature a murder. Most of them don’t even have a detective. The word “mystery” is extremely elastic, the same way that most science fiction stories aren’t about spaceships. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/31 "2024-04-08T20:36:13Z")
For heaven’s sake, don’t make friends with Jessica. You’ll either be murdered, framed for murder, or put on trial for murder. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/32 "2024-04-08T20:44:23Z")
I’d love to know the circumstances under which a Los Angeles homicide detective would not be consistently busy… ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/33 "2024-04-08T20:58:52Z")
Also Perry Mason is pretty unrealistic. The DA does not go to trial unless the evidence is solid. And if the Defense finds out that there is a solid alibi or that someone else did it, it is usually handled in a conference with the DA, not as a surprise in the courtroom. “Hey DA, here is some solid evidence that just came to light”. “Hmm, let me check that out and get back to you, I will get a continuance”. “I found out you are right, tomorrow I will ask the judge to dismiss the case”. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/34 "2024-04-08T21:04:37Z")
Oh, you mean he was the only homicide detective in LA? [![](https://static.abcotvs.com/kabc/images/cms/rp8MS-homicides-in-city-of-los-angeles.png) ](https://static.abcotvs.com/kabc/images/cms/rp8MS-homicides-in-city-of-los-angeles.png) They should increase his deparment’s budget then. Yeah, you’re right, but I was just a child. Didn’t know much about LA, and the posh locations suggested fewer inhabitants. But you are right, granted. Grumble… ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/35 "2024-04-08T21:14:13Z")
[Almost 5000 in the ‘70’s!](https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00000841.htm) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/36 "2024-04-08T22:17:20Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Jessica Fletcher had quite the body count too - _Murder, She Caused._ > > Apart from all those episodes in season 6 where she wasn’t even in the thing - those were _Murder, She Missed._ ⁢ That’s why I subscribe to the theory that we were actually watching Jessica Fletcher’s short stories. The title is “Murder, She Wrote,” not “Murder, She Solved.” ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/37 "2024-04-08T22:37:30Z")
Those “Cat who…” books have only the occasional murdered body. There are deaths and bodies mostly by accidents. The mystery is how Koko the Siamese solved them. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/38 "2024-04-08T22:48:42Z")
To throw suspicion away from Yum Yum? ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/39 "2024-04-08T22:49:01Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The word “mystery” is extremely elastic, the same way that most science fiction stories aren’t about spaceships. Just for giggles, I just checked an anthology I just finished (_Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume Two A_). By my reckoning, 7 of the 11 novellas are NOT spaceship stories. If I can remember where I put it, I’ll check Volume One, which was all short stories. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008/40 "2024-04-08T22:50:05Z")
Exactly. She was the mysterious one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-episodes-of-perry-mason-have-a-murder/1000008.md?page=3)