At my substitute teaching job this week, I spotted the September issue of the Oregonian with the Perry Mason blurb in it that I had blogged about. I looked at it and realized I missed a crucial detail concerning the cancellation of the show. Andy Delaporte, vice president and general manager of KPTV/KPDX had pointed out that the ratings were low but he also mentioned that the station’s contract with the syndication company was up. I don’t know what it means when a syndication contract is up but it seems obvious the renewal would involve money that wasn’t going to be spent keeping Perry Mason around. I can still plead my case that promotion could have built an audience that might have kept the show on but the judge and jury have joined Perry Mason and left the building.

I imagine Portlanders heading into middle age as the types who grew up on college/indie rock. This somehow seems to equate them being a vast audience open to the undiscovered, old fashioned campiness of Perry Mason. Then again Portland folks don’t have a reputation for being television watchers. Since I missed 47 years of the show’s 48 year run it would have only been a matter of time before I, too, uttered the words, “I’ve seen this one.”

Rest in Peace Perry Mason!