title: The Chase (British game show)

text: On 12 December 2012, a version for iOS was released by Barnstorm Games. The app features four chasers (excluding Jenny "The Vixen" Ryan and Darragh "The Menace" Ennis, both of whom had not yet appeared on the programme at the time of release) and can be played by up to four people, as in the actual show. The only differences between the app and the show are that four choices are presented for questions in the Cash Builder and the Final Chase rounds and that no Final Chase is played if all four players are caught in their head-to-head chases. The app is designed for both iPhones and iPads. An updated version, "The Chase: Ultimate Edition", was released in 2017 and features five chasers (excluding Ennis) and host Walsh. In 2020, the app is updated with now featuring Ennis.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The Chevrolet Corvette (C7) is the seventh generation of the Corvette sports car manufactured by American automobile manufacturer Chevrolet from 2014 until 2019. It was introduced for the 2014 model year as the first to bear the Corvette Stingray name since 1976. The first C7 Corvettes were delivered in the third quarter of 2013.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: GM executives began planning the next-generation (C7) Corvette sports car in 2007. The car was originally planned for the 2011 model year, but was delayed. Mid-engine and rear-engine layouts had been considered, but the front-engine, rear-wheel drive (RWD) platform was chosen to keep costs lower.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The lead exterior designer of the C7 Corvette was Hwasup Lee, whose team completed the design between 2010 and 2011. The design director for the C7 was Kirk Bennion and the design was approved by the division's design director, Tom Peters, in 2011.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The 2014 Corvette debuted on Sunday, January 13, 2013, in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show. Chevrolet also showed the new crossed flags logo for the Corvette.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: While overall the C7 attempts to provide an evolutionary redesign to an iconic theme, the car's designers incorporated aggressive angular elements. The C7 received criticism for some of the more styled elements of the car. "The rear contains what will surely be the C7's most controversial styling elements. It's all creases and vents back there, with aggressive trapezoidal taillights similar to those found on the current Camaro and quadruple-barreled tailpipes lined up in a neat row in the center of the rear valance", wrote Jason Kavanagh for Edmunds. Functional aerodynamic aids are tacked on or cut into every body panel of the C7, often juxtaposed against sharp creases. This is a radical departure from the prior generations of Corvettes, whose styling had no spoiler, few body panel creases, and only semi-functional gills for front brake cooling. In addition, past Corvette models minimized the size of headlamps or even hid them altogether. The C7 reverses that minimalist styling language with intricately styled headlamps with integrated LED daytime running lights (DRL).


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The C7's all-new LT1 6.2L Small Block V-8 engine develops and of torque, which can accelerate the car from 0– in 3.8 seconds. The optional Z51 Performance Package or the Grand Sport bumps up the LT1 to 460 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. The C7's suspension consists of independent unequal-length double wishbones with transverse fiberglass mono-leaf springs and optional magnetorheological dampers, similar to its predecessor.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: Production and customer delivery of the 2014 Corvette Stingray Coupe began in September 2013. Corvette assembly plant tours in Bowling Green, Kentucky began in October 2013. Production of the Stingray Convertible began at the end of 2013. The fifth generation of the small block engine used in the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray was built in GM's Tonawanda Engine Plant.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The first production 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible was sold in 2013 Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach to Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick for US$1,000,000 in a Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer institute charity lot.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: A month after the first 2014 Corvette Stingray, 485 vehicles had been delivered. Of these early orders, 38% included 7-speed manual transmission, and 75% included the Z51 Performance Package (54% also selected the magnetic ride suspension system).


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The 2014 Corvette features a carbon fiber hood and removable roof panel. Its fenders, doors, and rear quarter panels remain fiberglass composite. The C7 uses Aerogel, a material developed by NASA, to keep heat from the transmission tunnel from transferring into the cabin. The under-body panels are made of "carbon-nano" composite. The chassis is made of hydro-formed aluminum. The rear tail lights use indirect LED technology.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: Despite the increased use of aluminum and other light weight materials, the overall weight of the car remains the same as that of the previous generation (C6). The C7 Corvette offers a seven-speed manual transmission made by Tremec that implements active rev matching. The Corvette also provides a driver mode selector with five settings: Weather, Eco, Tour, Sport, and Track mode. The hood and side vents and inlets assist in cooling and aerodynamic stability. The interior features a driver display that allows the driver to select from several modes with up to 69 different sources of information, ranging from an interactive performance timer to a tire tread temperature display. Two seat options are available: a touring seat for everyday use, and a competition sports seat for track driving with pass-throughs for a racing harness.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The 2014 Corvette LT1 engine, the first of the fifth generation family of small block engines, retains the push-rods acting on overhead valves design. It implements direct fuel injection, Active Fuel Management (cylinder deactivation), and continuously variable valve timing.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The Corvette Stingray Coupe went on sale in the US in the third quarter of 2013, as a 2014 model-year vehicle. The 2014 Corvette was equipped with a Tremec TR-6070 7-speed manual with rev-matching for both downshifts and upshifts, or a Hydramatic 6L80 6-speed paddle-shift automatic transmission optimized for Active Fuel Management.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The top-level 3LT interior package includes a Bose 10-speaker audio system, SiriusXM radio with HD receiver, color head-up display, Performance Data Recorder, memory package, navigation system, heated and ventilated seats with power lumbar and bolster adjustment, premium Napa leather seating surfaces, and leather-wrapped dash, instrument panel, console, and door panels.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The 2014 Stingray Convertible is a version of the 2014 Corvette Stingray with a power-operated fabric roof. The roof can be opened at speeds of up to 30 mph (50 km/h). The convertible was unveiled at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The Japanese version went on sale in May 2014.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The Z51 Performance Package includes dry sump lubrication, specific close-ratio gearing, transmission-cooling system, larger 19-inch front and 20-inch rear aluminum alloy wheels and dual-compound Michelin tires, larger slotted rotors and brake-cooling ducts, electronic limited-slip differential and differential cooling system, unique chassis tuning, and optional Magnetic Ride Control active-handling system with Performance Traction Management. Its center of gravity height is 17½"; lower than the Lotus Elise. A performance exhaust system gives the LT1 engine 460 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The Corvette Stingray Gran Turismo concept was made to promote the "Gran Turismo 6" video game, and was one of the playable cars. It features a custom blue paint scheme, yellow-tinted headlamps, carbon fiber rear spoiler, ground effects kit, and front splitter; and a custom front grille, front fender, and rear quarter vents.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The Corvette Stingray Convertible Atlantic concept had a Blade Silver body color, Carbon Flash Metallic front splitter, rocker extensions and rear lower diffuser, Fusion Gray headlamp housings and hood accents, a suede wrapped interior package, chrome five-spoke wheels, molded splash guards, a windscreen mounted behind the seats. The Corvette Stingray Coupe Pacific concept had a Torch Red body color, Z51 Performance Package, a carbon fiber hood, trim kit, and removable roof panel; a black front splitter and rocker extensions, Z51 rear spoiler, a Carbon Flash graphics package, and satin black aluminum wheels with a red accent stripe.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The 2014 Corvette Stingray Premiere Edition marked the introduction of both the coupe and convertible. The coupe version, which debuted in 2013, was limited to 500 units in Laguna Blue Tintcoat. The convertible, which debuted in early 2014, was limited to 550 units in Lime Rock Green. Both versions featured Brownstone suede interior, carbon-fiber interior and roof, Z51 Performance Package, Magnetic Selective Ride Control, a "stinger" hood stripe, custom luggage from Thule, and an exclusive dash plaque.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: In 2015, the 8L90 eight-speed automatic transmission was available as an option for all Corvette models. The 8L90 is built at GM's Toledo, Ohio, transmission facility.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: Major changes for the 2015 model year, in addition to the reintroduction of the Z06, were limited to the introduction of the 8L90 automatic transaxle (replacing the 6L80 transaxle), as well as the dual mode exhaust becoming standard on Z51 cars.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The Performance Data Recorder (PDR) is an optional system that allows Corvette drivers to record performance data while driving and review the results.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: A 720p high-definition camera mounted within the windshield header trim records the driver's point-of-view through the windshield, with audio recorded via a dedicated microphone in the cabin. The system uses a dedicated GPS receiver more precise than the one in the navigation system. The recorder can access vehicle information, ranging from engine speed and transmission-gear selection to braking force and steering-wheel angle. It uses a dedicated SD-card for recording and transferring video and vehicle data.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The PDR system can record video with three data overlay options, each rendered in real time. "Track Mode" shows the most data on the screen, including speed, rpm, g-force, a location-based map, and lap time. "Sport Mode" shows fewer details but includes key data including speed and g-force. "Touring Mode" shows no data; it simply records and displays video and audio of the drive. Additionally, "Performance Mode" records performance metrics, such as 0 to acceleration, 1/4-mile speed and elapsed time, and runs.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The PDR vehicle data can be viewed in the included "Cosworth Toolbox" software. The application overlays recorded laps on a satellite map of the track, and allows lap-by-lap comparison of vehicle speed, time, and cornering force. The video can be viewed on the Corvette Stingray's eight-inch color touchscreen (when the car is parked), or transferred to a computer for editing and sharing on social media.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: For the 2015 model year, a performance version of the Corvette called the Z06 was introduced at the North American International Auto Show. The Z06 comes with a supercharged and intercooled LT4 V8 engine with Rotocast A356T6 aluminum cylinder heads and a 1.7-liter Eaton R1740 TVS Supercharger, which generates at 6,400 rpm and at 3,600 rpm of torque, giving the Z06 a top speed of . The Z06 is available with a Tremec seven-speed manual with rev-matching technology or a Hydramatic 8L90 eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: Changes to the body of the Z06 include a removable carbon fiber roof panel, a front splitter, a unique carbon fiber hood with a larger vent, larger front fender vents and unique air blades over the inlets on the rear fenders, a larger unique rear spoiler, and rear-fascia openings that are larger than that of the Stingray. The redesigned mesh pattern on the front fascia allows for maximum airflow to the supercharger's intercooler heat exchanger, while dedicated brake-cooling intakes and wider grille outlets on the bottom serves as air diffusers. It rides on 19×10-inch front and 20×12-inch rear spin-cast aluminium wheels on Michelin Pilot Sport P285/30ZR19 front and 335/25ZR20 rear tires.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: Inside the Z06, there are a choice of two magnesium frame seats (GT seat or a Competition Sport seat with more aggressive side bolstering), a steel-reinforced grab bar on the center console for the passenger, soft-touch materials on the edge of the console, and a fully wrapped interior with Nappa leather, aluminum, carbon fiber, and microsuede, depending on the trim level.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: Mechanical features of the Z06 include Brembo brakes (371×33-mm front and 365×25-mm rear two-piece steel disc brakes, aluminum six-piston front and four-piston rear fixed calipers), uniquely calibrated SLA-type front and rear suspension design, Magnetic Ride Control dampers, electronic limited-slip differential (eLSD) integrated with electronic stability control, and Performance Traction Management.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The US model of the Z06 went on sale in January 2015, with a base price of US$78,995. Chevrolet offered buyers of the Z06 an opportunity to personally assemble the engine used in their cars as part of a US$5,000 package.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The Corvette Z06 Convertible includes a power-folding top that can activate at driving speeds up to , as well as repositioned safety-belt mounts.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The Z07 performance package includes Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 P285/30ZR19 front and 335/25ZR20 rear tires, 394x36mm front and 388x33mm rear carbon ceramic-matrix brake discs, and revised suspension tuning (RPO FE7) which raises spring rates front and rear 62% and 22% respectively, changes stabilizer bar bushing material, and fits the Magnetorheological shocks with modified valving for a higher “passive” curve in addition to more aggressive damping tuning.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The optional stage 2 carbon-fiber aero package (in either black or a visible carbon-fiber finish) adds a carbon fiber front splitter with small winglets, carbon fiber rocker panels, and a larger rear spoiler while stage 3 builds on that with larger front splitter winglets and a clear, adjustable wickerbill – a small, vertical section in the middle of the rear spoiler that significantly increases downforce.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The 2015 Corvette Stingray Atlantic Design Package is based on Z51-equipped Corvette Stingray convertibles with 2LT or 3LT trim. The package includes a Z06-style front splitter, Shark Gray exterior vents, "stinger" graphic and tonneau inserts on the hood, chrome wheels, Stingray logos, and custom luggage bags.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The 2015 Corvette Stingray Pacific Design Package is based on the Z51-equipped Corvette Stingray coupe with 2LT or 3LT trim. The package includes satin black full-length racing stripes, satin black Z51 wheels with red stripe and Stingray center caps, carbon fiber ground effect package along with exposed carbon fiber roof panel, Carbon Flash rear spoiler, red brake calipers, Competition Sport seats, carbon fiber interior trim, and an indoor car cover.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: A mid-year production change involved the phasing out of 4 exterior colors and the addition of a new color, Admiral Blue, at the end of the 2016 production run.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: Three "design packages" were offered: the Twilight Blue Design Package, Spice Red Design Package, and Jet Black Suede Design Package. They were available on 3LT and 3LZ trim models. The Twilight Blue and Spice Red packages included full-color instrument panel, doors, and seats, chrome badges, and Shark Gray painted exterior vents. Convertible models included a blue, red, or black top matching the package. The packages included special aluminum wheels, 19" front and 20" rear, painted Pearl Nickel in the Twilight Blue and Spice Red packages for the Z06, and Satin Black in the Jet Black package. The design packages were offered with white, gray, and silver exterior colors, along with a color matching the package (Night Race Blue, Long Beach Red, and Black, respectively).


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: Available only with 3LZ trim, the Z06 C7.R Edition is primarily an appearance package. Interior features include a Jet Black leather trimmed and suede wrapped interior, competition sport seats, suede wrapped steering wheel and shifter, yellow contrast stitching, carbon fiber interior package, C7.R Limited-Edition interior plaque (includes racing victories) and Corvette Racing sill plates. On the exterior, changes include black Z06 Wheels with yellow stripe, yellow brake calipers, Corvette Racing wheel center caps, visible carbon fiber, Spectra Gray grille and vents, C7.R graphics, and the Z07 Performance Package with carbon ceramic brakes. The package is available in either Black or Corvette Racing Yellow exterior colors. It included its own sequential VIN starting with 700001. Only 500 units were produced.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: Production for the 2017 model year began on July 11, 2016 and ended on May 29, 2017 with the 2018 model year production officially beginning the following week.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: In April 2016 at the Geneva Auto Show, Tadge Juechter, the chief engineer on the C7, introduced the new Grand Sport model for the 2017 model year. The Grand Sport is a hybrid of the Z51 Stingray and the Z06; sharing much of the wide body work of the Z06 (except the hood) with the Z51 LT1 dry sump engine. The Grand Sport features:


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: Grand Sport models are offered as a convertible or coupe with either a 7-speed manual or 8-speed automatic transmission.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: An available Z07 package adds carbon ceramic-matrix brakes and Michelin Pilot Sport 2 Cup tires. An available Heritage Package includes interior brushed aluminum hash marks, and floor mats with the Grand Sport logo.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: As part of the introduction of the Grand Sport, Chevrolet also introduced a Grand Sport Collector Edition, which was meant to be limited to 1,000 vehicles, with 850 allocated to the US market. 784 coupes and 151 convertibles were built; 935 total. The Collectors Edition was a cosmetic package that contained some unique features, including Tension Blue fender hash-marks, two-tone Tension Blue leather seating surfaces with an embossed Grand Sport logo on the headrest, blue leather stitching, and a numbered dash plaque.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The registry for the Grand Sport Collector Edition has collected specific production configurations and details of the vehicles in the series.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: Production for the 2018 model year officially began on June 5, 2017. Production was suspended on July 28, when the plant shut down for new paint facility upgrades as well as the addition of a new assembly line for the 2019 ZR1 model. Plant tours were suspended for 18 months as a result of this shut down. The plant resumed production on November 6, 2017. The 2018 model year ended on January 26, 2018.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: Commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Corvette, Chevrolet offered the Carbon 65 Limited Edition for the 2018 model year. This edition was limited to 650 units globally, painted exclusively in Ceramic Matrix Gray. It was available on Grand Sport 3LT and Z06 3LZ trims in both convertible (blue top only) and coupe bodies. The Carbon 65 Edition option package included unique fender stripes and door graphics, black wheels with machined grooves on summer-only tires, blue brake calipers, a Jet Black suede-wrapped interior with blue stitching, and various unique badges. Carbon fiber applications included visible ground effects, hood section and roof (coupe) or tonneau inserts (convertible), spoiler, steering wheel rim, and gloss interior trim.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: 2019 was the final model year for the seventh generation of the Corvette. Chevrolet auctioned off the final C7 Corvette, a black Z06 coupe, at a Barrett-Jackson charity auction held in Connecticut on June 28, 2019. The actual car was assembled in November 2019.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: In January 2019, Chevrolet introduced a special edition of the Corvette Grand Sport called the Drivers Series. This edition features four paint schemes each selected by Corvette Racing team's drivers Tommy Milner, Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen, and Antonio Garcia. The livery selected by Tommy Milner includes an Elkhart Lake Blue exterior with silver stripes and red hash marks, body-color mirrors, black wheels with red stripe and red brake calipers, and a Jet Black Suede interior with red seat belts. The livery selected by Oliver Gavin includes a Shadow Gray exterior with Torch Red center stripe and Torch Red hash marks, Carbon Flash mirrors, black wheels with red stripe, red brake calipers, and an Adrenaline Red interior with red seat belts. The livery selected by Jan Magnussen includes an Arctic White exterior with Crystal Red stripes and gray hash marks, body-color mirrors, black wheels with red stripe and red brake calipers and a Jet Black interior with red seat belts. The livery selected by Antonio Garcia includes a Racing Yellow exterior with “Jake” stinger stripe, red hash marks, Carbon Flash mirrors, black wheels with red stripe and red brake calipers, and a Jet Black interior.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: All four of the special liveries were available on the Grand Sport. The cars also came fitted with an interior plaque commemorating each driver and other unique trim details. The Drivers Series Corvettes went on sale in Spring 2019.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: A total of 95 2019 Corvettes were equipped with the Drivers Series Package. Of those, 14 had the Antonio Garcia livery, 21 had the Tommy Milner livery, 25 had the Jan Magnussen livery, and 35 had the Oliver Gavin livery.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The Corvette C7 ZR1 was unveiled at the 2017 Dubai Motor Show for the 2019 model year. The ZR1 is heavily based on the Z06 platform with many noticeable changes, including the all-new pushrod "LT5" V8 engine equipped with a Eaton supercharger that is 52% larger than that of the Z06 along with a new fuel injection system. The new engine is rated at at 6,300 rpm and of torque at 4,400 rpm. The ZR1 also includes an improved engine cooling system with large vents in the front bumpers and on the hood, a larger intercooler, and four more radiators, bringing the total count to thirteen.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The ZR1's aero package was developed in collaboration with Pratt & Miller's Corvette racing team in wind tunnels. It includes a large rear wing bolted directly on the chassis, a front splitter, and a new front underbody spoiler in order to balance out the excess drag. Other changes include an active exhaust system and an upgraded crankshaft, all of which help propel the car to a top speed of with the low rear wing.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The ZTK Performance Package is an optional aero package for the ZR1. It adds a higher fixed rear wing which generates 60% more downforce than the Z06 with the Z07 package, but also reduces top speed due to aerodynamic drag. The ZTK package also adds carbon fiber front splitter end caps. With the combination of the high rear wing and front underbody spoiler, the ZR1 produces of downforce at top speed. The ZTK package also fits the ZR1 with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires instead of the standard Michelin Super Sport tires, and specific chassis and magnetic ride control settings for better cornering.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: Despite the extensive use of carbon fiber, the ZR1 is heavier than the Z06 at due to added fluids for the cooling system. The ZR1 is available with a 7-speed Tremec TR-6070 manual transmission with rev-matching technology or an 8-speed GM 8L90 automatic transmission with paddle shifters, which are the same as those found in the Z06. The ZR1 comes with carbon ceramic brakes, double wishbone suspension system and magnetic ride control system as standard with optional brake caliper colors and wheels. The interior includes Nappa leather upholstery, heated seats, carbon fiber rimmed steering wheel and Bose sound system as standard with a variety of performance and comfort options available. The ZR1 went on sale in Q2 2018.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: A convertible version of the ZR1 was unveiled at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show. Performance figures remain the same as the coupe, but the convertible weighs more than its coupe counterpart due to structural reinforcing components.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The racing version of the 2015 Corvette Z06, called the C7.R, was unveiled at the 2014 North American International Auto Show. Modifications over the Z06 include increased cooling and aerodynamic downforce, including similar front splitters, rocker panels, and front- and rear-brake cooling ducts; a 5.5-litre LS7.R naturally aspirated V8 engine developed specifically for the C7.R having a power output of , modified suspension system to accommodate wider racing tires and larger brakes, air intake openings on each of the rear quarter panels above the brake ducts, a fixed motorsport rear wing, and larger radiator inlets.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

text: The C7 GT3-R (sometimes stylized as C7 GT3/R) was a GT3 adaptation of the C7 unveiled by Callaway Engineering on October 3rd, 2015 at the final round of the 2015 ADAC GT Masters at the Hockenheim circuit. This also marked the first time a factory-backed Corvette was built by a company other than Pratt & Miller. It uses a 6.2L Chevrolet-based V8 engine from Dutch firm APP Racing Engines, and produces and depending on air restrictors, mated to a X-Trac 6-speed gearbox.


title: The Blip

text: The Blip (also known as the Decimation and the Snap) is a major fictional event depicted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise in which half of all living things in the universe, chosen at random, were exterminated by Thanos snapping his fingers while wielding the Infinity Stones in 2018, and then restored in late 2023 by Bruce Banner using Infinity Stones recovered from different time periods. "The Blip" appears to refer to the entire event, including the elimination and restoration of the victims. The Blip manifested in the form of the mass disintegration of individual beings into dust, while the reversal had the same dust reforming into the previously deceased individuals, who mostly reappeared in the same location with no direct awareness of what occurred.


title: The Blip

text: , aspects of the Blip have been featured in and of the MCU across various media, including "" (the first depiction) (2018), "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (post-credits) (2018), "Captain Marvel" (post-credits) (2019), "" (2019), "" (2019), "WandaVision" (2021), "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" (2021), and "Hawkeye" (2021).


title: The Blip

text: The consequences of the Blip were substantial and far-reaching. Some were portrayed for comic effects, such as "blipped" school band members reappearing in the middle of a basketball game, and "blipped" characters now being years younger than their own "unblipped" previously younger siblings. Others were portrayed for dramatic effect, such as blipped characters returning to general chaos and confusion, finding that loved ones had died in their absence, their homes and life savings were repossessed, and their jobs had been filled by others. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige viewed the inclusion of the Blip as a major crux in the MCU timeline, similar to how the Battle of New York in the third act of "The Avengers" would go on to be referenced as a pivotal event in multiple MCU media.


title: The Blip

text: The Blip inspired the creation of a real-world event on the website Reddit, in which a randomly-selected half of the members of a highly popular subreddit would be banned, simulating the effects of the Blip. The ban of over 300,000 accounts, which included "Avengers: Infinity War" co-director Anthony Russo, was the largest in Reddit's history. The Blip, as an event within the MCU, has been compared to the COVID-19 pandemic in the real world, as an event that has a sustained effect on people all over the world.


title: The Blip

text: Following the release of "", the event was dubbed by fans as "the Snap", "the Snappening", or "the Snapture". In the tie-in novel "Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War: The Cosmic Quest Volume Two: Aftermath" by Brandon T. Snider, the event was referred to as "the Decimation", but this naming was not used in any other related media. The event was referred to as "the Blip" in "", but Kevin Feige later clarified that "the Snap" referred to Thanos' finger snap in "Avengers: Infinity War" while "the Blip" referred to Bruce Banner's finger snap in "". Despite Feige's comments, both events were collectively referred to as "the Blip" in "WandaVision" and "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier", and the term also appears to reference the five-year gap between the two snaps during which half of Earth's population were wiped from existence.


title: The Blip

text: The Blip wiped out 50% of all living creatures. Memorials to the "vanished" victims were erected in communities across the universe. Among the victims were:


title: The Blip

text: Scott Lang was in the Quantum Realm at the time of the snap, and although only a few hours passed there from his perspective; when he escaped from the Quantum Realm, because time passes slower there, five years had passed everywhere else. However, Lang was believed to have been a victim, due to his absence over those five years. The Eternals also survived the Blip due to them being artificial and not biological beings.


title: The Blip

text: In "", Thanos obtains the six Infinity Stones and places them within a gauntlet built by Eitri, so that he can snap his fingers and eliminate half of all life in the universe, which he believes will bring a balance that will prevent greater catastrophes from fighting over resources.


title: The Blip

text: The Blip occurs at the end of the film in Wakanda, where numerous characters are blipped, including Bucky Barnes, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Wanda Maximoff, Peter Parker, Stephen Strange, T'Challa, Sam Wilson, Peter Quill, Groot, Drax and Mantis. The Russo brothers also revealed that, despite not appearing in "Infinity War", Betty Ross and Sif were blipped as well.


title: The Blip

text: In a mid-credits scene in "Ant-Man and the Wasp", Hank Pym, Hope van Dyne, and Janet Van Dyne are blipped, leaving Scott Lang stranded in the Quantum Realm. In a subsequent post-credits scene, a nationwide broadcast of the Emergency Alert System is shown on a television in Lang's home. In a post-credits scene of "Captain Marvel", the Avengers are surveying reports of worldwide population losses at the Avengers compound, when Carol Danvers abruptly appears, having received a distress signal from Fury that he sent through a pager before he blipped.


title: The Blip

text: In "", Clint Barton's family, Erik Selvig, Shuri and Jane Foster are confirmed to have been blipped. In the Avengers' compound, Scott Lang and Sharon Carter are also listed as blipped, though Lang was unaccounted for due to being trapped in the Quantum Realm, and Carter went rogue to establish her identity as the Power Broker in Madripoor.


title: The Blip

text: Some of the surviving heroes travel to the planet to which Thanos has retired to attempt to recover the Infinity Stones and undo the Blip, only to learn that Thanos had destroyed the Stones to ensure that the Blip cannot be undone.


title: The Blip

text: Five years later, the effects of the disappearances are explored, with many characters having experiences resulting from the event. For example, Barton is distraught at the loss of his family, and becomes a rogue warrior, travelling the world to massacre organized crime figures involved in the drug trade and child trafficking. Steve Rogers leads a support group for those dealing with the loss of loved ones in the Blip. Thor, who blames himself for failing to kill Thanos before the initial snap, becomes an out-of-shape alcoholic. Urban decay is apparent in cities such as New York City and San Francisco. Carol Danvers tells the Avengers that the chaos happening on Earth is also occurring on other planets throughout the cosmos.


title: The Blip

text: In the meantime, Scott Lang is freed from the quantum realm, having only experienced five hours instead of years. He comes across a memorial park listing names of the vanished, including his own name, then reunites with his daughter Cassie, who had been a young girl when he last saw her and is now a teenager. Lang informs the remaining Avengers and allies about his discovery: the Quantum Realm can allow time travel. While they soon determine that the nature of time travel means that they cannot simply go back in time and stop Thanos from either causing the Blip or destroying the Stones in the first place, they are able to travel through the quantum realm to retrieve the Infinity Stones from alternate timelines in the past.


title: The Blip

text: Upon returning to the present, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner and Rocket develop a gauntlet composed of Stark's nanotech that is capable of harnessing the power of the Stones. Due to the powerful emission of gamma radiation resulting from the Stones' use, Banner volunteers to wear the gauntlet, and successfully restores the blipped victims in the condition they had vanished. The Avengers are then attacked by an alternate version of Thanos who intends to destroy and recreate the universe. A final battle ensues, during which the Avengers attempt to return the Stones to their own timelines, only for Thanos to thwart their efforts. Stark ultimately wins the battle by using the Stones to destroy Thanos and his army for good at the cost of his own life.


title: The Blip

text: Following a funeral honoring Stark's sacrifice, Rogers travels back in time to return the Stones to their original time periods, and decides to return to his own time to live the life with Peggy Carter he'd always wanted. As an elderly man, he appears on the Avengers campus to pass the shield and mantle of Captain America to Sam Wilson.


title: The Blip

text: In "", the Blip is discussed in a school news broadcast at the beginning of the film, which is the first instance in any medium of the name. The broadcast shows Midtown School of Science and Technology band members reappearing in the middle of a basketball game. The film reveals that several more characters had been blipped and restored, including Peter's aunt May Parker, and his classmates Ned Leeds, MJ, Betty Brant, and Flash Thompson. Parker's teacher Roger Harrington complains that his wife had pretended to have been blipped in order to leave him.


title: The Blip

text: As part of a viral marketing campaign to promote the home media release of "Far From Home", a real version of the fictional "TheDailyBugle.net" website was created that featured testimonials from supposed victims of the Blip, including one complaining that they disappeared in a dangerous situation and were seriously injured when they reappeared. This contradicted a statement by Feige saying that anyone in such a situation would have reappeared safely. Several days after this was pointed out, the website was updated to say this story was faked for an insurance claim.


title: The Blip

text: In "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", the Blip is discussed and fliers can be seen in San Francisco regarding a hotline for sufferers of "post-Blip anxiety".


title: The Blip

text: In "Eternals", Ajak reveals that the Blip delayed the onslaught of the Emergence for five years, as it halved the Earth's population from the necessary level needed for the Emergence to occur. An advertisement for the Global Repatriation Council (GRC) is seen.


title: The Blip

text: In "", it is revealed that Wong replaced Stephen Strange as the Sorcerer Supreme due to Strange's disappearance for five years in the Blip. In a mid-credits scene, a bartender explains to a universe-displaced Eddie Brock how his family was among the victims of the Blip.


title: The Blip

text: In "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness", it is revealed that Strange’s former girlfriend Dr. Christine Palmer survived the Blip and found love with another man during that time whom she marries at the start of the film. During the wedding, Strange also learns that his former coworker Dr. Nicodemus West was blipped, and when he returned five years later, he was devastated to discover that his brother and cats had died during his absence. This compels West to ask Strange if there was any way that Thanos could have been defeated without the Blip occurring, prompting Strange to confirm that there was no other way.


title: The Blip

text: In "", it is revealed that Nakia and her son Toussaint left Wakanda immediately following the Blip, which had resulted in the disappearances of T'Challa and Shuri, and Ramonda serving as Queen regnant of Wakanda during the subsequent five years.


title: The Blip

text: In "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3", the Guardians of the Galaxy purchase Knowhere from the Collector in an attempt to make it a safe haven for refugees displaced by the Blip.


title: The Blip

text: When asked how the sixth season of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", set one year after the events of the fifth season and "", would connect to the then-upcoming "", Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb suggested in March 2019 that the one year time jump between the previous season of the series and this one was part of the series' tie-in to that film. After "Endgame" was released in April, the showrunners and Loeb revealed that the series would not directly depict or reference the Blip for several reasons: they began production on the season without knowing all of "Endgame"s plot or how "" (2019) would be depicting a post-"Endgame" MCU; they were unsure when the season would be released in relation to "Endgame" and how much they would be allowed to reveal if they had begun airing before the film was released; and they wanted to focus on telling their own story rather than be "shackled too much to the universe-changing events from the films". While acknowledging that this meant the series seemingly no longer lined-up with the films' timeline, producer Jed Whedon stated that the writers had an explanation for this that made sense to them even though they did not plan to "burden the audience" with it. A line referencing the Blip and how the Quantum Realm could be used to avoid it was filmed for the series finale at the end of its seventh season, but was ultimately cut from the aired episode.


title: The Blip

text: At the beginning of the fourth episode of "WandaVision", "We Interrupt This Program", Monica Rambeau is shown returning from being blipped in a hospital room, discovering chaos outside as other people are un-blipped in many places, and learning that her mother Maria had died of cancer while she was gone. In the same episode, when characters outside the Westview hex first see Vision onscreen, three weeks after the event, Darcy Lewis asks her colleagues to confirm that "he's dead, right? Not blipped. Dead". The writers and producers had many conversations about how to portray people returning from the Blip, and decided to set the sequence in a hospital as an interesting place to depict the scariness and confusion of the event from Monica's perspective. This is different from the portrayal of the Blip in "Far From Home", which had a more comedic tone, and Schaeffer explained that Marvel was happy for the series' tone to be different as long as the visuals of the sequence matched with those seen in "Far From Home".


title: The Blip

text: In "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier", set six months after the event, the Blip is referenced as having created chaos around the world. Millions of people who were displaced by the Blip came under the authority of the Global Repatriation Council (GRC), with a substantial number of people living as refugees awaiting repatriation to their home countries. Many express thankfulness to the Avengers for reversing the Blip but the event also caused violent revolutions throughout the world by organizations such as the Flag Smashers, who felt that life was better during the Blip and engage in terrorist activities to promote an anarchist society. On Sharon Carter surviving the Blip and becoming the Power Broker, series director Kari Skogland said that Carter "had to survive out there on her own during the Blip and being on the run without family — and look at what she built and where she went. She's clever, and that's what I love about it most."


title: The Blip

text: In "Hawkeye", set one year after the Blip, the phrase "Thanos was right" is seen on a coffee mug and in graffiti in New York City. The event is mentioned by Kate Bishop when she deduces that Clint Barton was the Ronin. In the series it is also shown that Yelena Belova / Black Widow was also blipped and that Maya Lopez / Echo and her father, William, survived the Blip, only for William to later die in an attack facilitated by their employer, Wilson Fisk / Kingpin. "Hawkeye" episode five, "Ronin", was the first MCU media to show the Blip from the perspective of a person being blipped, with Belova seeming to almost instantly disintegrate and then reappear, with the room around her changing in appearance to signify the sudden passage of five years.


title: The Blip

text: Although the Blip is never mentioned in "Moon Knight", the issue date on Marc Spector’s passport is visibly shown to be December 14, 2018 (a post-Blip date), indicating that he survived the Blip. In addition, a Global Repatriation Council (GRC) banner is seen on the side of a bus. The series' head writer Jeremy Slater later confirmed Spector's survival.


title: The Blip

text: The Blip is not shown to occur in the alternate universes depicted in the TV series "What If...?". In the episode "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?", T'Challa convinces Thanos to abandon his plans of erasing half of life in the universe. In "What If... Zombies?!", Thanos arrives on Earth, having acquired most of the Infinity Stones, but is infected by the quantum virus and transformed into a zombie. In "What If... Ultron Won?", Thanos arrives on Earth to retrieve the Mind Stone after collecting the other Infinity Stones, but is swiftly killed by Ultron, who takes the Stones for himself and sets about to kill all life in the Multiverse.


title: The Blip

text: In "", Bruce Banner takes his cousin Jennifer Walters to his beach house/lab in Mexico built by Banner and Stark, and explains to Walters that "this is where I spent the Blip fixing myself and integrating the Hulk/Banner identities". The conversation does not clarify whether Walters herself was blipped. In the second episode, Walters' mother, Elaine, reminds the family that Banner was responsible for the Blip and that he had saved everyone with a snap of his finger.


title: The Blip

text: In the comic books published by Marvel Comics, the event on which the initial part of the Blip is based occurred during the 1991 "The Infinity Gauntlet" series, and came to be called the Snap. While still carried out by Thanos, it was done in an effort to impress the personification of Death, with whom he was enamored. Thanos collects the Infinity Gems, which he uses to create the Infinity Gauntlet, making himself omnipotent, and erases half the living things in the universe to prove his love to Death. The heroes of Earth and other worlds do not become aware of these events until the Snap itself occurs, after which the surviving heroes band together against Thanos. The Snap and several related acts are quickly undone by Nebula and Adam Warlock. Warlock reveals that Thanos has always allowed himself to be defeated because the Titan secretly knows he is not worthy of ultimate power. Thanos then joins Warlock as part of the Infinity Watch and helps him to defeat various threats to the universe. Because the Snap is reversed shortly after it occurs, it does not have the sort of long-term societal effects and repercussions as the Blip in the MCU. Furthermore, because the Infinity Gems are recovered from Thanos immediately, and are never destroyed, they continue to play a role in later storylines in the comic books.


title: The Blip

text: The introduction of the Blip drew positive reviews from critics and audiences as an effective plot device due to its use as a plot twist in "Infinity War", serious tone, and overarching implications in the MCU.


title: The Blip

text: The depiction of the Blip at the conclusion of "Avengers: Infinity War" sparked various Internet meme reactions, including one referencing Peter Parker saying he does not feel good as he disintegrates, which was applied to other things.


title: The Blip

text: The website, "DidThanosKill.Me" was created for fans to see if they would have been spared by Thanos or not. The ending also spawned the creation of the Reddit subreddit, r/thanosdidnothingwrong. A user within the subreddit suggested that half of the approximately 20,000 subscribers at the time be banned from the subreddit, in order to mimic the events of the film. After the community agreed to the measure, the moderators approached Reddit's administrators to see if the mass ban would even be possible. Once the administrators agreed to the random ban of half the subscribers, it was set to occur on July 9, 2018. Notice of the impending ban made the subreddit's subscribers increase to over 700,000, including both of the Russos who subscribed. Ahead of the ban, Brolin posted a video saying "Here we go, Reddit users," and ending it with a snap. Over 60,000 people watched a live Twitch stream of the ban occurring, which lasted several hours. The ban of over 300,000 accounts, which included Anthony Russo, was the largest in Reddit's history. Those banned then gathered in the new subreddit, /r/inthesoulstone. One Reddit user who participated described the ban as embodying "the spirit of the Internet" with people "banding together, en masse, around something relatively meaningless but somehow decidedly awesome and hilarious". Andrew Tigani of "Screen Rant" said this showed "how impactful the film has already become to pop culture. It is also a testament to how valuable fan interaction can be via social media".


title: The Blip

text: Feige has noted similar connotations and societal ramifications apparent between the fictional Blip and the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which followed the release of "Avengers: Endgame". Feige elaborated, "As we started getting into a global pandemic last March and April and May, we started to go, holy mackerel, the Blip, this universal experience...this experience that affected every human on Earth, now has a direct parallel between what people who live in the MCU had encountered, and what all of us in the real world have encountered."


title: The Blip

text: Following the premiere of "Avengers: Endgame", Google included a clickable icon of the Infinity Gauntlet in Google Search results for "Thanos" or "Infinity Gauntlet" as a digital Easter egg. The icon, when clicked, made a finger-snapping motion before half of the search results disappeared, akin to the disappearance of characters following the Blip. The disappearance of the search results could also be reversed, shown by the use of the Time Stone in the Infinity Gauntlet icon.


title: The Blip

text: While promoting "Eternals", actor Kit Harington suggested that Marvel fans "mustn't get too bogged down" in the Blip, stating: "If it becomes too much about the Blip or events that happened in the previous stuff, you can trip yourself up everywhere".


title: The Blip

text: The motivations held by Thanos that led to the Blip have drawn comparisons by experts to claims and works held by 18th-century scholar and economist Thomas Malthus. In 1798, Malthus theorized in "An Essay on the Principle of Population," that if populations grew much faster than their food sources, and if growth remained unchecked, it would eventually lead to societal collapse. Malthus had argued that society could impose a preventative check on unrestrained growth, thereby avoiding catastrophic outcomes.


title: The Blip

text: While the event wipes out half of the universe's population and not necessarily half of Earth's, modern scientific experts have commented that, in a hypothetical real-world scenario, a reduction of half of all forms of biological life on Earth would have immediate effects on biodiversity, comparable to a mass extinction event. Threatened species with preexisting low populations, as well as those species involved in pollination and food production services that require pollination management would be adversely affected. Ecosystem collapse could be possible. In relation to humans, a decrease of human overpopulation would lead to fewer emissions of greenhouse gases, which would improve the prospects of climate change mitigation and reduce global warming and its related effects. Humans would lose approximately between and , due to the loss of microbes and bacteria in the body. A simultaneous mass disappearance of people would also immediately trigger a substantial number of accidental and circumstantial deaths, such as airplane crashes and vehicular accidents.


title: The Blip

text: A study in 2021 found that Thanos could not have physically snapped his fingers while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet due to the lack of friction between surfaces.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Perry Mason is an American legal drama series originally broadcast on CBS television from September 21, 1957, to May 22, 1966. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner. Many episodes are based on stories written by Gardner.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "Perry Mason" was one of Hollywood's first weekly one-hour series filmed for television, and remains one of the longest-running and most successful legal-themed television series. During its first season, it received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Dramatic Series, and it became one of the five most popular shows on television. Burr received two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, and Barbara Hale received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Mason's confidential secretary Della Street. "Perry Mason" and Burr were honored as Favorite Series and Favorite Male Performer in the first two "TV Guide" Award readers' polls. In 1960, the series received the first Silver Gavel Award presented for television drama by the American Bar Association.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "Perry Mason" has aired in syndication in the United States and internationally ever since its cancellation, and the complete series has been released on Region 1 DVD. A 2014 study found that Netflix users rate Raymond Burr as their favorite actor, with Barbara Hale number seven on the list.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "The New Perry Mason," a 1973 revival of the series with a different cast, was poorly received and ran for 15 episodes. In 1985, Burr returned to play Mason in a successful series of Perry Mason television films airing on NBC. A total of 30 films were made; Burr starred in 26 of them before his death in 1993.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Perry Mason is a distinguished criminal-defense lawyer practicing in Los Angeles, California, most of whose clients have been wrongly charged with murder. He is ably assisted by his confidential secretary Della Street and by private investigator Paul Drake. The innocent suspect is usually prosecuted by district attorney Hamilton Burger, though the prosecution is handled by a local district attorney when the murder takes place outside Los Angeles County. In the early seasons, the police investigation is usually led by the less imaginative homicide detective Lt. Arthur Tragg. (Later, other homicide detectives appear with increasing frequency.)


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: In a typical episode, the first half of the show introduces a client, who often hires Mason on non-murder related business, or becomes acquainted with him in some other way. The prospective murder victim and other important figures in the case are introduced, and then the client finds himself or herself wrongly accused of murder. Once the crime has been committed, while Tragg and Burger work to gather evidence against Mason's innocent client, Mason, Paul Drake and Della Street engage in a parallel investigation in order to exonerate him or her.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: In the second half, Mason and Burger spar in the courtroom. This usually takes place during the preliminary hearing because Mason's technique is to clear a client before they are bound over for trial (based on novels). Jury trials are rarely seen, with "The Case of the Terrified Typist" being an exception. As the courtroom proceedings advance, while Burger and Tragg often uncover new evidence or a new witness that would seem to seal the fate of the accused, Mason's team continue their parallel investigation in what seems to be an increasingly hopeless effort. As the investigation or examination progresses, Mason and sometimes Burger uncover the morally ugly or even illegal conduct of some of the witnesses or participants, thus complicating the moral and legal intrigue of the case.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Eventually, some detail is uncovered, a different interpretation of the evidence is found, or a remark is made inside or outside the courtroom which gives Mason the clue he needs to discover the identity of the real murderer. (For example, in "The Case of the Lazy Lover", the prosecution's case relies on a complicated set of footprints left at the crime scene. Mason notices that the prints left by a neighbor's dog were inconsistent with Burger's interpretation, leading Mason to realize that the neighbor's testimony was contrary to the truth.) Armed with this new insight, Mason then usually embarks upon a line of questioning that reveals the surprise perpetrator, often causing them to break down and confess to the crime in the courtroom. In the closing scene or epilogue, Paul and Della, and sometimes Burger and Tragg, ask Mason what gave him the clue he needed; after Mason explains, he or someone else makes a humorous remark.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: After a series of Warner Bros. films and a radio series he despised, author Erle Stanley Gardner refused to license his popular character Perry Mason for any more adaptations (the radio series, without the Mason character, would be adapted for television as the long-running crime soap opera "The Edge of Night"). His literary agent was advertising executive Thomas Cornwell Jackson, who had married actress Gail Patrick in 1947. She had studied law before she went to Hollywood "for a lark" and appeared in more than 60 feature films including "My Man Godfrey" (1936), "Stage Door" (1937), and "My Favorite Wife" (1940). She stopped acting in 1948, started a family, and began to talk to Gardner about adapting the Perry Mason stories for a television series.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "We kept talking about what kind of a series he'd want and how much creative control he needed," Gail Patrick told journalist James Bawden in 1979. "I just think he came to trust me and I'd kept up my contacts in show business."


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Gardner regarded Perry Mason's personal life as irrelevant and wanted the series to concentrate on crime and Mason's fight for the underdog. "You must remember," Patrick said, "Erle was in love with the law and its finer points."


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Patrick, her husband, and Gardner formed a production company, Paisano Productions, of which she was president. When she first tried to sell "Perry Mason" to CBS, the network wanted it to be a live hour-long weekly program. "That would have been impossible—it would have killed the actor playing Perry," Patrick said. "And "I Love Lucy" had taught the value of filmed reruns." Paisano Productions absorbed the costs for a filmed pilot.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: In February 1956, CBS announced its new series, "Perry Mason", anticipating it would begin that fall. The network obtained the rights to 272 stories by Gardner, including Perry Mason and 11 other principal characters. The rights were purchased from Paisano Productions, which would film the series in association with CBS and own a 60% interest in the films.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "Perry Mason" was one of Hollywood's first hour-long weekly series filmed for television. Gail Patrick Jackson was its executive producer. "We were the first "bona fide" law show and we spent two years preparing Perry for the television bar," Patrick said.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Gail Patrick Jackson was immersed in auditions throughout 1956. The role of Perry Mason proved to be the hardest to cast. Richard Carlson, Mike Connors, Richard Egan, William Holden, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr., were considered. In early April, Fred MacMurray and CBS were reportedly in the midst of negotiations, and columnist Hedda Hopper wrote that Cornwell Jackson had postponed a two-month vacation in Hawaii, hoping to get the series ready by September or October. In mid-June, Hopper reported that the Jacksons had left on their annual trip, after stating that "Perry Mason" would not be ready for TV that fall.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "We couldn't afford a big star," Patrick later said. Among the hundreds of actors she saw audition in April 1956 was Raymond Burr, who initially read for the role of district attorney Hamilton Burger, with Tod Andrews standing in as Mason. Patrick had been impressed with Burr's courtroom performance in the 1951 film "A Place in the Sun", and told him he was perfect for the title role in "Perry Mason", but at least 60 pounds overweight. Over the next month, Burr went on a crash diet. When he returned, he tested as Perry Mason, and was chosen from a field of 50 finalists. By July 1956, word was out that Burr had the role, and an announcement was made at the beginning of August.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: William Hopper also auditioned as Mason, but was cast as private detective Paul Drake. Patrick recalled, "When Bill Hopper came in to read for Paul Drake he blurted out, 'You hate my mother.' And that was Hedda Hopper. Well, I disliked what she stood for, but 'hate' is something else—and anyway he was perfect as Drake, and we got him."


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Barbara Hale was still prominent in feature films, but had a young family and wished to avoid going away on long periods of location shooting. Patrick said that Hale telephoned about the role of Della Street.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Patrick had an actor in mind for the Los Angeles district attorney. "I'd seen a brilliant little movie, "The Hitch-Hiker", and had to have William Talman as Burger—and he never disappointed us," Patrick said. Later asked about how he felt about Burger losing to Mason week after week, Talman said, "Burger doesn't lose. How can a district attorney lose when he fails to convict an innocent person? Unlike a fist or gun fight, in court you can have a winner without having a loser. As a matter of fact, Burger in a good many instances has joined Mason in action against unethical attorneys, lying witnesses, or any one else obstructing justice. Like any real-life district attorney, justice is Burger's main interest."


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "Ray Collins came on board as Lt. Arthur Tragg," Patrick said. "He was such a wonderful actor—beautiful voice, trained in radio's Mercury Theatre. We overlooked the fact that on an actual police force, he would probably be long retired." Collins was 68 at the time the series debuted.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Each episode's casting interviews were conducted by Gail Patrick Jackson, producer Ben Brady, and the director. Episodes typically employed 10 featured players in addition to the principal cast and extras. Numerous actors famous for past and future roles in film and television made guest appearances on the show.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "Many were people I'd worked with in movies," said Gail Patrick Jackson. "They were grateful and delivered on time—and powerfully. … Gloria Henry, Vaughn Taylor, Hillary Brooke, John Archer, Morris Ankrum, Don Beddoe, Fay Wray, Olive Blakeney, Paul Fix, Addison Richards. We also had newcomers like Darryl Hickman, Barbara Eden. The trick was to only use them once a year. People like Fay Wray came back several times, but as other characters."


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Patrick made it a point to hire her Hollywood acting contemporaries whenever possible. Some were semiretired and financially well-off, but still enjoyed performing. Character actor George E. Stone was impoverished, and for years he appeared on "Perry Mason" regularly in minor roles until his health made it impossible for him to work any longer. Patrick went to considerable lengths to find a part for an actress who had become paralyzed on one side; she played with her good side toward the camera.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "This isn't being the least altruistic," Patrick said. "They are all fine performers and bring to the shows something interesting and vital—even when they only have one line."


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "Perry Mason" also drew on the distinguished West Coast radio pool. Working steadily in radio since the 1940s, Raymond Burr was a leading player on the West Coast and in 1956 was the star of CBS Radio's "Fort Laramie". Noted for his loyalty and consciousness of history, Burr went out of his way to employ his colleagues. Some 180 radio celebrities appeared on "Perry Mason" during the first season alone.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: The production staff of "Perry Mason" worked at being technically correct and responsive to an audience that included lawyers and judges. Producer Ben Brady practiced law in New York before entering show business; story editor Gene Wang graduated from law school in Florida; and executive producer Gail Patrick Jackson studied law for two years before becoming an actress.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Many episodes are based on novels and short stories by lawyer-turned-writer Erle Stanley Gardner. Only two of the 69 Perry Mason novels Gardner published before January 1963 were not adapted for the series. All but three episodes in the first season were adapted from Gardner's stories. In season two, 14 of the 39 episodes came from Gardner originals. With the backlist exhausted, later seasons presented between one and five episodes drawn from Gardner stories, with occasional remakes of earlier adaptations. By the summer of 1958, Patrick was already supervising the work of 31 writers who were developing original scripts based on Gardner's characters.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "Funny thing about writers," Patrick told "TV Guide". "A lot of them think they'll improve on Erle. Most of them find out they can't even duplicate him."


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Writers submitted a draft script, which was reviewed for continuity, narrative content, and legal error by Patrick and Wang. A revised draft was then forwarded to Gardner, who would respond with a detailed brief indicating particular changes required to conform with the law. Gardner closely supervised the scripts throughout the run of the series, and continued to write new Perry Mason novels.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: By 1961, the strictures of the "Perry Mason" formula led "Writer's Digest" to declare, "This show has the reputation among writers as being the hardest one in Hollywood to work for."


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: A test film, "The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink", ultimately aired December 14, 1957, as the 13th episode of the first season. The pilot was filmed October 3–9, 1956, after Raymond Burr completed a film in Havana and made a two-week tour of military hospitals in the West Indies.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink' is written and directed very much like a noir B-feature of the period, from its stylishly dramatic opening to its violent climax," wrote film scholar Thomas Leitch. He noted that the pilot film "provides a fascinating laboratory for the formula, since it combines trademark elements that would become long-running features of the series with others that would be swiftly abandoned." The episode was directed by Ted Post, whose camera movement, use of deep space, and film noir stylings were softened or absent in subsequent episodes. Laurence Marks and Ben Starr adapted Erle Stanley Gardner's 1952 novel, retaining all its plot features and characters.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: In her TV column in early November 1956, journalist Eve Starr reported, "Word is seeping down from CBS brass that its hour-long "Perry Mason" pilot film is a whooping success, so much so that the show will be held back until a good time period can be found for it next season."


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: On November 30, 1956, Gardner wrote Gail Patrick Jackson:"I can't get over the feeling that I had sitting there watching that pilot film. … As I saw the manner in which your ideas, your tact and persistence had gradually changed the approach and resulted in a highly polished, finished product I was tremendously proud of you and of my association with you. I think that you saw possibilities in Raymond Burr which no one else saw. I think that you developed those possibilities and I think you have inspired not only the cast but the producers and directors. I think we are on the trail of a highly successful presentation."


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: The series began filming in April 1957. Each episode was budgeted at $100,000, the equivalent of $ today. Filming took place on Stage 8 at the 20th Century-Fox studios near Western Avenue and Sunset Boulevard (where the show's production offices were located) and at CBS Studio Center, with at least one location in each episode. Burr had lost 100 pounds, but continued to lose weight when filming began: "I just don't have time to eat," he said.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "Every six days Burr stars in what almost amounts to a full-length feature movie," wrote syndicated columnist Erskine Johnson. "He's in 98 percent of all the scenes." This punishing schedule for Burr was soon adjusted, as by midway through the first season a typical "Perry Mason" episode would open by focusing on the story of the client for most of the first act — Perry himself (and the other regular series characters) might not be introduced until 10–12 minutes into the show.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Still, the workload was enormous. "I had no life outside of "Perry Mason"," Burr recalled. "And that went on 24 hours a day, six days a week. I never went home at night. I lived on the lot. I got up at 3 o'clock every single morning to learn my lines for that day, and sometimes I hadn't finished until 9 o'clock. I had a kitchen, bedroom, office space, sitting room—all of that—on every lot I ever worked on."


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Thirty-nine episodes were filmed in the first year. "Ray had key lines written on his shirt sleeve cuffs," said Gail Patrick Jackson.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Directors included Laslo Benedek, Jesse Hibbs, Arthur Marks, Christian Nyby, and William D. Russell. Some, including Lewis Allen and Richard Donner, had or would have notable directing credits in feature films. Many episodes incorporated the essential elements of film noir.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "The crew is giving it the best of Hollywood's techniques," Burr told columnist Erskine Johnson. The crew included veterans including art director Lewis Creber, make-up artist Mel Berns, cinematographer Frank Redman, editor Richard Cahoon and sound mixer Harry M. Leonard.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: All but one of the episodes in the series were filmed in black-and-white. The episode "The Case of the Twice-Told Twist", an episode heavily influenced by Charles Dickens's "Oliver Twist", was the sole exception. The president of CBS, William Paley, commissioned the color episode so he could see what the show would look like in color, should it be renewed for a 10th season (the season most prime time shows went color).


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "Perry Mason" is set in Los Angeles; interior scenes were filmed on the 20th Century-Fox Western Avenue studio lot, and most exteriors were filmed at Fox Studios in Westwood, California, or the Movie Ranch in Malibu Canyon. Later episodes in the series were filmed at the former Charlie Chaplin Studios in Hollywood.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: In the early years of the series, filming would be done on location in and around Culver City and a few downtown locales. In one episode, Drake gets out of a car on Wilshire Boulevard and goes into an apartment building; in the distant background, the lights and cameras from the set filming an episode of "Peter Gunn" are visible. Numerous establishing shots are used, including the iconic Civic Center, Los Angeles, the Hall of Justice building and the Los Angeles County Court House which is now the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. All of these buildings are still standing.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Mason's offices are in the Brent Building, Suite 904, phone MAdison 5–1190. In Season 8 the number for the office is 272-2199. Although the Brent Building is fictional, the series used the entrance and exterior of the former Superior Oil Company Building, a modern architecture structure in downtown Los Angeles completed in 1956. The building was registered in 2003 as a historical landmark and is now part of Standard Hotels.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Scattered throughout the run were episodes that would take place beyond Burger's jurisdiction as Los Angeles County District Attorney. In 1960, when William Talman, who played Hamilton Burger, was suspended for allegedly violating the morals clause in his contract, several assistant prosecutors were seen in court. Talman had attended a party at which he was charged with having engaged in indecent activities. He was later acquitted, and largely through the efforts of Burr, Talman was reinstated to the show.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: The show's theme music is one of the most recognizable in television. Composer Fred Steiner set out to write a theme that would project the two primary aspects of Mason's character—sophistication and toughness. "The piece he came up with, titled "Park Avenue Beat", pulsed with the power of the big city and the swagger of a beefy hero played to perfection by actor Raymond Burr," wrote the "Los Angeles Times". Described by Steiner as "a piece of symphonic R&B", the "Perry Mason" theme heard at the opening and end credits became the composer's best-known work. American pop singer Madonna would use samples from the theme as part of her performance on "White Heat" during her 1987 concert tour, Who's That Girl World Tour.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Much of the incidental music was drawn from the CBS-TV Music Library. This included music by Bernard Herrmann, who went uncredited since the cues were stock music that was edited into the score. Herrmann's music has been identified in the following episodes: "The Case of the Restless Redhead", "The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece", "The Case of the Nervous Accomplice", The Case of the Drowning Duck", "The Case of the Silent Partner", "The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife", "The Case of the Calendar Girl", "The Case of the Spurious Sister" and "The Case of the Mythical Monkeys". Production records show Herrmann's music being used in 100 episodes, through "The Case of the Tandem Target" (Season 7, Episode 29).


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "Perry Mason" aired Saturday nights for its first five seasons, outdrawing competition including the first two seasons of NBC's "Bonanza". "Bonanza" jumped to number two in the Nielsen ratings when it moved to Sunday nights in 1961. In 1962, CBS moved "Perry Mason" to Thursday nights, where it easily won the ratings for its time slot.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "CBS just got plain cocky," said executive producer Gail Patrick Jackson. "It irritated the suits to no end that Sundays at 8 was "The Ed Sullivan Show" with his huge rating, and then everybody switched to NBC's "Bonanza". William S. Paley would rant about this every time we met." Patrick continued:


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Then, for the September '65 season he floored me by telling the affiliates we'd be going Sundays at 9 with a mandate to demolish "Bonanza". Just like that. He finally let me shoot in color but we never had a chance. We improved ratings for CBS but "Bonanza" was the leader and Paley simply cancelled us completely in 1966. After nine seasons and 271 episodes we were dust."


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: The network gave no particular reason for the cancellation. "CBS figures we are worn out," Patrick told "The New York Times" in November 1965. "But this season the show is getting more mail than ever before and so is Raymond."


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Burr had wanted to leave "Perry Mason" after five years, but was always persuaded to extend his contract. Network executives implored him to stay for a tenth season, to be filmed in color. "They shot one show in color and I said 'no'," Burr recalled, "and they gave me such a big thing, talked about my loyalty and all that, and they guaranteed the quality of the show and said, 'Let's go off with a big bang.' This was all of the people at CBS." Burr agreed to do the tenth season. Three weeks after the meeting, he picked up the trade papers and read that the series had been cancelled.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: The last episode of the series, "The Case of the Final Fade-Out", was filmed April 12–19, 1966. Set in a TV film studio where two murders occur, the last show offered the entire production crew an opportunity to appear on camera. Most of the behind-the-scenes personnel in the episode had been with the show the entire nine years. Patrick made a cameo appearance herself, and persuaded Erle Stanley Gardner to make his acting debut as the judge who presides over the second trial.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Preceding the 1957 series, a series of movies were made in the 1930s, as well as a radio show that started airing in 1943.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: At least three series have been made about the Perry Mason character after the cancellation of the 1957 series, including a series of television films for NBC, starting with "Perry Mason Returns" in 1985, featuring the two then-surviving cast members, Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: When asked by a fan why Perry Mason won every case, Burr told her, "But madam, you see only the cases I try on Saturday."


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Mason is known to have lost, in some form or manner, three cases—"The Case of the Terrified Typist," "The Case of the Witless Witness," and "The Case of the Deadly Verdict."


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Mason also loses a civil case at the beginning of "The Case of the Dead Ringer," partly due to being framed for witness tampering. His staff and he then spend the rest of the episode trying to prove his innocence. They eventually do, and although this is not stated explicitly, the verdict of the civil case is presumably either overturned or declared a mistrial. In a July 15, 2009, interview on NPR's program "All Things Considered", Barbara Hale claimed that all of Mason's lost cases were declared mistrials off the air.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Mason did lose, at least by inference, a capital case mentioned in the 1958 episode "The Case of the Desperate Daughter." Mason and Della Street are first seen preparing a last-minute appeal for a "Mr. Hudson" who has an impending date with the gas chamber.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: At the time of its cancellation, "Perry Mason" was or had been airing in 58 countries, subtitled in ten languages and dubbed in ten more.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "Perry Mason" has been a staple in syndication, running for many years on local television stations (including WGN-TV in the 1990s when it was a Chicago-based superstation), TBS and on the Hallmark Channel. Originally, only 195 of the 271 episodes were available to stations. These episodes included all of the first six seasons (except the four Season 6 episodes in which Raymond Burr makes only brief appearances), four episodes of Season 7, and 14 episodes of the ninth and final season (including the final episode). It was not until the mid-1980s when TBS obtained the rights to the remaining episodes that all 271 "Perry Mason" episodes were seen in syndication.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Episodes broadcast in syndicated re-runs are usually heavily edited, to allow for more time for commercials.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: The TV series is currently shown weekdays on Me-TV and FETV, as well as on local stations in various local markets. Portland, Oregon station KPTV first aired evening repeats of "Perry Mason" in 1966. In 1970, the station began the long tradition of showing reruns of "Perry Mason" weekdays during its noon time slot. This unprecedented run ended 42 years later, on September 3, 2012, when KPTV ceased broadcasting the show. It continued to be shown on KPDX, duopoly of KPTV, in the 8 AM time slot through September 12, 2014. The series was distributed by CBS Films, then Viacom Enterprises, Paramount Domestic Television and CBS Paramount Domestic Television, CBS Television Distribution, and now by CBS Media Ventures.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: A 2014 article in "The Atlantic" that examined how Netflix categorized nearly 77,000 different personalized genres found that "Perry Mason" star Raymond Burr was rated as the favorite actor by Netflix users. Barbara Hale was rated seventh. Christian I. Nyby II, the director of many of the television movies, and his father Christian Nyby, who directed many episodes of the TV series, led the list of directors. Todd Yellin, vice president of product innovation for Netflix and the person who designed the system, was at a loss to explain what journalist Alexis Madrigal called "this weird Perry Mason thing".


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: ""Perry Mason" was television's most successful and longest-running lawyer series," wrote TV historian Tim Brooks. "It remains, I think, the best detective series ever made for television," wrote film historian Jon Tuska. "The definitive portrayal, of course, was by former screen heavy Raymond Burr on the CBS series (1957–1966) in scripts faithfully based on Gardner's novels", wrote mystery writer Max Allan Collins.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: In her Supreme Court nomination before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary in July 2009, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor prefaced her remarks on the role of the prosecutor by saying that she was inspired by watching "Perry Mason" as a child. "I was influenced so greatly by a television show in igniting the passion that I had as being a prosecutor, and it was "Perry Mason"", Sotomayor said. In her 2013 memoir the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States wrote of the show's influence on her while she was growing up in a Bronx housing project. She granted that the defense attorney was the show's hero, "but my sympathies were not entirely monopolized by Perry Mason. I was fond of Burger, the prosecutor, too. I liked that he was a good loser, that he was more committed to finding the truth than to winning his case. If the defendant was truly innocent, he once explained, and the case was dismissed, then he had done his job because justice had been served." She was particularly fascinated by the judge.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "There was a whole new vocabulary here," Sotomayor wrote. "And though I wasn't sure what every detail meant, I followed the gist of it. It was like the puzzles I enjoyed, a complex game with its own rules, and one that intersected with grand themes of right and wrong. I was intrigued and determined to figure it out."


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: A "Perry Mason" parody titled "The Night That Perry Masonmint Lost a Case" appeared in the July 1959 issue of "Mad" magazine.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Raymond Burr made a guest appearance in an episode of "The Jack Benny Program", titled "Jack on Trial for Murder" (November 5, 1961). He appears in character as Perry Mason in Benny's dream sequence about being tried for killing a rooster. Other "Perry Mason" cast include Grandon Rhodes as the process server, Frank Wilcox as the judge and George E. Stone as court clerk.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: The character of Perry Mason was spoofed in an episode of the animated series "The Flintstones", titled "Little Bamm-Bamm" (October 3, 1963). When the Rubbles try to adopt Bamm-Bamm, they end up in court facing attorney "Perry Masonry, who's never lost a case".


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: The Blues Brothers recorded a cover version of Fred Steiner's "Perry Mason" TV series theme for the 1980 album "Made in America". It was later used in the 1998 film "Blues Brothers 2000" and released on the soundtrack album.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Ozzy Osbourne's 1995 album, "Ozzmosis", opens with a track titled "Perry Mason". Released as a single, the song was the first to integrate the music of "Perry Mason" into what one reviewer described as a "bruising rocker … complete with an ominous excerpt from the classic TV show theme".


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: In the video game "", the system of saved data from courts, the MASON System, was named in reference to Perry Mason.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: "Suicide", a song by the Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, was inspired by the episode "The Case of the Lover's Leap" (season 6, episode 23). It appears on the band's 1975 album "Fighting".


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: Perry Mason is referenced a number of times in AMC's "Better Call Saul", the prequel to "Breaking Bad", most notably in the episode "Chicanery", when Chuck McGill says that his brother, Jimmy McGill, wants to "Split me apart at the seams like a murderer confessing on an episode of Perry Mason" (which does indeed end up happening).


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: CBS Home Entertainment has released all nine seasons of "Perry Mason" on Region 1 DVD. Each season was released in two-volume half-season sets because each season of "Perry Mason" contains considerably more material than a modern TV series. The first season of "Perry Mason" featured 39 episodes, Season 3 had 26 episodes, and all other seasons had either 28 or 30 episodes; this compares with 22 for a typical modern series. In addition, "Perry Mason" episodes are 50–53 minutes long, while a 2014 Nielsen study found that modern one-hour shows are shortened to accommodate 14 to 15 minutes of commercials.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: The DVDs contain the original full-length version of each episode. Episodes broadcast in syndicated re-runs are usually heavily edited, to allow for more commercial time.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: In April 2008, a special 50th anniversary DVD set was released with selected episodes from the then-unreleased Seasons 3–9. Barbara Hale, sometimes joined by director and producer Arthur Marks, provides an on-camera introduction to each episode. Bonus material includes the 1956 film tests of Burr and Hopper, just discovered in the CBS vaults; interviews with Hale, Marks, and CBS executive Anne Roberts Nelson; a short documentary about Erle Stanley Gardner; a cast appearance on "Pantomime Quiz"; a 1958 "Person to Person" segment in which Burr (at his home in Malibu) is interviewed by Charles Collingwood; two "CBS News Nightwatch" interviews of Burr by Charlie Rose; the anti-smoking public service announcement William Talman made on behalf of the American Cancer Society shortly before his death from lung cancer; and the first of the made-for-TV movies, "Perry Mason Returns". Film historian Stuart Galbraith IV called the 50th anniversary set "a must-have … especially for its extra features".


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: In Region 2, Paramount Home Entertainment has released the first three seasons in complete sets on DVD in the UK.


title: Perry Mason (1957 TV series)

text: In Region 4, Paramount Home Entertainment has released the first two seasons on DVD in Australia/New Zealand. These releases are similar to the Region 1 releases whereby each season has been released in two-volume sets.


title: Battle of Blair Mountain

text: The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor uprising in United States history and the largest armed uprising since the American Civil War. The conflict occurred in Logan County, West Virginia, as part of the Coal Wars, a series of early-20th-century labor disputes in Appalachia. Up to 100 people were killed, and many more arrested.


title: Battle of Blair Mountain

text: For five days from late August to early September 1921, some 10,000 armed coal miners confronted 3,000 lawmen and strikebreakers (called the Logan Defenders) who were backed by coal mine operators during the miners' attempt to unionize the southwestern West Virginia coalfields when tensions rose between workers and mine management. The battle ended after approximately one million rounds were fired, and the United States Army, represented by the West Virginia Army National Guard led by McDowell County native William Eubanks, intervened by presidential order.


title: Battle of Blair Mountain

text: Since the founding of the United Mine Workers union in 1890, coal mines in Mingo County, West Virginia and its surrounds hired only non-union workers, and strictly enforced employment contracts that included union membership as grounds for immediate termination. As miners in the area lived almost exclusively in company towns, termination also meant eviction. In 1920, the UMW's new president John L. Lewis sought to finally end the three-decade resistance to unionization in the area. He was under increased pressure to do so from both miners elsewhere participating in the United Mine Workers coal strike of 1919, and from affected mine operators who were now being undercut by nonunion mines in West Virginia.


title: Battle of Blair Mountain

text: This unionization push included efforts from Mother Jones, who gave fiery speeches at the age of 83, and Frank Keeney, president of the local union district. Over 3,000 Mingo County miners joined the union—and were summarily fired. The coal companies then hired agents of the Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency to evict the families of their former employees.


title: Battle of Blair Mountain

text: On May 19, 1920, a dozen Baldwin–Felts detectives, including Lee Felts, arrived in Matewan in Mingo County and connected with Lee’s brother Albert Felts. Albert and Lee were the brothers of Thomas Felts, the co-owner and director of the private detective agency. The Baldwin–Felts agents were union busters who had a reputation for using violence against groups looking to organize. The agents were also responsible for the Ludlow Massacre of 1914 in Colorado. Albert had already been in the Matewan area and had tried to bribe Mayor Cabell Testerman with $500 to place machine guns on roofs in the town; Testerman refused. That afternoon Albert and Lee, along with 11 other men, set out to the Stone Mountain Coal Co. property. The first family they evicted was a woman and her children; the woman's husband was not home at the time. They forced them out at gunpoint and threw their belongings in the road under a light but steady rain. The miners who saw it were furious, and sent word to town.


title: Battle of Blair Mountain

text: As the agents walked to the train station to leave town, Police Chief Sid Hatfield and a group of deputized miners confronted them and told them they were under arrest. Albert Felts replied that in fact he had a warrant for Hatfield's arrest. Testerman was alerted, and he ran out into the street after a miner shouted that Sid had been arrested. Hatfield backed into the store and Testerman asked to see the warrant. After reviewing it, Mayor Testerman exclaimed, "This is a bogus warrant." With these words, a gunfight erupted and Chief Hatfield shot the agent Albert Felts. Testerman together with Albert and Lee Felts were among the ten men killed (three from the town and seven from the agency).


title: Battle of Blair Mountain

text: This gunfight became known as the Matewan Massacre, and its symbolic significance was enormous for the miners. The seemingly invincible detective agency Baldwin–Felts had been beaten. Chief Sid Hatfield became an immediate legend and hero to the union miners, and a symbol of hope that the oppression of coal operators and their hired guns could be overthrown. Throughout the summer and into the fall of 1920 the union gained strength in Mingo County, as did the resistance of the coal operators. Sporadic shootouts occurred up and down the Tug River. In late June state police under the command of Captain Brockus raided the Lick Creek tent colony near Williamson. Miners were said to have fired on Brockus and Martin's men from the colony, and in response the state police shot and arrested miners, ripped the canvas tents to shreds and scattered the mining families' belongings. Both sides were bolstering their arms, and Sid Hatfield continued to fuel the resistance, specifically by converting Testerman's jewelry store into a gun shop.


title: Battle of Blair Mountain

text: On January 26, 1921, the trial of Hatfield for killing Albert Felts began. It was in the national spotlight and brought much attention to the miners' cause. Hatfield's stature and mythical status grew as the trial proceeded. He posed and talked to reporters, fanning the flames of his own legend. All men were acquitted in the end, but overall the union was facing significant setbacks. Eighty percent of mines had reopened with imported replacements and ex-strikers who signed yellow-dog contracts to return to work. In mid-May 1921 union miners launched a full-scale assault on non-union mines. In a short time the conflict had consumed the entire Tug River Valley. This "Three Days Battle" was finally ended by a flag of truce and the implementation of martial law. From the beginning, the miners perceived the enforcement of martial law as one-sided. Hundreds of miners were arrested; the smallest of infractions could mean imprisonment, while those on the side of "law and order" were seen as immune. The miners responded with guerrilla tactics and sabotage.


title: Battle of Blair Mountain

text: In the midst of this tense situation, Hatfield traveled to McDowell County on August 1, 1921, to stand trial on charges of dynamiting a coal tipple. Along with him traveled a good friend, Ed Chambers, and their wives. As they walked up the courthouse stairs, unarmed and flanked by their wives, a group of Baldwin–Felts agents standing at the top of the stairs opened fire. Hatfield was killed instantly. Chambers was bullet-riddled and rolled to the bottom of the stairs. Despite Sally Chambers' protests, one of the agents ran down the stairs and shot Chambers once more, point-blank in the back of the head. Hatfield's and Chambers' bodies were returned to Matewan, and word of the slayings spread through the mountains.


title: Battle of Blair Mountain

text: The miners, angry that Hatfield had been murdered and knowing the assassins would escape punishment, began to take up arms and pour out of their mountain settlements. Miners along the Little Coal River were among the first to organize, and began actions such as patrolling and guarding the area. Sheriff Don Chafin of Logan County sent troopers to the Little Coal River area, where armed miners captured the troopers, disarmed them and sent them fleeing.


title: Battle of Blair Mountain

text: On August 7, 1921, the leaders of the United Mine Workers (UMW) District 17, which encompasses much of southern West Virginia, called a rally at the state capitol in Charleston. These leaders were Frank Keeney and Fred Mooney, who were veterans of previous mine conflicts in the region. Both were local, well-read and articulate. Keeney and Mooney met with Governor Ephraim Morgan and presented him with a petition of the miners' demands. When Morgan summarily rejected the demands, the miners became more restless and began to talk of a march on Mingo to free the confined miners, end martial law and organize the county. But Blair Mountain, Logan County, and Sheriff Chafin stood directly in the way.


title: Battle of Blair Mountain

text: At a rally on August 7, Mary Harris "Mother" Jones called on the miners not to march into Logan and Mingo counties and set up the union by force. Accused by some of losing her nerve, she feared a bloodbath in a battle between lightly armed union forces and the more heavily armed Logan County deputies. Yet, feeling Morgan had lied to them again, armed men began gathering at Lens Creek Mountain, near Marmet in Kanawha County, on August 20. Four days later an estimated 13,000 had gathered and began marching towards Logan County. Impatient to get to the fighting, miners near St. Albans, in Kanawha County, commandeered a Chesapeake and Ohio freight train, renamed by the miners the "Blue Steel Special", to meet up with the advanced column of marchers at Danville in Boone County on their way to "Bloody Mingo". During this time Keeney and Mooney fled to Ohio, while the fiery Bill Blizzard assumed quasi-leadership of the miners. Meanwhile, the anti-union Sheriff Chafin had begun to set up defenses on Blair Mountain. He was supported financially by the Logan County Coal Operators Association, creating the nation's largest private armed force of nearly 2,000.


title: Battle of Blair Mountain

text: The first skirmishes occurred on the morning of August 25. The bulk of the miners were still away. The following day, President Warren G. Harding threatened to send in federal troops and Army Martin MB-1 bombers. After a long meeting in Madison, the seat of Boone County, the miners were convinced to return home. But the struggle was far from over. After spending days assembling his private army, Chafin would not be denied his battle to end union attempts at organizing Logan County coal mines. Within hours of the Madison decision, rumors abounded that Chafin's men had shot union sympathizers in the town of Sharples, just north of Blair Mountainand that families had been caught in crossfire during the skirmishes. Infuriated, the miners turned back toward Blair Mountain, many traveling in other stolen and commandeered trains.


title: Battle of Blair Mountain

text: By August 29 battle was fully underway. Chafin's men, though outnumbered, had the advantage of higher positions and better weaponry. Private planes were hired to drop homemade bombs on the miners. A combination of poison gas and explosive bombs left over from World War I were dropped in several locations near the towns of Jeffery, Sharples and Blair. At least one did not explode and was recovered by the miners; it was used months later to great effect as evidence for the defense during treason and murder trials. On orders from General Billy Mitchell, Army bombers from Maryland were also used for aerial surveillance. One Martin bomber crashed on its return flight, killing the three crew members.


title: Battle of Blair Mountain

text: On August 30, Morgan appointed Colonel William Eubanks of the West Virginia National Guard to command the government and volunteer forces confronting the miners. Sporadic gun battles continued for a week, with the miners at one time nearly breaking through to the town of Logan and their target destinations, the non-unionized Logan and Mingo counties to the south. Up to 30 deaths were reported by Chafin's side and 50–100 on the union miners' side, with hundreds more injured or wounded. Chafin's forces consisted of 90 men from Bluefield, West Virginia; 40 from Huntington, West Virginia; and about 120 from the West Virginia State Police. Three of Chafin's forces, two volunteers and a deputy sheriff, were killed, and one miner was fatally wounded.


title: Battle of Blair Mountain

text: Federal troops arrived by September 2. The miners, many of whom were veterans themselves, were unwilling to fire on U.S. troops. Bill Blizzard passed the word for the miners to start heading home the following day. Miners fearing jail and confiscation of their guns found clever ways to hide rifles and handguns in the woods before leaving Logan County. Some were found later, along with many spent and live cartridges which helped archeologists reconstruct the course of the fighting.