While preparing for my move, I have added to my Perry Mason repertoire having a Law & Order marathon playing in the background. Obviously, there are a lot of differences between the shows - the main one being that Mason is on the side of the defendants, while L&O shows us the perspective of law enforcement and the prosecution, but the one that stood out to me this time was thematic.
I would laugh when an episode of PM ends on a light note when the subject matter is usually so dire: murder, of course, but also abuse, exploitation, jealousy, family conflict, and all that. L&O also handles these, as well as racism, homophobia, and rape, but it, perhaps more appropriately, usually ends on a dire note, even if the protagonists "win". Emotionally, that takes its toll.
I've found myself missing the light-heartedness of the PM "happy ending". It brings levity to a dour semi-fictional reality. Add to that that we usually see more gruesome dead bodies and other evidence of violent crime, as well as less stylized responses to those, and I feel like maybe my long-term PM marathon has scraped away my defenses - defenses that perhaps I should not have built up in the first place.
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