Perry Mason surveys the witness and formulates a strategy
Each episode opens up with an introductory scene that initially familiarizes the audience with the main conflict in the episode. Typically, this scene involves either Perry Mason being briefed in his office, or a scene in which his eventual client experiences some sort of trouble. There is a murder in every episode, thought the murder may occur anywhere from the beginning of the episode to halfway through. The fact that the audience always knows that there is a murder coming creates suspense within the plot, because it isn’t always obvious who the victim will be. Perry Mason always gets the charges against his client dropped, and the true guilty party always confesses to the crime on the witness stand, when they crumble in the face of Mason’s clever questioning. There is always some kind of evidence that Perry is able to produce that instantly exonerates his client, even when it seems that he is in an inescapable position. The courtroom scene is usually characterized by close-ups of the witnesses, with dramatic music playing when Perry begins applying pressure to them. In fact, overdramatic music is played whenever the action becomes too quiet. The plot, while following the same formula in nearly every episode, uses enough fresh ideas to keep the story from seeming stale and recycled from episode to episode.
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