Long before there was "Law and Order," a TV criminal defense attorney named Perry Mason brought high courtroom drama to the masses.

It's HBO! It's prestige! But must we really delve into the psychology of yet another formulaic, unshaven gumshoe?

Salon's TV picks for Monday, Feb. 14, 2000

Netflix doc "Filthy Rich" explores “sexual pyramid scheme” concocted by pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein

A generation of true crime fans owes a debt to the scariest TV series ever made

Characters like Sunny Gryce, a competitive and litigious grocer, can be found all through Depression-era history

Yes, detective novels are lousy -- if you're too lazy to search out the good ones! Mystery readers (and quite a few mystery writers) strike back at Ben Yagoda.

Sen. Mike Lee's terrible book tries to reboot some of America's founding fathers as modern-day Republicans

Why do we keep coming back to a show about unexplained disappearances, strange alien sightings, and amnesia?

Jen Tullock discusses loving Hollywood's Golden Age, craving queer stories and how "Severance" changed her life

The alt-history novel takes place in a world in which Hillary Rodham never married Bill Clinton

The Senate Judiciary Committee picks up with day three of hearings on a Supreme Court nomination

Salon's TV picks for Thursday, March 2, 2000

As the author of "A Killing in Costumes," I play detective to discover the origins of the cozy mystery genre I love