Erm, backticks don't set $!; they set $?. 

$ perl -le '`bad_command`;print $?;`echo`;print $?'
-1
0

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The cake is a lie.
The cake is a lie.
The cake is a lie.

In reply to Re: Bad file descriptor when using backticks? by Fletch
in thread Bad file descriptor when using backticks? by ApacheMan

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