Filling the New TV Gap with the Old

Let's get a little less serious today.

In normal times, a new TV season would be about to begin...with old series returning with new episodes and new series premiering, hoping to last long enough to become old series. But the entertainment industry shut down production in March and has stayed largely inactive during the period when new TV production would have begun in the summer. So there's very little new to show yet.

Still, the networks--both broadcast and cable have hours and hours of time to fill. A thought occurred to me--what if they filled it by running shows from the past that didn't get the audiences they deserved?

Here are some of my thoughts on series that might find a viewership today:

Hec Ramsey: The adventures of Hec Ramsey, a turn-of-the-20th-century detective who prefers to use his brains instead of his guns. It starred Richard Boone in the title role, with Rick Lenz and Harry Morgan in supporting roles. Ramsey used the just-developing sciences of forensics to solve crimes. There were ten 90-minute episodes that originally ran as part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie in 1972 and '73.

Q.E.D.: In 1912, Quentin E. Deverill, an eccentric expatriate American professor, uses his unique skills to solve mysteries in London. Sam Waterston starred with British character actor George Innes. There were just six episodes that ran as a summer replacement in 1982.

The New Perry Mason: An attempt at a revival of the series that starred Raymond Burr, with Monte Markham as the famed lawyer, Sharon Acker as Della Street, Albert Stratton as Paul Drake, Harry Guardino as Hamilton Burger, and Dane Clark as Lt. Tragg. Fifteen episodes ran in 1973. It was generally seen as a failure back then, but I suspect it might get a warmer reception today.

Finally, in memory of the recently departed:

Diana: After a divorce, beautiful Brit Diana Smythe (Dame Diana Rigg) decides to begin a new life by moving from London to New York City and starting a new career as a fashion coordinator at a Fifth Avenue department store. Clearly in the mode of the very successful Mary Tyler Moore, the series lasted just 15 episodes in 1973.

Those are my choices, off the top of my head. What are yours?