[QUOTE=astorian]
I can think of numerous old TV series that have been brought back, but most were short-lived busts. “Battlestar Galactica” is one of the few success stories.
I can think of:
Monte Markham’s short-lived “Perry Mason”
“Bionic Woman”
Malcolm McDowall’s “Fantasy Island”
Ed O’Neill’s “Dragnet”
Then, of course, there are the sci-fi anthology shows like “Twilight Zone” and “Outer Limits.”
Any other remakes you can think of?
[/QUOTE]
Speaking of “Perry Mason,” there were 26 made-for-TV movies starring Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale which aired between 1985 and 1993.
Are we counting something like “Family Guy” (cancelled and then brought back by the same network) or “Futurama” (cancelled but revived in the form of direct-to-DVD movies)?
Toma. After its lead actor left, it was successfully revived as Baretta, which was a much bigger hit than the original.
They did revive Alfred Hitchcock Presents in the 80s – using the original introductions (colorized) and new versions of the stories, but it only lasted a season.
[QUOTE=pinkfreud]
There was a not-very-good remake in 1991, starring Ben Cross as Barnabas Collins.
[/QUOTE]
There was supposed to be another Dark Shadows remake a few years ago, on the WB. I don’t know how true this is, but rumors at the time blamed this version for the WB’s decision to give Angel the axe. Supposedly they didn’t want two vampire shows and decided to back the newer (cheaper?) show over the aging fan favorite. At least one version of the schedule that the WB released to the media had DS in Angel’s previous timeslot, probably helping fuel the rumors. Then for whatever reason the new show got pulled before it ever aired. Whoops!
There have been several versions of the French detective Maigret - the best known English language series were with Rupert Davies in the 60s (50+ episodes) and the Michael Gambon series in 1992… Both very good in their own ways.