I listened to Paul Temple radio serials back in the 1980s when a local public radio station broadcast them. I liked them even though they seemed dated and the mysteries became so convoluted that by the time the last episode came around I'd forgotten who half the characters were. I read the newspaper strips in The Menomonee Falls Gazette. They were printed a week at a time, which made the stories easier to follow. John McNamara's artwork was like the stories, dated but enjoyable. By the way, I keep seeing references to Alfred Sindall having drawn the strip, but I've never seen a sample. Anybody have one?
I've been watching Roger Moore Saint reruns lately. They're fun and stand up okay except that the women fall for Simon with almost ridiculous speed. When I saw them as a youth I wasn't familiar with the concept of process photography. Now I see the series' matte work is pretty cheesy. In several "location" shots the background is visible through Simon's collar. But what the heck, it permitted ST to travel the world on a shoestring production budget.
One of the delights of staying home is getting to see tons of Raymond Burr Perry Mason's. The mysteries are about 50/50 fair to the viewer, though unfortunately chunks of each episode have been cut out to make room for commercials for Medicare Advantage Plans, prescription drugs, and End-of-Life Insurance. Hard to believe that in 1957 an hour show boasted a full 52 minutes of content. I'd be surprised if they now run even 45 minutes. It's fun spotting old-time character actors as well as future stars. Among the latter are Burt Reynolds, Robert Redford, George Takei, and a scummy Leonard Nimoy.
Looking back at these shows it's obvious that it'd be impossible to re-invent them as present-day series without making huge changes. Perry Mason is a prime example. Watch that show and you'll be struck by how fundamentally life has been altered by cell phones, near-universal surveillance, and advanced forensic science. Consider how many episodes hinge on missed or faked phone calls; torn-out newspaper files, forged or kited checks, stolen wills, and missing film negatives. Their best forensic evidence is fingerprints and blood types. DNA evidence would have scuttled a dozen patrimony storylines in their first draft. Even motives have changed. It's surprising how many episodes concern shenanigans undertaken because someone's spouse won't "give them a divorce."
Earle Stanley Gardner was involved in the Burr Mason series and liked how it turned out. I'm not sure that his formula, half-an-hour of people acting suspicious followed by a half-hour courtroom scene, would go over today even if done "in period." I haven't seen the new series but the promos imply Perry does more detective work than courtroom acrobatics.
I'd say much the same thing about The Saint. His book version was solidly grounded in the world of the 1930s and 1940s. Even "big" crime was small-time: gangsters, crooked officials, smugglers. Today the stakes must be much higher to grab an audience. The old Simon doesn't work well in a bloodthirsty world of sprawling international criminal conspiracies. His was more of a personal crusade against "personalized" crooks. And face it, after decades of suave, clever crimefighters like James Bond and his descendants, simply turning the tables on the Big Boss is old hat.
I'd say let the old series rest and invent new ones. Of course that violates the Front Office's directive only to make properties with a proven track record, even if so doing distorts the original character so much that he/she might as well be a new character who happens to bear the same name.
