The New Perry Mason

The New Perry Mason is a CBS TV series that ran from 1973 to 1974. It was a revival of the 1957 Perry Mason television series about Erle Stanley Gardner's brilliant defense attorney.

Plot
All of the major characters of the original series appeared in the revival, along with Gertie, a receptionist seldom seen in the original (and played by Connie Cezon, in the original, on the few occasions when she was), and the plots and their devices were along the lines of the original. The familiar theme song of the original, "Park Avenue Beat," was replaced by a generic dramatic fanfare.

Cast

 * Monte Markham as Perry Mason
 * Sharon Acker as Della Street
 * Albert Stratton as Paul Drake
 * Dane Clark as Lt. Arthur Tragg
 * Harry Guardino as Hamilton Burger
 * Brett Somers as Gertie Lade

Development
While several production personnel had worked on the original Perry Mason series (including executive producer Cornwell Jackson, producers Ernie Frankel and Art Seid, and director Arthur Marks), the series was made without the participation of any members of the original cast, with Monte Markham taking over the role that Raymond Burr played in the original series. Produced by 20th Century Fox Television, it aired Sundays at 7:30 pm (EST) on CBS, the same network which had aired the original series, during the 1973–74 season. A total of 15 episodes were produced and aired.

Cancellation
This revival was cancelled at midseason, after failing to overtake its two hit rivals, NBC's The Wonderful World of Disney and ABC's The F.B.I. in the ratings in its Sunday night time slot. It ranked 71st out of 80 shows airing that season, with a 13.1 household rating. It was soon replaced by Apple's Way, which also failed in the same time slot