Sunday, May 17, 2015

Forgotten TV: Diana (1973)

After leaving The Avengers, Diana Rigg concentrated on making movies, but was lured back to television in 1973 by producer Leonard Stern to headline a sitcom for NBC.

Unfortunately, Diana was NBC's attempt at copying the success of CBS' Mary Tyler Moore Show, which was starting its 4th season. Worse, the show aired on Mondays, opposite Gunsmoke & The Rookies, and barely made it into the new year before being cancelled.

Diana Smythe (Rigg) moves from London to New York to take over her brother's apartment, and ends up dealing with his various, ah, companions. Barbara Barrie, 2 years away from Barney Miller, co-stars. The scene stealer in the episode, "The Guilt Complex" (Guilt is spelled Gilt on screen, and that error foreshadowed the show's fate), however, is Michael Bell, wrapped in a green towel, and playing one of Diana's neighbors. Unfortunately, Bell was just a 1-shot guest.




Diana's last TV gig was for PBS, hosting Mystery! for a few years. Richard B. Shull, whom we saw in Holmes & Yoyo the other day, appears here as well.

Rating: C.

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