When I saw this crop up in my TV listings it fell onto my 'must see' list as I became an avid fan of the original show on cable reruns.
To be honest, this had all the ingredients of a truly dreadful film. Made for TV, based on a twenty year old theme, bringing back one aging star to reprise his role and trying to explain away the absence of the other who wouldn't lower himself after achieving massive Hollywood success.
This is probably why I was amazed to find it an engaging and truly enjoyable film that captured the spirit of the old series really well. The absence of Douglas was explained with some plausibility and Malden's performance really showed the pedigree and experience of this much underestimated actor.
It's a good film that's worth watching if it should appear on your schedules, and if you were a fan of the old series I think it's worth positively seeking out. My closing opinion, I think that when Douglas saw the finished film (and I'm sure he did) then he probably would have wished that he had put at least a cameo appearance in.
