Ironside (TV series)

infobox television
show_name = Ironside


caption = Raymond Burr as Ironside
format = Drama
runtime = 60 to 90 minutes
creator = Collier Young
starring = Raymond Burr as Robert Ironside Don Galloway as Det. Sgt. Ed Brown Don Mitchell as Mark Sanger
theme_music_composer = Quincy Jones
country = USA
network = NBC
first_aired = March 28 1967
last_aired = February 6, 1975
num_seasons = 8
num_episodes = 199 |

"Ironside" (originally broadcast under the name "A Man Called Ironside" in the United Kingdom) is a Universal television series which ran on NBC from September 14, 1967 to February 6, 1975. The character's debut was in a TV-movie on March 28, 1967.

Plot

The show revolved around former San Francisco Police Department Chief of Detectives Robert T. Ironside (Raymond Burr), a twenty-five year police veteran who was forced to retire from the department after a sniper's bullet paralyzed him from the waist down and forced him to use a wheelchair. Appointed a "special department consultant" by his good friend, Police Commissioner Dennis Randall, Ironside retained an attic floor (for living and office space) at the SFPD headquarters and made use of a specially modified and equipped police truck and later a modified van to accommodate his wheelchair. The show became a success as Ironside depended on brains and initiative in handling cases.

Supporting characters on Ironside included Detective Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway) and young socialite-turned-plainclothes officer Eve Whitfield (Barbara Anderson), who both assisted Ironside in cracking cases. There was also delinquent-turned-bodyguard/assistant Mark Sanger (Don Mitchell), who subsequently also became a police officer, and graduated from law school to become a lawyer late in the run of the series. Commissioner Randall was played by Gene Lyons. By the show's fourth season, Eve Whitfield was replaced by another young policewoman, Fran Belding (Elizabeth Baur), who filled much the same role for four more years.

One of the longer-running police dramas of the day, the series featured appearances by a number of actors such as Harrison Ford, Ingrid Pitt, Susan Saint James, David Carradine, Joseph Campanella, Susan Sullivan, James Farentino, Bill Bixby, David Cassidy, Greg Mullavy, Steve Forrest, David Hartman, Kent McCord, Darwin Joston, John Rubinstein, Jack Lord, Norman Fell, Gavin MacLeod, Gary Collins, William Shatner, Martin Sheen and Bruce Lee among many others. Future "Knots Landing" stars, Joan Van Ark and William Devane also made cameo appearances. Ex-"Perry Mason" co-star Barbara Hale also guest-starred in one episode. Music legend Quincy Jones, who wrote the "Ironside" theme song, made a guest appearance as well.

The crime drama came to an end in early 1975, due to declining ratings and Burr's health problems. Before and after the show's cancellation, the show was extremely popular in reruns in syndication.

TV reunion movie

Burr and the main cast reunited for a made-for-TV movie in 1993 which aired not long before Burr's death. Burr was starring in an ongoing series of "Perry Mason" TV movies at the time, so in order to make himself look less like the other character, he dyed his hair and modified his full beard to a goatee for the "Ironside" movie. Unlike the original series, which took place in San Francisco, California, the reunion took place in Denver, Colorado (under the auspices of Ed Brown being appointed the city's deputy chief of police and being a leading candidate to be appointed chief), which was also where the last few of Burr's "Perry Mason" films were produced.

DVD releases

Shout! Factory released Season 1 of "Ironside" on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time on April 24, 2007. Season 2 was released on October 16, 2007. Each set contains 26 episodes. The first two seasons have also been released by Madman Entertainment in Region 4. In addition Season 3 of Ironside has now been released on Region 4 (Australia) as of September 17 2008 By Madman Entertainment.

External links

*imdb title|id=0061266|title=Ironside
* [http://www.tv.com/ironside/show/974/summary.html "Ironside" at TV.com]
* [http://www.gloubik.info/ironside/anglais/ironside.html Ironside's Page]