"
Ironside" was just a classy series all the way. The acting was topnotch; the ensemble approach was wonderful (Burr naturally dominated the series but his co-stars were never ignored); the balance beween melodrama and comedy (as in comic touches) just right. I remember watching the show when I was teenager,and finding myself, with some surprise, liking Raymond Burr immensely. Growing up, I found Burr in "Perry Mason" to be rather alarming, with his deep eyes, insistent voice and wide shoulders; in "
Ironside" his face had rounded; his hair had grayed, and the wheelchair made him very approachable. Also, "
Ironside" allowed him to be more vulnerable, and his remarkably sweet smile was more on display--and his sense of fun, which was apparently legendary.
Now here's an interesting memory of Raymond Burr aka
Ironside: back in the late sixties, Bob Hope did a special in which the cowboys and the comedians on television came to war. Bob Hope led the forces of comedy (aided by Danny Thomas who was ordered, "pull in that nose!") against the cowboys, who included, as I recall, Forrest Tucker (from F Troop), and Dale Robertson (Wells Fargo and Iron Horse) and several others. Bob Hope and his boys stole the cowboys' horses and hid them in Hope's mansion (Hope passed a horse off as a big dog); the cowboys came gunning for their horses and surrounded them. Robert T.
Ironside (Raymond Burr in his
Ironside wheelchair) finally brought the warring factions together. When they all kneeled in a moment of peace, he whipped out two guns and killed them all--and announced that
Ironside would now be on every night of the week! A startling ending, but a figurative prediction of the future, because by the late sixties, the western, a tv staple, was being replaced by the cop show. Many cop shows would come and go, and those that stayed had the literate scripts, the interesting human relationship, and the "gimmick" that gave the show interest, but never overwhelmed it. Like
Ironside.
My favorite episode?--I have too many! But--who do I like better--Eve or Fran? Actually Fran. Eve was a blond goddess and I felt admiringly subservient; Fran was more of the middle class girl-woman that I could relate to. Why, she even wore the same clothes in various episodes like a normal woman. Eve was in a striking new outfit at every chance, which were put her well beyond the league of Sgt. Edward Brown. A vague hope of mine was Ed and Fran would find a future together (Mark after all had married) and there were indications along the way that they really appreciated each other. However, I always appreciated the fact that every member, male, female, white, African-American, experienced and in rookie-dom worked together as professionals they were. And they were never cliche. Ed was never the sexy young assistant; Eve and Fran were never the hapless victim, and Mark was never the angry young black man. And
Ironside was
Ironside.
Great series!
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