Back in February 2013, NBC announced they were rebooting the 1967 detective show, Ironside. This news was followed by shouts of, “You’ve got to be kidding me,” when the casting was announced. The role of San Francisco chief of police detectives, Robert T. Ironside was originated by Raymond Burr, fresh off the very successful, lawyer-detective show, Perry Mason. The new 2013 Ironside will star Blair Underwood as the lead character and will be set in New York instead of San Francisco. The casting of Underwood has set off howls of protest from Hollywood’s disabled actors because Underwood is… “abled-bodied.”
Coming from a network whose remake history includes the Munsters, Knight Rider and the Bionic Woman, I don’t hold much hope for the success of this remake. Why? Because Ironside was Columbo in a wheel chair, not Walker, Texas Ranger and if you don’t understand the difference, you’re probably an NBC executive.
Ironside was about the San Francisco Police department and the Chief Detective, Robert Ironside. He had been part of the department for twenty years when a bullet from a sniper paralyzed him from the waist down, causing his early retirement. He still wanted to work and the show portrayed how a man in a wheelchair could serve on the police force, at least, in a consulting capacity. He solved crime by working backwards, logically and carefully examining a crime scene. Ironside was not the tough in your face cop – he was the House of detective shows. He was cerebral and made those around him do his legwork like Nero Wolfe did to Archie Goodwin. Looking at the trailer for the new series, you don’t get the impression that that will be Blair Underwood’s M.O.
An episode of the original Raymond Burr Ironside (season 3, episode 1) is here. Notice the difference in the approach of the lead character. I wish Mr. Underwood success, but I don’t hold out much hope that that will be the case.