I have fond memories of watching this well crafted detective show during my growing up years. The series portrays the story of San Francisco Chief of Detectives, Robert Ironside, who has been hit by a sniper's bullet, paralyzing him from the waist down. Confined to a wheelchair, he must forego his previous detective position but stays on with the Police Department as sort of a consultant. Ironside ferrets out crime while working from a special Police Department office complete with exercise equipment and sleeping facilities. Assisting him is his own special unit, a diverse trio consisting of regular cop Detective Sargent Ed Brown, educated policewoman Eve Whitfield, and black ex con Mark Sanger. During the course of the series Sanger progresses from Ironside's bodyguard to a police officer and finally a lawyer.
In this series we see this formerly tough Chief of Detectives endeavouring to nail San Francisco's bad guys, all the while coping quite successfully with his recent disability. The program shows that this previously high profile crime fighter can still lead an equally productive life from his wheelchair. The show reveals his character development as well as his interactions with the trio of assistants, all providing viewer interest in addition to the crime solving elements.
Raymond Burr, alias Perry Mason, was born to solve TV crimes! The actor gives a masterful performance here as the wheelchair bound Ironside. This is generally quite an engaging detective series and frankly, I wish that there was more TV programming of its quality these days.
