Spoiler alert! Nothing in this new version of the 1967-75 police drama is as it seems.
If you remember that series, you’ll likely be looking for familiar things, such as when Robert Ironside calls one of his colleagues by his first name, Ed. As you get into this new series, though, you will discover that his boss’ name is just a coincidence. Today’s Ed is Captain Ed Rollins, not the Det. Sgt. Ed Brown of the original. For one thing, Rollins is Asian, while Brown was Caucasian, not that race matters in the 2013 version of Ironside, since Ironside is now played by Blair Underwood, who is black (while the original Ironside, played by Raymond Burr, was white).
No, as you get into the new version, you will learn that Ironside is the only character who is held over from the original. While both Ironsides have a team of cops working with him, none of them are new versions of the old characters. The only similarity is that there’s one woman within this team of mostly men. Their names are different, their characters are different. It’s a whole new ball game in 2013.
In fact, I kept wondering why this show has any connection to the classic TV series at all. Other than the fact that the lead character is in a wheelchair after being shot by an assailant, there is virtually nothing similar between present-day Robert T. Ironside and the one of the past. After watching the pilot, my recommendation to potential viewers is to forget the past, and judge the new series on its own merits.
If anything, I found more of a similarity between today’s Ironside and today’s Hawaii Five-0, because Ironside now heads up a hand-picked team, just as McGarrett does on the new Five-0. Ironside today is an edgy cop with a flair for the dramatic. Some might call him crazy, the way he takes chances with his safety. It’s as though that debilitating bullet has given him a sense of invulnerability. Of course, that’s all just for show, as flashbacks to the fateful night when he lost the use of his legs reveal a profound vulnerability, both physical and psychological.
If you watch the new Ironside expecting the old Ironside, my hunch is that you’ll be disappointed. If you watch it on its own, without the baggage of years gone by, this is a solid and compelling police drama that hits all the right buttons. Going back to the comparison to Hawaii Five-0, if you like that show, I have a feeling you’ll enjoy this one, as well.
With its placement on the fall schedule on Wednesdays at 10, Ironside has an opportunity to gain a large audience. Its network competition is Nashville on ABC, which has a relatively small but loyal audience; and the aging CSI on CBS. Both shows could lose viewers to the new Ironside, if it grabs them with this pilot episode. The one glaring liability Ironside has is its lead, Blair Underwood. While he’s a good actor who makes this character his own, he has some baggage of his own. Over the past decade, he has been in as many as six series that have struggled (and ultimately failed) in the ratings. Once again, if viewers don’t let the past influence their feelings about Ironside, the show has an opportunity to build its own following.
TV Gord’s verdict: Limited success (might survive a full season).
