I didn't quite make it up in time for the Rockford Files double, but I did see the triple-bill of Ironside.
I still have reservations about some things in Ironside - the portrayal of women is old-fashioned and its inclusion of a black character tokenistic - but I think it was probably quite progressive in its day.
Having watched more of it now, I do like the tone of the show. It is pretty bleak stuff. The mood is resolutely sombre, the sun rarely shines in this San Francisco and the streets are unfriendly. This is not the sort of outlook I would generally associate with the 60s and 70s. This is the flipside of free love generation - the fear of the crumbling of society. A world that is in moral danger of falling apart. And in that respect it feels pretty modern.
Today's trio of episodes were on the following subjects:
- Illegal abortion
- Bomb threats on campus
- Con men
A variety of topics, but all covered with upmost seriousness.
I noticed the character of Eve Whitfield (played by Barbara Anderson) more in these episodes. She is not just some blonde. She is a Hitchcock Blonde transplanted into television. She has the icy beauty that belies vulnerability. The first two episodes were the final ones from Season 2, the third was the start of the third season, which was the last series with Eve Whitfield and I think she will be hard to replace.
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2 comments:
I'm glad you like it more now, I watched it during a sabbatical year a while ago, from the pilot up until Eve Whitfield got replaced. I was really hooked at the time and it became my daily lunchtime treat. I thought the inclusion of an ex-criminal black man, a disabled cop and a posh society woman were used in a surprisingly subtle way to question race, class, gender and other cultural issues and stereotypes of that period. I was really surprised when I watched it, as it seemed so bleak at times. I wish it was all out on DVD over here...
I hadn't picked up on her being a society woman. There is definitely more to it than I first thought. I quite like the bleakness of it - it stops it from being dated whereas a lot of the more frivolous shows from a similar time are just kitsch now.
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