Five Reasons The Hit Cop Show Ironside Is an Underrated Gem.
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Raymond Burr will always be known as the best and most definitive Perry Mason, that goes without question, but he will also always be the one and only Robert T. Ironside of the super successful cop show Ironside which aired on NBC for 8 seasons from 1967–1975. A show with wit, style, a great cast, lovable and identifiable characters, here are my five reasons that Ironside is an underrated gem.
5. One of the most influential cop shows that led to a whole slew of police procedurals.
Cop shows have been a dime a dozen since the invention of television with such hits as Dragnet, Car 54 Where Are You?, and Adam 12, but when Ironside came on the scene back in 1967 it gave the cop procedural a whole new style and flavor that would be often emulated in later shows of the genre: The clever and complex crimes that the team would work to solve, the workplace family dynamic with an older, brilliant and quirky leader and his loyal team, and a unique and compelling main character who solved mysteries that no one else could solve all started with Ironside and continued in other great shows such as Kojak, House MD, Monk, Hawaii Five 0, The Mentalist, The Closer, Elementary, NCIS etc.
4. That iconic theme song and opening.
All the best shows have the best theme songs and openings. Ironside’s legendary theme composed by the one and only Quincy Jones is one of the funkiest, most memorable and just plain catchy ones ever done. The entire opening was brilliant and very unique in its time. The theme can also be heard in Quentin Tarantino’s beloved Kill Bill.
