MovieChat Forums > Ironside (1967) Discussion > Mark's Parents?

Mark's Parents?

posted 8 years ago by Lovesclassics11
2 replies | jump to latest

Were Mark's parents ever mentioned in the show? I don't recall ever hearing about or seeing them. I know his aunt Ruby and some cousins were mentioned here and there. But overall, he seemed to be parentless. No family appeared to be at his law school graduation.

Mark was probably the most fleshed out and devoloped character, and the there was quite a bit of back story for the character. So I just find it odd that his parents were never mentioned.

Although, the Chief really did seem to become something of a father figure to him over the course of the show. I really love
the relationship between the two of
them. I think the episode where Mark graduates from law school really illustrates this- you can
see the sadness in both of them at the prospect of Mark having to, in a sense, "leave the the nest", although he did end up living with the Chief for a couple more years. The growth of their relationship was something really special, especially for a detective series.
I do think Mark was the son Ironside never had.

Sorry for the long post!

[–] ghostwriter5 8 years ago

Mark's parents were mentioned in Memory of an Ice Cream Stick.Mark was hanging out with a guy Ironside knew was trouble and Ironside said the following-Where were you when we first met Mark -you hadn't seen your mother in years and your father was in jail-and that is as far as I know-the only time they were brought up.
Here's a decent video of the episode-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JTNa_X3qss

[–] Lovesclassics11 8 years ago

Ah, ok! Thank you for your response! I've seen that episode at least once, I don't know how I missed that bit of dialogue. Thanks a bunch for the link! If that was Mark's parental situation, then it makes his bond with the Chief even more poignant.