How did I miss this one?

I hate to break this to you, but ME-TV is shuffling its lineup and Ironside will no longer be on after this week. They could bring it back later, as they did before. There are some episodes on HULU, and some of those are free.

I watched Ironside when it originally aired in the late 60's and early 70's. Being a teenager, I was intrigued with it, but it didn't have the impact then that it has now that I am an older adult. In many ways he was, in my opinion, better that he was in "Perry Mason". I greatly appreciate Raymond Burr's portrayal of this complex character. It was a groundbreaking series that deserves more respect than ME-TV gives it. There were no major characters using a wheelchair full time before Ironside. There were not many women dramatic characters before Ironside. And there were not many major African American characters before Ironside. During Ironside, there were more African-American actors included in the episodes. Many well-known actors were guest stars on Ironside, including a young Harrison Ford. Many issues were explored in the series. If you locate the pilot film, you can see how the story of Ironside began. Since ME-TV has seen fit to remove Ironside for the second time, you may also be able to see the first four seasons on DVD, if a library near you has them, or can order them from another library, if they belong to a group of libraries that loan items to each other. Shout Factory released the first four seasons, but so far the only place to see the last four seasons is on DVD from Australia. You would need to have a all regions player to see them.

We now have a Facebook group Fans of the Original Ironside, if you want to join. Just look for the name of the group on the list of groups and join us. Some of the best people from the message board are there. You can see pictures that we are posting.