This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
If you're old enough to have memories of Raymond Burr starring in the original Ironside, you won't recognize the remake (Wednesday, 9 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5).The two shows have three things in common - the title, the police-show format, and the wheelchair.Blair Underwood stars as Det. Robert Ironside, who was wounded and paralyzed in the line of duty. There's reference to how he sued the department to get his job back, and now he has his own team of detectives to tackle tough cases.Apparently, if you're paralyzed you don't have to follow any sort of rules. Ironside operates like this is the 1940s, beating people up with impunity.This "Ironside" is a cliche-ridden cop show that's violent and unpleasant. There was no reason to remake it other than NBC Universal owns the right to the original series.And there's no reason to watch it.