Just my view but I appreciated not having a sappy 1970's love song start this episode like most of them have in season six, so there's that.
The plot is a bit of a stretch, but also fun as we get to learn a bit about Ironside's past (very, very rare in this series!) and we also get to see Ed get pissed off and more ornery, taking on some Ironside traits! Finally, the ending is the first laugh out loud ending of the entire six seasons. Not because of the joke, but because of the look on Ironside's face when he is flirting with Madlyn Rhue.
Also, this maybe the most accomplished group of character actors ever assembled for an Ironside episode. None of them are really stars, per se, but they all did hundreds and hundreds of westerns, war movies, TV series', soap operas, movies, etc. You name it, they've done it! From Steve Forrest to Greg Mullaney ("Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman") to Simon Oakland ("The Night Stalker") to Gregory Sierra ("Barney Miller") to George Murdoch - you'll see each of them and say, I know that guy!
As a quick aside, when you move into 1990's TV (like, for example, "Monk") you notice that the character actors, well, sort of lose their character. The character actors of the 1970's often were very distinctive looking. There's a blandness to the character actors of the 1990's and 2000's. An easy way to notice this is to watch the Columbo of the 1970's and the Columbo's of the 1990's.
The Ironside/Star Trek connection is in full force here. Sierra was in Star Trek: DS 9 and Murdoch played God in Star Trek V! But the biggies is Madlyn Rhu, who was Marla McGivers in the original series classic, "Space Seed," with Ricardo Montalban as Khan. KHAAAAAAAAN!
The plot is a bit of a stretch, but also fun as we get to learn a bit about Ironside's past (very, very rare in this series!) and we also get to see Ed get pissed off and more ornery, taking on some Ironside traits! Finally, the ending is the first laugh out loud ending of the entire six seasons. Not because of the joke, but because of the look on Ironside's face when he is flirting with Madlyn Rhue.
Also, this maybe the most accomplished group of character actors ever assembled for an Ironside episode. None of them are really stars, per se, but they all did hundreds and hundreds of westerns, war movies, TV series', soap operas, movies, etc. You name it, they've done it! From Steve Forrest to Greg Mullaney ("Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman") to Simon Oakland ("The Night Stalker") to Gregory Sierra ("Barney Miller") to George Murdoch - you'll see each of them and say, I know that guy!
As a quick aside, when you move into 1990's TV (like, for example, "Monk") you notice that the character actors, well, sort of lose their character. The character actors of the 1970's often were very distinctive looking. There's a blandness to the character actors of the 1990's and 2000's. An easy way to notice this is to watch the Columbo of the 1970's and the Columbo's of the 1990's.
The Ironside/Star Trek connection is in full force here. Sierra was in Star Trek: DS 9 and Murdoch played God in Star Trek V! But the biggies is Madlyn Rhu, who was Marla McGivers in the original series classic, "Space Seed," with Ricardo Montalban as Khan. KHAAAAAAAAN!
