"The Return of Ironside": Behind the Scenes
To be more exact: WHB, Missing Scene and WHN.
What – you think that there is no untold story behind the story? Ok, believe it or leave it!
Important characters from "The Return of Ironside":
Suzanne Dwyer, Eve's Daughter;
Mike Quinn, police officer, her boyfriend;
Other members of the Denver police: Commissioner Fisette; Chief of Detectives ad interim McManus; Jerry Abbey, Afro-American police officer.
I don't own any of the characters in this story.
1) WHB
San Francisco, CA, 1993
Mark's POV
The room is full of affection, cheers and laughter, although the Chief is as grumpy as ever. He says that he doesn't like being flattered. I don't believe him. It just makes him embarrassed. But he deserves every praise. We all know that he is the most outstanding police officer we ever met. His handicap hasn't prevented him from solving the highest number of difficult cases all over the country, and his example has given other handicapped people confidence and strength.
Personally he will always be my spiritual father. He picked me up when I needed him and gave my life an entirely new direction.
I'm now a happily married man with two teenage girls, twins. They are completely different and yet best friends, which doesn't mean that they would not get into a fight every once in a while. Sandra is a great track-and-field athlete and Cindy has the voice of an angel. We try to go to Sandra's competitions whenever possible, and to church when Cindy sings in the worship. It is well worth going, faith gives us confidence and hope and a new sense in life.
Diana chose to stay at home and take time for the girls when they were little, and she still likes it that way, but she has also started some very important volunteer work as an attorney who represents poor and handicapped people for free. She did not want to leave the girls at home alone and come with me to this party, the girls need her when they come home from school.
I'm very thankful for my wonderful family.
Of course it's great to meet my old friends.
Fran is still a beauty and hides her competence behind a friendly modesty.
Eve has changed quite a bit. She is still a kind soul, although visibly older. She lost her husband three years ago. But she has a lovely daughter, Suzanne, who is also a police officer.
I am a little disappointed that Ed didn't make it to the Chief's farewell party.
He stayed in the Chief's office for about a year after I got married, then Ironside encouraged him to move on. The thing wasn't that they didn't get along, and it wasn't that he was afraid of losing too many chess games, as Ed liked to joke – the Chief still won two out of three. He thought that the Sergeant had learned everything he could teach him.
Since Ed's needs had gone towards zero during that year – due to no noteworthy spare time besides his hours with Ironside and his volunteer work at the youth center – he had been able to put aside quite a bit. So he could afford to go back to University afterwards. He took courses like chemistry, physics and IT, courses that would be very useful for further police work – but he also wanted to find out if it was really what he wanted to do with his life. That's when I last met him. He said that he wanted to go back to police work after all, it was where he belonged. He found a job in Denver. He does it well, as is to be expected, and he has moved up, without ever pursuing it.
It's a shame that he's not here to toast our teacher, our inspiring example... the man we all owe so much to.
Eve's POV
It's wonderful to see Robert so happy. He looks great, much younger than his years. Katherine, his beautiful, intelligent and sensitive wife, is visibly the perfect companion to share his life. Finally he has found somebody who suits him. I love her for that, and I am overjoyed for him. He deserves all the happiness in the world. Of course he is playing grumpy bear tonight, but nobody believes him. It's too obvious that he feels at ease.
I wish him many, many fulfilled years in his vineyard together with his Katherine.
Mark looks good too, with a little paunch fitting his illustrious position. His language has changed, he has come a long way from the street urchin and juvenile delinquent to the judge he is now.
Fran and I have become friends. She is a wonderful woman. There is just one of the old gang missing, and he is dearly missed...
Denver, CO
Ed's POV
I'm looking out the window of my apartment, a glass of milk in my hand, hoping that it will soothe my aching stomach.
My small apartment is no home, just a place to sleep, but that's enough, since I don't spend much time in it anyway. It's close to headquarters, that way they can call me at night whenever something comes up, which happens quite often. And the view over the town is lovely. I like Denver, and I like my job, basically.
My dearest and oldest friends are probably drinking champagne right now, down in San Francisco. It's Chief Ironside's farewell party. It's a pity that I can't pay him the compliment to be with them. Since I left San Francisco I have met the Chief several times of course, at police reunions mostly, and once Mark, but I was so looking forward to see... well, it wasn't meant to be.
Our Chief of detectives was murdered. I just can't leave now. McManus, the Chief ad interim, is of the opinion that it is just a random murder, but I don't agree with him. Something is dead wrong, and I don't know what. It's just an uneasy feeling – a hunch, as the Chief would say. This is not 'just another murder'.
I take a sip of my milk. Today it doesn't seem to help much.
Sometimes Ironside offered us champagne or a glass of bourbon after a case was solved. Alcohol in moderation is all right for a celebration in a group, but I never consume any alone, and now I have stopped drinking altogether because of 'my boys', as people call them – the juvenile delinquents at our detention center. I want to show them that you don't need drugs and alcohol to lead a fulfilled life, and that it doesn't suit good sportsmen. Probably inspired by the Chief's way with Mark, I train them at basketball.
My colleague McManus keeps telling me that they lose respect for the police when a high-ranking police officer spends time with them. But actually there are much fewer problems with them than in similar institutions, and when they come out, the recidivism rate is the lowest in the US. Of course I don't surmise that this is only due to my playing basketball with them, but it's what I can do to help them. And then... there's not much Mac and I agree on. It's rare that I don't get along with somebody, but McManus just can't stand me, and he manages to make me react angrily. I wonder if I have to thank him for my recurring stomach aches - I should not let him get to me.
It would be easier if I had someone to talk things through with. I have never got married. At first I couldn't get over Anne's death. Then I had the feeling that she would have wanted me to be happy, but it never worked out. The one I could have loved was out of reach... well, that wasn't meant to be either.
On second thought maybe I should have gone to San Francisco all the same. Maybe the Chief could have helped me with my current problem... wait... I can still ask him... isn't he free now...?
Author's note: If you haven't seen the movie, you may want to read the episode summary at tv dot com now.