More and more actors are taking on the parts of individuals with disabilities, on television these days. Some of them are disabled in their real lives, and some are not. While actor Blair Underwood is an able-bodied person, he is taking the part of paralyzed Detective Robert T. Ironside this season. Some think this illustrates how far we have come as a society, finally becoming more inclusive to people from all walks of life. 

According to the show's storyline, Detective Robert T. Ironside has been forced to leave the San Fransico Police Department with more than twenty years of service under his belt, after being shot and paralyzed from the waist down, rendering him in a wheelchair. After refusing to take no for answer, he gets himself hired as "special consultant" on the police force, by his friend, Dennis Randall, the Police Commissioner. Now Ironside uses brains over, well, everything else, to solve cases. Naturally, he hires a pointer man, who is an ex-con, to work with him. 

If you can, watch it. Support Ironside. It would be good to see this unconventional show go on for a few long seasons, particularly as new technologies potentially make it even more interesting to watch. Need another reason to watch the show? How about this: Blair Underwood is just hot and sexy. Plus, he is driving around in a handicapped car with a Halo for the controls. T

Although the show is fiction, it does a couple of particularly important things:

1.) It shows how we all need each other, and it encourages people to see wheelchair users as people first.

2.) It shows that people with disabilities can very much contribute to their communities, and help others. 

Seemingly, mainstream television is going on to add more parts for those with disabilities. I firmly believe that te more different lifestyles we see, the more we grow. So let's stay tuned, and continue to grow.  

See the show HERE. And catch the preview below!

Photo courtesy NBC

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