CHUCKING IRONSIDE

During the 'Chuck' episode "Chuck vs. The Sizzling Shrimp", agent John Casey got the drop on Ben Lo Pan in his inner sanctum, while the wheelchair-bound Chinese Mafia leader was reading.

"Put down the book, Ironside," Casey snarled.

For us at home, this was supposed to be just a reference to the TV series which starred Raymond Burr as Robert T. Ironside, the San Francisco Chief of Detectives who continued working on the Force - despite being paralyzed by a sniper's bullet.

But within the "reality" of Toobworld, it was a reference to the actual Chief Ironside. Forty years after its premiere, and the legend of Ironside in law enforcement would have been well-known throughout not only the police departments across the country, but also in the intelligence-gathering organizations like the FBI, the NSA, the CIA and SID. (In fact, if I'm remembering the show correctly, he did work for one of those organizations at one point or another during his eight year career seen on the Toob.)

Whether or not Ben Lo Pan understood the reference to Ironside, I don't think Casey gave a good God-bleep.

BCnU!
Toby OB