MartinHafer
"The Fugitive" is the sort of show that is hard to describe. Sure, it's about a man sentenced to death for a murder he didn't commit escaping...but there's far more to it than this simple idea. Each episode Richard Kimble (David Janssen) is in a new city, with new guest stars and new problems...and they aren't always about his being pursued by the cops. Often, Kimble risks his own safety to help others and make the world a better place...sort of like a roaming social worker. Very, very few of these shows came off as contrived or trite...because the writing was so consistently good and Janssen was a great TV actor. As far as seeing the shows go, a few are posted on YouTube and Netflix has many of the DVDs...but not all. As for me, I got the DVDs from Netflix and bought the two missing half seasons from Amazon. Also noted that the first three seasons are in black and white and have no captioning (that sucks!!). Fortunately, the final season, in full color, also has excellent captions.
alan_paul
As I watched this classic series recently, I found myself visiting the Internet Movie Database site frequently. Bruce Dern plays five different roles over the course of the show's four year run. Louise Latham and Diane Baker, two of Dern's co-stars from Hitchcock's film Marnie show up in the series finale. Robert Duvall appears in three episodes playing two unique characters, elevating both otherwise formulaic stories. Dozens of performers return to play new characters throughout the series run (not that unusual for a TV series of this vintage). Watched over the course of four years, viewers might not have noticed the returning actors. Modern binge viewers can check on Internet Movie Database to see how many times Telly Savalas, Shirley Knight, Michael Constantine and Sue Randall will appear (three). Look for Kurt Russell (as Philip Gerard Jr!) early in Season Two, as well as fellow kid stars Bill Mumy and brothers Clint and Ron Howard. A random episode cast: Pat Hingle, Dabney Coleman, Mary Murphy, Tom Skerritt, Dabs Greer, Burt Mustin. In most cases, if they are still alive, they are still working. Each of the four seasons has thirty episodes, with David Janssen on screen as Dr. Richard Kimble (The Fugitive) for most of the hour, often looking appropriately stressed or exhausted, a believable performance perhaps made easier by a frantic work schedule. Barry Morse as Lt. Philip Gerard, Kimble's nemesis, does not appear in every episode. Instead he pops up just enough to keep the main storyline of pursuit going. Series villain Bill Raisch as Fred Johnson (The One-Armed Man) is featured in just ten episodes, and is still (deservedly) ranked as one of TVs all-time greatest villains. Yes, some of the episodes are exceptionally good, others not quite so much, but every episode is watchable, even if you are just admiring the quality of the acting, or simply anxious to get to the end of the series. And the series finale is what sets the entire show apart from so many genre TV shows. The basic premise of the series can be summed up in a few questions. Those questions are answered in the two hour series finale, after a few twists and surprises, with a very satisfying conclusion. What are the cliffhanger resolutions for Flash Forward, Carnivale, Twin Peaks (okay, a great final episode, but it ends with multiple cliffhangers), X-Files, Invasion, Lost In Space, Land of the Giants, Vanished, The Dead Zone, Deception, Kyle XY, Stargate Universe, Alcatraz, Sliders, Las Vegas, The Border, Endgame (and dozens of other past, present and future TV shows)? Fifty years after The Fugitive's first broadcast, the entire series is still worth watching from the intriguing beginning, through an occasionally suspenseful middle, to the rewarding payoff at the end.
tnutty925
My dad introduced me to when it first came out, must have been around 16 or 17 at the time. Now 21, yet I still can get enough. Absolutely love the show. Every episode just has some kind of thrilling twist. Show isn't about highly cost cameras that can do just about anything these, this is old school. Yet how in depth they get with each character, and certain camera angles really puts this show way past its time. Sad they didn't run the show longer, but there are plenty of episodes and think they did a great job on how they ended it. For anyone looking for good ol' black and white shows, The Fugitive is a must for checking out.
sonya90028
The Fugitive revolves around Dr. Richard Kimble and his flight from the law, after he's wrongfully convicted of killing his wife. Kimble tells the authorities that he saw a one-armed man fleeing the scene, after discovering his wife's dead body in his living room. Problem is, Kimble could never prove that he didn't kill his wife, before being sentenced to death by execution.Things look grim for Dr. Kimble, when he's in the custody of Lt. Phillip Gerard after his conviction, and on his way via train to being executed. The hand of fate steps in, however. Kimble manages to escape from Lt. Gerard's custody, after the train transporting them wrecks. From that moment on, Dr. Kimble must run for his life, traveling from town to town. Whenever Kimble arrives in a new place, he must assume a whole new identity, to keep from getting caught by Lt. Gerard.Kimble can never rest easy for long, since Lt. Gerard is always in piping-hot pursuit of Kimble. Gerard makes it his personal mission in life to capture Dr. Kimble, and have him executed, despite the fact that Kimble is innocent. And Gerard is unwilling to accept that Kimble's wife might have been killed by the one-armed man, despite Kimble's insistence that he's innocent of murdering his wife.While keeping one step ahead of Gerard, Dr. Kimble is also hunting for the one-armed man, in hopes of capturing him. If successful, Kimble then has a chance of being able to prove that the one-armed man was his wife's murderer. Kimble knows that getting the one-armed man, is his only hope of proving his innocence.David Janssen does a splendid job, in his portrayal of the painfully desperate, besieged Dr. Kimble. Barry Morse also gives an excellent performance, as Lt. Gerard. Barry does great at conveying Lt. Gerard's almost pathological obsession, with capturing Dr. Kimble. I also thought that the narration at the start and end of very episode by actor William Conrad, was a nice touch.Over the years, there have been many 'chase' dramas on TV, including The Pretender, The Immortal, The Prisoner, etc. These were all good shows. But none of them could match the gripping, nail-biting suspense of The Fugitive. It's now on DVD, and I highly recommend giving it a look, if you haven't yet. Once you do, you'll be hooked on this drama series.