Le fugitif

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.

The Fugitive was a top show starring David Janssen as Dr. Richard Kimble. Kimble had been wrongly accused of the murder of his wife and he went on the run pursued by Lt. Gerard (played by Barry Morse). His only method of proving his innocence was to find the one-armed man who had killed his wife.

It was a very realistic drama show and David Janssen drew the audience into his predicament. Whatever pain he was feeling, the audience felt too. He was a man who viewers could empathize with. Each week he travelled from place to place meeting up with people, most of whom sympathized with his predicament. There was tension and drama throughout the entire series run. It was a very believable drama. It's a pity that nobody can produce shows like that any more.

One other thing; I believe this show inspired The Incredible Hulk live action series from the late 70's. In both cases, innocent men were on the run for crimes they didn't commit, both men were pursued (David Banner was pursued by a reporter) and both David Janssen as Kimble and the late Bill Bixby as David Banner drew the viewers into their predicament.

According to both my ears and the book 'TV's Biggest Hits' by Jon Burlingame, much of the music we hear in the episodes of the original version of the TV series 'The Fugitive', first appeared on 'The Twilight Zone'. In fact the musical director of 'The Fugitive', once he heard that the show was coming to an end, went up to the late, great, Jerry Goldsmith, who has composed the original tracts when they were used on 'The Twilight Zone', and said 'What's this I hear: they're going to cancel 'our' show!'.

Still, it was an appropriate choice as Richard Kimble spent four years in his own, personal 'Twilight Zone'. If you look at most of the classic episodes of the earlier show, they involve a troubled hero finding himself in a world that doesn't seem to make any sense any more. He convinces himself if he can figure it out, or find a way out of it, things will be OK again. But he never seems to make it- just like so many of our dreams. Kimble's world is shattered by an argument with his wife and her subsequent murder. He's on the run in his own country, now suddenly hostile to him. He has to suppress his emotions and hide his identity while he pursues 'the way out': the one-armed man; and avoids pursuit by Lt. Gerard, the symbol of all his fears. Goldsmith's music was very well used.

I heartily agree with those that rank this as the best TV series ever. Leonard Goldenson was right: it's the best concept for a show ever. Also the best execution. David Janssen's performance is amazing. He's deprived of most of an actor's tools: he keeps his head down and says as little as possible in order to avoid recognition. Yet he conveys this character's feeling perfectly. The tremendous array of guest actors, playing characters in their own little psychological prisons adds great depth to the show. The directing was sharp, well-paced and uncluttered with too many obvious 'techniques'. The writing was consistently good. Pete Rugolo's wonderful main musical theme could be played allegro for excitement or largo for poignancy- and this was the most poignant show ever. It was about psychological alienation. The only other shows I can think of that reached this deep were 'The Twilight Zone' and, occasionally, 'Star Trek'.

This was one of the few classic TV shows of which a movie version was later made that was any good at all. Roy Huggins, the creator of the show, had some input into the Harrison Ford film. That film, compared to the TV show, is rich in money, production values and excitement. It has flashes of characterization that give the action more meaning than most modern day flicks. However the TV was rich in time, with four years of hour long episodes to tell all its various stories. In the end that made it far more moving. If only the film could have been the ending of the TV show, ('The Judgment' is not really all that good, despite its historical ratings).

My dream ending for the show is Kimble leaving the courthouse and suddenly finding himself surrounded by the women who fell in love with him in all his travels, and then running down the street to escape from them! Actually, I think it would have been nice if he found Vera Miles and the boy from 'Fear in Desert City' waiting for him. That would have been the most poetic ending of all. I wonder what Goldsmith might have written for that.

With each passing decade, we seem to descend further into lower and lower literary standards in prose, film, everything. Jumping back thirty or forty years, we see that even television could be deep at times. This and many other shows of the first twenty years or so of TV actually had believable premises, developed characters and strong supporting roles as foil to the lead (Barry Morse's lawman here). The good news is that cable will continue to unearth gems from the past such as "Fugitive" due to sheer need of programming.

I was not alive yet when the show was in its original run. When I became a teenager, I happened to be flipping through the channels one late night and I stumbled across a rerun of "The Fugitive". I was hooked immediately.

I idea behind watching any TV program or movie is to provoke raw emotion from the viewer. Whenever I watch "The Fugitive", my heart actually beats faster. I always felt nervous, merry due to Kimble triumphing, scared, etc. No other program I have ever watched has given me such great feelings.

The show had an excellent premise (we all know it). The character development is the best of the best. Kimble, we saw his weaknesses, did not deserve the injustice that was brought to him. His strengths always kept him one step ahead of Gerard. Gerard, he was the epitome of a man possessed. Great characters and a great story.

Granted, the show has some continuity problems. But those things were overshadowed by an excellent product.

Most other drama on TV today is sappy and weak compared to this.

"The Fugitive" is what a real dram is supposed to be!!