I (Almost) Got Away with It

Pretty good series with exciting fugitive stories, let down by poor execution.

Well narrated, but the acting is lowsy! I mean really bad acting! Ok, I know it's only a documentary but once you notice, it's distracting.

To cement the low budget feel to the programme, every single brand name, car badge etc has been removed. In one episode I laughed out loud when a close up of somebodys (clearly) Nike trainer, where the famous motif had been carelessly covered with black parcel tape which was peeling at one end!

The series is also very repetitive. I don't mean the same stories over and over again, I mean within the episode, where we get updated with where we are in the story. This sort of thing never used to irritate me, but I guess I haven't got the patience anymore for updating me on something I watched less than one minute ago.

With the short-comings aside, it is still a fun series to watch and it covers plenty of details with each case, but do not expect National Geographic standard.

Sorry...I should have written which episode I was referring to.

Season 1...Video Store.

I believe it was episode 4.

Well shoot...I need to have at least 150 words... I think I've said it all. Oh!

I would like to thank IMDB...you guys are awesome. Hardly watch anything without getting the 411 about the show.

I hope that is 150.

This is a fascinating show about fugitives and their attempts to evade capture. The amount of time that the fugitives are on the run vary from several days to several decades. (Subsequently, the episodes about fugitives who evade capture for years are more interesting.) Crimes include murder, burglary, bank robbery, drug dealing, con games, and video piracy.

The re-enactment actors turn in professional, believable performances, and the production values are mostly top-notch. If you watch enough episodes, however, you'll notice a lot of actors and locations are used repeatedly. (e.g. almost every fugitive or fugitives' family members live in the same house.) Other than those obvious budget-friendly shortcuts, the show looks professionally produced.

What makes this show unique is that the actual fugitives are interviewed, so viewers hear a first-person account of events. Particularly interesting is the fugitives' backstories. Most are career criminals who come from dysfunctional families and began offending at a young age. For the episodes featuring a convicted murderer, it's disturbing hearing how easily they rationalize and justify their crimes. Some are remorseful but not all of them. It's also sad to see how a lapse in judgement can change the trajectory of so many lives-from the perpetrators to the victims to the families to innocent bystanders.

INTERESTING FOOTNOTE: In the season-one episode, "Got the Wrong Four People Killed," the actress playing the fugitive's mother is Kathy Garver, who played Cissy in the '60s sitcom Family Affair.

Most of the people portrayed are black, a few are brown. Are there white criminals? White criminals get million dollar lawyers and rarely go to trial, their case is "settled" and info is sealed, away from public scrutiny. Court records should be public unless there is a threat to national security or other special circumstances.

Considering the production crew of this show has a tight group of actors you'll see some actors performing multiple roles throughout the series. That doesn't take away from the fact that the episodes are gripping because they're real. The multiple factors that go into someone becoming a criminal, the close shaves while on the lam, the police who risk their lives in pursuit and the dumb luck some of these criminals have is just astounding.

This isn't just another cop show. It's a detailed look into the variations of crimes, reasons why some people end up as criminals and the chances they overlooked, how innocents get caught up in their lives, the technologies involved which keep on improving.

This is a show the whole family and community should watch. You never know who is in your neighborhood who might be on the run, you never know what might happen in your life that has you up against the wall where you end up on the wrong side of the law.