AaronCapenBanner
The series would start every episode with the same narration, effectively summing up the situation of how Richard was wrongfully convicted by a jury for the murder of his wife, which was committed by a one-armed man he would pursue for the entire run of the series after he was freed from a train wreck on route to the death house.It must have seemed like divine intervention to Richard that he was now freed by fate so close to meeting his undeserved execution, but being on the run for four years was not easy, as he helped ordinary people in need, and fled from the relentless pursuit of Lt. Gerard(played expertly by Barry Morse), who was obsessed with his re-capture.It may be considered slow by modern audiences, but this series had mostly excellent writing and gritty realism in how it makes you feel such sympathy for Richard Kimble in his search for justice.Was superbly re-made in 1993 as a feature film with Harrison Ford, this series is compelling television drama.
fosterbandit
This series has it all. Great acting, solid writing and awesome, suspenseful music. It is one of the best dramas in television history and offers an attractive sidebar as the viewer gets to see up and coming stars(as well as established stars) making some great guest appearances. Look for Ed Asner, Leslie Nielson, Ron Howard and Kurt Russell. Also, David Janssen as Dr. Richard Kimble and Barry Morse as Philip Gerard are absolutely outstanding. I can't wait for seasons 3 and 4 to come out on DVD! With todays sophisticated technology, it is hard to imagine a fugitive escaping the arm of the law the way these episodes play out but back then in much simpler times, it was plausible and it all just seems to....fit. An incredible dramatic series!
hnt_dnl
I wonder how many fans of the relatively recent masterful big-screen adaptation THE FUGITIVE (starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones) know that there actually was a pretty masterful TV series that preceded it by 30 years! This 1960s TV series, THE FUGITIVE, tells the story of one Dr. Richard Kimble (played brilliantly by David Janssen). Kimble is arrested and put on death row for the alleged murder of his own wife, Helen. The arresting officer is Lt. Philip Gerard (well played by Barry Morse), the only other major character in this series. Kimble and Gerard carried the show for 4 seasons until Kimble's acquittal of his wife's murder in the series finale in 1967, when it was proved (as Kimble always asserted) that a one-armed man committed the crime.Kimble escaped from the train that was to take him to jail, thus the series focused on his adventures cross-country trying to find the elusive one-armed man. Basically an anthology series, each episode was self-contained and really focused more on life lessons than on Kimble's predicament. Kimble would drift into some town, get caught up with ne'er do-wells somehow, then actually play detective and solve the crime and help catch the bad guys, then disappear and thus stay one step ahead of Gerard.You'll notice in watching the series that the same actor would play different characters from time to time, so if you think that is the character you saw before, you'd be wrong. The lady who played Kimble's sister was a recurring character though and she appeared in the last episode when Kimble was acquitted.I got to see a summertime marathon of this show several years ago and was thoroughly engaged. Janssen was perfect in the role of Kimble. I can't think of another actor who could relay Kimble's reserve, calmness, humanity, and unabashed determination to clear his name. Morse (a very small man in stature) was solid as the cop who was obsessed with bringing Kimble to justice, at times conflicted as to whether or not Kimble really did kill his wife.THE FUGITIVE is one of those old, forgotten series that gets lost in the shuffle due to modernization and all of the diluted stuff on TV nowadays. But trust me, this classic 60s series is a keeper!
jbull1968
This was a truly great and inventive series of the 1960's. Intelligent scripts, great acting by the guest stars as well as the series leads, Janssen and Morse, coupled with excellent production values. I understand that Paramount holds the rights to this great series. I for one can't understand why it hasn't been released onto DVD. I know that were periodic releases of the series on video by legitimate companies including, I think, Columbia House. I picked up a used VHS edition which had two episodes on a tape and an introduction to each episode by Barry Morse. Somebody at Paramount is definitely letting a cash cow slip through their fingers by not releasing it...wake up Paramount!