The Fugitive debuted on September 17, 1963 and was an immediate hit in the ratings. It is widely believed that the character of Dr. Richard Kimble was based on Dr. Sam Sheppard, a young Cleveland, Ohio doctor convicted of killing his wife Marilyn in 1954, despite his claims of a “bushy haired intruder.” Sheppard served ten years in prison and was declared a free man by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 6, 1968. “The massive, pervasive and prejudicial publicity attending petitioner’s prosecution prevented him from receiving a fair trial consistent with the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.” When asked whether The Fugitive was based on the Sheppard case, series creator Roy Huggins said, I don’t care whether people say The Fugitive was based on the Sheppard case. The only reason I deny it is that it happens to be the truth”
Producer Quinn Martin developed several techniques that made The Fugitive different from most television shows on the air at the time. One of them was an introductory narrator (Hank Simms) revealed the desperate state of Dr. Kimble’s life with this statement at the beginning of each episode:
Name: Richard Kimble. Profession: doctor of medicine. Destination: death row, state prison. Richard Kimble has been tried and convicted for the murder of his wife. But laws are made by men, carried out by men. And men are imperfect.
Richard Kimble is innocent. Proved guilty, what Richard Kimble could not prove was that moments before discovering his wife’s body, he encountered a man running from the vicinity of his home. A man with one arm. A man who has not yet been found.
Richard Kimble ponders his fate as he looks at the world for the last time. And sees only darkness.
Martin also divided the hour long show into a number of acts (ACT I, ACT II, etc.) the number of “beats” of action per act, and ending each act with a cliff hanger of sorts, ensuring that the audience would come back after the commercial break.
Martin also used a narrator during the course of the show, television veteran William Conrad (Cannon) to show Kimble’s ongoing struggle to stay uninvolved in the lives of the people around him. Kimble was just to nice a guy not to help a woman in distress or a family in crisis. Conrad’s captivating voice is used to drive that point home.
The fifteen episodes included in The Fugitive: Season One – Volume Two set show just how adept David Janssen was at completely inhabiting his character. Janssen made Kimble’s fear palpable but not overwhelming, his loneliness obvious but not to depressing; he was just like us? How could he have murdered his wife?
On the lamb, and using various pseudonyms, Kimble takes whatever odd jobs he can to get by. It seems strange now, but the idea that someone actually worked for a living and it played a major role in their life was still a fairly new concept for television in 1964. Before this, it was assumed that fathers worked for a living, but they were always home on time for dinner and lived in well appointed houses with spotless children? Did Rob Petrie ever complain about not having enough money? Was he forced to do truly menial labor?
Of course, this is television. How many fugitives are as good looking and polite as David Janssen? In his smart sport coat and perfectly pressed chino’s, it stands to reason that men would be impressed by him and a few women might fall in love with him. It is these characteristics that allow Dr. Kimble to barely escape the clutches of Lt. Philip Gerard. Even after people recognize him, they reason Kimble is to good a man to have committed such a crime; and they find themselves aiding him on his run from the law.
Barry Morse as Lt. Philip Gerard deserves much praise for his portrayal of Kimble’s would-be captor. Morse has none of the boyish good looks of David Janssen. Instead, his square jaw and flat features portray a man who totally believes in Kimble’s guilt. Further, Gerard has the weight of the world on his shoulders because Kimble escaped from his custody and he must make it right.
Because The Fugitive has essentially one featured cast member who moves to different locations on a weekly basis, guest stars play a more important role than they might on other series. The Fugitive: Season One – Volume Two benefits from appearances from some of the finest actors of the time and some who would become big stars in the future. Among them are: Peggy McCay, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd, Telly Savalas, Joanna Frank, Pat Hingle, Nan Martin, George Voskovec, Warren Oates, Eileen Heckhart, Caroll O’Connor, Claude Akins and Shirley Knight. While these are just some of the guest starts that appear in The Fugitive: Season One – Volume Two, the list serves as a good example of the high quality acting that The Fugitive, the original television series had to offer.
In my opinion, while the 1993 movie The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford was alright and the 2000 attempt at remake of The Fugitive television series starring Tim Daly was an abject failure, the original is a television masterpiece; Creator Roy Huggins, producer Quinn Martin and all of the actors involved came together to create one of the finest dramas in television history.
I highly recommend The Fugitive: Season One – Volume Two and pick up The Fugitive: Season One – Volume One if you can to experience The Fugitive from the beginning. Though it’s disappointing that the distributors felt the need to break one season into two sets for marketing purposes, you won’t regret your purchase.
The Fugitive: Season One – Volume Two includes the final 15 episodes of season one on four DVD’s. The video is excellent for a series from 1964. The back of the DVD slimcase claims that these transfers were taken from the original negatives. I believe it, because the films look beautiful. The audio has been restored from the original as well, and is presented in Dolby Digital English Mono. Closed Captioning is available. There are absolutely no extras on this set.
One note: As Paramount sets often note, on the back of the set there is a warning: “Music has been changed for this home entertainment version. Some episodes may be edited from their original network versions.” There is no further explanation of what cuts, if any, were made. There were no discernible changes I could see, but the warning is there.
