CBS/Paramount Home Entertainment
Release date: Mar 31, 2009
MSRP: $39.98
Stars: David Janssen, William Conrad, Barry Morse, Leslie Nielsen, Carol Eve Rossen
The second part of season 2 aired starting in January 1965, and is mid run for the show that aired until 1968. There were a total of 120 episodes and Roy Huggins got writing credit for every one of them. Huggins also wrote for Rockford Files and other shows through the 70’s that crime fiction lovers will remember. His résumé is like a history of television from a great era of TV.
Fugitive was above all else a character piece, moving Dr. Kimble from situation to situation in each episode, a different town and a variation on his being on the run. It manages to stay clever throughout though there are some episodes that stand out more than others. Nicest Fella You’d Ever Want to Meet is a great episode set in Arizona with a sheriff in a corrupt town. Scapegoat puts Kimble in a precarious position as he needs to possibly compromise himself to save someone from
being wrongly accused of a crime, something way too close to home for Kimble. David Janssen was so great in this role. I really liked him in Harry O, but The Fugitive is really some of his best work. This is a show that really shows how to use tension and pacing and lest the actors shine.
There are some complaints from people that are irate over changes in the music on the show. I never saw it when it aired, but I can’t understand why CBS or Paramount would make the change. The series is obviously doing o k with sales because they keep releasing the show on disc, so why not spend a couple more bucks and leave the music in tact? In any case, I still think this is a great show, and I’ll take which ever version they can put out. I can’t wait till I have it all and can do a monster marathon with the whole series.
Order Season 2, volume 2 of THE FUGITIVE.
Jon Jordan
For more reviews from Jon, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.
