Fugitive comes to DVD in a 33 disc set on Nov. 1st 2011 (1 Viewer)

[The 1960's]

The Fugitive (1963-1967)
Stars David Janssen William Conrad Barry Morse

S03E09 Landscape with Running Figures Part 1 (Nov.16.1965)
Stars David Janssen Barbara Rush Herschel Bernardi Jud Taylor Barry Morse Arthur Franz Noam Pitlik Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. Bill Zuckert Ronnie Dapo Simon Prescott Stuart Nisbet John Clarke Stephen Coit Don Ross Adam Williams William Conrad Mark Russell William Woodson Robert Doyle Judee Morton Robert Biheller James Devine

A profound two-part episode which has many parameters. But there are two major elements to this story. It is not just Richard Kimble who is running from Lt. Gerald it is his wife Marie Lindsey Gerard (Barbara Rush) as well, who we meet for the very first time. Here we see the private side of Gerard. We discover a marriage that is on the brink of collapse and a woman who is close to a nervous breakdown having to deal with her husband’s obsession with the capture of Kimble. In her own words, “the losing end of a modern day triangle.” As Marie “Lindsey” runs away from Gerard she ends up on the same Eastbound bus as Kimble setting off a fascinating dichotomy of events.

This is a sterling and underappreciated performance throughout for Barbara Rush, perhaps her best ever. I’d imagine when she saw this meaty script she knew it would be a field day for her and she did not disappoint! The interactions between Marie Lindsey Gerard and Richard Kimble are touching. In this instance these two fine actors made the story. No one else could have done so as beautifully as Barbara Rush and David Janssen did.

The other element of this two-part story is the deep sorrow we feel for Richard Kimble. There’s something different in his behavior here. He appears worn out and beaten, almost resigned to being captured at the hands of Lt. Gerard. He carelessly signs his own name on a hotel time-sheet which alerts Gerard and sets off a manhunt. .

Please see recommended Playlist below while reading commentary and viewing images.​

Playlist: Theme @ 0:00, The Kimbles @ 1:18, Gerard @ 4:58​

 

[The 1960's]

S03E10 Landscape with Running Figures Part 2 (Nov.23.1965)

To Be Continued In The Near Future​

 

[rjd0309]

The role of Lt. Gerard's wife was played by two actresses. Rachel Ames made a brief appearance as Ann Gerard in Never Wave Goodbye part 1, and then Barbara Rush was given the meatier role of Marie Gerard in Landscape with Running Figures.

Coincidentally, both actresses appeared in the 1951 sci-fi movie When Worlds Collide, as two of the young women who are recruited to voyage to a new planet on the Noah's Ark spaceship to start a new human colony.

The lengths that some women will go to get away from Phil Gerard!

 

[Kevin Antonio (Kev)]

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S03E10 Landscape with Running Figures Part 2 (Nov.23.1965)

To Be Continued In The Near Future​

One of the best episodes but for some reason I always felt it should have been a stand alone episode. The additional 50 minutes were full of a lot of pointless dialouge and scenes until the last 3rd of the episode when he reveals he is Kimble.

 

[Harry-N]

I thought the first part was way better than the second.

 

[Mr. Handley]

I'm now 1/3 of the way thru Season 4 and have really been enjoying the color episodes. Also enjoying the more frequent appearances of the one-armed man. Looking forward to the final 20 episodes!

 

[ponset]

 

[Mr. Handley]

I'm slowly but surely making my way to the end of Season 4. Overall, not enjoying this season as much as the previous 3, but that may be because the formula is wearing a bit thin. The guest actors continue to hold my interest. The episode I watched last night ("A Passage To Helena") was certainly a stand-out in this final season.

 

[jim_falconer]

I'm slowly but surely making my way to the end of Season 4. Overall, not enjoying this season as much as the previous 3, but that may be because the formula is wearing a bit thin. The guest actors continue to hold my interest. The episode I watched last night ("A Passage To Helena") was certainly a stand-out in this final season.

I agree about season 4 not being as strong as the first three. There were only so many predicaments that Richard could be placed in, and as you say, by season 4 the plots were not as captivating. Also, I think the introduction of color film in season 4 took some of the tension out of the show.

 

[Mr. Handley]

Well, my first ever viewing of The Fugitive series is nearly at an end. I am down to the final 2 episodes of Season 4. Will most likely watch them sometime this week. I must say that I'm ready for the series to end. Season 4 has been my least favorite. As I've stated before, it's mainly the guest actors that have held my interest. The overall formula has been wearing mighty thin. As many chances as Gerard had over the years, how was he not fired or at least taken off the case?!?

 

[ScottRE]

As many chances as Gerard had over the years, how was he not fired or at least taken off the case?!?

I said the same thing about Captain Deitrich of The Rat Patrol. How many times would his German superiors tolerate his failure at the hands of 4 guys in jeeps every single week? He'd be, at best, sent to the Russian Front before the halfway point of the first season.

Or Jack McGee on The Incredible Hulk had a dozen clues with which to figure out who becomes The Hulk. Some are pretty obvious. One of his own fellow reporters sussed it out one episode! But nope...

The Fugitive is a great show that works best one episode per week and taken with a grain of salt. Kimble had enough witnesses to get a retrial by the 4th year, but 60's TV continuity was what it was. And at the end scene, there should have been a line of the women Kimble fell in love with waiting for him, from Monica Welles on down to Barbara Wells (no relation).

 

[Museum Pieces]

And at the end scene, there should have been a line of the women Kimble fell in love with waiting for him, from Monica Welles on down to Barbara Wells (no relation).

My brother in law wrote a detailed book proposal about what happened to Kimble after he was acquitted. He brought nearly every one of these women back. It was a hard-boiled story for a novel, and was rejected flat out by the rights holders. No audience for it, they said. And my brother in law doesn't have the rights to self-publish it.

 

[Mr. Handley]

Watched Part 1 of the final episode last night. Can't wait to see how it all ends!!

 

[ScottRE]

Watched Part 1 of the final episode last night. Can't wait to see how it all ends!!

Looking forward to your reaction. It's rare to see a first-timer these days.

 

[Mr. Handley]

Well, that certainly was an interesting final episode. Despite some rather unbelievable behavior by Gerard and the introduction of a totally new, crucial character into the proceedings, overall I'm satisfied with how they wrapped it all up. It was a fun ride thru the entire series and one that I'll probably revisit one day, although I stand by opinion that the 4th season was the weakest of the bunch.

 

[ScottRE]

There's almost no way the finale could have lived up to expectations and to this day I wish it was written by a series regular. But since it wasn't a mystery (we know who did it),

Spoiler

the introduction of a new person who could conclusively clear Kimble probably made the most sense since Fred Johnson wasn't the type to confess.

Also, I believe this episode was written in a hurry. Notice it was aired well after the season officially ended, at the very finish of the network run of the series. While the resolution of Kimble's plight was written into Roy Huggins' initial premise, I don't think the decision to end the series was made until fairly late. But Janssen was exhausted and if you compare his performances in the last season to the first, you can see just how tired he was. It was a brutal series for him with long hours, lots of night shooting and the lions share of screen time.

The 4th season took a hit for a few reasons. The first and most obvious was the switch to color. Kimble no longer had the shadows, the series lost a lot of its Film Noir atmosphere. However, that alone wouldn't do it. The real issue was the change in producers. Alan Armer was replaced by John Meredyth Lucas who pushed for more of an action adventure series. New writers coming in also didn't have a handle on the series. Armer came back about a third of the way in, and things got a little better, but there was also another change in the format. After three seasons of fleeting glimpses, the One Armed Man became a semi-regular. That altered the reality of the series as well. On top of Gerard constantly being flummoxed in his attempts to apprehend Kimble, now Kimble had to constantly not be able to get Fred Johnson to confess to the crime. So the final season was different than the first three. There were still some great episodes, but the consistency of high bar storytelling was lost.

Overall, the series was a sterling example of 60's drama. I still consider it Quinn Martin's finest series. I'm glad you had the chance to watch it straight through.

 

[jdee28]

As an epilogue to the Fugitive finale, people should watch a 2 part episode of the TV show Cannon called "He Who Digs a Grave" from 1973. David Janssen guest stars as a man suspected of murdering his wife. William Conrad's private investigator character Cannon gets him off, and everything seems ok, until the final act! This is perhaps the way some people thought the Fugitive series should have ended. No doubt David Janssen did these episodes of Cannon partly to have fun and finally give those people the ending they wanted!

 

[Harry-N]

Last night, I found myself awakened in the 2 AM hour. To help getting back to sleep I put on MeTV as they were running THE FUGITIVE. I came in right at the start of "Act II" and saw Murray Hamilton and Patricia Smith in a kitchen scene. It took me a minute, but I finally figured out that it was the episode "Coralee", the last episode in Season 3.

"Coralee" has been an episode that I don't frequent too often; I suspect it's because I've read a lot of negatives about it from others. But the episode is crammed with recognizable guest stars, some who didn't even get "guest star" credits in the opening. In addition to Murray Hamilton and Patricia Smith, there is of course Antoinette Bower in the title role, and Joe Maross and Dabney Coleman playing backing roles. Even James Frawley was a recognizable figure, though I probably couldn't have placed a name with the familiar face.

But what struck me most was the underscore. I'm pretty sure that the print that MeTV was running had the replacement score that marred the early DVDs. I just dug out my MOST WANTED set and the old S3V2 set and compared them. This episode on those early DVDs was really messed up with replacement music. Too bad that this error in judgement back in the early 2000s is still a factor today and that many might never hear the correct underscore.

 

[jdee28]

Somehow the music replacement episodes are what these stations play now when they run the Fugitive Seasons 2 and 3. It's a travesty. There's literally no reason for it other than stupidity, laziness, and incompetence.

 

[ScottRE]

I've seen them on some of the free streaming platforms. Thing is, the average viewer neither notices nor cares about the music substitutions. Background music means little to nothing to them. We have the corrected episodes on DVD at least.