"The Fugitive: Season 1, Volume 2" -- A Personal Review (1 Viewer)

[David Von Pein]

Yes, Harry. I, too (being a fusspot), took note of the spine differences (who wouldn't notice it?), but I didn't bother bringing that trivial matter up in my review, because it just isn't very important. (Although it would be nice to have "Fuge spinal consistency" from one DVD compilation to the next.)

My "Freeze-Frame Test" comments aren't really the slightest bit important either, but since I took the time to "test" all of the episodes in this relatively-meaningless regard, I figured I'd waste some bandwidth within the review and mention the results.

(Obligatory smilie inserted here ---> )

 

[Harry-N]

I must have no self-discipline at all. Since getting the Volume 2 set, and with the full intention of stretching the viewing out to one per week, I've now competed five(!) episodes.

I started with that nearly-unseen-by-me "Storm Center" and have now totally finished off Disc One as of last night.

It's just been one of those weeks where viewing TV shows isn't a problem, timewise, so I found myself watching one after the other.

So much for making this set last till June. At this rate, it won't last till St. Patrick's Day!

By the way, as I watched last night, I actually took notice of the sound of the episode that was playing, and it sounded unusually good for a show of this age. I can't remember if the sound on Volume One was as well done as this one.

Harry

 

[Gary OS]

Just checked and verified another very small music alteration. This one came in "THE HOMECOMING" when Kimble was listening to the radio in his room. As with the other alterations, this one is not intrusive to me at all.

Gary "admittedly, I am thankful this show didn't depend on any 'pop music' of the day to advance the plot - otherwise I think we'd be in trouble because Paramount is not clearing very much" O.

 

[Jeff Willis]

Thanks for the words, VP. Your Fugitive reviews are the 'est

 

[Harry-N]

In my marathon of viewing this week, I discovered yet another of those TIME TUNNEL (and STAR TREK) actors who also appeared in THE FUGITIVE, this one uncredited.

Peter Brocco, who often played frail older men, politicians, or scientific types, seems to have had an uncredited part in "Where The Action Is." He plays the part of a driver who reports back to Telly Savalas on his recent assignment, but he's not listed in the opening or closing credits at all. The role isn't even listed in the IMDb, where he gets credit for both "World's End" and "A Clean And Quiet Town" from later in the series run.

In THE TIME TUNNEL, Mr. Brocco played the part of Kashi, a blind Afghani in "The Night Of The Long Knives", also playing a role in the later episode, "Idol Of Death.

In STAR TREK, Mr. Brocco played the part of Claymare (one of the Organian elders) in the "Errand Of Mercy" episode.

Harry

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

So I'm very much enjoying this Season One second half run of The Fugitive with quality writing and spectacular acting turns such as Eileen Heckart in "Angels Travel On Lonely Roads." But I gotta ask one question: In almost every episode his identity is discovered by the fourth act and usually reported to the authorities ... How come they never update the wanted poster to reflect his dyed black hair? I mean, come on, they don't need photoshop; any black magic marker would do. I guess I get the same answer Jack Nicholson's character got in another noir classic ... "Forget it, Jake ... it's Television." Or something like that.

 

[Hank Dearborn]

I was just thinking that with the accelerated release schedule it would be really neat if Paramount coordinated the schedule so that the final set of episodes comes out next year on August 29th. The day the running stopped. But I'm sure Paramount wouldn't have that much foresight, would they?

 

[David Von Pein]

Hank,

The only problem there being: August 29, 2009, is a Saturday....not a Tuesday.

 

[Harry-N]

We just finished watching the two-parter, "Angels Travel On Lonely Roads".

It's funny, I always liked this episode, but as a two-parter, it somehow always got skipped in my viewings of my old VHS tapes. It's easier to squeeze an hour of viewing in, but two hours takes a bigger commitment - and at that length, a movie choice is valid too.

So it's been quite a while since I'd seen the episode. I'd totally forgotten about the great acting turn here by Albert Salmi. And I hadn't recalled Ruta Lee being in the episode at all.

Anyway, good stuff! Eileen Heckart was magnificent in the role of Sister Veronica. And poor Ken Lynch - I guess after not bagging Kimball, he left Earth and went off to run a pergeum mining facility! (Star Trek reference).

Harry

 

[David Von Pein]

"Mr. Walker? .... Why don't we just COAST down the hill?"

"Good idea, Sister."

 

[JoshuaB.]

One of the things I have always liked about The Fugitive is that the series had such high-quality guest actors, from the soon-to-be-famous (like Robert Duvall and Bruce Dern) and journeyman character actors (Pat Hingle and Albert Salmi). No matter how big or small the role, these actors really gave it their all and complimented David Janssen's performances!

 

[Jeff Willis]

That's for sure. This series is amazing.

Ok, it's "question time" for you Fugitive fanatics.

I just finished with the V1S1 set and after having wached "Home....Hunted" episode with Mom, she asked me how often that "Kimble's" family members had recurring roles in the series. I seem to recall that Jacqueline Scott appeared in several later episodes. How many and did "Ray" (Andrew Prine) or Kimble's Dad make any future appearances in the series?

 

[Harry-N]

Jacqueline Scott and her immediate family are the only ones who ever appear again in the balance of the series (not counting the in-laws), and her husband is played by rotating actors.

Kimble's father, I believe is mentioned as having passed away. Ray is never mentioned again.

Jacqueline Scott mentioned a mother once, but we never saw her or heard of her again.

Harry

 

[Jeff Willis]

Harry,

Thanks for the info. I've started reading the Robertson book a couple days ago. I did a quick look-over at some of the upcoming episode storylines. There are some very interesting stories coming up for a first-time viewer. It's another indication of how this series stands apart from almost any other show in existance.

 

[Harry-N]

One of the things about THE FUGITIVE as it relates to today, is that though it was one of the first, if not *the* first, series that wrapped up its story in the final episode, it was still a product of '60s television.

Though we were introduced to Kimble's family, it wasn't done in a soap-opera fashion, or even story-arcs. The appearance of Donna Kimble was done to tell an individual story. The casting of Jacqueline Scott was a coup early on, and the producers knew it. The fact that she was available for several subsequent appearances was a bonus. And she says that people told her that she had a similar facial structure to David Janssen, particularly in the eyes.

Her husband in the show was more or less a disposable role, and could have been played by any of the many character actors of the day. And just like Lt. Gerard's wife, it didn't matter who was cast, since they weren't major characters.

The idea back then was that by the time Mrs. Gerard or Len Taft were to appear again, no-one would remember who'd played them before. TV was supposedly disposable entertainment that wasn't to be studied ad infinitum.

If the series were being done today, I'm sure that the producers would consistently cast the same actors if they were available. Back then, it just wasn't important.

That's also the reason that a Suzanne Pleshette or a Carol Rossen could be hired multiple times throughout the series run to play totally different characters. The important thing was *that* week's story and who best to be cast in the guest roles.

And that leads to one of the reasons that the series is so compelling - that the best actors in the business were hired week after week to enhance the Kimble saga.

Harry

 

[michael_ks]

Very well stated, Harry. Something I've always felt viscerally but never really cohesively expressed in so many words. Part of the great charm of shows of this vintage is that dramas like "The Fugitive" have their own unique universe which mirrors reality, but in an imprecise and fascinating way. IMO the move towards perfecting the story arc, maintaining strict continuity, etc. ironically makes for less enjoyable viewing. And then, maybe I can't adjust because I'm just too damn old... I love that character actors were used over and over in shows such as this. Albert Salmi was mentioned a couple of times earlier--I've been a huge fan for years and can recall the elation I felt decades ago when I'd spot his name in the opening credits for say, "Kung Fu". Heck, who gets excited by a guest actor in the current crop of shows? I believe that Dabs Greer and Harry Townes, who played the two smarmy cops in "Fear in a Desert City" appear no less than 9 more times between them in subsequent episodes of "The Fugitive" and I'll look forward to seeing them in every episode they appear in.

BTW, I'm following the Harry-N approach to viewing vol. 2 and it appears to be working so far, but after seeing "Come Watch Me Die" yesterday evening, I'm not sure if I can last until this weekend for the third installment.

I've really been enjoying this thread eventhough I haven't contributed of late but it's been great reading the enthusiastic input by Jeff, Gary and others!

 

[Harry-N]

Gee, if only I could've followed the "Harry-N" approach. I'm already through seven full episodes and almost watched another one this morning. The show is like Lays Potato Chips. I can't watch just one!

Harry

 

[Tina_H_V]

Yes, Harry. Robert Keith, whose son, Brian, appeared as Ed Welles in the "Fear In A Desert City" pilot, potrayed Dr. John Kimble that one time in the "Home Is The Hunted" episode. The elder Keith passed away in 1966 at age 68--right around the time of the "Running Scared" episode disclosing the elder Kimble's death.

One reason given for the different castings of the actors who played Donna's husband lent itself to actor availability at the time those particular episodes went into production.

And speaking of actor availability...one thing I always respect The Fugivitve for particularly, on a more personal level, is the use of black actors and actresses throughout the course of this fine series. And it was not just that these actors were cast as they were in the seriers, but also in the roles in which they were presented during the time this series originally aired back in the 1960s. James Edwards...Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis...Janet MacLachlan...Lloyd Haynes...Percy Rodriguez...Diana Sands...Bill Gunn...and Greg Morris, just to name a few.

And one particular actor was cast twice amongst those brought back for different roles a la Robert Duvall, Telly Savalas, Bruce Dern, Diana Hyland, etc. That actor was none other than Ivan Dixon himself.

Every last one of them gave no less than stellar performances, IMHO, in the roles in which they were cast.

Seeing such fine, strong women as Ms. Dee, Ms. MacLachlan and the late Ms. Sands, particularly, during this classic TV series truly put a smile in my heart as well as on my face.

 

[David Von Pein]

Yes, indeedy.

Also: Is it common (at all) for the same actor to jump from series to series here in the 21st century? (I kinda doubt it. Does that type of thing happen at all, circa 2008?)

But if you look at IMDb.com and check out people like Dabney Coleman, Dabbs Greer, Sandy Kenyon, Allan Melvin, Burt Mustin, Ray Kellogg, Amzie Strickland, Russell Collins, and the "Policeman For All '60s TV Shows", Ken Lynch (plus tons of others) .... you'll find that all of these actors were busy literally skipping from one guest-starring role to another, in a wide variety of shows.

Part of the fun of "The '60s" era on TV (for me anyway) is spotting all of these different people in different shows playing different roles each week.

Except for Ken Lynch, I'd say these actors were cast in a fairly wide variety of roles. Lynch always seemed to be a police officer (even in the 1959 Hitchcock movie "North By Northwest"!), with his several roles in "The Andy Griffith Show" being quite funny in nature, as his rigidly-written police parts played nicely off of Andy Taylor's laid-back, hayseed-type of character.

Lynch Trivia:

Off the top of my head, I can think of only two shows which cast Ken Lynch as a NON-cop (although there no doubt were many more which don't come to my mind right now).

Can anyone guess what these two shows are that I'm thinking of?

A correct guess will entitle the winner to a free 2-nights stay at the world-famous "Edmund Hotel" (the shabby hotel where Richard Kimble always seemed to be staying in multiple episodes of "The Fugitive"). The desk clerk at the "Edmund", btw, will be willing to pay your hotel bill if Lt. Gerard suddenly appears on the scene and chases you into the street.

 

[Harry-N]

Well, since I already mentioned STAR TREK in a post above, I guess I get credit for one of them. Ken Lynch played Chief Vanderberg in the STAR TREK episode "Devil In The Dark", where he was the administrator of the pergeum mining facility.

What do I win?

Harry