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On The Insider: Marie Osmond's Son Laid to Rest
ABC (Ended 1967)
Show Overview

Show Score

 
8.8 Great
446 votes

Your Score

Status

Ended

Premiered

September 17, 1963

Ended

August 29, 1967

Genre

Drama

Theme

Police

Final Episode

More Episodes
The Judgment (2)
Episode Score
 
9.5

The Judgment (2)

Kimble and Gerard are on a train heading to their hometown, Stafford, Indiana. Kimble reveals to Gerard that the person who sent the bail money for Johnson is his brother-in-law, Leonard Taft. Kimble doesn't think it was him but someone from his hometown did send the money and used Taft's name. The one armed-man calls the Tafts demanding that they meet with him. Someone does go to the meeting but it's not Leonard Taft. Johnson assumes that he is, and says that he remembers him.

Aired: 08/29/67

Show Summary

Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen), wrongly accused of murdering his wife, escapes custody while en route to Death Row and must elude police and Lt. Philip Gerard (Barry Morse), who is obsessed with his capture. Kimble must constantly relocate and change his name while he continues his quest toMore find the real killer, a one-armed man (Bill Raisch) he saw leave the scene of the crime. The finale was the most-watched episode of all-time until the final episode of "M*A*S*H." The original series aired from 1963-1967 (120 episodes) on ABC and inspired the 1993 movie, "The Fugitive," starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. CBS brought the series back in a modern-day version in 2000, which starred Timothy Daly as Dr. Kimble. The original series also inspired a format used in several other shows, such as "The Incredible Hulk" and "Quantum Leap."

From the Forums

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  • The Fugitive on DVD

    According to the official David Janssen website. WWW.DavidJanssen.Net. The first season of the classic televsion series. The Fugitive is due out on DVD, August 14th. The episodes are all uncut and NO Mr Whipple or Cal Worhtington ti disrupt your viewing. You can go to Amazon.Com and pre-order thisMore classic series.

    5 comments, last one Feb 19, 2009
  • Interesting Richard Kimble Occupations

    While Ricahrd Kimble was on the run he had a number of occupations to make ends meet. Which one(s) stands out in your mind?

    2 comments, last one Jul 17, 2008
  • THE FUGITIVE - Series vs. Movie

    I think the 1993 Fugitive film is the best movie based on a TV series, as well as standing on its own merits. In rewatching the movie as I'm watching Season 1 on DVD, I'm surprised to see how many elements carried over from the Janssen series into the film. Scenes where Kimble seeksMore out a one-armed man in police custody, and how Gerard uses the same information to try and catch him. A scene from "Never Wave Goodbye" is almost exactly replicated in the film. Scenes where Kimble takes a break from running to help people he meets. Posing as a hospital janitor, he correctly reads a boy's X-ray film and gets him into life-saving surgery. Also, in a deleted scene, Kimble comes to the aid of a diner waitress, who later gives him a lift. Again, these aspects are right out of the show. Obviously, some changes are made, but after watching several episodes of the series, I'm impressed at how much of the spirit of the show the movie was able to retain. If only all big-screen adaptations of TV shows were done as well!

    2 comments, last one Jul 2, 2008
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  •  
    10 Perfect

    This is the show that started the "traveling good guy" genre. Richard Kimble is a quiet hard-working doctor who is falsely accused of murdering his wife. In route to his execution, a train accident allows Kimble to escape. Will he be recaptured? Tune in! hide show

    Hands down, one of the best shows ever on TV. The stories and acting are superb. The story lines are always entertaining and keep the viewer interested throughout the show. Suspence abounds as Richard Kimble keeps a step ahead Lt. Philip Gerard while trying to prove his innocence. Throughout the series, the main character touches the lives of people in ways that every viewer can relate to. In addition to great writing and directing, many famous actors and actresses had early roles in the this series. Without a doubt, this is "must see TV" for any classic TV buff.

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  •  
    9 Superb

    One of the best shows of all time. hide show

    Is "The Fugitive" the best drama series in TV history? I don't know if I'd go that far, but it certainly ranks in my Top Five. Virtually everything about this series (the music, the writing, the acting) is perfect and it is anchored by the two performances of the lead actors, David Janssen and Barry Morse.

    Even if you've never seen an episode, you probably know the basic story of "The Fugitive." The Harrison Ford/Tommy Lee Jones movie is great, but it really doesn't capture what made the series so good - in my opinion, it's the length of the chase and the toll it takes on Kimble. Aside from the clothing and cars, "The Fugitive" is really timeless. It captures the quiet desperation of small towns, of people in crisis and yearning for hope. The stories (for the most part) told on the show could easily take place today and still be powerful.

    Perhaps the real genius in "The Fugitive" is giving the audience two characters who are antagonists to one another, but neither one is really a "bad guy." Obviously, Kimble has the audience's sympathy as he tries to stay one step ahead of the law and find his wife's killer, but Gerard is a policeman, ostensibly the "hero." He isn't driven to catch Kimble out of vengeance or hatred, but simply because it's his job. Thus, you have two incredibly driven, smart characters who go up against each other. Janssen's quiet, introspective nature is still fiercely intense at times, especially when Kimble seems cornered. And Morse is boiling over intensity whenever he appears on screen. And though he didn't appear in many episodes, Bill Raisch was the perfect elusive menace as the One-Armed Man.

    Often imitated, but never duplicated, "The Fugitive" is an absolute TV classic.

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  •  
    9 Superb

    Hola a todos, como lo prometido es deuda y después de esperar durante 3 meses a que el iniciador de este post completase la primera temporada (no me gusta pisar subidas, se lo que cuesta) he completado la primera temporada en este post. hide show

    Hola a todos, como lo prometido es deuda y después de esperar durante 3 meses a que el iniciador de este post completase la primera temporada (no me gusta pisar subidas, se lo que cuesta) he completado la primera temporada en este post. Algunos de los archivos tienen diferentes nombres, bien por culpa mía, bien por culpa de RS.com, que no admite espacios en los nombres de archivo cuando subes por descarga directa (opción de subir desde servidores FTP).
    Los archivos están bien y en su orden, salvo error evidentemente. Si al bajar algun capitulo no coincide el nombre solo hay que renombrar los archivos para que lo tengan, respetando el numero de parte (001, 002, etc) para que el hjsplit reconozca el primer archivo. Si hubiese algún problema o algún capítulo no funcionase no dudeis en decirmelo.

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  •  
    10 Perfect

    Dr. Richard Kimble, heading to his own execution for murdering his wife, is freed by a twist of fate. To prove his innocence he seeks the one-armed man he saw leaving the scene of the crime, and is relentlessly pursued himself by a police lieutenant. hide show

    At some time in the future when one can finally decide what the greatest achievements in television history were, a strong candidate for the top of the list will be this absolutely perfect series, with David Janssen as the innocent man on the run and Barry Morse as his obsessed pursuer, Lt. Gerard. Although Dr. Richard Kimble's primary focus while a fugitive from justice is to find the elusive one-armed man, that mysterious character doesn't appear in that many episodes, but when he does, it sure shocks the audience away from the episodic happenings of whatever Kimble's current situation is, back into the main story that it was temporarily distracted from. In one gripping episode, Kimble actually captures the one-armed man and drags him into a police station, that scene featured in the opening promo. Another amazing two-part episode has Kimble trapped in a small town with Lt. Gerard's wife, the two unaware of who the other really is, leading one to wonder who is going to discover the other's identity first, and what will they do when they find out? The highly rated final episode does not disappoint anyone who has followed the story from the very first episode. William Conrad's narration is also perfect, and may have led to his own detective series "Cannon," another of the reliable Quinn Martin productions of which "The Fugitive" is clearly the finest. It just doesn't get any better than this.

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  •  
    9.8 Superb

    Ahead of its time! hide show

    The show is ahead of it's time as the then
    In the 1960's fledging ABC was trying to find a
    Hit as this show came out. With handsome and talented David
    Janssen as doctor fugitive Richard Kimble who was on the run for killing his wife. After the couple lost their baby. He was on death row enroute as the train crashed. He had to change his face and also take odd jobs in order to support himself. The police LT that was after him, really doubted his guilt but had a job to do. Despite being in the antagonist role. Really good show and great acting!

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