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

[Carabimero]

Sometimes as a TV writer you just don't have the page count necessary to do all the things you want to do (and the page count seems to be shrinking every year!), so you have to decide which elements are going to get the short shrift.

 

[stevelecher]

I think Stuart Jerome can feel proud of World's End too. It's a nice episode. Kimble caught a couple of lucky breaks but it's kind of cool that by doing the right thing, Pleshette's character secured his escape. She had to have learned that they would have been stopped at the airport.

Kimble would get a number of lucky breaks through the years. There will be more questions for the writers than this episode prompted for me.

 

[Pathfiner]

people are forever slagging off the latter episodes re how Kimble acts, the LOGIC etc

yet you really have to suspend actual logic right through the show

those who claim early episodes like 'Nightmare at Northoak' 'don't come any better' - ignore the fact the Police ( including a reluctant Gerard) allowing the whole town folk in to in turn all shake hands with Kimble in jail is UTTER NONSENSE !!

er did they allow people who knew and liked say jailed Ted Bundy to all go in and shake his hand...? (hey, he was always a real 'nice guy' to me...etc)

even allowing for Kimble's heroic saving of the children on the crashed school bus there is NO WAY that the Police and especially Gerard would allow that absurd scene of 'all shake hands' (oh look somebody slipped him the key !) with a convicted murderer....jeez !!

that scene is just nonsense - and often even in the first three seasons Kimble is far too nice a guy to be credible - and he moves like an asmatic ant at times for a guy on the run ! (often pausing for sentimental lovey dovey scenes with 'string music' accompaniment...or ghastly replacement musak on DVD)

would he really go back to the town he'd left in 'Scapegoat' or turn around and go back to Pat Hingle's town (where he KNEW he'd be in trouble with Pat's Sheriff after he'd driven him out of his town and let him go...) in 'Nicest Fella You'd Ever Wanna Meet'....?

NO WAY - he's facing the electric chair !!

I LOVE these episodes..but they are purely TV entertainment - and they are every bit as 'absurd' in each season when actual real life logic is applied as they are great to enjoy....and the idea it was a terrific show that went downhill in color is just fans 'accepted view' logic (as you always get re shows, film series, music bands etc) as the early b/w 'classics' are just as full of holes (especially re Kimble's actions when his life is in danger) IF you look at them clearly and objectively

cue the 'outraged' responses..complete with bold type I expect (but it's TRUE every season has it's absurd aspects in episodes all the way through the show)

 

[stevelecher]

Well, who knows what could happen in a small town jail? Of course, it's a TV show and making all those escapes over 4 years would be far more difficult than portrayed on this show.

I've said for years that Kimble should have called the Hollister family from about three states away in Ñicest Fella You'd Ever Want To Meet. Still, it's one of my favorite episodes.

Still, if you can't see the overall excellence of Nightmare At Northoak, Nicest Fella, Search In A Windy City, and think they're no better than much of S4, well, that's one more season of entertainment for you. For me, they just hit an emotional button that S4 more often did not.

 

[Carabimero]

It's interesting how some directors and writers can create a kind of magic in their episode that allows viewers to more ably suspend their disbelief. NORTHOAK succeeds far better for me than WORLD'S END.

It's the episodes that were almost masterpieces that I can learn the most from, the ones that were just off by one or two things. Bad episodes don't teach me much, and the really great ones don't either. But the ones that were almost great--I can learn a lot from those.

 

[Harry-N]

What about the 2000 short-lived CBS series? I absolutely loved the remake, it was kick-azz, and cinematic, and it had the handsome Tim Daly fighting off a bunch of people, it's too freaking bad CBS had to cancel it because of low rating, wish that show lasted 8 years, and even it would rival 24

The 2000 show has never been available on DVD. I missed it, but would be curious to see it now.

In the 2000 CBS show, "The Fugitive" ran into the one armed man a lot more often. It was watchable but it never made you forget David Janssen or the original show.

One of the nice things about the series with Tim Daily is that the production actually traveled from city to city, wherever Kimble happened to be, so you get a real flavor of the country at that time. The original series rarely traveled much farther than a few miles outside LA. As to how they compare, to me it is no contest: the original series is worth watching for the rest of my life; the Daily series is a novelty, worth seeing definitely once, maybe twice. I have it on DVD, recorded from the original broadcasts, but have never rewatched it.

Interestingly...the pilot to the short-lived Tim Daly-Mykelti Williamson 2000 TV series, which featured Stephen Lang as the One-Armed Man, is available on Blu-ray Disc...as part of the 20th Anniversary release of the 1993 Harrison Ford movie. I finally picked that one up earlier this year and will watch it as part of my birthday celebration soon!!!!

I remember watching at least one episode of the 2000 show, I liked it, but a Friday night time slot was a guarantee it wouldn't last long. It is ironic that Tim Daly played Kimble, when in the original show, his dad was the one that prosecuted Kimble.

Going through a bunch of old VHS tapes, I found my recorded-off-air episodes of the 2000 version of THE FUGITIVE with Tim Daly. He currently co-stars in MADAME SECRETARY and my wife and I like that show and she likes him. But she never realized that he had been Dr. Richard Kimble a decade and a half ago.

I've just completed dubbing them all over to DVD. Unfortunately, I'm missing about a third of the series. Either those tapes were lost in various moves and purges, or I just missed them, which was entirely possible. I've got episodes 1-8, 10-11, and 13-16. So I'm missing #9, #12, and the final bunch up to #22. There's also supposedly a #23 which never aired on CBS.

It's frustrating to watch the opening with the proud "Simulcast in HDTV made possible by Panasonic" and be watching a cropped 4:3 SD version. This show aired way before I had any equipment that could get HDTV.

Now, I read interestingly above that Tina_H_V posted that the pilot of the series is contained on the Blu-ray of the Harrison Ford movie. I did not know that and will be investigating right after I finish typing this post.

Harry

 

[B-ROLL]

Going through a bunch of old VHS tapes, I found my recorded-off-air episodes of the 2000 version of THE FUGITIVE with Tim Daly. He currently co-stars in MADAME SECRETARY and my wife and I like that show and she likes him. But she never realized that he had been Dr. Richard Kimble a decade and a half ago.

I've just completed dubbing them all over to DVD. Unfortunately, I'm missing about a third of the series. Either those tapes were lost in various moves and purges, or I just missed them, which was entirely possible. I've got episodes 1-8, 10-11, and 13-16. So I'm missing #9, #12, and the final bunch up to #22. There's also supposedly a #23 which never aired on CBS.

It's frustrating to watch the opening with the proud "Simulcast in HDTV made possible by Panasonic" and be watching a cropped 4:3 SD version. This show aired way before I had any equipment that could get HDTV.

Now, I read interestingly above that Tina_H_V posted that the pilot of the series is contained on the Blu-ray of the Harrison Ford movie. I did not know that and will be investigating right after I finish typing this post.

Harry

Here's the back cover to the Bluray
:

 

[Carabimero]

I watched that pilot episode not long ago after watching the BD movie. Made me want to get my homemade DVD transfers from VHS of the Tim Daly show out and watch them. Wish they would release the rest of the series, truncated though it was.

 

[Harry-N]

In these days of so many "50th Anniversaries" from that pivotal TV year of 1966, last night I watched one of my favorite fourth season FUGITIVE episodes on *its* 50th anniversary, "Death Is The Door Prize." Among most fans, that episode doesn't get much love, but I always found it to my liking. In 1966, THE FUGITIVE found its way to the realm of color - for good or for bad. Watching the series in its black & white years was itself glorious given the noirish mood that the lack of color gave it.

But in 1966, it was something to look forward to - a favorite show, now in color. The first episode that year was "The Last Oasis" which I found to be a somewhat poor choice for a series going to color. Set in the southwest desert regions, the overall color palette was rather limited. I remember it vividly, but it may as well have been a black & white episode for all the good color did for it.

But the second episode of the season, "Death Is The Door Prize" fared much better as a color episode, and it was set in an electronics exposition, something that rather interested me in my youth. Add Lois Nettleton, Ossie Davis, and Howard da Silva, plus all of the colorful exhibits and L.A. city streets that we get to see, and it was an instant favorite. And yesterday happened to be the 50th anniversary of its first airing.

I've explained it before that my signature here at HTF stems from the closing narration of that episode. It features the word "fugitive", "tunnels of time", "tastes of honey" which are reminiscent of three of my favorite things in the entertainment world. THE FUGITIVE of course, TIME TUNNEL, a sentimental favorite, and "A Taste Of Honey", breakout hit by my favorite musical artist Herb Alpert. If only the writer had written "dark shadows" instead of "dark corners"!

 

[mark27b]

The pilot was released on DVD in several European countries. The full series wasn't.

 

[freshynfs]

So I am a little late picking up The Complete Series of the Fugitive but I found it tonight at Walmart and picked it up. How do I make sure that I got one of the sets that doesn't have any issues and also has the orginal music? I know there is a 1-800 number and you have to read the barcode off but I dont want to go through 237 pages to find that info lol. Can anyone re-fill me in on this information? Thanks very much

 

[Carabimero]

So I am a little late picking up The Complete Series of the Fugitive but I found it tonight at Walmart and picked it up. How do I make sure that I got one of the sets that doesn't have any issues and also has the orginal music? I know there is a 1-800 number and you have to read the barcode off but I dont want to go through 237 pages to find that info lol. Can anyone re-fill me in on this information? Thanks very much

Call 877-335-8936 and tell them your set has the wrong music. They should prompt you on what to do.

 

[freshynfs]

Okay sounds good. I'm assuming with what I have read & heard that A) they will give me 5 replacement discs or B) a complete re-issued set depending on which faulty set I got? Is that correct??

 

[freshynfs]

Also since I've been following this set for a long time without picking it up, Would my faulty set have any of those freezing disc issues I heard awhile back? I just want to make sure that I get a complete set with all the original music and hopefully CBS will make good on the bad set

 

[Carabimero]

They should send you and MOST WANTED SET which may or may not have the corrected discs. Once you get the MWE, I would call for the corrected discs anyway.

 

[BobO'Link]

So I am a little late picking up The Complete Series of the Fugitive but I found it tonight at Walmart and picked it up. How do I make sure that I got one of the sets that doesn't have any issues and also has the orginal music? I know there is a 1-800 number and you have to read the barcode off but I dont want to go through 237 pages to find that info lol. Can anyone re-fill me in on this information? Thanks very much

Call 877-335-8936 and tell them your set has the wrong music. They should prompt you on what to do.

Just make sure to have a magnifying glass handy if you have "old" eyes. They'll ask for a code number off the inner ring of one of the discs. It's rather small.

 

[mattfire64]

Check to see if your set has a yellow barcode stickered over the original barcode on the bottom of the package, this should indicate if you have a set with corrected discs.

Also, check the discs of season 2 in your computer. If they have an author date of 2012, then your set has the correct music.

 

[Carabimero]

Ten years ago today I made my first post in the HTF by starting a Fugitive thread that sadly is no longer extant. But part of my original first post still exists as a still frame in FIXING THE FUGITIVE.

In the last ten years I’ve made many good friends here, gotten some great gigs, and learned a lot. It’s been a pleasure. Thanks for making my experience such a good one.

Here's to another ten years...

 

[Mike Frezon]

Here's to another ten years...

Completely! Congrats, Alan!

 

[sjbradford]

I still love this show. It has held up extremely well over the years.

The Tim Daly remake had a lot of potential and it’s too bad it didn’t make it. Some blame the Friday death slot, but its lead-out was the first season of CSI, which went on to some success.