"The Fugitive" (1963): Season 1; Volume 1 Rumored To Be In The Works! (1 Viewer)

[MichaelEl]

I disagree completely. Vintage TV shows aren't just nostalgia for baby boomers, they're also entertainment, and bumpers and the like are just an annoying distraction for most viewers. Going through the TZ sets, for example, I found that the mid-episode bumpers and the blaring *Wanted: Dead or Alive* promos got old really fast, and in fact, I would guess most people who go through this set will wind up as annoyed by this stuff as they would be by commercials. Within the context of watching the TZ now - as opposed to 1959 - they serve no useful purpose anyway other than to interrupt the flow of the presentation.

 

[Harry-N]

Yes. I agree. The bumpers, trailers, etc. should be included, but as EXTRAS - not something that interrupts the flow of the show itself. I didn't make that clear in my post above about THE FUGITIVE episodes I had on tape with the bumpers included. It was fun to watch *once* but I wouldn't want 120 episodes interrupted in that way. It takes you out of the story. Put that stuff on an extras disc.

Harry

 

[Michael Alden]

Okay, it is very easy to master a show with the following method:


For those of us who are purists and would like to see the show as it originally aired, put in a play all feature. For those people who don't enjoy it, have a play without additions feature.

I thought it was great when they included original commercials on the Naked City set but it would have been better to have them in the show, not as extras at the end. To collecting purists, there is nothing better than to see a show from the 50s or 60s as it aired. It's like being in a time machine. I can understand that some folks don't feel that way but many others do. I've put on shows for friends to watch where they didn't show much interest in the show but perked up when the commercials came on.

 

[Bob Gu]

I was showing my older brother (him sixties, me fifties) some Cheyenne episodes that still had their commercial break bumpers and everytime the bumper came up he said, "What was that?!! They should edit that out"!!.

The thing about the Cheyenne bumpers,(and this may have been true of all the Warners westerns) was they were white on black drawings. Mostly it was the same standard title logo drawing but sometimes the bumpers used were drawn to portray the specific episode. So editing them out is cutting out something from the show. (The episode specific drawings were used on the end credits too. But possibly not always.)

Also on Warner shows the opening teasers and scenes for next week that showed a scene from within the show were sometimes out-takes and were different from the scene in the actual show. I'd like to see them on the DVD releases.

 

[MichaelEl]

It wouldn't bother me so much if a show were presented as it originally aired, but including bumpers and promos *without* the intervening commercials creates jarring jumps in continuity.

 

[Harry-N]

Someone on Youtube has created a 10-minute flashback of the events leading up to Richard Kimble's flight. It's edited together from separate flashbacks of the story that were originally part of the first season episode called "The Girl From Little Egypt". Nicely done.



Below is one of the ABC-TV screen bumpers for THE FUGITIVE used in the third season.


Harry

 

[Cheetah]

I strongly disagree. I recently ordered the complete definitive collection of The Twilight Zone and I am very glad to know that the bumpers and the promos will be included. That will make the set all the better. For the length of time that they appear, it is ridiculous to say they interrupt to flow of the presentation. I want to see the shows just as they originally aired. It is not like you are being asked to sit through several minutes of commercials for every episode. If you don't like the way the shows originally aired that is your problem but those episodes originally premiered on television and not in a theater.

 

[Harry-N]

So I suppose then that the CSI sets (or any modern show) should all have squished credits and logo bugs in the corners on their DVDs, since "that's how they originally appeared."

I understand your passion though, and admire your wish for everything. But I guess we'll have to agree to disagree regarding the bumpers, etc.

Harry

 

[Craig Beam]

TV shows are segmented by acts. As such, the bumper serves as a sort of "intermission card," and should absolutely be included whenever possible. TV shows aren't meant to be continuous (like films), so they really shouldn't be viewed with that expectation.

 

[Harry-N]

And the rumor gets closer and closer to reality!

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=7075

Harry

 

[Bob Hug]

Great news! CBS/Paramount continues to keep the classics coming. August can't come fast enough for this one.

 

[Jeff#]

That is great news! Hawaii Five-O's 2nd season comes out just 2 weeks before it, and now The Fugitive!
August 14 is the day after my birthday.

 

[Ollie]

Pardon my ignorance, but I wasn't even born yet when this first aired, so I'm fairly clueless about it. Can those of you who love the show give some insight as to what made it so exciting?

I have loved discovering Hawaii Five-O, Mission Impossible, and The Wild Wild West on DVD here recently, with Hawaii Five-O being my favorite of the batch. I'm always on the lookout for a new classic TV show to discover on DVD. How does the Fugitive compare to these?

With just reading the TV.com description, it would seem that constantly being on the run week after week with no apparent end in sight, would wear thin after a while. I'm curious to know what was the "it" factor that kept people tuning in week after week? Was it frustrating to have to wait for the series finale to bring closure to the mystery of who killed his wife? All insights are welcomed.

I've got tons of DVD purchases on tap for the summer, and am trying to decide whether to add this one to the list.

 

[Bob Hug]

For me, the “it factor” was the series’ way-above-average writing. The writers took the “road show” concept (developed a few years earlier in “Route 66”) and placed the series’ protagonist, Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen), in new situations in new locations each week. The drama evolved from these situations and the characters he would meet each week as he tried to prove his innocence while staying one step ahead of being captured by Lt. Gerard. Outside of Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse), who appeared in many, but not all of the episodes, the only other people who appeared on a semi-regular basis were the elusive one-armed man (Bill Raisch) and Kimble’s devoted sister (Jacqueline Scott). So the series also has an anthology feel about it and was populated with great guest stars of the era. And “The Fugitive” was one of the very few, perhaps the first series, to actually have a story conclusion once the series had run its course. Most series of the era were simply cancelled with no final wrap-up. Simply put, if you enjoy great television drama, “The Fugitive” is one of the medium’s high points.

Good article at the Museum of Broadcast Communications for further reading:

http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/F/...ugitivethe.htm

 

[Harry-N]

I was a teenager when the series came on. I was more interested in comedy than drama, and the drama I DID watch tended toward Science Fiction like OUTER LIMITS, TWILIGHT ZONE, etc.

When THE FUGITIVE first premiered, it ran opposite one of my favorite variety shows, THE GARRY MOORE SHOW. That's the show that spawned talents like Carol Burnett and launched Allen Funt's CANDID CAMERA, so it was no slouch of a show. I simply couldn't tear myself away from that to watch any drama show on ABC.

Yet I remember the buzz from that first season. The premise DID sound exciting to me. Had I been old enough for water-cooler talk back then, THE FUGITIVE would probably have been one of the shows discussed.

Yet I stuck with GARRY MOORE til the end. And the end was near. Eventually the ratings of THE FUGITIVE simply crushed the old GARRY MOORE SHOW, and I was free to watch THE FUGITIVE and see what the country was raving about.

And I was hooked instantly. It took no time at all for it to become probably my favorite show of that era. What was the "it" factor? The brilliant performance of David Janssen and the intelligent writing of the show along with the fabulous stable of Quinn Martin guest stars. As mentioned, the show played like an anthology, with different main characters every week. The common thread was that Dr. Richard Kimble floated into their lives, tried to keep his real identity secret, and to stay away from the law. Some episodes were heavy into the chase theme, others almost had Kimble relaxing as he helped out the guest star of the week. You never knew exactly where the show would take you, but you were happy to go along for the ride.

I remember being able to catch all of the earlier shows I missed when ABC reran the show weekdays in the daytime. Our local ABC affiliate in Philadelphia didn't carry the daytime show, but one of our upstart independent stations grabbed the show from ABC. It was a treat to be able to catch up with all of the episodes before the finale aired at the tail end of the fourth and "color" season. Of course this was all WAY before anyone ever thoughht of VCR's or home recording devices, so what was on TV was it. If you missed it, you missed it and hoped for a rerun someday.

As mentioned often, the finale was one of the first for a TV series to actually present a wrap-up to whatever story they were trying to tell. We were used to leaving the Robinsons lost in space and Tony and Doug floating around in the time tunnel without resolution. THE FUGITIVE gave us all the ending we sought - but did so at the very end of its run - at the tail end of the summer reruns! Yes, the show aired its regular 28 fourth season shows, then went into reruns for the summer. In August, we got the final two-parter as the last episodes to air on ABC in primetime.

If well-presented on DVD, it could and should be a huge seller. This news is almost worth my changing my avatar from THE TIME TUNNEL to THE FUGITIVE! I'll think about it.

Harry

 

[silverking]

Ollie, as Bob has said the writing was definitley above average and the concept really didn't wear thin until the last season. There were many varied & interesting storylines. Like any long running series there was the odd clinker but when 'The Fugitive' was good, which was most of the time, it was very good indeed. Above average telvision which puts much of todays output to shame. I would highly recommend.

 

[70sTVlover]

Is the show in black and white or color?

 

[Jeff Willis]

Thanks Bob for the reply to Ollie. I was born before this one aired, but it will almost be a blind-buy for me since the memories are faint when my Dad was watching this series. I'm looking forward to this on DVD after following this thread at HTF. Interesting article at the Museum link, thanks.

Ollie, are you a "Millinium Kid" like my nephew? I continue to be surprised at the younger crowd's interest in series from the 'Boomer' generation. My nephew recently watched a couple of M:I eps with me and he flipped over it He was asking "Why don't they make stuff like this nowadays?"

 

[Bob Hug]

First three seasons black & white; final season (including two-part finale) in color.

 

[Harry-N]

The first three seasons (90 episodes) were in black & white. The fourth and final season (30 episodes) were in color.

Virtually any fan of the series will tell you that somehow the show wasn't quite as good in color as it was in black & white. It was too "pretty". The starkness that black & white gave the show was part of its mood and ambience.

It could also be that the writers were just running out of steam at that point too. David Janssen himself was tiring of the grind at that point, so all of those factors could add up to the perceived overall weakness of the fourth (color) season.

Harry