The Fugitive: Season 4 Vol. 2 (1 Viewer)

[stevelecher]

As one who watched every week, I still can add just my guess why they held the final episodes. They probably did not want to run the concluding episodes and then follow them up with reruns for the whole summer. At the end of the rerun season, two weeks before the new shows were to debut, they ended the show. It worked out fine, as the ratings were spectacular.


I agree with you that in this era, the episodes would have been saved for a sweeps period of some kind.


Steve L.

 

[66KIMBLE]

Originally Posted by Sam Favate

I watched season 4's Joshua's Kingdom the other night, and that episode could have been taken from current events. (A fundamentalist couple in Pennsylvania were recently sentenced for not providing medical care to their child, who died as a result.) Watching it, I thought it would be tough to get this kind of story on TV now, with as much sensitivity as there is about religious issues, so I have to think it wasn't that easy 45 years ago.


I have an unrelated question to anyone who watched the show in its original run (or who knows the answer): Why did the series finale air months after the series, in the summer? The finale was in late August, which is as dead a time as there is for TV.

It was intended to air as the very last prime time telecasts on the ABC network.The summer reruns were used as a buildup to the finale.Don't forget this was unchartered territory you never saw a conclusion to a network series at this point plus the"May Sweeps" was not as important as it is today.

 

[stevelecher]

Joshua's Kingdom could probably get made today.

The guy backed down at the end and even mocked himself in the epilogue.

I wonder if Angels Travel On Lonely Roads could get made today. The script was respectful of religion and religious people.


Steve Lecher

 

[younger1968]

I like to get the fugitive down the road, especially if the price comes down. I just not a big on sets being sold as volumes.

 

[Harry-N]

Yeah, summer 1967 was a different time, that's for sure. If I recall, there was word, through the TV Guide, that THE FUGITIVE would have its finale at the end of the summer rerun season. (Remember the glossy yellow "teletype" pages of TV Guide that announced such news?)


So when the show had completed its 28th episode, sometime in spring, we all knew that we'd have to wait out the rerun season to see the finale. Reruns were a different animal back then. It wasn't so unusual to just watch them, since there was no other way to re-watch an episode. There were no VCR's or DVR's back then. One couldn't stop and rewind an episode to replay a part over again. You had one, maybe two chances to see a television episode back then. Syndicated reruns gave you more chances, but always at the mercy of some scheduler somewhere.


So, in April or May of 1967, we just accepted the fact that THE FUGITIVE was rerunning some of its better episodes, and that eventually we'd have new material that would wrap up the story. I remember that the anticipation was great and became the topic of conversation among those who watched the show - and even those who didn't became caught up in it.


Of the actual telecast, I recall our local ABC affiliate postponed its airing to complete a Phillies baseball game broadcast. So while THE FUGITIVE's normal slot was 10 PM, we actually stayed up and waited for the show to start at around 11 PM. I remember sneaking upstairs to a bedroom TV to see if it would pull in the New York channel 7 that sometimes came in, so I could have a little "sneak preview". My memory is that the signal that night from New York was very poor, and un-watchable, so I had to wait out the Phillies.


Harry

 

[Regulus]

Originally Posted by Harry-N /forum/thread/306590/the-fugitive-season-4-vol-2/60#post_3778744

 

[Harry-N]

I saw this today and wanted to share it with FUGITIVE fans here. It just goes to show you WHY the suits and lawyers at CBS/Paramount are so gun-shy about music infringement.


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/thr-esq/cbs-sued-63-year-old-97091

[SIZE= 14px]CBS Sued Over 63-Year-Old Song Used in 'Family Ties'[/SIZE]
by Eriq Gardner


Here's a little trip down TV memory lane...


Kling Corporation, the rights-holder of the theme song to TV's first
hit -- the 1940s variety show titled Texaco Star Theatre featuring
Milton Berle -- has just filed a lawsuit against CBS over an episode
of Family Ties that first aired on March 28, 1985.


The episode showed character Steven Keaton taking a nostalgic trip to
his childhood and included the song, "We are the Men of Texaco," the
theme to that Milton Berle show. The producers secured a license for
the song when it first aired on television, but the agreement
allegedly didn't provide any rights for the show once it came out on
video and DVDs. Twenty five years later, Kling Corp now says its
copyrighted song has been infringed.


Thanks to statute of limitations, if Kling is successful in its claim,
it will only be able to collect damages on the the past three years of
DVD sales on Family Ties. Kling had demanded a license fee of $19,000
from producers, but now are after statutory damages for willful
infringement -- which means up to $150,000 per infringement.


The lawsuit perhaps highlights how few in Hollywood anticipated new
revenue streams back in the old days, sometimes failing to lock up
rights in agreements. Still, a dispute involving a 63-year-old song in
a 26-year-old TV show? Don't see that every day.

Harry

 

[Craig Beam]

This literally makes me angry. This pettiness is exactly why DVD releases get butchered. The absurd (and ultimately self-defeating) greed of music rights holders rears its ugly head yet again.

 

[shoeshineboy]

And thus the other side of the coin -- why producers are so quick to edit out the music and replace it with something generic.

That makes both sides villans, right? The Men from Texaco song probably should have been cleared for about $350, being that its sooooo in demand...

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry-N

I saw this today and wanted to share it with FUGITIVE fans here. It just goes to show you WHY the suits and lawyers at CBS/Paramount are so gun-shy about music infringement...

And while that is a terrible situation and disgusts me to no end, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out (for about the 100th time) that the wholesale music subs that took place in The Fugitive were truly sad because CBS O-W-N-E-D almost every note of music they expunged!!! There was no need for all those wonderful CBS Library cues to be replaced. Only a very few Capitol cues were in question, but CBS was too lazy to figure out what was what. It could have been done easily and probably for free by any number of knowledgeable Fuge fans that live right there in the LA area. So while this is an interesting story, it's out of place in this thread, IMHO. Unfortunately it would be more apt for this news item to be in an Odd Couple or Gomer Pyle thread.



Gary "having said all that, I agree with Craig and Dan that the whole lawsuits situation is out of control and it is despicable" O.

 

[Walsh61]

Well said Gary and Dan.

 

[Jeff Willis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary OS Regardless of any CBS fears of suits, I believe they over-reacted, didn't research the music issue and made the decision to hire Mark Heyes with the blanket-rescore approach. As I recall the debate in related threads, one of the issues at the time of the season 2 releases was the inadequate communication on CBS's part regarding the music substitutions. Since that time, CBS has made the efforts to remedy past decisions and I do agree that they deserve applause for re-issuing the S2 V1 set with the Rugolo scores restored. However, as Gary stated, the entire backscore issue could have been avoided had CBS contacted an outside party or perhaps researched the issue further before deciding to hire the replacement artist.


I'm aware of the opinion that for those who haven't previously seen this series, wouldn't be as affected by the removal of the library cues and that the restoration of the Rugolo scores are considered the heart of the show. However, this does not apply in my case.


Although I'm watching this show on DVD for the 1st time, I was raised in the 60's where the library cues have a significant impact on my enjoyment of shows similar to this one, and including this show. When I recall the episode "Moon Child" from season 2, and compare the "Heyes" version to the originally-aired version, the replacement score changes the mood and effect of the episode. The remaining Rugolo score doesn't make up for the loss in this episode, as well as many other episodes in S2.


I do have all of the CBS-released sets but haven't spent my $$'s on the sets. They've all been gifts at Christmas and birthdays. CBS has received the $$'s but not from my wallet. Consequently, the question of whether or not the CBS releases have been supported by me is answered. This also was a point that was passionately debated by both parties in previous pages of "Fugitive" threads.

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevelecher

I wonder if Angels Travel On Lonely Roads could get made today. The script was respectful of religion and religious people.


Steve Lecher

Probably not, Steve. Hollywood's treatment of religion, particularly Christianity, certainly isn't what it used to be. In fact I'd say it's almost the opposite of what it used to be. Forget respectful. It would almost assuredly be hostile. This is why I believe someone at Warners specifically decided to bypass one of the greatest Christmas episodes of all time, "Season to be Jolly" from the first season of DR. KILDARE. I'm convinced someone in that department made a choice to use a later KILDARE Christmas episode (one that wasn't nearly as good) because the first one was too, as you say, "respectful" of religion. I dug around trying to get an answer but none were forthcoming. But more than one person that knows the industry well told me they thought my theory was almost assuredly correct.



Gary "and 'Angels' was a great two-parter as well" O.

 

[stevelecher]

Gary:


Thanks for your thoughtful response. Did not know about the Dr. Kildare episode, but it is outrageous if they didn't issue a first season episode, where it should have been in a first season set, because of a bias. I love when they say that something religious might offend somebody, not worrying about the people who love that episode being offended.


As for Angels, I think it's one of the very best episodes of the whole series, featuring humor and suspense in a very well written show. Some of the dialogue is just so good!


Steve Lecher

 

I plan on adding it next week

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevelecher

Gary:


Thanks for your thoughtful response. Did not know about the Dr. Kildare episode, but it is outrageous if they didn't issue a first season episode, where it should have been in a first season set, because of a bias. I love when they say that something religious might offend somebody, not worrying about the people who love that episode being offended.


As for Angels, I think it's one of the very best episodes of the whole series, featuring humor and suspense in a very well written show. Some of the dialogue is just so good!


Steve Lecher

Steve, just so I'm clear: since no one in an official capacity ever spoke to this point we have no idea, for sure, why they bypassed that incredible 1st season episode. I'm only relating what a couple of people who know the industry better than I do thought was a good guess. My hope is that this is not the case. And it wasn't a Season One Dr. Kildare set that was released. It was a Christmas compilation they released where they skipped the 1st season Kildare Christmas episode and included the 4th season episode instead. It was just a strange choice to bypass the first season episode in favor of a later one, both in my opinion and in the opinion of everyone else I've spoken to about this.


I love "Angels" as well. No question it was a fantastic two-part story. And the fact that we get to hear one of my all-time favorite CBS Library cues during the epilog of Pt. 2, appropriately entitled "Religious Procession #1," makes the episode all the better for me. To think that this incredible cue might have been expunged had this episode appeared in Season Two or Three simply because CBS was too lazy to figure out what they did own in terms of backscore makes me shake my head in disgust. Thank God (no pun intended) that the Season One backscore wasn't destroyed.



Gary "the KILDARE episode was very powerful though - and it was very respectful of religion, to say the least" O.

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Willis Regardless of any CBS fears of suits, I believe they over-reacted, didn't research the music issue and made the decision to hire Mark Heyes with the blanket-rescore approach.

I'm aware of the opinion that for those who haven't previously seen this series, wouldn't be as affected by the removal of the library cues and that the restoration of the Rugolo scores are considered the heart of the show. However, this does not apply in my case.


Although I'm watching this show on DVD for the 1st time, I was raised in the 60's where the library cues have a significant impact on my enjoyment of shows similar to this one, and including this show. When I recall the episode "Moon Child" from season 2, and compare the "Heyes" version to the originally-aired version, the replacement score changes the mood and effect of the episode. The remaining Rugolo score doesn't make up for the loss in this episode, as well as many other episodes in S2.

Well said, Jeff. You are proof positive that the addage about people who had never seen the show before wouldn't miss the CBS cues is W-R-O-N-G. Those cues are instrumental as well. But the sad fact is they didn't have to be replaced, which is why I find the inclusion of the article about CBS being sued very strange for this thread. It would have been more appropriate had it been placed in a Family Ties thread, or even an Odd Couple thread (a show that was gutted, not of the backscore, but of several pop songs). That's the appropriate place for an article about someone suing CBS over the use of a song. But not in a Fugitive thread because it doesn't apply. In the case of this great series CBS doesn't deserve our sympathy, and the "WHY the suits and lawyers at CBS are so gunshy about music infringement" is terribly misapplied and misplaced. It completely ignores the most important point - CBS OWNED almost every note of music they expunged from the Fugitive. They were just too lazy to figure that out.



Gary "and 'Moon Child', as Jeff pointed out, is a perfect example of why the Rugolo score alone isn't enough" O.

 

[Harry-N]

Well, geez. Please accept my humble apologies for polluting this thread with what I thought was a timely news item about the company that released THE FUGITIVE on DVD and replaced the scores.


If the moderators want to delete my post or move it to a more "appropriate" thread, then by all means do so.


Again, please forgive me for posting what I thought was relevant. Obviously, I was mistaken.


Harry

 

[Gary OS]

Harry, I just think it's important to remind people that CBS didn't have to expunge all the backscores they did. People that might be discovering the show for the first time may think the Heyes insertions were all necessary if they read that article without an expanded explanation about what happened with this show in particular.

Gary "sometimes I think people forget that, especially if the Rugolo score was the only part they thought was essential to the mood of the series" O.

 

[Jeff Willis]

Harry, I understand your post but, just imo, given what our long-term members and fans of this show are well aware, the passionate debating about this issue, some of us think that your link might have been more appropriatly-posted in the threads pertaining to the shows mentioned in the article.

Perhaps it was the caps-lock that was used in a particular word in your earlier post which stirred memories of the debate 2-3 years ago. There are 2 main factions regarding this overall music-replacement issue and we we learned from past debates that we didn't see eye to eye about it and we most likely never will. But, it's all good in the long run.....after all...."Time Tunnel" is in my top 5 list of shows .