The Fugitive: Season 4 Vol. 2

Can't wait.

 I hear they're letting Mark Heyes re-shoot the ending.

Just kidding.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gruagach 

 I hear they're letting Mark Heyes re-shoot the ending.

 

 

 

Just kidding.

  ha, for a minute there, it was looking like another fiasco.  Good one.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roy Wall 

Date of release and art work released today.

 

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Fugitive-Season-4-Volume-2/14774

 

Includes the final two part episode, "The Last Judgment" AKA "The Day The RUNNING Stopped".

Not to be nitpicky, but the final two-parter is simply called "The Judgment" (Parts 1 and 2).  That particular set of episodes has been released many times in home video.  I have a couple of VHS tapes, a LaserDisc and even a recording made from a 1993 showing on NBC around the time of the movie version with Harrison Ford entering theaters.  Still I'm anxious to see it in all its glory on DVD this February.

I wonder how the ratings were on that 1993 airing of the final episode.  Did it pull in some viewers?

Steve Lecher

NBC also prior to airing "The Judgment" in 1993 also aired "The Girl From Little Egypt" from Season 1.    The TV Guide had indicated it was going to air the pilot episode "Fear In A Desert City" but evidently they switched episodes since "Girl From Little Egypt" had the critical flashback scenes of the murder and trial from Kemble's vantage point.

The ratings I don't think were particularly good.   And I also remember how "The Judgment" was edited severely with Gerard's first scene in Pt.1 with Joseph Campanella cut (that's when I lost interest in watching the rest).

I've always thought Janssen looked much older than his actual age. In the Fugitive he was 32 to 36 but looked at least ten years older. In "Centennial" he was 46 but looked like he was in his 60s. He must have lived a hard life.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by disctrip 

Question.......Could'nt Paramount have found a BETTER photo of David for the cover? He looks sick....Just asking.

The book The Fugitive Recaptured ignores it, but David Janssen, though a well-liked and respected actor, had a major drinking problem, which accelerated his physical appearance and likely contributed to his death in 1980 at the age of 49/50.

I think David looks good and young when the series begins.  However, he ages quickly so that by season four, he seems very tired and weary, not to mention heavier.  On season three episodes they would occasionally use season one footage in an epilogue and it was obviously out of place because of his youthful and lean appearance.

Steve L.

That was the very first thing I noticed on the first season 4 episode was how tired and wear he looked !

I wonder if the show being in color may have added to his seemingly advanced age.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadyguy 

That was the very first thing I noticed on the first season 4 episode was how tired and wear he looked !

I wonder if the show being in color may have added to his seemingly advanced age.

Running for 3+ Years as a FUGITIVE can wear a person down. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeWilson 

Running for 3+ Years as a FUGITIVE can wear a person down. 

Sort of like waiting for the DVDs to be released!

THE FUGVETIVE SEASON 4 VOL 2 RE LASE DATE PLEAS E

i WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IT WILL BE RELEASED AND TO BE ABLE TO PURSHACE IT ,.

February 15.

Quote:

Originally Posted by disctrip 

I think I can tell where Pete Rugolo got his idea for" The Fugitive" theme. Watched an episode of the "Thriller" box set (The Watcher) and at the 43:00 mark the music sounds like a slow version of "The Fugitive" theme. Rugolo scored "Thriller" in 1960 and the music from this episode has that "Fugitive" theme in it, but slowed down.

 

Ack! Delete that post! If someone from CBS sees it, they will recall all the Fugitive DVDs out there and change the theme music! Mark Heyes is already hard at work on a replacement!

 I have what may seem to be a dumb or annoyingly repetitive question for veterans of THE FUGITIVE threads, but here goes…

I recently bought, Season Four Volume One out of curiosity – and that people like Harry N, whose tastes seem to parallel my own, are fans of the show.  I’ve seen about 2/3 of the set, enjoy it, and plan to get the final volume.

My question concerns the justified uproar over the music replacement.  Before I consider getting previous volumes, please let me know the following…

Are the music replacements on ALL previous volumes, or just some of them?  If so, which ones to get or avoid?

Does the replacement music SOUND LIKE “sixties TV scoring” (Anyone who enjoys sixties TV will understand what I mean!), or does it sound inappropriately modern?  Or just “non-sixties”?

I’m thinking that if I can enjoy OUTER LIMITS scoring on some of these episodes (worked well for THE INVADERS, but I had to be convinced on a show like this), I might be able to tolerate faux-sixties scoring as well.  If it’s good and sixties-sounding – just not what everyone’s ear is used to; I might not notice the difference, having never seen the originals.  And, at least I can enjoy prior episodes of the series.

Thanks in advance for the info!

Joe, here's my thoughts on the sets:

1) The first season sets (volumes 1 & 2) had almost no music replacement at all and are excellent.  None of the backscores were lifted, only an ocassional juke box tune or live band at a party musical number.  So the first season is a no-brainer.  Buy it without reservations or fears if you haven't already.

2) There's simply a huge disagreement between Fuge fans on this board when it comes to the replacements.  Some, like Harry or David, don't mind the Heye's insertions that much as long as the Rugolo backscore is untouched.  And that's basically what you have with all the Season 2 and Season 3 volumes - Rugolo's work remains, but some of the CBS Library and Capitol Library cues are replaced by Heyes.  Many of us don't think the Rugolo cues alone were the heart and soul of the series.  We think that while the Rugolo was very important, so were the CBS and Capitol cues.  Therefore just having the Rugolo score reinserted back onto the dvds wasn't enough to satisfy us.  As I said, you have two very distinct camps here as it concerns that issue.

3) When Heyes is inserted, it's wildly inconsistent in terms of volume (in many instances it's way too loud) and mood (sometimes it's not too bad, but most of the time it doesn't really match up with the 60's feel of the series).

Bottom line: It looks like Seasons 1 and 4 will be solid releases, but Seasons 2 and 3 will forever be ruined for many of us here at HTF.  I think Season 3 is a bit more tainted with Heyes than Season 2, if that helps any.  I've not gone through the episodes from those two seasons second by second to list all the replacements so I can't say for sure if one volume is much better than another.  But my general take is that Season Three suffered the most from the Heyes cues (this of course assumes you get the redone Season 2 discs which reinserted the Rugolo score - if for some reason you get a hold of the first run release of S2 then you'll be horrified because it's all Heyes). 

This really has been a confusing issue and it's understandable if people forget what's what with each release.  Heck, I can't even keep up with it.  The only thing I know is that some episodes were completely unmolested (like the Tuesday Weld ep from Season 2) and others were disasters (where Heyes is seemingly around every turn).

Gary "season one is the best of the bunch, IMHO, from a storytelling point - get both volumes of that season if you haven't already" O.

To add just a little to Gary's post:

From reviews on Amazon, as recent as this past Fall, it would appear that the Season 2, Vol 1 set being sold is still the one with ALL the Rugolo replaced. It does not appear at least that the replacement sets were ever put into the main stream. And at the time, CBS even referenced it as a limited time offer that is now long gone. Now it is possible they are still selling old stock and once gone the replacement sets will start showing up, but I wouldn't count on it.

The season 1 volumes appear to be selling for a decent price on Amazon right now at around the $15 a piece mark. So if you want to see how it all began this is a pretty good time to go back and get that season to go along with season 4.

Altogether, the replacement S2 V1 and S3 V1 had the least amount of replacement music overall percentage wise while the V2 sets for S2 and S3 seemed to have more overall.    Ratios were always at the 50% or better mode for intact music with the most notable exception being the S3 finale "Coralee" which had almost 90% of the music replaced except for two tiny Rugolo cues.   

I have seen a few of the The Fugitive Season 1 Volume 1 sets at Big Lots for $6.00.

Thank you Gary, Brad, and Jack! 

Like “Harry”, you all are also names I trust to steer me right. 

To recap: I SHOULD get the two First Season Volumes without question.  As with many such shows of the era, the First Season will contain many of the better episodes – and little or no music replacement.  I can certainly live with a juke box tune being replaced, if that’s mostly the extent of it. 

In S2 and S3, Pete Rugolo did original scores that were supplemented by Capital music – and it was replaced by new Mark Heyes scores without regard to what was what. 

This was mitigated with reissue discs, but… the danger is that, if I were to order from Amazon, I stand an excellent chance of getting the Heyes music replacement discs and not the reissue. 

NOW… Is there anywhere I am assured of getting the proper reissue?  Or do I take my chances… knowing my chances aren’t good? 

Further question, regarding Heyes:  I know everyone will have different views on this but – not having an ear for what the cues are supposed to be – will I really be irritated by the Heyes cues?  Or are they somehow “acceptable” for a sixties show, even if they aren’t “right”? 

By this I mean… If STAR TREK TOS were to have its music replaced, certain scores from VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA (particularly from Season Two) might be “acceptable” to those who had not developed an ear for what TOS should sound like.  It would still sound like a sixties sci-fi adventure show. 

However, if the cues from STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION were used for TOS, it wouldn’t be “acceptable” for TOS, because it is not “sixties-sounding”.

Does that help frame my question regarding Heyes?  Is his work “acceptable”, even if it is not “right”?  Or is it totally inappropriate for this show?  I’m really interested in your answers. 

Thanks in advance. 

     Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Tor1 

Further question, regarding Heyes:  I know everyone will have different views on this but – not having an ear for what the cues are supposed to be – will I really be irritated by the Heyes cues?  Or are they somehow “acceptable” for a sixties show, even if they aren’t “right”?

 

Is his work “acceptable”, even if it is not “right”?  Or is it totally inappropriate for this show?  I’m really interested in your answers. 

 

Thanks in advance. 

Joe, this is a great and important question.  To be brutally honest, I'm not sure anyone can give you a completely unbiased answer.  All I can say is that the Heyes music didn't bother me only because it was replacing a backscore I really enjoyed.  It bothered me because it felt very out of place.  It did NOT sound like 60's music to me.  Of course, that's a completely subjective comment on my part, and I freely admit such.  But I stand by it nonetheless. 

Gary "you summarized the situation perfectly, Joe" O.

I have to concur that the replacement music did not sound like 60s TV music.   When synths come in, that is not 60s music.   And there was also the matter of how in an action sequence he would just BLAST, BLAST, BLAST to the point where it distracted from the scene.    The only time his music worked was for quieter moments of drama and synths weren't part of it.

Alas, you can't get the corrected S2 V1 any longer.    It was only made available by mail from Paramount with a proof of purchase tag from the Heyes set.    You'd have to find someone offering it used on Amazon or elsewhere.

I think you’ve answered my questions.  Get the two first season volumes without question and, if I dare, take my chances with seasons 2 and 3. 

If there are “synths”, it CANNOT sound like a sixties show – and that will grate on me, even though I’ve never heard a note of the original scores – much less have them embedded in my brain, as dedicated fans are wont to do. 

THAT is really a shame – and full justification for the outrage I’ve been reading. 

If you ARE going to do music replacement – and I can accept that there are reasons for doing so – why not commission something that would, at least, make an APPROPRIATE replacement?  I can’t imagine that there isn’t anyone who could approximate the sixties sounds of Pete Rugolo, Dominic Frontieri, Jerry Goldsmith, Alexander Courage, Leith Stevens, Gerald Fried, etc.  and make SOME attempt at even Faux-authenticity.

Based on all your comments, I've just ordered Season 1 Volumes 1 and 2 -- for 13.99 and 14.99 from Amazon!  I'll decide on the others later on!  Thanks!