The Fugitive
Season 1, Volume 2
Starring David Janssen, Barry Morse
Paramount Home Video
Available: Feb. 26, 2008

We learn from each episode’s opener the premise of this 1960s black and white television series: The train transporting Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen) to Death Row State Prison derails providing him with a fortunate means of escape. Kimble had been convicted of killing his wife, but he’s really innocent. The doctor had come home to find his wife murdered, then witnessed a one-armed man fleeing from the scene.

Now, Kimble drifts from town to town in search of the real killer, all while trying to avoid being captured by the authorities, namely the persistent Lt. Philip Gerard (Barry Morse). In each town, Kimble assumes a new alias and takes on odd jobs that obviously don’t require background checks (apparently, there were no pictures on driver licenses back then either). It’s a good thing this doctor is such a handy guy that he can pass himself off as a mechanic, lifeguard, ranch hand, a dog kennel worker, and many more occupations. The kindhearted, mild-mannered doctor tries to keep to himself and doesn’t talk much when he’s incognito, yet in each episode, something always happens to thrust him into the spotlight. Sometimes, he makes it through the town without being discovered, while other times his true identity is uncovered and then he’s either blackmailed or given sympathy and assistance.

The Fugitive television series, which ran four seasons, was the basis movie of the same name, which starred Harrison Ford as the fugitive doctor and Tommy Lee Jones as his pursuer (renamed Marshal Samuel Gerard). The TV show, at least the first season, does not focus on Gerald’s obsessive pursuit of Kimble or even Kimble’s quest for the one-armed man (as the movie version did). Instead, Season One spends the time to build Kimble’s character. We learn that he’s not only a good doctor capable of healing animals as well, but he can quote Gresham’s law of economics (“when good money is scarce, it’s always in demand” — well, it’s the gist of the law, right?) and has created his own rule for survival (“Be suspicious of everyone” — from what I can tell, there’s only one rule so far). When faced with a suspected murderer, who he believes is guilty, Kimble tells the man that he can’t just let him go because “If I’m not against you, I’m for you. And if I’m for you, I’m lost.” He’s a man of few words, but they’re good words.

Even though Kimble is seemingly introverted, wherever he goes, people just can’t help but like him. That’s an amazing quality to have considering his lack of forthcomingness and that, well, he lies (hey, he has to!). Watching the show, you feel the same way about the fugitive, even more so actually, because you know he’s innocent and that all of the good-natured acts Kimble does are for real. To top it off, as nice as Kimble is, life on the run is hard, so it’s fortunate that the good doctor can hold his own against any adversary, whether it be a murderer, a thief, or a simple hoodlum. You mess with Doc Kimble, you will get your ass kicked!

This 4-disc DVD set picks up the second half of Season One — all 15 episodes transferred from the original negative with restored audio presented in full screen format with Dolby Digital Mono. This half of the season has Kimble hitting Reno and the Windy City, as well as many backwater towns. Each 50-minute episode is divided into four acts and an Epilogue, and includes a voice-over narration by William Conrad at the beginning of some of the acts that updates the viewer on Kimble’s new alias, location, and occupation, and sometimes also gives some insight into Kimble’s latest employers and the plot details of the story.

Season one guest stars include Telly Savalas as a Reno casino owner; Diane Ladd as a waitress; Peggy McCay as a wealthy newspaper owner; John Considine as a dog breeder; and Eileen Heckart as a nun.