For four years, the lead character was a man on the run. An escapee from the law. Someone convicted of murder, and all appeals were exhausted. While being escorted to prison and an eventual date with the electric chair, he escapes. And now he must stay hidden, and find the evidence to prove that the murder charge was fraudulent – that another man committed the murder, and that he was just a victim of circumstance.
In real life, this is the story of Dr. Sam Sheppard, a Cleveland neurosurgeon who in 1954 was arrested for the death of his pregnant wife. After several trials and appeals, he was eventually found not guilty. In literature, this is the story of Les Miserables, where man who stole a loaf of bread eventually escapes from prison and is chased by a policeman obsessed with recapturing him.
In 1963, this becomes the basis for a television procedural called The Fugitive. David Janssen, who had already established himself as another television series (Richard Diamond, Private Detective), played Dr. Richard Kimble, a pediatrician who is on the run after claims that he killed his wife. He has to take low-paying, menial jobs where credentials aren’t easily checked, just to stay alive and to stay hidden. He searches for information or clues about someone he suspects might have committed the murders – a one-armed man who fled the scene of his house before Kimble’s wife’s body was found. And while he stays hidden, he must keep heightened awareness that a police lieutenant is tracking him, and is obsessed with recapturing Kimble.
And this procedural had a successful television run for four years and 120 episodes.
This is the pilot episode of The Fugitive, parts of which were re-edited into the first broadcast episode, “Fear in a Desert City.” And it explains the backstory as to why Dr. Richard Kimble is on the run.
And the acting in this series is spot-on. David Janssen plays Dr. Richard Kimble as a man knowing that every step he takes could lead him into danger. Yet his humanity always causes him to help others along the way – others less fortunate than he. And Barry Morse plays the police lieutenant, Philip Gerard, a man who rationalizes the situation as Kimble violating the law and who, therefore, must be captured and brought back to complete the sentence.
This show was one of ABC’s top programs, and had a ton of guest stars in various dramatic roles throughout the broadcast run.
Here’s a first season episode, “Home is the Hunted,” where Kimble returns to his hometown upon hearing that his father had suffered a heart attack. He’s now in an area where thousands of people knew him and interacted with him – and all of them have a thousand opinions as to Kimble’s guilt or innocence.
And a second-season episode, “Man in a Chariot,” in which Ed Begley Sr. plays a college law professor who tries to re-litigate Kimble’s murder trial while using his students as a mock jury.
In 1967, after four seasons (the last 30 airing as color episodes), The Fugitive was cancelled. But rather than keep Dr. Richard Kimble in perpetual limbo, running forever in syndication, the show did something unprecedented. They actually put together a two-part final episode, where Dr. Richard Kimble is captured – while the one-armed man is revealed – and Kimble and the one-armed man fight to the death atop an amusement park tower. It sounds convoluted … but wait until you see it.
This two-part episode was, at the time, the most-watched television broadcast ever.
When the final episode finally aired – over 50 million people watched it. Nearly three-quarters of all televisions in America were tuned to that final broadcast. That’s Super Bowl-level coverage.
The Fugitive would later spawn two motion pictures (one with Harrison Ford as Dr. Kimble, and a spinoff, U.S. Marshals), as well as two other television shows (a late 90’s remake with Tim Daly as Dr. Kimble, and a 2020 Quibi streaming series).
And you could tell this show was a classic Quinn Martin 1960’s-era drama. Each quarter-hour is listed as “Act I” and “Act II”, etc. William Conrad does the narration for the series, and the guest stars are a who’s who of 1960’s-era Hollywood. Incredible stuff.
Definitely worth a watch if you’ve got 120 hours to spare. 😀
Chuck The Writer 
One of the best, indeed.
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