 |  | Still entertaining, if you appreciate the era |  |
Watched them, liked them. B&W, 4 discs.
The menu is a little odd/old(?)/simple, but works. You can play each episode by moving the arrow, or 'play all'... each episode has the same intro, which takes a few moments before you see the title announced.
June 16, 2008This show has a great reputation that is well deserved. The plots are gripping, the scripts are products of intelligent design, and the acting is some of the best the viewer will see from many very familiar faces. I just finished volume two of season one and the quality is consistent from beginning to end. There are no extras (no interviews - -no suprise, the key players have been dead for years). So what. The real meat is well done. The transfer of sound and picture to DVD is crisp and clean and that's what really counts. I can't wait for season two.
May 27, 2008You already know that The Fugitive is the greatest dramatic TV series of all time and an absolute must-own on DVD. You also know that it stinks that the show is being released in half season sets instead of full season sets. But, did you know that the Fugitive discs come packaged in one of the most poorly designed DVD cases in history?
In an effort to save shelf space, the environment, or perhaps both, all four Fuge DVDs come to you crammed into a single plastic "keepcase" (a misnomer, as this case is not worth keeping). Disc 1 is on one side, disc 4 is on the other, and discs 2 and 3 are on a hinged flap in the middle. When I received my first Fuge set via UPS, I heard the sickening sound of rattling bits of hard plastic before I even opened it up, despite the fact that there was no visible damage to the exterior of the case, or to the Amazon box the set was shipped in. I soon learned that the rattling was due to the fact that virtually all of the tiny plastic tabs that hold discs 1 and 4 were broken clean off and the DVDs were on the loose, much like Dr. Richard Kimble. I assumed this was an anomaly, so I wrote to the nice folks at Amazon and they very speedily sent a replacement. Well, as you've probably already guessed, the replacement set was no different than the original. Ergo, I either have the worst luck in the world (which is probably true) or most--if not all--Fugitive Season One Volume One sets come in broken cases.
The moral of my boring story is: if you want The Fugitive on DVD, but you don't want the discs to fall to the floor every time you open the case, you'll need to buy some spare cases to store your Fuge discs in. 5 stars for Dr. Kimble, ZERO stars for Paramount's ridiculously fragile cases.
April 22, 2008| | | David Janssen is "The Fugitive"! | |
"THE FUGITIVE" premiered in 1963 and was canceled in 1967. The series had a total of four seasons and 120 episodes. David Janssen was Dr. Richard Kimble. One night at his home, Kimble and his wife had an argument. He ran out of the house to drive around and cool off, but when he returned, he almost ran over a one-armed man not far from his house. He parked the car, and went inside. He found his living room a mess, and his murdered wife's body on the floor. Richard almost instantly suspects the suspicious one-armed man. However, as it always is with these type of tragedies, the doctor has nothing at all to prove his alibi. None of his neighbors heard Kimble leave or return. The local police investigate, but no evidence is found to support Kimble's story. A search is conducted for a one-armed man. Many are found, but none of them are the right one. So he is tried and wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife. But Kimble does not hold anything against any of them. As the narrator William Conrad said at the beginning of each episode, " Laws are made by men and carried out by men. And men are imperfect." On the way to state prison, the train derails, and Kimble escapes. He is almost immediately pursued by the determined detective, Lt. Philip Gerard. Gerard holds nothing personal towards Kimble. The law found him guilty, and he enforces the law. It is asked of Gerard many times throughout the series if he believes Kimble to be guilty. The lieutenant never gives a direct answer, so the audience assumes that he is only doing it because it is his job. For the show's entire run on the ABC Network, Kimble would endlessly travel across country, town after town, job after job, and alias after alias. It seemed like it would never end for this hunted man. As Kimble is being hunted, he is also hunting. He is searching for the one-armed man that murdered his wife. An interesting thing about this show was its amazing dedication to people, and how they live. Kimble would often have to give up a chance to get away in order to save the life of an innocent bystander. Often, when Richard would escape, he would not be escaping from Gerard. He would be running from the locals of a certain town that say he raped a woman, or caused a fight. Richard would be forced to use fake names and identities so he could get a job. He was always hoping to settle down somewhere, and be able to stop running. But Gerard would never give up. Finally, in the series finale, "The Judgment", it all comes full circle. I will not give away any specific details, but I will say that the last episode was one of the best episodes of the show, and it was also the highest rated episode in the history of television until the episode called "Who Shot J.R.?" of the popular soap opera "DALLAS". "The Fugitive" was one of the best shows of its kind, and it still is. Below is a list of episodes contained in this 4-disc set.
1. FEAR IN A DESERT CITY (Series Pilot)
2. THE WITCH
3. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN
4. NEVER WAVE GOODBYE (Part I)
5. NEVER WAVE GOODBYE (Part II)
6. DECISION IN THE RING
7. SMOKE SCREEN
8. SEE HOLLYWOOD AND DIE
9. TICKET TO ALASKA
10. FATSO
11. NIGHTMARE AT NORTHOAK
12. GLASS TIGHTROPE
13. TERROR AT HIGH POINT
14. THE GIRL FROM LITTLE EGYPT
15. HOME IS THE HUNTED
Wonderful show! One of the greatest television series of all time!
NO SPECIAL FEATURES
THIS REVIEW IS DEDICATED TO ANYONE, LIVING OR DEAD, INVOLVED IN THE MAKING OF "THE FUGITIVE".
April 22, 2008This is a must for everyone who loves old black and white TV serials. David Janssen was excellent in that role.
March 15, 2008More reviews at Amazon.com ...
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