"The Fugitive " which first crept out of the shadows 60 years ago this month was the perfect television drama. That's not to say that "The Fugitive" is superior to the dramas, or even to its finest contemporaries like "Ben Casey", "The Defenders", "Perry Mason", or "Route 66". "The Fugitive " achieved a perfection of form that was unique from the other shows during the 1960's. This was part crime drama, part police procedural, part action-adventure-suspense and part character driven melodrama. It was fusion television for its time from the first episode drew huge ratings during it's four year run. The push and pull between the contrasting generic elements meant that episodes were highly varied, but with serious variations from many different traditions to draw from that were always satisfying. "The Fugitive" achieved a phenomenally consistent level of quality-which makes this one of the best television dramas of the decade.
Under the creative force of producer-writer-creator Roy Huggins along with producers Alan Armer(Seasons 1-3), and Wilton Schiller(Season 4) along with associate producers George Eckstein, Arthur Fellows, Adrian Samish, Philip Saltzman, and William Gordon under executive producer Quinn Martin (under his production company Quinn Martin Productions in association with United Artists Television and the ABC Television Network), "The Fugitive" was a instantaneous hit running three seasons for ABC with 120 episodes with seasons 1-3 producing 90 episodes in black and white from September 17, 1963 until April 26, 1966. The fourth and final season producing 30 episodes in color from September 13, 1966 until August 29, 1967. "The Fugitive" was nominated for five Prime Time Emmys for Outstanding Dramatic Series and won David Janssen the Emmy for Best Outstanding Actor In A Dramatic Series In 1966. It was nominated for three Golden Globes for Best Dramatic Television Series(also nominated for Best Actor/Best Supporting Actor In A Dramatic Series, Outstanding Writing and Direction In a Dramatic Series).
"The Fugitive" was basically a miscarriage of justice of a man innocent of a murder he did not commit escapes on route to the death house when he is freed from a train wreck. David Janssen's character.of Dr. Richard Kimble wanders the countryside going from one town to the next under a series of aliases, working menial jobs while trying to blend in while being hunted down by the police lieutenant Philip Gerard (Barry Morse) and other law enforcement agencies that are out to get him while he searches for the one arm man who is the real killer(running from the vicinity of his home on the night of the murder). "The Fugitive" made history as well as being the first television series to be based on a real life incident.
The best episodes from this critically acclaimed series include the pilot episode "Fear In A Desert City", followed by "Angels Travel On Lonely Roads", "Never Wave Goodbye", "Nightmare At North Oak", "See Hollywood And Die", "Where The Action Is", "Escape Into Black","Running Scared", "Everybody Gets Hit In The Mouth Sometime", "The Ivy Maze", "A Taste Of Tomorrow ", "Concrete Evidence", "A Clean And Quiet Town", "Rat In A Corner", "World's End", "The Devil's Disciple", "Wife Killer", "Home Is The Hunted", "Come Watch Me Die", "Man On A String","The Girl From Little Egypt", and the explosive two part series finale "The Judgment"(that aired on August 22, 1967 and August 29, 1967).
"The Fugitive" remains the staple of what was dramatic television at its finest hour that had audiences tuning in each week to see Dr. Kimble go from one town to the next while on the run from the law and from Lieutenant Gerald in which he escapes with razor thin precision it had viewers on the edge to see what happens next. In all it was solid entertainment and even 60 years later it is still incredibly riveting to watch then and even today.
Under the creative force of producer-writer-creator Roy Huggins along with producers Alan Armer(Seasons 1-3), and Wilton Schiller(Season 4) along with associate producers George Eckstein, Arthur Fellows, Adrian Samish, Philip Saltzman, and William Gordon under executive producer Quinn Martin (under his production company Quinn Martin Productions in association with United Artists Television and the ABC Television Network), "The Fugitive" was a instantaneous hit running three seasons for ABC with 120 episodes with seasons 1-3 producing 90 episodes in black and white from September 17, 1963 until April 26, 1966. The fourth and final season producing 30 episodes in color from September 13, 1966 until August 29, 1967. "The Fugitive" was nominated for five Prime Time Emmys for Outstanding Dramatic Series and won David Janssen the Emmy for Best Outstanding Actor In A Dramatic Series In 1966. It was nominated for three Golden Globes for Best Dramatic Television Series(also nominated for Best Actor/Best Supporting Actor In A Dramatic Series, Outstanding Writing and Direction In a Dramatic Series).
"The Fugitive" was basically a miscarriage of justice of a man innocent of a murder he did not commit escapes on route to the death house when he is freed from a train wreck. David Janssen's character.of Dr. Richard Kimble wanders the countryside going from one town to the next under a series of aliases, working menial jobs while trying to blend in while being hunted down by the police lieutenant Philip Gerard (Barry Morse) and other law enforcement agencies that are out to get him while he searches for the one arm man who is the real killer(running from the vicinity of his home on the night of the murder). "The Fugitive" made history as well as being the first television series to be based on a real life incident.
The best episodes from this critically acclaimed series include the pilot episode "Fear In A Desert City", followed by "Angels Travel On Lonely Roads", "Never Wave Goodbye", "Nightmare At North Oak", "See Hollywood And Die", "Where The Action Is", "Escape Into Black","Running Scared", "Everybody Gets Hit In The Mouth Sometime", "The Ivy Maze", "A Taste Of Tomorrow ", "Concrete Evidence", "A Clean And Quiet Town", "Rat In A Corner", "World's End", "The Devil's Disciple", "Wife Killer", "Home Is The Hunted", "Come Watch Me Die", "Man On A String","The Girl From Little Egypt", and the explosive two part series finale "The Judgment"(that aired on August 22, 1967 and August 29, 1967).
"The Fugitive" remains the staple of what was dramatic television at its finest hour that had audiences tuning in each week to see Dr. Kimble go from one town to the next while on the run from the law and from Lieutenant Gerald in which he escapes with razor thin precision it had viewers on the edge to see what happens next. In all it was solid entertainment and even 60 years later it is still incredibly riveting to watch then and even today.