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Reviews
The Central Park Five (2012)
Human honesty, Simplistic Analysis
Korey,Ray Santana (and Ray's father) and the other Five are the stars of this documentary really. Their humanity and suffering is etched in their faces. The story of five innocent boys (14-16) railroaded into confessing to a crime they didn't commit by police and prosecutors that just wanted feathers in their cap must touch the heart of any parent of a teenage boy. That they are ever exonerated comes as a miracle--and has nothing to do with the justice system. Ray's father says it is literally the hand of God, and honestly, this is one of those things that makes you wonder! The best thing about the movie is the men themselves. The trouble is that for Mr. Burns it is all about the racial fault line between black and white. Does he think we don't have any dividing lines up here in NH? Has he noticed the trailer parks hidden behind pine trees? All white people, definitely divided. I lived in NYC in 1990, and there was another headline blaring then about a white mob killing an innocent black man. The prosecutors in that case were also falling all over themselves making political hay. A person reading the headlines in both cases (Bensonhurst and Central Park 5) would have their blood boiling within 3 seconds. Meanwhile, more and more people in NYC spoke Spanish, Hindi, Chinese. We actually all took the subways together and were often courteous to one another, trapped like sardines, while holding our tabloids which screamed headlines that suggested, "stick to your own kind." It was less and less about black and white, but the tabloids never got that, and Mr. Burns doesn't either. He's sort of a reverse tabloid. But Korey and Ray and Antron and Kevin and Yussef are extraordinary people, and I thank Mr. Burns and his daughter Sara for permitting us to know their story. And this is more complicated than anything Mr. Burns has made before, so everyone should see it.
The Fugitive: In a Plain Paper Wrapper (1966)
The Allure of Convention
This episode is sandwiched between two in which Richard Kimble is first outlaw, and later hiding out in a fishing community with laws of its own. The scene here is by contrast highly conventional, with Kimble working as daytime bartender Bob Stoddard, and Lois Nettleton playing the waitress Susan—both in rather silly outfits for the restaurant's Viennese atmosphere. They have a friendly dating relationship. Susan suddenly finds herself guardian for her orphaned 12 year old nephew, Gary. As we viewers know, Kimble would like a child, and at first he is far more enthused than she about the boy's arrival in her life. Lois has the life of a modern mother much more than most women in this series. She works all day, and sends her nephew to find friends on the streets. He falls in with a local tough (played convincingly by Kurt Russell) who persuades him to lie, cheat and steal. The social worker tells Lois she needs a man in her life, and indeed a working woman who is raising kids on her own really does need a partner, and one who can commit. Kimble on the run can't be that man. The very family that is so alluring to him dooms the relationship between Susan and Kimble. The magnet of the conventional world is strong for Kimble, and may not be so strong for many viewers, who have mortgage payments, kids, and reliable spouses. Other Fugitive episodes are appealing because viewers can fantasize about having no responsibilities. But it is also interesting to see Kimble's take on an ordinary life—something he longs for, but cannot have. The show reminds us once again that family is precious. The chemistry between Lois Nettleton and David Janssen is strong, as it was also in "Man on a String." The child actor who plays Lois' nephew is also quite good.
The Fugitive: Coralee (1966)
Coralee
This is the second episode to take place in a fishing village (the other is The Cage); like migrants on farms, fishermen have their own communities, do not trust the law, and the implication is that they break it--we never quite know if the diver Johnny died accidentally or if his death was murder. At any rate, it is interesting that Kimble as "Tony" is open with Coralee that he will only be around for two weeks, that he is running, and running from the police. The fishing village is an environment where people will be saddened, but not frightened, by these revelations.
The underwater divers with whom he works are suspicious that he will say something to implicate them in foul play at the inquest into the death of the diver Johnny. Coralee is being run out of town as a jinx who causes the men in her life to die simply by associating with them.
In most episodes, Kimble rescues women who are in trouble. In this one, Kimble as "Tony" seems genuinely attracted to Coralee (Antoinette Bower). He is the one making the moves, and she rescues him.
The Fugitive: The White Knight (1966)
Good Woman, Bad Choice
Richard Kimble rescues a politician, Glenn Madison, and a woman from an airplane before it explodes. The plot centers on the illicit relationship between the politician and the woman, who turns out to be the wife of the politician's loyal aid, Russ Haynes. The story presents Mrs. Haynes as a good woman who was manipulated and seduced by a man with no scruples.
Kimble not only rescues the couple, he also agrees not to divulge the presence of the woman. Mrs. Madison, who has long since turned to alcohol, doesn't buy the story that there was no woman in the plane, and she wants to know who it was.
Madison wants Kimble gone so that the secret of his affair will be safe. After a while he also wants to get rid of Mrs. Madison, who threatens to divorce him and thereby end his political aspirations. Then he wants to get rid of his loyal assistant so that the way will be cleared for him to be together with Mrs. Haynes, who is guilt-ridden over betraying her husband.
Kimble tries to avoid identification given rash of publicity, and then wonders whom he can trust in this next of vipers.
The Fugitive: Ill Wind (1966)
Code of Honor
Richard Kimble as Mike Johnson has been picking cauliflower with the Kelleys, migrant farmworkers who took him in when he was ill. He bids them good bye in the first scene, off to hop a freight. Girard shows up, threatening to imprison Kelly for a year as an accessory unless he reveals where Kimble went. Kelley chooses reluctantly to reveal that "Mike" is waiting at the tracks, so that he can stay out of jail and protect his wife and daughter, Ida Catherine. Lester Kelly's code is to protect his community at all costs. Girard's code is to catch his man. Girard does nab Kimble at the tracks, and the look in Kimble's eyes says it all. But a hurricane forces them both to spend the night in the barn of the Crawford ranch back with the Kelly family and other migrant workers. Lester Kelley would like to redeem himself, and the migrants attack Girard to help "Mike" escape. Kimble's code now moves to center stage: as a doctor, he will do no harm, and will also do anything to save a life. Girard's and Kimble's relationship becomes deeper during this night. A portion of the barn collapses on Girard, severing an artery so that blood loss leaves him near death. Kimble puts together the equipment to stabilize him. "I guess I'm impressed," mumbles Girard. "But it doesn't change anything," asks Kimble. "It doesn't change anything," agrees Girard. Kimble needs the help of the migrant community to save Girard, but Kelley and his people do not understand why they should save the policeman who wants to execute a man they have come to trust and respect. Ida Catherine, a young woman of perhaps seventeen, is infatuated with Kimble. He respects and cherishes her admiration, but it goes no further. Her love for him leads her to go against her father's instinct to protect the community at all costs, and to embrace Kimble's code, as she volunteers to help Kimble save Girard. This is one of the finest Fugitive episodes. Folk music brings in the hopes of the 1960s. The song that Jonesie plays is about Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, the whole story is listed here http://www.desertusa.com/mag04/july/billy.html.
The Fugitive: The Chinese Sunset (1966)
Journey of a Thousand Miles
It seems at first that "Chinese Sunset" refers to the Asian-theme of the decor at the scene on the Sunset Strip, but the reference to China that reverberates throughout the story is a quotation from Lao-Tzu, "A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step." This is a tale of friendship, not romance, between Kimble and a beautiful, intelligent (though uneducated) woman.
Jack Ficket (Kimble's alias) is a hotel employee who lets slip to Penelope that he went to college. Her nice but lawless boyfriend, Eddie Slade, has just gotten out of jail, and is staying in this dive while he hustles for a stake to get back into the bookmaking action he needs to support them in the style they both enjoy. Penelope can barely read or write, and asks Jack to teach her these things along with some advice on manners. She likes men like Eddie to pay her way and shower her with jewelry, but her desire to learn is the journey of a thousand miles. Kimble enjoys teaching her, and the company she provides as he wanders around the hotel cleaning up.
To improve, she reads the tale in Aesop of the cunning fox who promises to give foolish Farmer Jones back his chickens, only to eat them. This is an analogy to Eddie Slade, who hoodwinks others out of their savings, falsely promising to pay high returns later. "But the fox ATE the chickens!" says Penelope. Eddie tells Penelope everyone is hustling for money, he's just hoping to be more successful than some, and she finds this argument convincing at first.
But Kimble won't take money or loving as payment from her, which impresses upon her that all people are not hustlers--and keeps this story platonic. Kimble suggests it is more honorable to earn your way with no shortcuts. She says, "Look where it's got you," and Kimble admits she has a point. Eddie doesn't want Penelope becoming educated, but Kimble argues that Penelope's desire to grow is too powerful to be denied.
Will Penelope help her cunning fox steal chickens, or will she follow Kimble's way? One thing is certain: she's willing to bet her diamond earrings that Kimble didn't murder anyone.
The Fugitive: Echo of a Nightmare (1966)
Two Emotional Story lines
Jane Washburn is a policewoman in plain clothes. Kimble is robbed of $100 by thugs, and a uniformed colleague assists him. Astutely, Jane becomes suspicious when Kimble doesn't want to report the crime to police, and states that only $10 was taken. She insists on driving him out of town, and unexpectedly cuffs him to herself. This comes as a shock to him and to viewers, since we haven't seen any policewomen so far in this series. Gutsy, she throws the key to the handcuffs into the river. She thinks this will force Kimble to wait for backup, never guesses that he will insist that she run with him into hiding.
There are two emotional stories here. One is that Kimble must act like a thug, forcing Jane to come with him, and clamping his hand over her mouth anytime someone approaches. Must he become a thug in order to maintain his flight?
The other line is that (unbeknownst to Kimble) Jane was kidnapped at 15. Kimble winds up looking a lot like a second kidnapper, and she is terrified. But we find out she was not then, nor is she now, helpless. This is a very unusual female character for this series, and Shirley Knight is quite good.
The Fugitive: The Garden House (1964)
Friend to a Woman Whose Husband Doesn't Care
Kimble goes to work as a stable boy for the horsey set in CT. This is an episode where he has material comforts, but can't exercise authority. Mrs. Guthrie is a sweet lady who is about his age who is afraid of horses; she would be attractive if she had a bit more self-confidence. Her husband married her so he could run the newspaper she inherited. He is having an affair with her sister. The sister has no morals, is jealous that her sister inherited the paper, and encourages Mr. Guthrie to kill her. Kimble is asked to train Mrs. Guthrie to ride and shoot as well as the rest of them. This is a setup so the photographer sister can take photos that show intimate moments between them. It's a sham, and yet there is a rapport that builds up between Kimble and Mrs. Guthrie, as he leans across her saddle to adjust the reins, or holds her arm to aim a shot. "There are worse things than being alone," is the powerful advice he gives. There is no parting kiss, presumably because she is a married woman.