MovieChat Forums > The Fugitive (1963) Discussion > Color

Color

posted 7 years ago by rjl023
6 replies | jump to latest

Love this show, especially the early black and white episodes.

For the last of the four seasons the show switched to color, which was new and cool at the time (they were so impressed with the color they especially pointed out "in color" in the intro) but looking back at what seemed cool then, today looks tacky, like "CHIPS" episodes.

I would have preferred all the shows to be black and white through to the end. Color changed the tone and feel of the show and diminished much of what was special about the mood of the show.

Wonder if they could convert the color episodes to black and white, also attach to those episodes the original b&w introduction and for the end credits restore the original b&w picture of the running fugitive by the RR crossroads ...

[–] LarrupinLou 7 years ago

Understood, but it wouldn't have sounded the same when the announcer said:
"The Fugitive... still in black and white!" 😉

In all seriousness, I saw the color episodes first, so while I'm not partial to them, I'm not adverse to them, either. I do agree the color episodes have a different feel, however.

No blah, blah, blah!

[–] rjl023 7 years ago

"The Fugitive... still in black and white!" - Good one! lol

IMHO had the series been in color from the beginning it would not have been as popular or achieved cult status 50 years later. I don't think the producers realized how the black and white shows would be perceived by the fans years later. At the time black and white was same old, same old as far as TV series at the time. The producers wanted to install the newest cool thing at the time - color - they even went to the trouble to point this out in the intro - so can't really blame them - but I hope eventually something like what I suggested above occurs

[–] LarrupinLou 7 years ago

It's hard to say. The color episodes may seem inferior to you just for the simple fact that television shows lose steam as the seasons roll on.

No blah, blah, blah!

[–] loughsprng 7 years ago

I don't think the producers wanted to install color to the series, it was the network that was changing over to color by this time. Shows that didn't make the switch to color (like McHale's Navy) got cancelled.

The change to color did indeed hurt this show, but so did the writing and the stories themselves for the fourth season. Turning the color off on the television (for me at least) would do zero in the way of improving the episodes. If it was filmed in color and for color then I prefer to watch it that way - though this series actually looked better when filmed for black and white.

[–] rycki1138 7 years ago

Actually it wasn't the network, it was an FCC regulation that all TV broadcasts on all networks in prime time had to switch to color starting in the fall of 1966. That's why many TV series that had been filmed in black and white suddenly switched to color at that time.

Just some examples Gilligan's Island, Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, which all started in the 1964 or 1965 seasons, switched after 1 or 2 seasons of black and white episodes.

Even daytime TV series like General Hospital and Dark Shadows switched to color about a year later in 1967.

I don't know what they have to say. It makes no difference anyway. Whatever it is, I'm against it.

[–] PenTheater 7 years ago

Just do what I do.
Set one of your video modes on your TV to Black and White.
(my TV has Movie/Sport/Normal/Dynamic) Switch to it when ever you need too, it even makes Gilligan's Island later episodes better!

. Ephemeron.