MovieChat Forums > The Fugitive (1963) Discussion > Didn't watch the show when I was a kid ....

Didn't watch the show when I was a kid ...

posted 2 years ago by snepts (11123)
2 replies | jump to latest

... and I always figured Janssen had all the charisma of a lamppost.
But a few weeks ago I had it on in the middle of the night, and Bruce Dern had a guest spot as the leader of a biker gang, so I paid attention. It was entertaining, although not particularly good or convincing.
Then I saw another episode where Kimble meets this woman who has a cabin in the woods, and I liked the outdoor setting, and it struck me that every week they could put Kimble in a completely different environment and different circumstances with different guests, and how unusual this is for a TV series.
Now I can almost see myself trying to catch up on this old show. I've seen the biker ep, the cabin in the woods, him getting taken in by politicians with diplomatic immunity, working with a doctor who's clients are poor Latino. The story lines seem endless. Almost seems like it could be fun, and I never would have thought this.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

I did watch this as a kid.

The Fugitive set the model for the 'guy on the run / different setting every week' template.

The Incredible Hulk TV series.used the same gimmick. David Banner on the run from a nosy reporter instead of a police detective.

Another series that used the same setup was The Immortal. Christopher George played a guy with unique blood that prevented him from aging. He was on the run from a ruthless millionaire (this was the 60s) who wanted to capture him to use his blood to keep the ailing millionaire alive.

There are probably other shows too... I'm too lazy to look them up.

[–] snepts (11123) 2 years ago

Both Quantum Leap (a pretty good show) and The Time Tunnel (not so good) used this gimmick, as did Mission: Impossible (which follows Fugitive on MeTV in the middle of the night), so it's not unheard of. It does seem like a production company would have to put a bit more effort into this arrangement and it might cost more money, so there's that to consider.

I was just surprised how some of the episodes I ran into were a lot more entertaining than I assumed they'd be, sort of like Adam 12 might on occasion. But The Fugitive isn't like any of the other shows I've compared it to. It seems like a cohesive drama that takes itself seriously, (even though people can find flaws in the logic of the show). Maybe I just got lucky with a couple of the episodes I ran into, but I'd always shrugged it off because Janssen just didn't appeal to me. Better than I expected.