Story by and copyright D. S. Brown. Images copyright QM Productions.

THE FUGITIVE TV series follows the travels of Dr. Richard Kimble (played by David Janssen) as he tries to stay one step ahead of Lt Philip Gerard (played by Barry Morse) and seemingly every cop in USA. Kimble was falsely convicted of murdering his wife. He occasionally picked up the trail of the real murderer, a one armed man. Most of the time Kimble was primarily occupied with solving problems for people while simultaneously trying to survive the latest complicated situation he found himself in.

From 1963 to 1966 THE FUGITIVE was filmed in black and white. The cinematography suited the film noire atmosphere of many of the scripts. While often cynical, the show didn't take away all hope. Kimble's strength of character overturned the self serving motives of others who often manipulated his plight. When the fourth season began in Sep 1966 the show was shot in color which didn't quite match the somber atmosphere of the show.

Prior to this time, most shows usually went off the air without ceremony or explanation leaving the situations open ended, except ROUTE 66 (which is also profiled in ROAD TRIP MEDIA). The final FUGITIVE episode in 1967 provided resolution to Kimble's flight. Later series such as M*A*S*H* and DALLAS generated large audiences by adopting the 'wrap-up episode' approach that garnered such huge ratings for THE FUGITIVE.   

Kimble mainly travelled by bus, but often hopped freight trains or hitch hiked around the USA, hitting the major cities where he could blend in with a crowd. But Kimble also worked odd jobs in small towns that were unique and isolated from the rest of the country. The series occasionally did location shooting, but not to the same degree as ROUTE 66, which was running simultaneously.

David Janssen's non verbal, often abrupt acting style worked perfectly for the Kimble character, absorbing the audience in his dilemmas. Barry Morse played Lt Gerard as a clinical perfectionist who goes overboard in attempting to rectify his failure when Kimble escaped his custody. The series also had consistently good guest stars and writers.

This book was based on the script to the first episode. Some of the copies made it out to the general public before the books were recalled. The books were taken off the shelves and destroyed due to the fact that it was an unauthorized adaptation.

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The show originally ran from 10 PM to 11 PM Tuesday nights. In reruns it was shown late at night and in the wee hours of the morning here and there. Given that the show itself was shot mainly in night sets and random locales, the hit and miss late night reruns seemed appropriate. In the 1990s the show enjoyed a second wave of popularity when A & E network brought the show into the light. A&E ran the show in daylight hours with regular timeslots. In the mid nineties, this comprehensive series book was sold to viewers through a mail order ad run during commercial breaks.

Because of the popularity of the reruns, a movie version of the TV series was made. In the 1990s theatres were full of old TV show adaptations. THE FUGITIVE movie stood up on it's own merits as a thriller, but had to forego most of what made the TV series so great. Richard Kimble's four year adventure living under assumed identities in offbeat jobs and in unique situations and places couldn't possibly fit into a two hour film.

Harrison Ford's action image made the movie Richard Kimble's feats of daring seem a natural extension of his personality. Contrast this with Janssen's desperate moves in the TV series. Janssen came across as muted, paranoid and submerged in anxiety, avoiding confrontation. When he suddenly exploded into action it caught viewers off guard as much as the characters onscreen.

The novel based on the film script was actually authorized and didn't need to be recalled as did the novelization that came out in the 1960s.

The film is readily available in VHS, DVD and even Laser Disc. Below are some covers from back when the film was first available for home viewing.

The FUGITIVE movie spawned a sequel which had nothing to do with Richard Kimble. US MARSHALLS followed the further adventures of Gerard as played by Tommy Lee Jones.

The original TV series has been released on VHS and DVD. Covers are reproduced below and are copyright to the issuing companies. The VHS series selected some of the better episodes, all from the Black and White years.

As you can see from the back, the COLLECTORS ANTHOLOGY didn't present these episodes in chronological order, but rather chose the more popular episodes from the series and teamed up episodes sometimes from different seasons on the same tape.

This series is not the only VHS series out there, but was the most ambitious in that they produced a run of ten volumes= 20 episodes.

Finally, the complete series is available on DVD in chronological order. The first episode aired Sep 17, 1963 at 10:00 PM. William Conrad's introductory narrative tells us that Kimble has been on the run for 6 months at this point. The closing spiel adds 2 weeks to this time frame. In final episode, THE JUDGEMENT it is revealed that the murder happened Sep 19, 1961.

Sep 19 is a significant date for this show. Roy Huggins' original concept for the show was first typed up Sep 19, 1960. In that outline, the escape was set on July 2. The given amount of time Kimble was at large varies from episode to episode, but the implication is that by the time we start to follow his adventures, Kimble has become adept at being a fugitive and Gerard has studied him and his methods in great detail.

In case you were wondering why his jacket changes color from still to still, the images shown on the DVD covers are B&W stills that have been colorized. The series was in B&W for the first three seasons. The second season concentrated on the same formulas for success that drove the first season.

When the series returned for a second season, the format was changed slightly. The opening sequence was condensed and consisted of stills flashed from various episodes, instead of the live action train sequence used to introduce the first season episodes.

At the end of each episdoe the still from NIGHTMARE AT NORTHOAK of Kimble running into a blind alley appeared with a voice over: "The Fugitive!"

Many of the DVD photos are no longer colorized because the images are from the final season which was filmed in color. Prior to each episode, a changing band of color with an animated running figure flashed across the screen and a narrator told you this was: "The Fugitive... In Color!" The end photo from NIGHTMARE AT NORTHOAK was retained and colorized but the narrator voice was dropped.