Dr. Richard Kimble’s days of hiding in the shadows of a black and white America are coming to an end. The Fugitive: Season Three, Volume Two contains the last 15 episodes before the show leaped to color film for the final year. The show had the feel of a classic crime film with the lack of hues. Kimble (David Janssen) knew how to sweat in high contrast with Lt. Philip Gerard (Barry Morse) nipping at his heels. There was a richness to the grays that he assumed to hide his identity while hunting for the One Armed Man that really killed his wife. When the series went to color, the frame didn’t seem as dramatic. So saviour these last installments that gave us a world filled with stark contrasts.
Kimble visits a West Virginia town to see a longtime friend in “Not With a Whimper.” The guy is dying of lung cancer that he blames on the pollution spewed from nearby factories. He wants to get one final bit of revenge on his killer by sending Kimble with a special package to a factory. This delivery might put an end to Kimble’s flight. Lee Meriwether (Barnaby Jones) gets tangled in the plot. “Wife Killer” brings the focus back on the One Armed Man and Lt. Gerard. What’s interesting is Lt. Gerard only appears five times on 15 episodes in this boxset. There’s a murder in a small town and the cops round up drifters that look suspicious. One guy stuck in the holding pen is the One Armed Man (Bill Raisch). Janice Rule is a local reporter who snaps his picture. When the doctor sees the newspaper photo, he heads to the town to see if it is really his suspect. Things get weird when he kidnaps the suspected killer in order to get him to confess to the murder. Can he clear himself before Lt. Gerard catches both of them? This really should have been the season ending episode. Instead the wrapped with “Coralee” which was about a deep sea diver’s death that didn’t feature Lt. Gerard or the One Armed Man.
“This’ll Kill You” brings us Mickey Rooney as the owner of a laundry operation. Kimble is his delivery guy. “Stroke of Genius” makes Telly Savalas (Kojak) as the dad of Beau Bridges (The Fabulous Baker Boys). Turns out Beau gets into major trouble and dad wants Kimble to take that fall. “In a Plain Paper Wrapper” lets future stars shine on both sides of the camera. Glen A. Larson worked on the script. He’d go on to create Battlestar Galactica and Knight Rider. Richard Donner directed the Lethal Weapon franchise along with “Danger Island” on the Banana Splits. Kimble bartends at a German restaurant. He gets close with a waitress who is dealing with her orphaned nephew (Pat Cardi, founder of Moviefone). The kid falls in with a bad crowd run by Kurt Russell (Escape From New York). Kurt recognizes Kimble and wants to capture him. Will a child bring him down? Kurt knew how to play a mean kid.
The Fugitive was a Top 10 hit during the second season, but dropped out of the Top 30 during this third season. Why? The scripts and performance didn’t fall off. Perhaps the problem was a lack of Lt. Gerard as a constant threat. Only appearing in five episodes limits the cat and mouse impact. “Wife Killer” captures the intensity with the three key characters on a collision course. Perhaps the audience just didn’t think this chase would ever end and gave up? Although they did return for the final episode in season four. The producer didn’t want Lt. Gerard to always loses his man at that last minute. But viewers needed a needed a familiar menace lurking in the grey shadows behind Kimble’s last step.
The Episodes
“Not With a Whimper,” “Wife Killer,” “This’ll Kill You,” “Echo of a Nightmare,” “Stroke of Genius,” “Shadow of the Swan,” “Running Scared,” “The Chinese Sunset,” “Ill Wind,” “With Strings Attached,” “The White Knight,” “The 2130,” “A Taste of Tomorrow,” “In a Plain Paper Wrapper” and “Coralee.”
The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The black and white transfers are top notch. The audio is Dolby Digital mono. There are a few replacement music moments although none of the episodes sound like they have wholesale swaps. They’ve also done a better job mixing the new music so it doesn’t stick out when it occurs.
None.
The Fugitive: Season Three, Volume Two continues the great pursuit as Dr. Kimble seeks to clear his name and catch the real killer. It’s a shame these are the final black and white episodes since the show didn’t quite work in color. While there are people who insist if you want black and white, just turn off the color. That’s not how it works. The contrast and lighting changed when the hues arrived. The visual tone changed the pressure of the action. Enjoy these final episodes in black and white.
CBS DVD presents The Fugitive: Season Three, Volume Two. Starring: David Janssen and Barry Morse. Boxset contents: 15 episodes on 4 DVDs. Released on DVD: December 8, 2009. Available at Amazon.com
