the fugitive[1963]

[Andrew Doherty]

Interesting that the TV Times gives 'Decision in the Ring' as the first episode, because I do remember the first episode that I watched being about the character Dr. Richard Kimble getting off a coach and booking in at a grim looking hotel and looking very carefully out of one of the windows in his, equally, grim room. I thought this first episode to be very atmospheric and boded well for the future. I recall this episode being titled 'Fear in a Desert City'. So, this is somewhat puzzling. I am reasonably sure 'Decision in the Ring', which involved Kimble acting as a medic for a boxer, came after this episode. Still, it has been forty years since the first episode was shown, almost to this very week and, consequently, my memory may be playing tricks on me.

At the time I thought they would string the series out a bit, and I was right.

One of the most striking features of this series was the narration by William Conrad.

Another was the theme and sequence music composed by Peter Rugolo (who had been associated with the Stan Kenton Band, I believe) and known for orchestrating music for the cinema in the fifties. He also did orchestral backing for the singer June Christy.

Also, there would (very often) be a young and attractive woman who would believe Kimble's story and that there was always some kind of escape route.

In the last two episodes ('The Judgement) it was Diane Baker who featured as his last helper.

I found it to be one of the best television series ever to come out of the U.S.A.

Yours,

[stephen doran]

hi andy,fear was the pilot episode made ,i think the witch may have been the 2nd episode shown,but decision was the 1st shown in london.

[Andrew Doherty]

I have just remembered that the first and second (all b/w episodes) of 'The Fugitive' was given a re-run back in 1983 and, again, the first episode was 'Fear in a Desert City'. It certainly set the tone for the series, which involved two local police officers questioning the character about his presence in the town concerned.

Well, the episode mentioned as the first episode came immediately after 'Fear in a Desert City' in this re-run.

I would say that it is usual for the pilot show of any series (be it British or American) to be shown first, if shown at all.

So, a bit of a mystery here.

It must be said that editions of the TV Times and Radio Times are subject to programme changes by the broadcasters. So, accurate though these publications are, they are not definitive. Also, errors in printing programming schedules were (and still are) possible. It could still be that I am mistaken about the first showing of 'The Fugitive'. But having remembered that second run, just this afternoon, makes me think I might not be.

Any ideas on this one?

Yours,

[Mister B]

Good point Andrew about the TV publications not perhaps being totally correct. Which ITV region would you have seen the series when originally shown in the 60s.

I had noted that Anglia and probably other regions were showing this at least 2 months before Rediffusion with maybe a different running order.

[stephen doran]

the bbc 2 reruns made it hard to follow as they were showing them here/there.

[Andrew Doherty]

Guest-Mister said:

Good point Andrew about the TV publications not perhaps being totally correct. Which ITV region would you have seen the series when originally shown in the 60s.

Well, I am sure it was the London area. However, some people I knew had their aerials adjusted to receive Anglia Television. So, it is possible that I may have been viewing this programme at a friend's house. But, I don't think so on this occasion.

So, it is either one for the 'Twighlight Zone' or there is a logical explanation. Again, I say I could be mistaken.
The re-run by BBC2 suggests that this may not be the case.

I will have to put it down to my imagination, I suppose.

Yours,

[stephen doran]

was the episode;where the action is reshown in the london area around 1971,as im pretty sure i recongised mark slade that played blue in the high chapparal.

[Brian]

Andrew said:

I far as I remember the first episode was shown sometime in September 1963 on Associated Rediffusion, London's Monday to Friday ITV Company.

The final two episodes were shown sometime in July 1967. (I believe some ITV companies pushed for a final episode to be made before they would continue to broadcast further episodes.)

There were 120 episodes, the first series was made in 1963 and the last series in 1967, all made by Q.M. Productions.

Yours,

The final episodes were broadcast in the US in August, 1967. Apparently, every country broadcasting the program showed those episodes during the same week.