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There were many well-remembered TV shows on the air during the 1960s, some of which, like Sesame Street, 60 minutes, Face the Nation, Meet the Press, Jeopardy! and some of the soap operas, are still with us. Others, like Dr Who, are with us in another incarnation, and others sometimes appear on daytime or late night cable -- The Addams Family, The Avengers, The Prisoner, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Outer Limits, Perry Mason, Dark Shadows, Secret Agent, Time Tunnel, and Perry Mason are among the 1960s shows that have been rerun within the last ten years. Among the shows that have been remade is THE FUGITIVE, a show that ran from 1963-1967 on ABC. A reasonably successful remake starred Harrison Ford as Dr Richard Kimble, the Fugitive of the title, and Tommy Lee Jones as the law man chasing him. A less successful remake was seen on CBS in 1990. Some might even argue that the FOX show, PRISON BREAK, is an homage to THE FUGITIVE. McFarland has published a book called FOLLOWING THE FUGITIVE: An episode guide and handbook to the 1960s television series. The book is quite a labor of love, since there were 120 episodes broadcast during its four-year run. Basically, we all know the story of Dr Richard Kimble, (David Jansen), who has a fight with his wife and goes out for a drive, only to return and see a one-armed man leaving his home. He enters and finds his wife dead. He is convicted and placed on death row in Indiana (Indiana has no death penalty, nor did it have one in 1963) from which he escapes, and, for the next four years, seeks the one-armed man, while he is being pursued by the police, in the form of Lt Philip Gerard (Barry Morse). The narration was provided by the portentous voice of William Conrad (who also narrated BULLWINKLE before going on to be NERO WOLFE during the 1980s.) This book contains a precise synopsis of each episode as well as a cast list, original air date, writer and director. There are also detailed appendices listing writers, directors, guest stars and supporting actors, places lived in or visited by Dr Kimble, aliases used, occupations held, romances engaged in, injuries sustained, and trivia. An index is also included. FOLLOWING THE FUGITIVE belongs in any library that purports to contain a history of television in the US. It is rarely shown since the first three seasons were in black and white. Perhaps we should write to NICK AT NIGHT and ask them to bring it back.
Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, May 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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