I watched this when I was a kid. EVERYBODY watched this show and I still remember the last line "The day the running stopped." Absolutely fabulous drama.
Too bad in real life that Doctor had to resort to wrestling!! Those '60s hippies planting bombs everywhere got away with alot. See the story on the Weather Underground!
I just watched it again as I hadn't seen the finale in at least 20 years. I got chills, especially when Girard offered his hand. Kimble had every right to just walked away, but anyone that followed the series when it originally aired knew one thing. Kimble would shake his hand. Awesome series and 52 years later, I am glad they put closure to the series
Nobody could have said it better than William Conrad: "...the day the running stopps." I also like how Gerard offers him a handshake. It's a reluctant apology.
This show hit the air waves when I was 10 years old. I grew up in the LA area where most of it was filmed and I've often recognized some locations. This show has always struck a nerve with me, even as a child. When I recently started watching it again as an adult, I realized why it resonated with me. Here was a kind, good and decent man....a physician, a healer....who was falsely convicted of murder, the murder of his wife whom he loved. Anyone who has been falsely accused of anything can relate to Richard Kimble. Though highly educated, he takes menial jobs to get by. He is a survivor in relentless pursuit of the ever- evasive one-armed man. This is real life stuff! Kimble is treated poorly and doesn't deserve the daily load of crap that is dished to him, but he copes with it and even does good to those who seek to harm him, even at the risk of being discovered. He suffers the pain, but never returns evil for evil. Though on the run, he's still a good and honorable man. There's always one person in each episode, usually a woman, who believes in his innocence. In a sense Kimble is a Christ-like figure. Would that all of us continue to do good in spite of being treated harshly or unfairly. Take solace in the fact that someone out there knows that you're a good, honest, decent human being. Here's the message.....don't give up no matter how long it takes.
Wow! U said it! If only we could b like RK!! I guess it is a work in progress. We must continue to try to do good despite any bad that comes our way. That's cool about the locations. I'd like to see them!
When he saw Gerard and the cop car pull up, he showed clear signs of PTSD or some kind of trauma from running for so long. He had to snap himself out of fight or flight mode and realize that they're no longer after him and that he was free to walk among them with his head held high. Then he finally took his first walk, KNOWING that he was free, and that the nightmare is over.
That bit where he freezes when he sees the cops is heartbreaking. Despite everything, it will probably be a long time before he stops being afraid of them.
I agree. A really powerful scene and well acted. I was riveted to this show when I was a kid. Weird because I was really young, only 5 when it ended but I remember watching it on Saturday nights.
@@t.martin1841 Yes, same here!! I can remember watching this with my Mom and I was around the same age. Those were really good times. I remember looking forward to seeing this every week.
This might have been the first time a TV series had a finale that was worth remembering. I believe it was the most-watched episode of a television show ever at the time.
Yep ur right. Until the MASH finale. Then it was broken. But even an airport, can't remember which one, took the time to announce that 'Richard Kimble had stopped running'. COOL!!
Facts. Back then most shows just kinda ended. Production stopped and that was that, and many of us grew up watching the reruns that weren’t shown in chronological order. The Fugitive gave everyone the ending it, and the viewers deserved.
Some great stuff in this small scene. Gerard watching Kimble go in a somewhat longing way - he realises that despite the trouble he went through and caused for Kimble, a big part of his life is now over, and Kimble was the man who changed it. He has learned. Then, that part where Kimble instinctively hesitates upon seeing a police car, then realises he no longer has to speaks volumes!
I'm glad this series had an exclusive conclusion and not one of those forevermore cliffhangers without resolution. Never seen this epilogue, I only got as far as where the one-armed guy dies and it was in "Black and white"...Would like to see this entire episode!
Girard knew half way through the series Kimble was innocent. But he was sworn to to do what he did. Allowing Kimble time to catch the real killer was Girard admitting to Kimble he also knew he was innocent so go get the proof.
I am sorry, hope you are doing better. I lost my mom a little over three years ago. Time does help heal the wound but I still miss her and think of her often.
My Mom also liked DJ. I lost my Mom the same way he went, heart attack. Time helps, but u r still going to hurt. I try to think of the good times we had together and it helps. Sorry for ur loss.
In a way, Girard was the most interesting character in the series, but in the film version it was clear that the writers and Tommy Lee Jones had NO real understanding of the character at all.
@@ChrisBakerauthor That doesn't alter the fact that the film had a piss-poor script, and really didn't work. The writers on the TV show, on the other hand, were outstanding, week after week. The filmmakers just didn't "get" it.
This was pretty much all anyone talked about at the time. We were all tuned in, anticipating the climax. The jokes went around, like The One-Armed man was actually Gerard, and the TV Guide article suggested that Kimble had been wearing a fake arm while on the run. But the happy ending couldn't have been better. He shakes Gerard's hand and then goes off with Jean.
@@MikeSmith-dt4qf William Conrad radio voiced Gunsmoke narrated The Fugitive Starred in Cannon and directed TV episodes and was in some 30 movies William Conrad did it all.
Also very touching was the scene in this episode where, prior to catching the one armed man and still on the run, Dr. Kimball is talking to his sister on the phone, telling he's close to clearing himself, and she starts to cry.
August 29, 1967 is really the day the running stopped for Richard Kimble in America, September 5, 1967 is the day the running stopped for Richard Kimble in Canada, this is from the Canadian airdate. This confusion was explained in the companion book "The Fugitive Recaptured" by Ed Robertson
Ok Yes your correct. As stated by my question at the top of the thread. I knew Conrad did say 1967 but I had the Date wrong Thank you. I'm not loosing my mind yet.
Some US ABC affiliates also did not show this final part until September 5, 1967 because of their prior written (pre-existing) commitments to show a baseball game. This alternate version is found on the DVD set; the original August 29 version was found on the VHS tape and on the 1993 NBC reruns.
@@ClassicTVMan1981X When you consider that this was the most watched episode of any TV show prior to the "Who Shot JR?" episode of Dallas 13 years later, you wonder what the ratings would have been had it not been for that baseball game.
The Peter Rugolo score is so beautiful---the music was as critical a part of this immortal show as David Janssen himself!! (Check out the "Fixing the Fugitive" post which talks about how great the outcry was when CBS/Paramount released the series on DVD with replacement synthesizer music due to potential legal issues. The furor was so heated that they re-released the series with the original music intact. THAT is how much true fans of the show loved the score!!)
Now if you want the Peter Rugolo Soundtrack from Amazon, bring your Wallet and a tube of KY, It'll cost you a small fortune, well over 350 Dead Presidents. Good thing I got mine while it was still in print.
Ruggolo also did the music score for the last season (1963) of Leave it to Beaver. Between him and Frank De Vol the 60's was secured with background music
Quinn Martin, the show's producer, and Roy Huggins, the creator, felt that the audience, who was so invested in the premise of the show, was entitled to a satisfying resolution. Janssen, who aspired to a successful feature film career, made Shoes Of The Fisherman and The Green Berets, but never realized that goal. He did return to episodic television with Harry O, and a Jack Webb series, and he continued to work productively, but he never captured lightning in a bottle as he did with The Fugitive.
Growing up watching this show as a child, I internalized the plot and developed a subconscious fear that someday I would be accused and maybe convicted wrongly for something I didn't do.
This is one of my ALL TIME favorite tv series (top 10 easily)! My family in Omaha NE collectively watched this exemplary production every week-with its acting, music and plots. It’s very sad that today’s series don’t come close to The Fugitive. RIP to all who truly made this show g.r.e.a.t...
*I'm still grateful that after QM Productions narrowed down the final two candidates for the role of "Richard Kimble" they went with David Janssen instead of Bob Denver, the latter going on to star in another TV series.*
If I remember correctly, Kimble had about a dozen flings during his life on the run and he promised all of them that he would come back for them when he was cleared, so it was a surprise to a lot of us that he ended up with Diane Baker. Kimble was quite the ladies man!
Fans have to thank the producers of "The Fugitive" for the two-part conclusion to the series. Had it been up to the executives at the ABC Network there would not have been "The Judgment". It was the president of ABC's opinion that the TV audience didn't care what happened to Dr. Kimble because he was just a character on a television show. The show's producers finally won out but with the understanding that they, and not the network, had to find the sponsors to pay for the last two episodes. The epilog showed Gerard shaking Kimble's hand and if you look closely Gerard was mouthing words to Kimble, but there was no audio. That was a great idea by just to have both men say nothing. While the character of Gerard had its critics, one has to remember it was Gerard who gave Kimble the chance to prove his innocence and even shamed the eyewitness to the murder ( Lloyd Chandler) to testify that he saw the one-arm man murder Helen Kimble. There will never be a show of this caliber on TV again. David Janssen should have won an Emmy for his portrayal of Richard Kimble; but he lost out three years in a row to Bill Cosby.
@@bobtis Personally I think Janssen was a far better actor that Cosby, but Cosby won primarily because he was the first African-American to have an equal role in a major television series and the Academy wanted to remind everyone of that. Also I believe that "The Fugitive" was by far a better dramatic series than "I Spy".
Cosby's transition to serious actor was the difference. The same likely would've happened for Janssen (Emmy nods) if he was making the transition to comedy from drama at the time (and proved to be convincing therein). I think the thing that worked against Janssen, too, was he didn't APPEAR to be acting as much as he seemed to be Kimble on camera. Not disputing the commentary, just putting a spin of reasoning on this because David Janssen did deserve an Emmy for his portrayal.
In fairness to ABC TV, the ratings for the last season of Fugitive were bad. It was in 50th place out of about 80 shows for the year. You could understand the network being dubious about the success of a series finale, especially since TV shows didn't have series finales before the Fugitive.
It was a brilliant series - David Janssen mercurial. The ending was poignant, moving, and deep enough to mull it over for a long time. A superb series which i personally watched every week - cast superb.
I enjoyed The Fugitive during its run on ABC Television. I saw the two-part episode, rooting for Kimble to catch the one-armed man, which he did, eventually. The second part of the episode drew a then-Nielsen record 30 million viewers in the U.S. All due to tension building up to that dramatic climax. That program was well produced. And was based on the Sam Sheppard murder case in Cleveland.
Interesting that the narrator, the late William Conrad (CANNON), said that the final date was Tuesday, September 5. That was for the Canadian market. The actual date of the American version states that it was Tuesday, August 29, The night the show aired that final episode in America. I remember hearing that particular date when the show was syndicated. Very clever of the writers to end Richard Kimble’s running and the series itself on the very same day that it aired.
@@spectreagent A two part series finale called The Judgement aired on August 22nd and August 29th 1967, at the time of its airing the last episode was the most watched episode of all time that's how good and popular The Fugitive was.
I always liked the narration at the end where the voice stated Kimble's plight. I also always wondered if those who helped him escape handed him some cash before he lefr town.
We're in 2021 and still i cry, this last capitule.. i watch this last capitule when i have been 15 old years... all the days still i keep watck in youtube this videos.....
Great TV moment. An episode in one year where he saves kids in a school bus gets arrested and the Sheriff s wife gives him keys to his cell as residents lined up to say thank you . One of most memorable. He could have walked away from the school bus. A great TV character
My favorite series of all-time. In retrospect though, I wish they had filmed the last season in black and white, just as they had the previous three. By filming it in color, I believe they took some of the feeling and flavor from the show
Agree 100% The black and white added a certain "film noir" dimension to the series which intensified the drama. Filming in color diminished the emotional impact that the B&W episodes had.
I was in high school I watched the fugitive every week so glad it ended that way because people were really hooke d on that show so glad richard kimball was free finally
David Janssen was in a series in the 50s called Richard Diamond. In one episode his friend (played by James Best, who later played Roscoe P! Coltrane) is on the lam and Richatd tells him he cant run forever. The iron y of it all!
I am binge watching 'The Fugitive" on Pluto TV and I can't help but wish they would show all the women who felt he was innocent, reading the paper, learning of the Judgement, smiling and saying "I knew it.". Suzanne Pleshette Ida Lupino Eileen Heckart Lois Nettleton Vera Miles Brenda Vaccaro Glenda Farrell Pamela Tiffin Nancy Wickwire Ellen Madison Nan Martin Elizabeth Allen Sandy Dennis Carol Rossen Patricia Crowley Celeste Holm Beverly Garland Lee Meriweather Diana Van Der Vlis Angie Dickerson Susan Oliver Peggy McCay Lee Grant Bethel Leslie Betty Garrett
"Tuesday, September 5th" makes this the Canadian version. The United States version said August 29th. Jacqueline Scott played the perfect little sister.
Yes, when her brother, in the final episode, was still on the run, he called her on the phone, telling her that he was closing in on the one armed man but was still wanted, she started to cry, so happy but still so worried.
I was only 12 when my mom and dad watched the show I'm not sure. But when I went to go to sleep something told me. To watch it in my room at 12 yrs old I found it exciting and had to watch it I guess everyone was asking how it's going to end I'm 62 now an watchin all 4 years I'm only on season 1 so I'm going to have fun with the rest miss David he dide at48 yrs old
We only had one TV, in the living room. It was either sneak up very discreetly behind our parents, or miss. By the last season I had my own chair. Good times.
@@aaronbruceladner1983 The actually date of the last episode was August 29th and that was the date I heard when A&E showed the series back in the 90's. But apparently in some places it was show on September 5th and so they had Conrad re-record the final statement for those areas.
@@bobbyfrancis8957 he just wanted a rest. The series wasn't cancelled. Janssen was 100% worn out and didn't want to return for another season. For a while he preferred just to appear in films. Less work.
Barry Morse, without uttering a sound, did a wonderful job. The expressions on his face clearly conveyed both the guilt Gerard felt for pursuing Richard Kimble and the relief that he was ultimately able to help him.
Their relationship was natural, as was Kimble's relationship with Barbara Wells. Jean was Kimble's little sister in comparison and the chemistry was lacking between them.
I believe that the character of Jean Carlyle was created in part because she grew up in Stafford (Kimble's hometown) and knew the Kimble family; plus had a crush on the doctor when she went to college. One could have also concluded that the character that Susan Oliver played (Karen) ended up marrying the local doctor who had feelings for her before Kimble showed up to work in the sail shop.
Mark Giardina What you are saying does make sense and probably was the writer’s short term explanation. I was only saying that for me, personally, I did not see the connection between the two as I have with past guests/girl friends. This one seemed more Jean than Kimble really digging her. Just my honest take with no disrespect meant towards Diane Baker.
ABC did not end the show in the Spring of 1967, but ran all the rerun and this two parter was at the end of the summer. Brilliant move as the tension built up all over the summer and the plot was never leaked as would be the case today. I was 14, and the entire neighborhood was buzzing about the two parter. If I were Kimble, I tell Girard to screw off. He knew Kimble was innocent, and Kimble even saved his life on occasions during the series.
Wrong, Gerard thought Kimble was guilty throughout the run of the show. He even stated the one armed man was a figment of Kimble's imagination. Gerard was an honest cop.
I know "The Fugitive" was an all-time drama series... but who would have loved to see all the Damsels in Distress helped by Dr. Kimble over four years standing outside the courthouse waiting for him to emerge? Picture that look of terror on Richard's face as here they all come charging toward him... he must take off... a Fugitive once again!
Ha-ha-ha! That would've been great! I never considered that! Another thing--While I absolutely love "The Fugitive"...I always HATED whenever Kimble would take a woman by the upper arm & walk away! Yeah, I understand it was the 60s & that was the "macho" thing to do, but it would never cross my mind to hold my lady like that. What's wrong with holding hands or the arm around the shoulder? The "upper-arm" lead looks forced & like a guy is giving his gal the "bum's rush"..!!
Did anyone else notice that Doctor Kimble was wearing a gray suit when he left the court house after being exonerated for murdering his wife ; but then had on a brown suit when the police car pulled up and stopped at the curb as he momentarily froze in his tracks from force of habit after being on the run for four years?
The nimrod executives cancelled the show early in season 5. There was only 7 episodes. They did not give enough notice to the producers of the show to make a proper finale..Blame lame brains at NBC. It wasn't because Bixby died.. that was much later. 85 total episodes only 7 season 5.. There were several TV specials made after the show ended.. but those were pretty much a joke. The Hulk meets Thor...Their best forgotten.
....they made several tv specials of the hulk after the series was cancelled.. Get your facts straight..instead of repeating what you heard someone say . Bixby's death Nov. 21 1993. He was 59..Wickipedia.....Last episode original series..May 12 1982...Wickipedia.....Last Hulk Tv movie...The death of the incredible Hulk 1990...
The show was clearly canceled before he died if he died in 1993 and the last episode was was in 1982. The TV movies happened AFTER the show was canceled and learn to spell it's BIXBY. They are TV movies not part of the original series. Just as Rescue from Gilligan's Island is not part of the series.
I watched this when I was a kid. EVERYBODY watched this show and I still remember the last line "The day the running stopped." Absolutely fabulous drama.
I love the silent reaction between Kimble and Gerrod. They made peace with each other.
Too bad in real life that Doctor had to resort to wrestling!! Those '60s hippies planting bombs everywhere got away with alot. See the story on the Weather Underground!
The Fugitive one of the finest drama shows ever and it still is today.
It holds up very well.
@@mountaingator001 TV Guide voted The Fugitive the best dramatic series of the 1960s.
I live in the UK and watched the series when it was first aired here. I haven't seen a television series since to compare with The Fugitive.
Hands down greatest series ever.
I'll second that. The best drama and the most influential premise ever created.
Absolutely the best. Warmth, charm and great character development.
Agreed!
@Terry Hawk Just finished watching the entire series for the first time. Absolutely brilliant.
@Terry Hawk Yes watching it on CBS Justice and the final episodes are on this Thursday and Friday.
I just watched it again as I hadn't seen the finale in at least 20 years. I got chills, especially when Girard offered his hand. Kimble had every right to just walked away, but anyone that followed the series when it originally aired knew one thing. Kimble would shake his hand. Awesome series and 52 years later, I am glad they put closure to the series
It was, and will always be, a very joyful and tearful ending.
Great show
People knew Kimble would shake his hand as you learned of the decent humanity of Kimble during his four year run.
The running stopped on August 29th, 1967 in the U.S.
William Conrad's narration was awesome.
He was also the radio voice for Matt Dillion in GUNSMOKE.
@Terry Hawwins His voice set a great dramatic tone for the series.
@Terry Hawwins Welles would have been a great choice "before his time" but I'm sure that he'd be wayyyy too expensive.
It's no wonder. All those years on radio and , of course, he played the radio Matt Dillon.
@@Clonetrooper1139 William Conrad did it all he did Gunsmoke on radio narrated a series starred in a series and directed other television shows.
Nobody could have said it better than William Conrad: "...the day the running stopps."
I also like how Gerard offers him a handshake. It's a reluctant apology.
Actually, it was anything but an apology. It was Gerard's way of saying 'The system works.'
This show hit the air waves when I was 10 years old. I grew up in the LA area where most of it was filmed and I've often recognized some locations. This show has always struck a nerve with me, even as a child. When I recently started watching it again as an adult, I realized why it resonated with me. Here was a kind, good and decent man....a physician, a healer....who was falsely convicted of murder, the murder of his wife whom he loved. Anyone who has been falsely accused of anything can relate to Richard Kimble. Though highly educated, he takes menial jobs to get by. He is a survivor in relentless pursuit of the ever- evasive one-armed man. This is real life stuff! Kimble is treated poorly and doesn't deserve the daily load of crap that is dished to him, but he copes with it and even does good to those who seek to harm him, even at the risk of being discovered. He suffers the pain, but never returns evil for evil. Though on the run, he's still a good and honorable man. There's always one person in each episode, usually a woman, who believes in his innocence. In a sense Kimble is a Christ-like figure. Would that all of us continue to do good in spite of being treated harshly or unfairly. Take solace in the fact that someone out there knows that you're a good, honest, decent human being. Here's the message.....don't give up no matter how long it takes.
Wow! U said it! If only we could b like RK!! I guess it is a work in progress. We must continue to try to do good despite any bad that comes our way. That's cool about the locations. I'd like to see them!
See Les Miserables.
Richard Kimble one of the top 10 characters in TV history. Of course David Janssen hit it out of the park He was wonderful.
@Terry Hawwins I don't even remember the movie so it didn't impress me.
Movie was absolute rubbish
@@davidalexander5405 dont talk wet! It was nominated for 7 oscars including best picture!
@@davidalexander5405 The movie was more about Tommie Lee Jones he had all of the dialogue
@@rickycole6327 "I didn't kill my wife!" "I DON'T CARE!" was perfect writing/delivery, saying that wasn't his job, that his job was to catch him.
When he saw Gerard and the cop car pull up, he showed clear signs of PTSD or some kind of trauma from running for so long. He had to snap himself out of fight or flight mode and realize that they're no longer after him and that he was free to walk among them with his head held high. Then he finally took his first walk, KNOWING that he was free, and that the nightmare is over.
He was a great actor as all were in this show. He died too young.
That bit where he freezes when he sees the cops is heartbreaking. Despite everything, it will probably be a long time before he stops being afraid of them.
@Terry Hawwins Forever.
I agree. A really powerful scene and well acted. I was riveted to this show when I was a kid. Weird because I was really young, only 5 when it ended but I remember watching it on Saturday nights.
4 years of being on the run can do that.
Not unlike a combat vet suffering from PTSD.
@@t.martin1841 Yes, same here!! I can remember watching this with my Mom and I was around the same age. Those were really good times. I remember looking forward to seeing this every week.
This might have been the first time a TV series had a finale that was worth remembering. I believe it was the most-watched episode of a television show ever at the time.
Yep ur right. Until the MASH finale. Then it was broken. But even an airport, can't remember which one, took the time to announce that 'Richard Kimble had stopped running'. COOL!!
@@aileenwagner2576 actually who shot jr beat this then mash
Facts. Back then most shows just kinda ended. Production stopped and that was that, and many of us grew up watching the reruns that weren’t shown in chronological order. The Fugitive gave everyone the ending it, and the viewers deserved.
@@zt1053 I didn't know that was a series finale. I learn something new every day.
"Tuesday--September 25th (1967)---the day the running stopped!" That says it all!
Incredible music that fits the story so well. I have loved it ever since I was a kid. Here I am now in my seventies and it till sounds awesome!
Kudos to the RUclips staff for getting episodes from this series online, it was one of the great tv series...
The best drama on TV ever. David Janssen was perfect as the fugitive. One of my favorite TV shows.
Some great stuff in this small scene. Gerard watching Kimble go in a somewhat longing way - he realises that despite the trouble he went through and caused for Kimble, a big part of his life is now over, and Kimble was the man who changed it. He has learned. Then, that part where Kimble instinctively hesitates upon seeing a police car, then realises he no longer has to speaks volumes!
One of TV history's greatest series finales. 😌
Legendary.
REAL ACTING is the scene between Kimble & Girard where no words are spoken yet so much is being said. Janssen & Morse were brilliant actors!
Finest TV drama of the 1960's.
Absolutely.
Yes...It truly was!!
+@@lindakoch9524 Combat 1962-67 comes in 2nd. Hawaii-5/0 1968-80. Cold Case-2003-10. 3rd place. Only show worth watching in 21st century.
@@yeswecannabis3764 Yep!!👍👍👍
With so much having changed over the years, and not for the best, I personally consider this to be the best TV series ever.
I saw this when it was on the air for the first time. A magnificent feeling.
I'm glad this series had an exclusive conclusion and not one of those forevermore cliffhangers without resolution.
Never seen this epilogue, I only got as far as where the one-armed guy dies and it was in "Black and white"...Would like to see this entire episode!
What a gesture of class Kimble showed shaking Girard's hand. Even after Girard saved his life.
David Janssen in his best character. From begining to end kept my family together watching every episode. Those wonderful years.
They really were great years. The good guys won.
Great show me and my mother watched every Friday night it was our favorite show we never missed a show through the whole series
Officer Gerrard showed real compassion and astuteness allowing Dr Kimble to clear himself after capturing him.
Girard knew half way through the series Kimble was innocent. But he was sworn to to do what he did. Allowing Kimble time to catch the real killer was Girard admitting to Kimble he also knew he was innocent so go get the proof.
@@jameshoran8The friend who watched his wife get killed and did nothing testified. Such a coward.
my mum loved this programme lost her this year jan 2.Hoping time will be a healer.
I am sorry, hope you are doing better. I lost my mom a little over three years ago. Time does help heal the wound but I still miss her and think of her often.
Bigalrev thank you so sorry about your mother also.you're right time is a healer
Mom loved David J. She said that he was unpolished and like Clark Gable.
My Mom also liked DJ. I lost my Mom the same way he went, heart attack. Time helps, but u r still going to hurt. I try to think of the good times we had together and it helps. Sorry for ur loss.
@@aileenwagner2576 thanks sorry about your mum also
The best ever TV show with an incredible David Janssen.... R. I. P!!!
He was so handsome and a great actor.
It's powerful that they shake hands at the end. Kimble realizes that it was never personal. He felt bad that he had pursued him for so long.
In a way, Girard was the most interesting character in the series, but in the film version it was clear that the writers and Tommy Lee Jones had NO real understanding of the character at all.
@@TheRealDrJoey A series allows for a whole lot more characterization.
@@ChrisBakerauthor That doesn't alter the fact that the film had a piss-poor script, and really didn't work. The writers on the TV show, on the other hand, were outstanding, week after week.
The filmmakers just didn't "get" it.
Loved this show so much.
David was sensational in the TV SHOW
HE WAS BORN FOR THAT ROLE..
I'm glad it worked in his favor....
In Hollywood, They say "Roles you were [born for] will be your career death sentence".
The greatest ending to a television series of all time Period !!!!!
To a Master actor, and extraordinary human being! You will be missed, David Janssen!
This was pretty much all anyone talked about at the time. We were all tuned in, anticipating the climax. The jokes went around, like The One-Armed man was actually Gerard, and the TV Guide article suggested that Kimble had been wearing a fake arm while on the run. But the happy ending couldn't have been better. He shakes Gerard's hand and then goes off with Jean.
Brilliant series. With a proper finale
Greatest series of all time..Diane Baker cute as a button..what I crush I had on her..excellent narration by Robert Conrad
Mike Smith narrated by William conrad who eventually had his own detective series Frank Cannon he drove a big Lincoln in series.
Also the voice of Matt Dillon...on the Gunsmoke radio show
@@MikeSmith-dt4qf William Conrad radio voiced Gunsmoke narrated The Fugitive Starred in Cannon and directed TV episodes and was in some 30 movies William Conrad did it all.
I will always get misty eyed watching this scene.
Also very touching was the scene in this episode where, prior to catching the one armed man and still on the run, Dr. Kimball is talking to his sister on the phone, telling he's close to clearing himself, and she starts to cry.
Best tv show ever!!!
Top 10 for sure.
David Janssen was taking a break while in the middle of filming "The Green Berets" when he was watching himself in that final episode.
Makes me want to cry. It s so happy.
August 29, 1967 is really the day the running stopped for Richard Kimble in America, September 5, 1967 is the day the running stopped for Richard Kimble in Canada, this is from the Canadian airdate. This confusion was explained in the companion book "The Fugitive Recaptured" by Ed Robertson
EDeck Yes . True.
Ok Yes your correct. As stated by my question at the top of the thread. I knew Conrad did say 1967 but I had the Date wrong Thank you. I'm not loosing my mind yet.
Just completed the series last night. First time I have watched since the beginning. Of course I was too young to stay up to watch it back then.
Some US ABC affiliates also did not show this final part until September 5, 1967 because of their prior written (pre-existing) commitments to show a baseball game. This alternate version is found on the DVD set; the original August 29 version was found on the VHS tape and on the 1993 NBC reruns.
@@ClassicTVMan1981X When you consider that this was the most watched episode of any TV show prior to the "Who Shot JR?" episode of Dallas 13 years later, you wonder what the ratings would have been had it not been for that baseball game.
The Peter Rugolo score is so beautiful---the music was as critical a part of this immortal show as David Janssen himself!!
(Check out the "Fixing the Fugitive" post which talks about how great the outcry was when CBS/Paramount released the series on DVD with replacement synthesizer music due to potential legal issues. The furor was so heated that they re-released the series with the original music intact. THAT is how much true fans of the show loved the score!!)
nyterpfan they must be kidding substituting that original soundtrack
Now if you want the Peter Rugolo Soundtrack from Amazon, bring your Wallet and a tube of KY, It'll cost you a small fortune, well over 350 Dead Presidents.
Good thing I got mine while it was still in print.
nyterpfan EXACTLY...the MUSIC was the series !!!👍👍
Ruggolo also did the music score for the last season (1963) of Leave it to Beaver. Between him and Frank De Vol the 60's was secured with background music
They did that? Troglodytes.
53 years later....I finally see this in 2020!! Thank you utube!!
Quinn Martin, the show's producer, and Roy Huggins, the creator, felt that the audience, who was so invested in the premise of the show, was entitled to a satisfying resolution. Janssen, who aspired to a successful feature film career, made Shoes Of The Fisherman and The Green Berets, but never realized that goal. He did return to episodic television with Harry O, and a Jack Webb series, and he continued to work productively, but he never captured lightning in a bottle as he did with The Fugitive.
Don't forget his fine work in the miniseries Centennial...
It was Leonard Goldberg.
I was really glad that years later I was briefly acquainted with Quinn Martin, and was able to tell him myself how much I loved that show.
His other series was "O'Hara, U.S. Treasury."
MAN...was Diane Baker beautiful back in the day or what!! WOW!!
Yes!!! Natural looking too.:)
In the "girl next door" way.
And just as great on the inside too!!
She was. Janssen was 36 and she was only 29.
Growing up watching this show as a child, I internalized the plot and developed a subconscious fear that someday I would be accused and maybe convicted wrongly for something I didn't do.
That background music is so powerful.
The score by Peter Rugolo was as essential to the series as David Janssen and Barry Morse!
This is one of my ALL TIME favorite tv series (top 10 easily)! My family in Omaha NE collectively watched this exemplary production every week-with its acting, music and plots. It’s very sad that today’s series don’t come close to The Fugitive. RIP to all who truly made this show g.r.e.a.t...
*I'm still grateful that after QM Productions narrowed down the final two candidates for the role of "Richard Kimble" they went with David Janssen instead of Bob Denver, the latter going on to star in another TV series.*
If I remember correctly, Kimble had about a dozen flings during his life on the run and he promised all of them that he would come back for them when he was cleared, so it was a surprise to a lot of us that he ended up with Diane Baker. Kimble was quite the ladies man!
Fans have to thank the producers of "The Fugitive" for the two-part conclusion to the series. Had it been up to the executives at the ABC Network there would not have been "The Judgment". It was the president of ABC's opinion that the TV audience didn't care what happened to Dr. Kimble because he was just a character on a television show. The show's producers finally won out but with the understanding that they, and not the network, had to find the sponsors to pay for the last two episodes. The epilog showed Gerard shaking Kimble's hand and if you look closely Gerard was mouthing words to Kimble, but there was no audio. That was a great idea by just to have both men say nothing. While the character of Gerard had its critics, one has to remember it was Gerard who gave Kimble the chance to prove his innocence and even shamed the eyewitness to the murder ( Lloyd Chandler) to testify that he saw the one-arm man murder Helen Kimble. There will never be a show of this caliber on TV again. David Janssen should have won an Emmy for his portrayal of Richard Kimble; but he lost out three years in a row to Bill Cosby.
For real?!!! That sucks. Please now that we know the real Cosby.
@@bobtis Personally I think Janssen was a far better actor that Cosby, but Cosby won primarily because he was the first African-American to have an equal role in a major television series and the Academy wanted to remind everyone of that. Also I believe that "The Fugitive" was by far a better dramatic series than "I Spy".
@@markgiardina1303 Cosby was not in the same league as Janssen. Janssen was the quality of a Clark Gabel. True star Actor I loved him.
Cosby's transition to serious actor was the difference. The same likely would've happened for Janssen (Emmy nods) if he was making the transition to comedy from drama at the time (and proved to be convincing therein). I think the thing that worked against Janssen, too, was he didn't APPEAR to be acting as much as he seemed to be Kimble on camera. Not disputing the commentary, just putting a spin of reasoning on this because David Janssen did deserve an Emmy for his portrayal.
In fairness to ABC TV, the ratings for the last season of Fugitive were bad. It was in 50th place out of about 80 shows for the year.
You could understand the network being dubious about the success of a series finale, especially since TV shows didn't have series finales before the Fugitive.
I don't think anybody could have said it better than William Conrad.
Still gives me chills.
It was a brilliant series - David Janssen mercurial. The ending was poignant, moving, and deep enough to mull it over for a long time. A superb series which i personally watched every week - cast superb.
Best Series Ever ---watched every episode
I enjoyed The Fugitive during its run on ABC Television. I saw the two-part episode, rooting for Kimble to catch the one-armed man, which he did, eventually. The second part of the episode drew a then-Nielsen record 30 million viewers in the U.S. All due to tension building up to that dramatic climax. That program was well produced. And was based on the Sam Sheppard murder case in Cleveland.
It was done extremely well and this conclusion has never been match since !!!!!
No more running. No more odd jobs. No more wearing the white windbreaker going from town to town.
This show captivated me as a youth. Viewing the finale was top priority for me, even though our entire family was visiting another family in town.
Interesting that the narrator, the late William Conrad (CANNON), said that the final date was Tuesday, September 5. That was for the Canadian market. The actual date of the American version states that it was Tuesday, August 29, The night the show aired that final episode in America. I remember hearing that particular date when the show was syndicated. Very clever of the writers to end Richard Kimble’s running and the series itself on the very same day that it aired.
@@spectreagent A two part series finale called The Judgement aired on August 22nd and August 29th 1967, at the time of its airing the last episode was the most watched episode of all time that's how good and popular The Fugitive was.
Pete Rugolo, a most underrated composer.
Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the finale.
I always liked the narration at the end where the voice stated Kimble's plight.
I also always wondered if those who helped him escape handed him some cash before he lefr town.
What a great program!
We're in 2021 and still i cry, this last capitule.. i watch this last capitule when i have been 15 old years... all the days still i keep watck in youtube this videos.....
Great TV moment.
An episode in one year where he saves kids in a school bus gets arrested and the Sheriff s wife gives him keys to his cell as residents lined up to say thank you . One of most memorable. He could have walked away from the school bus. A great TV character
Now that’s how a series needs to end
What a great show it was #1
Greatest TV series of All Time.
My favorite series of all-time. In retrospect though, I wish they had filmed the last season in black and white, just as they had the previous three. By filming it in color, I believe they took some of the feeling and flavor from the show
Agree 100% The black and white added a certain "film noir" dimension to the series which intensified the drama. Filming in color diminished the emotional impact that the B&W episodes had.
Magazine photgraphers used to say "Black and White for drama....Color for excitement"
I agree. When I got the Invaders DVD set, which was in a sense a similar show I was disappointed it was in color.
1:17 - Tuesday, September 5th. The day the running stopped.”
I was in high school I watched the fugitive every week so glad it ended that way because people were really hooke d on that show so glad richard kimball was free finally
David Janssen was in a series in the 50s called Richard Diamond. In one episode his friend (played by James Best, who later played Roscoe P! Coltrane) is on the lam and Richatd tells him he cant run forever. The iron y of it all!
I am binge watching 'The Fugitive" on Pluto TV and I can't help but wish they would show all the women who felt he was innocent, reading the paper, learning of the Judgement, smiling and saying "I knew it.".
Suzanne Pleshette
Ida Lupino
Eileen Heckart
Lois Nettleton
Vera Miles
Brenda Vaccaro
Glenda Farrell
Pamela Tiffin
Nancy Wickwire
Ellen Madison
Nan Martin
Elizabeth Allen
Sandy Dennis
Carol Rossen
Patricia Crowley
Celeste Holm
Beverly Garland
Lee Meriweather
Diana Van Der Vlis
Angie Dickerson
Susan Oliver
Peggy McCay
Lee Grant
Bethel Leslie
Betty Garrett
Just working from memory but wasn't Barbara Rush in there somewhere?
@@JatikaManigault-qu7uc I'll add Janice Rule, Anne Francis and Shirley Knight.
"Tuesday, September 5th" makes this the Canadian version. The United States version said August 29th. Jacqueline Scott played the perfect little sister.
Yes, when her brother, in the final episode, was still on the run, he called her on the phone, telling her that he was closing in on the one armed man but was still wanted, she started to cry, so happy but still so worried.
She might've been, if I hadn't seen Charley Varrick.
I was only 12 when my mom and dad watched the show I'm not sure. But when I went to go to sleep something told me. To watch it in my room at 12 yrs old I found it exciting and had to watch it I guess everyone was asking how it's going to end I'm 62 now an watchin all 4 years I'm only on season 1 so I'm going to have fun with the rest miss David he dide at48 yrs old
We only had one TV, in the living room. It was either sneak up very discreetly behind our parents, or miss. By the last season I had my own chair. Good times.
With all the lady, let’s say acquaintances, he has through out the series, it doesn’t get any better than ending up with Diane Baker.
Spot on!! Agree 100%!! She was stunningly beautiful--her smile could melt all the ice in the North Pole!!
I agree. I've met her. She is a very nice and lovely lady.
Yes. A "girl next door" type beauty.
I guess it's one way to accumulate a lot of girlfriends. As for Diane Baker, I'd much rather wake up with her than end up with her.
Tuesday,
September Fifth.
The day the running stopped.
September 5th Happens to Be My Birthday
@@aaronbruceladner1983 The actually date of the last episode was August 29th and that was the date I heard when A&E showed the series back in the 90's. But apparently in some places it was show on September 5th and so they had Conrad re-record the final statement for those areas.
And Janssen had to look for another job.
@@bobbyfrancis8957 he just wanted a rest. The series wasn't cancelled. Janssen was 100% worn out and didn't want to return for another season. For a while he preferred just to appear in films. Less work.
@@44032 In Canada it was in September.
80 million viewers saw this episode.
80 million? Probably half the population then.
Barry Morse, without uttering a sound, did a wonderful job. The expressions on his face clearly conveyed both the guilt Gerard felt for pursuing Richard Kimble and the relief that he was ultimately able to help him.
I read the opposite, that he (Gerard) was only doing his duty, either way.
A very satisfying conclusion! I onlynwish Susan Oliver (from "Never Wave Goodbye") had returned in the final episode.
That would have been great.
Me too...Susan was fantastic.
All the Women in this series were beautiful and talented.
Their relationship was natural, as was Kimble's relationship with Barbara Wells. Jean was Kimble's little sister in comparison and the chemistry was lacking between them.
I believe that the character of Jean Carlyle was created in part because she grew up in Stafford (Kimble's hometown) and knew the Kimble family; plus had a crush on the doctor when she went to college. One could have also concluded that the character that Susan Oliver played (Karen) ended up marrying the local doctor who had feelings for her before Kimble showed up to work in the sail shop.
Mark Giardina What you are saying does make sense and probably was the writer’s short term explanation. I was only saying that for me, personally, I did not see the connection between the two as I have with past guests/girl friends. This one seemed more Jean than Kimble really digging her. Just my honest take with no disrespect meant towards Diane Baker.
One of the best shows ever on TV. What a satisfying ending.
Think this final episode got huge ratings.
For several years it was the highest rated TV program of all time.
hold it, kimble! you were just J-walking. we're going to have to take you down town.
Please upload all the episodes of this favorite series. Thanks
I just realized I hadn't seen the finale since it first aired. I was in grade school and my mother watched it every week.
If you watched the final episode I am 100% sure you will remember the place and who was with you watching.
Love David Janssen so much
Television had not seen this level of emotion before.
AN INCREDIBLE SERIES. FINALLY EVERYBODY STOPPED AND WATCHED THE END NEVER FORGOT THAT TIME JUNE 1967.
Tuesday , September 5th. The day a GREAT show stopped ~ ~
Very good TV series . The most dramatic in the early years. 😊
ABC did not end the show in the Spring of 1967, but ran all the rerun and this two parter was at the end of the summer. Brilliant move as the tension built up all over the summer and the plot was never leaked as would be the case today. I was 14, and the entire neighborhood was buzzing about the two parter. If I were Kimble, I tell Girard to screw off. He knew Kimble was innocent, and Kimble even saved his life on occasions during the series.
Richard Kimble was the bigger man , and he also saved Gerard's Wife's life .
LOL! 👍
Wrong, Gerard thought Kimble was guilty throughout the run of the show. He even stated the one armed man was a figment of Kimble's imagination.
Gerard was an honest cop.
Cole Thornton that’s probably why I missed this ending in the 60s! I finally see it now in 2020 thanks to having utube!
@@rickobrien4025 Daydreaming here, but I wonder if Dr. K and Girard would have socialized or said HELLO in passing?
I know "The Fugitive" was an all-time drama series... but who would have loved to see all the Damsels in Distress helped by Dr. Kimble over four years standing outside the courthouse waiting for him to emerge? Picture that look of terror on Richard's face as here they all come charging toward him... he must take off... a Fugitive once again!
Ha-ha-ha! That would've been great! I never considered that! Another thing--While I absolutely love "The Fugitive"...I always HATED whenever Kimble would take a woman by the upper arm & walk away! Yeah, I understand it was the 60s & that was the "macho" thing to do, but it would never cross my mind to hold my lady like that. What's wrong with holding hands or the arm around the shoulder? The "upper-arm" lead looks forced & like a guy is giving his gal the "bum's rush"..!!
Great minds think alike. I posted that to the late, lamented message board of the IMDB a decade ago.
@@44032 he could be gruff at times with women he loved.
“The day the running started again.”
Did anyone else notice that Doctor Kimble was wearing a gray suit when he left the court house after being exonerated for murdering his wife ; but then had on a brown suit when the police car pulled up and stopped at the curb as he momentarily froze in his tracks from force of habit after being on the run for four years?
Continuity error?
Good catch.
This ending was from Canada. He stopped running a week earlier, on August 29, in the US.
Canada's always been behind.
I always thought David Banner should have gotten a cure and a similar ending with Jack McGee in the Incredible Hulk.
Bill Bixby died so there was no plans for a proper ending.
The nimrod executives cancelled the show early in season 5. There was only 7 episodes. They did not give enough notice to the producers of the show to make a proper finale..Blame lame brains at NBC. It wasn't because Bixby died.. that was much later. 85 total episodes only 7 season 5.. There were several TV specials made after the show ended.. but those were pretty much a joke. The Hulk meets Thor...Their best forgotten.
@@MsBackstager It was canceled before he died
....they made several tv specials of the hulk after the series was cancelled.. Get your facts straight..instead of repeating what you heard someone say . Bixby's death Nov. 21 1993. He was 59..Wickipedia.....Last episode original series..May 12 1982...Wickipedia.....Last Hulk Tv movie...The death of the incredible Hulk 1990...
The show was clearly canceled before he died if he died in 1993 and the last episode was was in 1982. The TV movies happened AFTER the show was canceled and learn to spell it's BIXBY. They are TV movies not part of the original series. Just as Rescue from Gilligan's Island is not part of the series.
That final narration by William Conrad will never be forgotten in the history of TV.
Beings back great memories..
The Best Series Finale Ever!
Only the M*A*S*H finale can compete with it.
I hope you're kidding-ithe MASH finale sucked!!!
I agree about The Fugitive but the Mash finale? even the Dallas and Quantum Leap final episodes were better than that...
@@starey1 You,re right Mash was a ok but the ending to The Fugitive was not only outstanding , but extremely satisfying !!!!!
@Jess Serrato It took 11 years for the Korean war to end on MASH.
Well I'd definitely put Newhart before MASH. Magnum, PI as well had one of the greatest series finales ever! :)
William Conrad's voice-over at the end nails that scene.