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Rating:  -
After reading about the replacement service offered I downloaded the information to find out that this only applied to USA customers. I contacted Paramount direct and informed them I had purchased my copy from Amazon.com. A wonderfuully helpful marketing person called Jackie Morales was sympathetic to my plight and after just three weeks I have my replacement discs. What a service! I would like to publicly thank Jackie. I cannot think of a UK company that would have the same courtesy and efficient service. God Bless America!
Rating: -
If you like well scripted and well acted TV from the "good old days" The Fugitive is one you need to check out. Well ahead of its time in terms of concept and pacing. High quality show and high quality DVDs.
Some purists have gotten torqued beyond belief about the music but the average viewer would do well to ignore their complaining. If you are a collector that is a different issue, but for the casual fan its all good.
Rating: -
Thank CBS/Paramont for deciding to make up with us Fugitive fans with the replacement disks. I was mad last summer with the replaced music but now my favorite scores are back. Sure there still is some of the replaced music but the basic Rugolo's is back. Now I look forward to Vol 2 at the end of the month
Rating:  -
The original release of this set was worth only one star. Stripping out the entire underscore for replacement music by Mark Heyes was a disaster. Heyes tried to match the period, and some of his cues were pretty decent, but the use of synthesizers was obvious at some points and the overall result was nowhere near as good as the orignal.
The replacement disc program changed everything. Note that what you buy on Amazon is likely the original release with the music changed. You have to download a form from CBS/Paramount, fill it out and tape the proof of purchase to the form. Send it off by September 2009, and CBS/Paramount will send the replacements by return mail at no charge. You're only out the cost of a stamp, and you don't even have to send back the original release. You end up with two sets of disks.
I've received the replacements, and almost all the original music has been reinstated. A few CBS cues and the Capitol cues (the fogginess of the rights issues on the Capitol cues is what caused the wholesale music replacement and began this saga) are all that's missing. The remaining Heyes music is hard to pick out unless you have a doctorate in The Fugitive's music. Those folks may well not like the replacement disks, though many of those experts who have posted on other forums have been quite pleased.
I am very happy with the replacements. The remaining Heyes blends well into the original cues. In short, it feels like The Fugitive again.
What keeps this from being a 5-star release is the treatment of "Ballad for a Ghost," which has been significantly edited. A song written specifically for it has been removed. If you have that episode on VHS, transfer it to DVD and keep it with this set. Then you'll have a 5-star volume.
Rating: -
UP-FRONT NOTES ABOUT THE MUSIC:
After eight months of supreme displeasure and backlash from fans of "The Fugitive" due to the fact that every single bit of background music for these fifteen episodes on DVD was replaced with new (and less-appealing) musical arrangements, CBS/Paramount pulled a real surprise out of their hat on February 17, 2009, when that DVD studio officially announced that it was introducing a Replacement Disc Program for "The Fugitive: Season 2, Volume 1".
And I'm one of those "Fugitive" fans who was certainly thrilled to hear that particular announcement, because it means that Peter Rugolo's exquisite music for this series has been inserted back into each of these 15 episodes on the replacement DVDs. And most of the CBS Library music that accompanied each of these shows when they first aired in 1964 has also been put back onto the soundtrack for these four DVDs as well.
Thank you, CBS/Paramount, for listening to the many outraged fans of this outstanding TV series, and for re-doing these DVDs with Mr. Rugolo's music intact. Some of the newly-created music score (composed mostly by Mark Heyes) can still be heard in several of these episodes. But for the most part, the original 1960s background music is back where it belongs.
"The Fugitive" is a series that relies quite heavily on its musical arrangements (composed mainly by Peter Rugolo). A lot of the mood, soul, drama, and atmosphere of this television series rest within its music.
And when Paramount ripped the musical guts out of the first fifteen episodes of Season 2 by releasing this DVD set in June 2008 with completely-different background music, it was a very bitter pill to swallow for fans of the series (and fans of Mr. Rugolo). The episodes just aren't the same without that famous Rugolo (and CBS Music Library) underscore. And, thankfully, Paramount Home Entertainment has apparently realized that fact as well.
Overall, I'd have to say that I'm very pleased with the final "music" results on these replacement discs, and even Mr. Heyes' arrangements seem to blend in fairly well with the original Rugolo and CBS cues in the locations where Heyes' material is retained. I haven't heard any of the annoying and loud "blasts" of Heyes' music that appear many times on the 2008 re-scored discs.
I think "Man On A String" is probably the episode that has the most Heyes music retained for these replacement discs, especially in Act IV, which is "Heyes heavy" to be sure.
==========================
REVIEW OF SEASON 2, VOLUME 1:
David Janssen is back as Dr. Richard Kimble in "THE FUGITIVE: SEASON TWO, VOLUME ONE", the greatest dramatic series ever put on television (in my opinion anyway).
Like the two first-season sets, CBS/Paramount serves up 15 "Fugitive" programs in this 4-Disc DVD collection. The episodes appear to be complete and uncut, running about 51-and-a-half minutes each, just as they did when they were first aired on ABC-TV in late 1964.
Just as a sample, here are the exact run times for the four episodes that appear on Disc #1:
"Man In A Chariot" = 51:35
"World's End" = 51:35
"Man On A String" = 51:25
"When The Bough Breaks" = 51:38
The 51+-minute average run time includes the "preview" segments that appear prior to the opening credits for every show. These previews (or trailers) were a new feature implemented for the second season of the series.
However, I'd advise first-time viewers of these classic '60s shows to skip the previews and go directly to "Act I" of each episode, in order to avoid any "spoilers" (or even mini-spoilers) revealed within the preview clips.
Even after having seen each of these episodes numerous times, I still tend to want to skip past the preview/trailer snippets, to avoid having some of the scenes diluted or spoiled when watching the complete program.
Clicking "chapter advance" or "skip" on the remote control after the episode begins playing will bypass the preview section and the opening credits too. You can go straight to "Act I" with one click.
There are a total of 7 individual DVD chapters per show, logically placed at the end of each of the four "Acts" and at the end of the "Epilog" scene for every episode.
The video and audio quality for these fifteen black-and-white shows is very good indeed, with only one (partial) exception to this rule--and that's during a small portion of "Cry Uncle", where parts of Act II of that episode suffer from some apparent damage to the original film print, resulting in white lines and dots showing up on the screen.
The outdoor scenes (which are abundant in number throughout the four-year history of "The Fugitive") look particularly clear and pristine throughout these DVDs, with only a small amount of grain visible in the indoor scenes as well.
All things considered, I couldn't be more pleased with the way this series looks and sounds on these Paramount DVDs (as of March 2009, that is, thanks to the replacement discs). Like with the Season-One sets, this first volume of Season Two contains a notation on the back of the case which indicates that these episodes have been "TRANSFERRED FROM THE ORIGINAL NEGATIVE WITH RESTORED AUDIO".
Every single episode in the 120-show lifespan of "The Fugitive" (1963-1967) is definitely a worthwhile experience (IMO). Of course, different people are bound to have their personal favorites vs. some episodes that didn't quite make the top grade.
Among the fifteen shows that comprise this four-disc DVD set, my favorites are: "World's End", "Nemesis", "Man In A Chariot", "Escape Into Black", "Tug Of War", and "Tiger Left, Tiger Right".
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DVD INFO:
Packaging -- Nice and compact. For the "replacement" DVD set which was made available to customers in February 2009, a standard-sized (0.5-inch wide) Keep Case is used, with two swinging "pages" in the middle of the case that hold all four discs. And no "overlapping" discs either, which is a plus, because the discs don't have to touch each other.
The first version of this set that was released in June 2008 (the set with the butchered music soundtrack) comes in a slightly-different type of case, with only two discs attached to a single "page/leaf" in the middle, with Discs 1 and 4 being housed on hubs that are attached to the front and back panels of the case, thus covering up the episode descriptions that are printed underneath those two discs.
So, this packaging switch is another reason to say "Thank You" to CBS/Paramount for a change they made to this DVD set -- because the new (and better) case design allows for the episode titles and synopses to be easily seen without having to remove Discs 1 and 4 from their hubs.
In my opinion, DVD companies should always provide a list of episodes on the back of each case (just like CBS/Paramount has done in the past with some of its TV-on-DVD releases, such as the last six seasons of "The Andy Griffith Show"). That type of at-a-glance episode list on the back of a DVD case, which is not provided for "The Fugitive" sets, is very useful and helpful.
Video -- 1.33:1 Full-Frame. Black-and-white.
Audio-- Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono.
Subtitles -- None. English Closed-Captioning is available, however.
Bonus Stuff -- None. (Except for some DVD Promos on Disc 1.)
Discs -- Single-sided, Dual-layered.
Chapters -- 7 per episode.
Menus -- Static; No music; No Episode Sub-Menus. A "Play All" button is included on all four discs.
==========================
THE EPISODES:
Here's a look at the fifteen "Fugitive" episodes that are included in this 4-Disc collection (episode numbers 31 through 45 in the series), plus original air dates, Richard Kimble's aliases, and a few descriptive passages for some of my favorite shows:
31. "Man In A Chariot" (First Aired: September 15, 1964) .... Alias: "Frank Borden". .... Season 2 begins in fine fashion with "Man In A Chariot", which stars Ed Begley Sr. as "G. Stanley Lazer", a bitter and partially-disabled college professor/lawyer.
This episode doesn't feature the always-welcome presence of the late Barry Morse as Lt. Philip Gerard, but it's a winner nonetheless, thanks to an intriguing script and the fine acting performance turned in by 63-year-old Begley (and Janssen too, as always).
32. "World's End" (September 22, 1964) .... Alias: "Mr. May". .... The great Suzanne Pleshette, who passed away at the age of 70 in January 2008, makes her first of two very impressive guest-starring appearances in "The Fugitive". Suzanne perfectly portrays "Ellie Burnett", a former love interest of Richard Kimble's from their hometown of Stafford, Indiana.
Ellie, who has a lead on the possible whereabouts of the mysterious and slippery one-armed man, is able to contact Kimble via a personal newspaper ad, which brings about a reunion between the two in Kansas City, Missouri.
But there's a slight hitch -- Lt. Gerard knows Ellie and her family and is once again hot on Kimble's trail, with the help of the Kansas City police, including guest star Dabney Coleman.
"World's End" ranks as one of my very favorite episodes. Everything about it is just about perfect, including more "Gerard Chasing Kimble" action, a good script with a few twists and turns to keep us guessing, and (best of all) the beautiful Suzanne Pleshette in a good role with lots of screen time.
While looking through Ed Robertson's excellent 1993 book, "The Fugitive Recaptured", I found the following excerpt which relates to this "World's End" episode. It's a 1993 quote from Suzanne Pleshette:
"It was wonderful to see 'World's End' again, because I hadn't seen that show since I did it back in '64. .... David [Janssen] was a natural--ahead of his time in many ways. His talent was so great that he made it look seamless, and effortless. He was a skilled professional who never really received the kind of appreciation as an actor that he truly deserved."
As far as the background music in "World's End", it sounds to me as though the entire original 1964 score is here, which I was happy to hear, particularly for the scene at the beginning of Act IV when Lt. Gerard is trying to pry Ellie's and Kimble's whereabouts out of Ellie's mother. That scene's music exudes a lot of deep feeling and emotion, and having it placed back into this episode where it's supposed to be is a major benefit to this first-rate "Fugitive" installment.
33. "Man On A String" (September 29, 1964) .... Alias: "Joe Walker".
34. "When The Bough Breaks" (October 6, 1964) .... Alias: "Pete Broderick".
35. "Nemesis" (October 13, 1964) .... No alias used. .... This is one of my very favorite episodes and probably the one I've watched more than any other (thanks to this VHS tape, which teams up "Nemesis" with another all-time Season-Two favorite, "World's End", on the same videocassette). The VHS version is pretty good too, but the quality on these Paramount DVDs is, as to be expected, much better.
"Nemesis" is a unique episode, in that it places Lt. Gerard's son ("Phil Jr.", played very nicely by 13-year-old Kurt Russell) in a situation where he unwittingly becomes the travelling companion of the fleeing Dr. Kimble.
But this unlikely teaming of Phil Jr. and Kimble manifests itself in a very natural and believable way through the show's excellent script (written by Harry Kronman).
When Lt. Gerard discovers that his young son is in the company of the convicted murderer that the Lieutenant has been chasing for these many months, it puts him in a rather precarious and awkward position. He wants desperately to recapture Dr. Kimble, but he's also concerned, quite naturally, for the safety of his son at the same time.
"Nemesis" offers up several memorable moments, such as Kimble's initial reaction when he finds out who his back-seat stowaway really is (David Janssen's facial expression is spot-on perfect).
The scene where Kimble slugs a police officer is a good one too (with the good doctor using not only his fists as a weapon, but also a radio that happens to be handy). And after disabling the policeman, even though he's just belted an armed officer of the law, we get a taste of the kind of non-violent man Dr. Richard Kimble truly is--deep down inside--when he decides to NOT take the officer's rifle with him as he escapes.
That's a pattern established by the writers of "The Fugitive" throughout the whole four-year term of the series, i.e., even when given the perfect opportunity to arm himself with a weapon (be it a handgun or a rifle or whatever), Kimble always opts to abandon the weapon.
Those very types of small, easily-overlooked moments have always struck me as instances of subtle nuance injected into the scripts by the show's many very capable writers, permitting a little more of Dr. Kimble's true, inner character to be revealed, without the doctor ever having to utter a word.
I also want to take a moment to say some (very) good things about the DVD picture quality of "Nemesis". Now I must say that all of these episodes look excellent on these DVDs, but I happened to notice an extra level of excellence emanating from "Nemesis", and I noticed it especially in the nighttime scene of Kimble and Phil Jr. in the woods (the scene where Phil Jr. builds a fire, much to the dismay of Dr. Kimble).
It helps if you watch that nighttime scene in a darkened room, in order to fully appreciate the deep level of black and the blemish-free overall quality exhibited in that scene. Perhaps I'm nuts, but that scene just looks exceptionally sensational to my eyes.
"Nemesis" Music Note -- I'm happy to report that this episode (one of my all-time favories in the history of the series; did I say that already?) seems to have every bit of its original '64 musical score back in place. And it's a darn good score too, particularly the pulse-pounding scene at the fish hatchery when Kimble escapes in the sheriff's station wagon. And all of the great Rugolo music that makes that scene so extra good and tense is exactly where it should be on Disc #2 of this DVD set.
36. "Tiger Left, Tiger Right" (October 20, 1964) .... Alias: "Frank Jordan". .... Leslie Nielsen puts in a strong guest-starring performance here, as a disgruntled disabled man who kidnaps Kimble by mistake.
37. "Tug Of War" (October 27, 1964) .... Alias: "Paul Kelly". .... Arthur O'Connell is excellent as one of the main guest stars in this episode. Kimble is captured by O'Connell, an ex-sheriff. But does Dr. Kimble remain a prisoner for very long? (I'll bet you know the answer to this one already.)
But there are a few good twists and turns along the way. "Tug Of War", like the vast majority of "Fugitive" episodes, is a good, solid entry in the series.
38. "Dark Corner" (November 10, 1964) .... Alias: "Jim Russell". .... 21-year-old Tuesday Weld plays "Mattie Braydon", a scheming, manipulative blind girl who takes a liking to Richard Kimble. Does Kimble return Mattie's affection? Watch "Dark Corner" and see.
39. "Escape Into Black" (November 17, 1964) .... Aliases: "Frank Barlow" and "David Merrill". .... An accident lands Dr. Kimble in an Illinois hospital suffering from amnesia.
The "Kimble Can't Remember Anything" premise is a good one on which writer Larry Cohen and director Jerry Hopper build the foundation for "Escape Into Black". And since Kimble can't recall who he is during this episode, he also cannot remember whether or not he really killed his wife.
There's a classic scene in this episode which has a confused and groggy Dr. Kimble actually calling Lt. Gerard to say he is going to turn himself in. "I understand you've been looking for me," Kimble tells Gerard on the telephone.
Kimble then arranges for Gerard to meet him at the train station in Stafford. But Gerard decides he'll intercept his elusive prisoner a little earlier, which brings about another "oh so close to getting caught" moment for Dr. Kimble.
40. "The Cage" (November 24, 1964) .... Alias: "Jeff Parker".
41. "Cry Uncle" (December 1, 1964) .... Alias: "Pat Thomas". .... 10-year-old Ronny Howard, who must have been given a break during the filming of Season 5 of his regular TV series ("The Andy Griffith Show"), appears as "Gus" in "Cry Uncle".
Other familiar faces in this episode include Edward Binns, Brett Somers, and Donald Losby. You might remember Losby as Vera Miles' and Brian Keith's son in the 1963 pilot episode of "The Fugitive" ("Fear In A Desert City").
42. "Detour On A Road Going Nowhere" (December 8, 1964) .... Alias: "Stu Manning".
43. "The Iron Maiden" (December 15, 1964) .... Alias: "Mr. Parker". .... There's a solid guest-starring performance in this episode turned in by Nan Martin, who also was excellent in her guest role as the boozing wife of Pat Hingle in the Season-One "Fugitive" episode "Search In A Windy City".
44. "Devil's Carnival" (December 22, 1964) .... No alias used. .... Warren Oates makes a return "Fuge" appearance here (he also had a part in the Season-One episode "Rat In A Corner").
"Devil's Carnival" is a bit of a misfire when compared to other episodes in the series. The storyline is a little on the strange side (IMO), but David Janssen and Warren Oates are always worth watching on screen (regardless of how strange the script might be).
45. "Ballad For A Ghost" (December 29, 1964) .... Alias: "Pete Glenn". .... Richard Kimble encounters a woman (played by Janis Paige) who strongly resembles his late wife, Helen.
Paige does a nice job in her part as Helen's look-alike, although she doesn't really look like Helen Kimble (who was played in other episodes of the series by Diane Brewster). But, I guess we'll have to overlook that difficulty.
Unfortunately, Janis Paige's musical number has been replaced by Paramount for this DVD release (even in the 2009 "replacement" set). Apparently the studio could not secure all of the rights to some of the music in this episode.
A little "Ballad" trivia -- This 45th episode of "The Fugitive" was originally going to be called "Just One Road I Travel", but the title was changed prior to the show's December 1964 telecast.
(Trivia Source: "The Fugitive Recaptured"; Page 92; ©1993 by Ed Robertson.)
==========================
FINAL THOUGHTS:
45 episodes down and 75 to go.
Paramount Home Entertainment has done a very nice job of presenting the first season-and-a-half of "The Fugitive" in exceptional quality on DVD (particularly since Paramount has decided to make available to consumers [at least for a limited time period, at any rate] a version of Season 2, Volume 1 that reflects the way it should have been released in the first place--with the vast majority of the original 1964 music intact throughout those 15 episodes).
I would prefer to have the seasons available in complete-season DVD sets instead of the half-year compilations we're getting, but I'm certainly not going to throw any stones at Paramount because of that decision. I'm just pleased that this superlative TV series is being released on DVD, period.
David Von Pein
June 2008
February 2009
March 2009
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