Posted on 08/29/2022 8:38:03 PM PDT by nickcarraway
In television, there's often a strange, inherent tension between the fans who watch shows and the executives who oversee them.
The former want good stories, compellingly told, that make sense and, when the time is right, come to a satisfying conclusion. The latter want to make money, which often means extending shows for as long as possible and sometimes even leaving things unresolved at the end because that lack of resolution keeps people guessing and can help the shows have a long life in syndication. Often, the executives win, but when the fans do, they have the final episode of ABC's The Fugitive, which aired on Aug. 29, 1967, to thank for it.
Created by Roy Huggins, the show began on Sept. 17, 1963, with one of the all-time greatest television premises: A doctor named Richard Kimble (David Janssen) has been convicted for the murder of his wife, although he claims to be innocent and that she was instead killed by a "one-armed man." But the train carrying him to be executed derails and he escapes. This allows him to clear his name by finding the One-Armed Man (Bill Raisch), but it also means that Kimble is relentlessly hunted by a police detective named Lt. Philip Gerard (Barry Morse), who wants to return him to death row.
Watch the Opening and Closing Credits of 'The Fugitive'
The Fugitive 1963 - 1967 Opening and Closing Theme HD DTS Surround Subscribe to Ultimate Classic Rock on
Although The Fugitive was only a middling hit – it topped out at No. 5 in the Nielsen ratings in its second season and then fell out of the Top 30 for its final two seasons – it was deeply influential, spawned a hit 1993 movie adaptation starring Harrison Ford and its critical reputation has continued to rise over the years.
The show epitomizes the early '60s in the way it joins the decade that had just ended and the one that was beginning. From the aura of '50s America, it brings a wholesome, straightforward sense of the possibility of true justice: Even though Kimble is a vagabond, moving from one place to another and working odd jobs as he pursues the One-Armed Man, each of the 120 episodes projects the feeling that in the end, the truth will out and Kimble will be vindicated.
At the same time, the show evinces strong traces of the waves of anti-establishment sentiment and perhaps even cynicism that would sweep the nation as the late '60s rolled over into the '70s. Despite the conviction that justice will triumph, the show also holds more than a hint of the feeling that there may be something askew in the power structures of America. The law enforcement apparatus hunting Kimble – in the person of Lt. Gerard – often seems more interested in the arbitrary rule of law than it is in finding the truth, and the people that Kimble helps out in many of the episodes seem to be the victims of a society slowly going wrong.
It was a powerful brew, helped out by the consistently fine writing and a list of guest stars that reads like a who's who of '60s television actors who would go on to have huge careers. Robert Duvall, Bruce Dern, Ed Asner, Telly Savalas, Leslie Nielsen, Tom Skerritt, Charles Bronson, Angie Dickinson, Kurt Russell, Ron Howard, Diane Ladd, Warren Oates, Mickey Rooney and many others appeared, in large part attracted by the show's strong scripts and great storylines.
Watch the Final Scene From the Final Episode of 'The Fugitive'
The Fugitive TV Series - Final Episode (5 minutes) from 1967 Subscribe to Ultimate Classic Rock on
And the show's distinct setup also raised a vital question: Would Kimble catch the One-Armed Man in the end? As the show approached the end of its fourth season, with ratings falling, the answer seemed to be no.
The penultimate episode aired on April 11, 1967, and as ABC's vice president of programming at the time, Leonard Goldberg, remembered in an interview with Vanity Fair, "I realized we were going to leave viewers empty-handed, and that was wrong." Which is to say that the network was planning to leave the show unresolved, hoping that viewers would take this lack of conclusion as a mystery to be solved and watch the show in syndication. Goldberg explained that he fought hard to give the viewers the ending they deserved because they were so "deeply invested" in the show.
He won, but the network struck a hard bargain: The final episode – which would be split into two parts – would be allowed to air only in August, the deadest time of the TV calendar.
But despite this handicap, the finale triumphed. The first part of the episode, which aired on Aug. 22, did fine. But the second part smashed every record for TV viewership that existed at that point. Over 78 million viewers tuned into the show, which meant that 72% of people who were watching television that Tuesday night were watching The Fugitive. It was a record for regularly programmed television – beating out the Beatles' appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show three years before – that would stand until the "Who Shot JR.?" episode of Dallas in 1980.
Not only that, but the episode also represented a complete victory for the fans. The One-Armed Man confessed to the murder of Kimble's wife and was shot down by law enforcement. Kimble was then released from his chase and from being chased. The show ended with Kimble and a lady friend walking down a sidewalk after a pair of cops ignored him, as the show's narrator (William Conrad) announced that it was "Tuesday, Sept. 5: The day the running stopped."
It was a milestone in television because it proved that creating a satisfying ending to a show could not only work narratively but financially. And in doing so, it opened the door for every other show that wanted to end by giving fans what they deserved.
Back in da’ day...when TV held the public enthralled with its’ productions...
Curious timing.
Sunday night was the final episode of Animal Kingdom on TNT.
The program was literally about a family of criminals - the mother is a crime boss who has psychologically entrapped and warped her children into a life of crime.
Animal Kingdom ran for six seasons, which was probably three seasons too long.
Regardless, I enjoyed a lot of the characters, and they did pull off some really creative and believable crimes.
The final episodes of Animal Kingdom were rather lame and predictable, but I watched them just so I could see how everything was sorted out at the end.
I also watched The Fugitive when I was growing up, so it was fun to read through this post and revisit a pleasant memory.
cool
Thanks for posting this. Watching the final episode of The Fugitive is one of my fondest memories. I was 9 years old, and watching with my grandmother, who was a HUGE fan of that show. And many shows, but that was her ultimate fave.
She had 8 grandchildren, but by pure happenstance I was the only one who watched the final episode with her. Which was very fair, because it was from her that I got my love of mystery stories which has stood me in very good stead throughout my life.
Greatest TV show ending of all time is of course the final of “Newhart”, never to be topped and all was then forgiven by me.
If only the GOT troop knew that!
The Newhart ending was the best ever. Hands down.
I think it’s on youtube
i don’t care.
I see what you did there.
“I realized we were going to leave viewers empty handed.”
Bada bing!
BTW, the very best series finale-—nothing close-—was “The Shield.”
Absolute worst ending of all time:
* Twin Peaks.
I’d say that no final episode could ever be worse than that, but Hollywood can always find new lows.
The last episode of The Fugitive was the only episode I ever watched. We didn’t get a TV until 1965, and I just never started watching that particular show.
The absolute worst endings were The X-Files and Lost, although both were drifting terribly as they reached the end. They both suckered me in to stay to the bitter end.
Firefly had the best solution for a series that was cancelled before it got resolved. They made the movie Serenity that tied up all the loose ends.
No spoiler alert?
The local newspaper TV reporter (Deseret News, Salt Lake City) gave away the ending of Newhart before it aired. I remember there being a lot of angry readers.
Seinfeld
Oh wow, that’s terrible! I wonder how that leaked to them of all people!
>>Add ‘Newhart’ to series having great endings.<<
Lord how did I forget that?
>>Seinfeld<<
Never found it funny. Saw a couple of eps then gave up.
“...Hartin Larton and Fargo Production”
I always thought there was a “Barton” in there.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.