GaryO

I read Paul Mavis's DVD review of The Fugitive: Season Three, Volume One at http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=40343 and I'm thrilled! This is my favorite show of all time and I do have to admit I was one of the people who was bummed about the initial music replacements in the 2nd season sets. CBS/P has corrected those problems by reinserting a good majority of the backscore into the show again, and although Mr. Mavis says he's not an expert on the matter, I believe he has it right in that the music issues on this first volume of the 3rd Season set seem to be in order for the most part. Others are even now corroborating his analysis and it looks like this set will be mostly untouched with substituted music. And that's a great thing because those original background music cues added so much atmosphere to the show.

Paul's also right, IMHO, in that there was a very slight drop in Season 3 as far as the stories go. Not a huge drop by any stretch for me, but a slight one. Nevertheless, I agree with Mr. Mavis that this set should be recommended and I look forward to picking it up very soon.

Thank you Paul Mavis for another wonderful review from the best vintage TV on DVD reviewer on the 'net!

Gary "and volume 2 is just around the corner as well" O.

Paul Mavis

Thanks, Gary!

(But let's not get crazy...my most popular review hits-wise is Baby Looney Tunes Puddle Olympics)

clugul

Just to put things in perspective, The Fugitive won the Emmy Award for Best Dramatic Series for '65-'66, its third season. And most fans would say that Landscape with Running Figures, Parts 1 & 2, are among their favorite episodes.

GaryO

Well, I have to admit that even though I think you are the best reviewer on the web - even you couldn't talk me into picking that one up. LOL

Gary "just happy that CBS/P apparently didn't butcher the backscore this time around" O.

Paul Mavis

Well, as I said in my email to you earlier, winning or not winning an Emmy doesn't always have a direct correlation to quality. Take a look at the list of programs and performers that were never nominated or never won -- Jackie Gleason is the most obvious example. There are all kinds of reasons shows and people win Emmys, or are or are not nominated -- and it's not always a matter of perceived quality.

As for your assertion in the email that "most Fugitive fans" saying that particular episode, the two-part Landscape With Running Figures, was one of the best, they're welcome to make that call. I didn't think so for the reasons I outlined in the review: just because other Fugitive fans think it is, is their opinion. Not mine. A concensus by the majority doesn't automatically invalidate a minority opinion. But as always with a judgment call like that, to each his own. It would be pretty boring if everyone agreed with everyone else on everything.

I also think it's important to remember that the show took a stunning drop in the ratings this season -- from an amazing 5th out of all series on television the year before, to fall out of the Nielsen Top Thirty altogether for this third one. There are legitimate arguments about the validity of the Nielsen method, but something happened with the viewers' perception of the show this third season (and the fourth, too, until the finale), as I outlined in my review.

And don't forget, in my review I stated several times that it's impossible to determine the overall impact of an entire season when you're only reviewing half of the episodes. I think I was fair in leaving that open. And it's not like I out-and-out trashed all these first episodes, either -- they're still entertaining, for the most part, with a few episodes on a par with the earlier seasons. Maybe the second half of the season will be stronger.

GaryO

For whatever it's worth, I consider myself a pretty big Fugitive fan. I'm certainly not going to call myself an expert, but I am a big fan and I've watched every episode multiple times down through the years. But to be honest I agree with you, Paul, on your take about Landscape with Running Figures. It has never been at the top of my list like it has so many other fans. I don't know why, but for some reason it just doesn't have the impact some of the other "big" episodes have. Just my opinion of course, and I know it's an opinion that is contrary to other fans. My favorites from this current release would include Crack in a Crystal Ball and Trial by Fire. Those two are the best of the bunch for my money, with most of the others coming in somewhat below the standard set by many of the Season 1 and Season 2 episodes. I also like The Good Guys and the Bad Guys quite a bit as well, but recognize it's not a top-tier favorite of many. But other than those three, the others are mostly standard Fugitive fare in my book (understanding that a standard Fugitive episode is usually better than many other shows' better episodes).

I do think the second half of Season 3 is better than the first half, and I'll be anxious to see if it doesn't have the same impact on you. In that set I'll look forward to Wife Killer (the premiere episode of Season 3, IMHO), Stroke of Genius, Shadow of the Swan, Ill Wind (another top-flight ep), With Strings Attached, and The 2130 (really fast moving episode that answers an interesting question about tracking a fugitive). For me the second half of this season had stronger episodes, but again a part of that is because I never considered Landscape to be a Top 5 or even Top 10 episode like others do.

Gary "just glad most of the episodes were not filled with too much subbed music - hope that trend continues in Volume 2 of this third season" O.

dvd-4-life

I'm just glad that s3 v2 is coming out so quickly and hopefully s4 will be released before the end of next year.

Chas Speed

The next volume Season 3 Volume 2 does include my favorite episode of the series "Ill Wind". I don't think ratings and quality always go together. There was a big drop off in ratings on The Rockford Files from season one to season two, but the show was just as good. There have also always been a ton of rotten shows with high ratings and good shows that were never popular.

Paul Mavis

I don't, either. As I wrote in the review, the collapse of ABC's programming that night, providing The Fugitive's lead-in (a bigger factor back then when many people stayed with one channel on a given night and didn't surf) might have had just as much to do with the drop in the ratings for the show. It's always a guessing game, pinning down what causes a show to suddenly drop off. But I wondered, too, if the novelty of The Fugitive had worn off by the third season, particularly since those opening episodes were iffy, and since the show's set-up remained basically unchanged: exciting at first, but perhaps people "got" the show and moved on by this point...until the much-hyped, "stunt" wrap-up in Season 4 (the real police removing APBs on Kimble and all that).

Chas Speed

I was always amazed the writers managed to keep The Fugitive interesting as long as they did. I didn't care for the final season as much, but I even thought that was ok. The show never really had a bad year the way most shows do. I think they were smart to end it when they did, before they ran the premise in to the ground.

clugul

Paul, I think "Trial by Fire" certainly adds a new slant on the Kimble story. A credible witness comes forward to say that he saw the one-armed man dash from the Kimble house on the night of the murder. That was a very intriguing episode.

And like it or not, Landscape with Running Figures, Parts 1 & 2, certainly shed new light on Gerard's home situation.

And just as Chas said, "ratings and quality don't always go together" so that's why I reminded you about the Emmy Award for the third season of The Fugitive. While Emmys, like ratings, can be "arbitrary," I thought people should be aware that the show did win an Emmy for its third year.

Joyce

GregDiablo

Paul, having just watched the first disc of season three, I am somewhat saddened to say I agree with you. I'd been really looking forward to another blast of this fine series after enjoying the first two seasons immensely (esp. the Girard and rare one-armed man episodes), but "Wings of Mercy" and the heat wave episode had me scratching my head. But then again, the A/V quality was just astounding; for a formulaic TV show, I was taken aback several times by the beauty of the scoring and the quality of the photography. So even though the writing was slipping and Janssen was getting a little bored as you said, the production quality (and most times, the supporting cast) gave The Fugitive a big lift.

GaryO

Just wait till you get your hands on volume 2 in another month or so. I think it's got a greater proportion of high quality episodes, including the best of the season - "Wife Killer". And "Ill Wind", "With Strings Attached", and "The 2130" are excellent too.

Gary "waiting for a sale to buy this current release" O.