History Series / TheFugitive

* CrusadingWidow: Kimble AND Gerard, whose first wife was killed by a drunk driver. It's obvious that his lingering grief, SurvivorGuilt (he was unable to rescue her), and anger is the reason he's so determined to capture Kimble. (The guy was able to get off thanks to a fancy lawyer, leaving Gerard to detest those who evade the law).

* FreudianExcuse: Gerard's obsession with catching Kimble stems from the fact that he lost his first wife. Aside from being enraged that someone would destroy what he would give anything to have back, her killer (a drunk driver) was able to get off thanks to an AmoralAttorney, making him extra-angry at those who try to escape justice.

* CrusadingWidower

* CrusadingWidower: Kimble AND Gerard, whose first wife was killed by a drunk driver. It's obvious that his lingering grief, SurvivorGuilt (he was unable to rescue her), and anger is the reason he's so determined to capture Kimble. (The guy was able to get off thanks to a fancy lawyer, leaving Gerard to detest those who evade the law).

* KangarooCourt: In "Corner of Hell", the moonshiner Tully sets one of these up for Gerard, whom he mistakenly believes to have attacked and concussed his daughter. (Gerard is found "guilty", but the truth comes out before he's lynched.)

** In "Wife Killer", he has to operate on the One-Armed Man after the latter sustains a critical head injury in an auto accident. Justified in that Kimble can't hope to clear himself if the One-Armed Man dies.

-->-- from the OpeningNarration to Season 1

* NiceHat: Gerard dons a fedora in a couple of scenes in the first episode. This was subsequently dropped at the behest of Barry Morse, who thought it made his character look anachronistic.

''The Fugitive'' was adapted as a [[Film/TheFugitive feature film]] in 1993, starring Creator/HarrisonFord as Kimble and Creator/TommyLeeJones as Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard. There was also a short-lived {{remake}} series in 2000 which starred Creator/TimDaly as Kimble and Creator/MykeltiWilliamson as Gerard. Meanwhile, its premise has provided the template for an entire subgenre of action and drama shows.

Meanwhile, Kimble is pursued by Lt. Philip Gerard (Creator/BarryMorse), the Stafford police detective who was escorting him at the time of his escape. Gerard is determined to recapture Kimble, thus precluding the fugitive from simply settling down in a remote area with an assumed identity. In the meantime, Kimble takes small jobs and inevitably gets involved in the personal lives and problems of the strangers he encounters.

''The Fugitive'' was adapted as a [[Film/TheFugitive feature film]] in 1993, with Creator/HarrisonFord starring as Kimble and Creator/TommyLeeJones as Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard. There was also a short-lived {{remake}} series in 2000 which starred Creator/TimDaly as Kimble and Creator/MykeltiWilliamson as Gerard. Meanwhile, its premise has provided the template for an entire subgenre of action and drama shows.

* InconvenientHippocraticOath: In that it forces Kimble to risk his own safety when helping others. On the other hand, it convinces those he helps that he's really a good guy and [[RousseauWasRight they repay his kindness]] by helping Kimble escape. Even discussed in the opening narration to "Nobody Loses All the Time". Though, if you're an especially horrible person it still won't stop him from beating you within an inch of your life.

* AbsenteeActor: Subverted with Kimble's actor David Janssen, who appears in all 120 episodes, while Barry Morse, who played Gerard, appeared in 37.

The rights to the original series were originally owned by QM Productions. They were subsequently acquired by Taft Broadcasting through Worldvision Enterprises (which actually had syndication rights before either it and QM were both acquired by Taft), [[Creator/AaronSpelling Spelling Television]] (which once had a movie production arm, Spelling Films), Creator/{{Paramount}} Television (which produced ''Series/{{Wings}}'', also starring Tim Daly, and the television arm of Paramount Pictures), and currently Creator/{{CBS}} Television Studios. None of these companies (either TV or theatrical) were involved in subsequent remakes of ''The Fugitive'', all of which were produced by Creator/WarnerBros Entertainment. [[Series/TheFugitive2020 Another remake]] of the series premiered on August 3, 2020 on Quibi starring Creator/KieferSutherland and Boyd Holbrook.

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The premise: Dr. Richard Kimble (Creator/DavidJanssen), a pediatrician from Stafford, Indiana, has been [[FrameUp wrongly convicted]] for the murder of his wife. However, while he's being transported to Death Row by train, there is an accident that enables him to escape.

* RecycledSoundtrack: Unlike many series of its time in the '60s (and subsequently), the series relied on a specially composed library of music by Pete Rugolo and licensed music written for CBS shows rather than have any episodes (even the SeriesFinale) receive an original score. According to QM music supervisor John Elizalde, the substantial royalties coming his way for the use of his CBS library music on the series were what led to Music/JerryGoldsmith agreeing to write the theme and pilot score for ''Series/BarnabyJones''.
** Which led to problems for the show's DVD release; specifically, the season 2 set was initially released with an entirely new score of synthesized music (in order to get around licensing issues), leading to an uproar from fans [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks angered by the change]].
** Much of the music in season 4 is taken from Dominic Frontiere's scores for ''[[Series/TheOuterLimits1963 The Outer Limits]]''.
** [[http://davidjanssen.net/FugitiveMusic.htm For more about the show's music, go here]].

* RecycledSoundtrack: Unlike many series of its time in the '60s (and subsequently), the series relied on a specially composed library of music by Pete Rugolo and licensed music written for CBS shows rather than have any episodes (even the SeriesFinale) receive an original score. According to QM music supervisor John Elizalde the substantial royalties coming his way for the use of his CBS library music on the series were what led to Music/JerryGoldsmith agreeing to write the theme and pilot score for ''Series/BarnabyJones''.

* InspectorJavert: Lt. Gerard is actually inspired by and named for him, although he really straddles the line between this and SympatheticInspectorAntagonist.

* NiceHat: Gerard dons a fedora in a couple of scenes in the first episode. This was subsequently dropped at the behest of Barry Morse, who thought it made his character look ridiculously anachronistic.

* MysteriousPast: We learn very little about the One-Armed Man's background, such as how he lost his arm or what led him to a life of crime. We're never even given definitive proof that "Fred Johnson" is actually his real name and not just another alias.

* {{Novelization}}: The pilot episode was novelized, much to series creator Roy Huggins' disgust - he held the rights to all merchandising and the book had been written without his knowledge or consent. There were, unsurprisingly, no further novelisations (and not much merchandising).

** And technically ''Mr.'' Gerard, since he appears (outside of the opening) in only 37 of the show's 120 episodes.
** The One-Armed Man only appears in ten episodes, six of which come in the show's final season. He also appears in the TitleSequence of Seasons 2-4.

* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Julie Sommars as Hungarian immigrant Carla Karac in "The Blessings Of Liberty" - the other actors[[note]]mostly American except for Austrian Ludwig Donath[[/note]] playing the Karacs at least ''try'' to sound foreign.

* RealityEnsues: Gerard's obsession with catching Kimble continually gets him in trouble with his superiors, considering that he's either neglecting his other cases or defying orders to continue his pursuit.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: The entire point of the two-parter "Angels Travel on Lonely Roads". Kimble and Sister Veronica met each other at precisely the right time, which (through a series of fortunate events) ultimately led to him slipping through the police dragnet and her not abandoning her faith. No matter the interpretation, both see it as a miracle.

* CrusadingWidower: [[NotSoDifferent Kimble AND Gerard]], whose first wife was killed by a drunk driver. It's obvious that his lingering grief, SurvivorGuilt (he was unable to rescue her), and anger is the reason he's so determined to capture Kimble. (The guy was able to get off thanks to a fancy lawyer, leaving Gerard to detest those who evade the law).

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: As Kimble leaves the courthouse, finally cleared, at the end of the final episode, a police cruiser drives up and Kimble stops dead before being reminded that he doesn't have to fear them anymore. It's just a little hint to show how long it will probably take for him to recover from the last five years. And, of course, his wife is still dead (although their marriage was apparently on the rocks already, and he's conveniently been provided a new LoveInterest).]]

* {{Narrator}}: Voiced by William Conrad, who's [[VoiceOfDramatic ideal for this]].

* DiplomaticImmunity: Kimble is able to take advantage of this in "Dossier on a Diplomat", after coming to the aid of an African diplomat who has a fainting spell in the street.

* DiplomaticImmunity: "Dossier on a Diplomat"