topic Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME in TV and Movies

THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN METV

Oznell — Sun, 26 Apr 2020 17:21:18 GMT

2:00 a.m. Eastern -- "Come Watch Me Die". David Janssen, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd

Have to confess, for me, not a memorable episode. Perhaps @Pearlee or someone else familiar with it will have something? I'm not remembering very much.

The "crime" episodes of the Fugitive (as opposed to the more "human interest" episodes), hold less appeal for me. Suffice it to say, a killing is committed, and Kimble is drafted as a deputy sheriff to help escort the accused to justice. Kimble has misgivings about the guilt-- or innocence-- of the prisoner....

Of course this is notable for the presence of dynamic young Bruce Dern, and his actress wife, Diane Ladd. The other memorable thing about the episode involves the supreme irony of Kimble being commended for his respect for the law, and encouraged to enter the field of law enforcement! Kimble wryly declines the offer...

In case this one isn't quite your cup of tea either, don't be discouraged. "Where the Action Is", "Bloodline", and "Search in a Windy City" are really good Season One episodes upcoming!

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

mousiegirl — Sun, 26 Apr 2020 18:52:48 GMT

@Oznell wrote:

2:00 a.m. Eastern -- "Come Watch Me Die". David Janssen, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd

Have to confess, for me, not a memorable episode. Perhaps @Pearlee or someone else familiar with it will have something? I'm not remembering very much.

The "crime" episodes of the Fugitive (as opposed to the more "human interest" episodes), hold less appeal for me. Suffice it to say, a killing is committed, and Kimble is drafted as a deputy sheriff to help escort the accused to justice. Kimble has misgivings about the guilt-- or innocence-- of the prisoner....

Of course this is notable for the presence of dynamic young Bruce Dern, and his actress wife, Diane Ladd. The other memorable thing about the episode involves the supreme irony of Kimble being commended for his respect for the law, and encouraged to enter the field of law enforcement! Kimble wryly declines the offer...

In case this one isn't quite your cup of tea either, don't be discouraged. "Where the Action Is", "Bloodline", and "Search in a Windy City" are really good Season One episodes upcoming!

@Oznell I will find this and watch it. I watched several good episodes last night, one with Suzanne Pleshette, "World's End," and another with Lois Nettleton "Man on a String." The third was about an elderly attorney, in a wheelchair," Man in a Chariot," who put on a mock trial for Kimball with his students, very good, I thought.

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

Pearlee — Sun, 26 Apr 2020 20:11:02 GMT

@mousiegirl, that was Ed Begley in the wheelchair. Love the suspense with the TV; close one for Kimble!

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

mousiegirl — Sun, 26 Apr 2020 20:39:18 GMT

@Pearlee wrote:
@mousiegirl, that was Ed Begley in the wheelchair. Love the suspense with the TV; close one for Kimble!

@Pearlee Yes, I recognized his face, but couldn't remember his name.

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

Oznell — Sun, 26 Apr 2020 20:56:12 GMT

Oh, yeah, @mousiegirl , and @Pearlee , "World's End" and the Ed Begley one are really good! Of course, David Janssen had such good chemistry with sometime love, Suzanne Pleshette.

In "Man in a Chariot", I seem to remember there was some interesting conflict with Ed Begley's secretary, maybe? I thought she was being protective of Ed Begley and saw Kimble as some sort of hazard for the professor... but it's a bit hazy. Just remember it was quite interesting....

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

Pearlee — Sun, 26 Apr 2020 22:52:28 GMT

@Oznell. That does sound kind of familiar about the secretary but I don't remember any details.

Ed Begley always sounds angry (like he did in 12 Angry Men) and usually plays characters I also dislike. Like how selfish he was in this episode, out for his own aggrandizement.

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

Oznell — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 00:18:30 GMT

Yes, @Pearlee -- and his persona seems so different from that of his son, Ed Begley, Jr. "Junior" seems so sort of whimsical and a bit kooky....

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

drizzellla — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 15:28:26 GMT

Once again I should not be watching this show at 2AM.

I must have nodded off for a moment when the "killer" confessed. I couldn't believe that I didn't know who the killer was, the first time I watched.

I had to rewatch the show this morning.

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

Oznell — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 16:49:41 GMT

Ha, I'm just glad you're sticking with the series, @drizzellla !

Dozing off at intervals is part of that late night viewing experience...

I recorded it, but couldn't bring myself to watch the whole thing-- just that final irony of the sheriff inviting him to enter law enforcement! That part was rich.

Right now with my after-lunch tea, I'm watching "Mission Impossible", which I've taken to recording along with "The Fugitive" since it immediately follows. Love Martin Landau...

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

Tique — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 00:47:13 GMT

@drizzellla you get applause for watching during the early AM hour. I consider myself a nightowl but usually by midnight I'm unable to focus on anything for too long but I am wide awake by 5A to start my day.

@Oznell I understand why this may not have been a favorite episode but I enjoyed it. One of the best scenes for me was when the waitress was told about the murder of the couple. Diane Ladd showed such a range of emotions. You could see her going from the playful teasing mood to the realization of what had happened, the disbelief, the sorrow, and finally the anger. I had a feeling that was to be her only scene so I immediately went back to watch her raw reactions again.

This was one of the episodes during which Kimble was on guard throughout most of the show. Sometimes he develops a friendship and you see more of his personality evolve as he relaxes. I did see all his conflicting emotions from the time he was asked to ride with the group and all the activity along the way. The young man was quite convincing. He managed to sound quite sincere as he repeatedly told people he didn't do it. Kimble wasn't sure so he did the admirable thing, getting the man away from the group. Once that guilt was apparent, there was no way he was going to allow him to escape. I agree with the Sheriff; Kimble did show respect for the law and under other circumstances I could have seen him in that position.

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

drizzellla — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 02:05:16 GMT

@Tique wrote:
@drizzellla you get applause for watching during the early AM hour. I consider myself a nightowl but usually by midnight I'm unable to focus on anything for too long but I am wide awake by 5A to start my day.

@Oznell I understand why this may not have been a favorite episode but I enjoyed it. One of the best scenes for me was when the waitress was told about the murder of the couple. Diane Ladd showed such a range of emotions. You could see her going from the playful teasing mood to the realization of what had happened, the disbelief, the sorrow, and finally the anger. I had a feeling that was to be her only scene so I immediately went back to watch her raw reactions again.

This was one of the episodes during which Kimble was on guard throughout most of the show. Sometimes he develops a friendship and you see more of his personality evolve as he relaxes. I did see all his conflicting emotions from the time he was asked to ride with the group and all the activity along the way. The young man was quite convincing. He managed to sound quite sincere as he repeatedly told people he didn't do it. Kimble wasn't sure so he did the admirable thing, getting the man away from the group. Once that guilt was apparent, there was no way he was going to allow him to escape. I agree with the Sheriff; Kimble did show respect for the law and under other circumstances I could have seen him in that position.

Tique - After "The Fugitive" I stayed up to watch The Lucy Show. She was dating Bob Cummings in the episode. And I wanted to watch Bob Cummings. It seems like many of the shows that interest me are at hours when everyone is asleep.

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

Oznell — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 11:14:16 GMT

@Tique, now you make me want to watch the whole thing, instead of cherry-picking only the part I wanted to see! It does sound like it was one of those episodes which so effectively depicts a dilemma that makes the show so interesting-- the predicament of a consummately honorable man in circumstances that constantly work against his grain and call for excruciatingly difficult moral calculations.

The tension that creates is inherently dramatic, and I guess is one of the things that keeps us coming back for more...

Thanks for 'slicing' the episode in a deeper way than I was perceiving it...

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

Pearlee — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 13:55:05 GMT

The overall premise of this show and a plotline that occurs almost every if not every week, is that Kimble goes around the country (trying to find the 1-armed man) and encounters people whose lives he makes better somehow, while he "goes off into the sunset" with his life not better but even worse because now he's even lonelier, even more desperate to find the 1-armed man, because now he's been running from the law for even longer. In the finale, he tells Diane Baker that he is tired of running. This theme makes Kimble each week even more sympathetic because he's made someone's life better while the good doctor's (who has lost everything) is even worse. Janssen played the role to a "tee" --- kind, caring, smart, handsome, sympathetic, but by no means a pushover. Each week the audience rooted for him to someday find his own happy ending, which was why the finale was the highest rated TV show for years and years, I think until the MASH ending had a larger audience.

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

Oznell — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 21:39:24 GMT

Oh, yes, I think what you said about his performance is key, @Pearlee -- he did indeed play it to a tee... It's hard to think of too many other television actors of that period who would have given it all the shadings that Janssen did, and who were as perfectly suited to the role as he was...

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

Pearlee — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 13:52:25 GMT

@Oznell. Speaking of other actors of the time, I remember when, in response to the success of The Fugitive, Run For Your Life (which could also have been the title of The Fugitive 😄 )
went on the air with Ben Gazzara. I watched the show but Gazzara never had the charisma that Janssen did. And IMO that show was such a blatant ripoff of The Fugitive!

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

drizzellla — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 15:14:47 GMT

Why did The Fugitive go off the air? I remember it being one of a TV shows that you heard about all the time.

When it first went on the air I had just turned 12 and I can say the premise of the show did not interest me. And because I did no follow the show, I never paid any attention to it.

But it was so popular but yet it only lasted 4 years.

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

Oznell — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 15:48:54 GMT

That is so interesting that you mention that, @Pearlee ! "Run for Your LIfe" was created by Roy Huggins, who of course also created "The Fugitive".

Somewhat similar premise-- man on the run, this time because he has only a limited time to live, and wants to pack, dramatic quote "Thirty years of living into one. Or two". Unquote.

Agree, it's not in the same league as "The Fugitive". There's some grainy footage from "Run" on youtube-- there's even a scene in which Gazzara's real life wife, the feline Janice Rule, acts with him. I've considered ordering the series on DVD (if it exists on DVD). I really like Ben Gazzara. Love the series intro, which conveys a bit of the urgency of his circumstance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gDKI8ky2MQ

@drizzellla, I'm not sure why "The Fugitive" ended when it did. I read that David Janssen was utterly exhausted-- the fast pace of the series, the high standards, and the fact that he carried the whole thing, almost singlehandedly, wore him out. And he wasn't taking good care of himself in his personal life!

There's more on it on the Archive of American Television, where they interview various people like Roy Huggins, but I can't remember all the particulars, other than perhaps people were "burnt out". I personally found the last season to be not quite as consistently good as the others, too.

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

Tique — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 16:44:15 GMT

@Oznell @drizzellla one more thing. The four seasons had 30 episodes each. Think of how much shorter seasons are now - not to mention all the frequent breaks along the way and/or when we're watching a show and at the end they say something like "______ will return in two weeks".

I am a new viewer of The Fugitive but heard a lot about it because it was one of my mother's favorite shows. Now I know why.

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

Oznell — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 16:54:47 GMT

That's me too, @Tique ! I didn't see it the first time around, but knew my mother loved it, so sought it out. I vaguely remember her staying up very late to watch it, not in prime time- she must have been catching it in reruns too. And she didn't watch much TV at all. The "Kimble" character would be just the sort she'd be drawn to-- she loved sensitive "underdogs"!

Re: THE FUGITIVE, "COME WATCH ME DIE" DAVID JANSSEN BRUCE DERN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. EASTERN ME

Pearlee — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 16:59:13 GMT

@drizella and @Oznell. I remember when it went off the air of course (I was devastated) and it was just as oznell stated. Janssen was exhausted and yes carried the show working very long hours every day. He had had enough.

I read too that when he and his wife Ellie got divorced (he was a serial cheater and moved in with actress Rosemary Forsythe) he was very bitter that he had to give her half of what he had, Calif being a community property state, saying "I was the one getting up at 6:00 am for years to be at the studio and working long into the night."

Drizzella I was 11 when the show started in 1963 and was riveted to it from the start. And to Janssen ❤.