TV and Movies

[Oznell]

2:00 a.m. Eastern, MeTV   The Fugitive "Middle of a Heat Wave"  David Janssen, Carol Rossen, Sarah Marshall, John Lasell, J.D. Cannon, James Doohan, Mimi Dillard, Paul Comi, James Johnson

Tarrying awhile in "Lake City, New York"  (Rochester, maybe, or perhaps suburban Buffalo?), Kimble's in a heat wave, and a heating-up romance, with "Laurel Harper"  (repeat Fuge performer Carol Rossen), which he must break off.

Alert, alert--   Paragraph below,  POSSIBLE SPOILER :

But Laurel doesn't want to end it, (highly understandably), and furious with him, she disappears and then is found beaten, memory-impaired, and abandoned in a field.  The script tries to be coy, but more has been done to her than it's willing to spell out.  And Laurel's sister "Sheila Pettie" (Sarah Marshall), and her brother-in-law "Frank Pettie" (John Lasell) and the sheriff, "Collison" (J.D. Cannon),  are more and more likely to close in on Kimble as the perpetrator....

BACK TO GENERALITIES NOW, SAFE TO READ!

Good performers in this one, but the ambiguities and implausibilities are a bit of a hurdle--  not to mention the unworthy motives and terrible actions of some key characters. 

As always, it's fun to see repeat characters from the Fugitive revolving stock company.  This is John Lasell's second time out in the series.  I've mentioned before, he always seems to me like an archtypical Sixties preppy "striving male"--  sort of a simmering 'John Cheever' character.  Too bad in this one he must be tense and "concerned" all the time-  under other circumstances, he can be rather appealing....

And under all the hair, we have as the doctor, James Doohan, of Star Trek "Scottie" fame...    

Looks like they used that stock footage "hitchhiking" scene again for the epilog of this one...

Streaming free on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGelyK1LKhs

[Pearlee]

Another good one! I watched it a couple of days ago and remembered pretty much everything about it esp  the ending. If you liked last week's, you'll probably like this one too. 👍

ETA:  J.D. Cannon will play an important role in the series finale.

[twinsister]

@Pearlee  - You are right - this was another good one!

@Oznell - You are right also about the terrible actions of those characters.

There were a few things alluded to, besides the obvious details of Laurel's attack that left me with some questions.  When Sheila was asking the sheriff to arrest Kimble and she said to him "after our father died, well you know", I'm assuming he became a father figure to her and Laurel.  Also, Sheila and Frank's marriage seemed to be on shaky ground, but was it because of him or her?  I don't like too many unanswered questions that are left to the viewer to figure out.

I thought Laurel was going to tell the truth when Kimble came to speak to her at home, but I guess she still wanted to get back at him.  On the other side, I didn't think Sheila was going to turn on Kimble and reveal his location.  Her reaction to her husband attacking her sister was quite tame,  I was wondering how Kimble was going to get out of those handcuffs, but thought Frank was too wimpy to help him.  All the twists and turns at the end kept me intersted.

I do remember that hitchiking scene in the epilog from another episode.

Two trivial things - the hospital scene in the corridor had signs for different departments and one was Dermatology.  I remember seeing that sign in another earlier hospital scene - maybe Season 2?  I The other was the steam radiator that Kimble was handcuffed to in Laurel's room.  We had those radiators at home growing up and they were great, giving off a lot of heat.

All I can say is that since Kimble made it to New York, he should have visited me in  Brooklyn and stayed out of Lake City - LOL!!

[Tique]

Yes it was another good one.

Frank and Sheila's marriage was on shaky ground. The fault was probably a combination of both but going out on a limb, I'd say it was primarily hers. She didn't seem to have a high opinion of her husband or maybe she had a much higher opinion of herself. Sheila was also one of those people who was very much concerned about outward appearances. It didn't matter if she was happy or if she had a good marriage. As long as it looked like she was/she did.

I think Frank did help Kimble remove the cuffs. He was holding a tool in his hand. Sheila probably knew her husband would go down to the basement as soon as she stepped outside the house.

I figured out pretty early who was responsible for Laurel's attack. Sheila might have had her suspicions too. She was so motivated to ensure Kimble was arrested and charged even before she heard Laurel's version of things.

[twinsister]

@Tique - You are right about Sheila.  She wanted it to appear to the outside world that all was well and normal with her marriage and would go to any lengths to keep up that image.

[Etoile308]

I didn't care for this episode much. Perhaps it was because of the, I can't think of an appropriate word, "nasty" family dynamics. And what the heck ever drew Kimble to this moody selfish woman Laurel? Had she any redeeming qualities? I wasn't seeing any she really became loathsome. 
Richard, really, make better choices. 

The relationship between the sisters only got more muddled. Sheila was enabling, mothering, reproachful. Was it out of true concern for Laurel or their social status? And Laurel with a bruised ego goes after the first guy she can find, and it happens to be her brother-in-law. No way that's going to end well. So who was she trying to hurt? Kimble? Sheila? Herself? And at a point were things forced or consensual? Was there any crime committed? 

What were Sheila's motives for helping Kimble into the basement? She knew he hadn't attacked her sister. Was she sincerely trying to help him or use him as a patsy?

Glad Frank grew a backbone and cut the cuffs so Kimble could escape. He really should keep a handcuff key on him.  And @Oznell, I'm glad you mentioned the ending epilogue, because how else can you explain Kimble hitchhiking with a suitcase in hand. Doubt once on the run he would return to his hotel room and grab his bag.

And the police, it's the middle of summer, stop complaining about the heat and put on a summer uniform. Oh, and see that the back doors on your police cars only open from the outside. You know, the way police cars are designed so detainees/prisoners can't just open a door and let themselves out and escape.

[Tique]

I was thinking about why Laurel wouldn't allow Kimble to pick her up at home. Was it because of her sister's intrusive behavior or was there something already going on with Frank - whether it was acted on or not?

[Etoile308]

@Tique, my take is that Sheila would have been judgmental and less than welcoming because he was a mere construction worker. She knew what he did for a living so Laurel must have discussed him to her. Could have made for an uncomfortable visit. 

[Pearlee]

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@Etoile308 wrote:

I didn't care for this episode much. Perhaps it was because of the, I can't think of an appropriate word, "nasty" family dynamics. And what the heck ever drew Kimble to this moody selfish woman Laurel? Had she any redeeming qualities? I wasn't seeing any she really became loathsome. 
Richard, really, make better choices. 

The relationship between the sisters only got more muddled. Sheila was enabling, mothering, reproachful. Was it out of true concern for Laurel or their social status? And Laurel with a bruised ego goes after the first guy she can find, and it happens to be her brother-in-law. No way that's going to end well. So who was she trying to hurt? Kimble? Sheila? Herself? And at a point were things forced or consensual? Was there any crime committed? 

What were Sheila's motives for helping Kimble into the basement? She knew he hadn't attacked her sister. Was she sincerely trying to help him or use him as a patsy?

Glad Frank grew a backbone and cut the cuffs so Kimble could escape. He really should keep a handcuff key on him.  And @Oznell, I'm glad you mentioned the ending epilogue, because how else can you explain Kimble hitchhiking with a suitcase in hand. Doubt once on the run he would return to his hotel room and grab his bag.

And the police, it's the middle of summer, stop complaining about the heat and put on a summer uniform. Oh, and see that the back doors on your police cars only open from the outside. You know, the way police cars are designed so detainees/prisoners can't just open a door and let themselves out and escape.

---

@Etoile308  I've mentioned here several times, I think before you joined the group, that in my opinion the Epilogue does not necessarily take place immediately after Scene IV but sometimes just shows Kimble "later" some time and somewhere after the episode's story took place.  

Back later with more comments.

[drizzellla]

I am glad Oznell mentioned the title of the episode. The first scene, I thought of the title. I bet the make up person was on vacation the week of filming. Because it didn't look like any make up person was running around between scene to powder anyone's face.

Why can't Kimble find a family without all this baggage? You couldn't blame him from moving on from Laurel and her sister Sheila. 

It sure made Frank a bad/good character. Just a sad bunch of sweaty people.