TV and Movies

[Pearlee]

I have just a few comments. SPOILERS BELOW!












I think Kurt pointed in the same direction Kimble fled at the end and didn't lie to his father as he said in the car, is that right? I couldn't tell for sure from his actual pointing.

Also I didn't like the Epilog, which is rare for me. Kurt was such a little #$%^@* to Kimble I didn't like what Kimble did in the Epilog (although I do realize at the end when his father was closing in, Kurt shouted at Kimble to "run.")

Speaking of which I did love the moral dilemma Phil Jr. was plagued with. That was a lot for a kid to handle ("if you [Kimble] are right, then my father is wrong."). Young Kurt did an admirable acting job conveying his inner conflict. I take it from Kurt's acting that he is one smart guy, from having understood adult-themed scripts so well to produce such fine acting.

Thanks to @Oznell for the info on the game warden; I paid much more attention to him after you mentioned he was Kurt's father.

I watched this first on YouTube and again at 2:00 a.m. this morning and noticed one MeTV edit.👎 In the original when Gerard and the others were first planning how to best go after Kimble and get Phil Jr back, the sheriff was very pessimistic about Phil Jr.s survival and made some comment that Kimble wouldn't feed him. Gerard countered with he knows Kimble, and Kimble will feed the boy. And the next thing we see is after that edit, Kimble and Kurt are doing that canned goods scene where Kurt says he doesn't like cold food when offered stew and soup by Kimble.

If I were Kimble, I would have made Kurt stay with the car after Kurt lit the bonfire, and run despite Kurt whining that he was afraid of the dark.Kimble knew law enforcement was on its way to the car.

I loved Kimble's zinger line to Kurt in Slim Pickens' cabin when he says about Gerard coming "He deserves you."

[Pearlee]

P.S. to my above post: the deer meat looked so fake! 🤣

[twinsister]

I didn't like this episode too much.  Such a coincidence that Gerard had happened to be nearby when Kimble is spotted, especially in such a rural area. If it had been in a big city, I would have found it more believable.  I wasn't surprised that Kimble went back to rescue the kid from the trap, but couldn't believe he stood there for a few seconds to talk to the kid.

@Pearlee I don't think Phil Jr. lied when telling his dad which direction Kimble went.  I liked when Kimble said to Junior - "you caused enough trouble already".   I did notice that hole in the woman's sweater after you pointed it out.

The deer meat looked plastic!   I did know that Bing Russell was Kurt's dad, and recognized him from a lot of '60's shows.  I don't think  I have ever seen them in the same show together.  I was surprised to see Kurt get top billing, but I guess at that time, he was popular from being in Disney movies.

[Oznell]

SPOILERS BELOW, BEWARE!

@Pearleeand @twinsister ,  I agree with virtually everything you have said in your posts.  True, @twinsister ,  Kurt didn't lie when he indicated to his father which way Kimble went.

But lucky for us, and Kimble, his usual sharp perception told him that the kid would "betray" (ha, I can't help myself, I must be judgmental about young Phil) him a final time, so of course he got far enough away, then reversed course once the boy couldn't see him.  Yay, Kimble!

I had exactly the same reaction to Kimble sending off those cards, @Pearlee !   

[Pearlee]

@Oznell. Not to mention the post mark would tell Gerard where Kimble had been even though he'd be long gone by the time Kurt received the envelope. Still, Kimble usually doesn't like to give any clues. And why reward Kurt at all, esp when Kimble figured he wouldn't keep his word to even give Kimble one break?

I thought Kimble had changed direction, rightly not trusting Kurt but all that direction stuff was IMO hard to see.

@twinsister, I agree, extremely implausible but at least Gerard was 200 miles and several hours away when they told him about Kimble being spotted, and not just in the next town over.

Even setting up the show's premise was not believable. Why didn't Kimble just keep his usual low profile and dump the fish, rather than stop and get into a fight with two men who could have been armed and dangerous? A fugitive should never invite trouble (as I've posted many times about Kimble getting into fights, this one verbal).

[Tique]

Like @twinsister I also didn't care for this week's episode either. I give this one a C. Seemed like one of the writers said "It's about time for Gerard to reappear. Let's feature him and make him a little more relatable." So they gave us not only the father but his bratty son who was exceptional in his role.

@OznellI also recognized that Kimble wouldn't be tricked by young Phil and trust he wouldn't tell his dad in which direction he went. Kimble knew about the fire, the gun, the cards, but he didn't find out about Jr's sweater which surprised me. I thought he would realize Phil wasn't wearing it. Like @Pearlee  I would have left him in the car. He could have dealt with hs fear of the dark on hs own

Of course Kimble went back. He helped Gerard when he could have left him to die in an earlier episode. That's why Gerard was sure his son would be fed. That sheriff seemed to be doing everything he could to make Gerard worry. Most of the time people try to reassure the other person everything will be okay even if they don't believe it themselves. I didn't find any of this week's characters likeable. Not even the wife.

[Pearlee]

@Tique. Didn't Kurt always have the old jacket from the car on and fastened up that Kimble gave him, so Kimble wouldn't
see that the sweater was missing?

I've posted before that I don't think the writers should have humanized Gerard by showing a wife (later episode equally implausible) and son. Gerard should have remained a cold, obsessed inhuman character IMO. But they did have to write 30 episodes per season and perhaps they thought Kurt would be a ratings attraction although TF was on at 10:00 p.m. so kids weren't up watching it, for the most part (although I was 😉 ).

[Tique]

@Pearlee   Kimble told Jr to put the jacket on after Jr convinced him not to leave him in the car. They were taking off on foot so Kimble - being the concerned person he was - told the boy to put on the jacket which was supposed to provide an additional layer of clothing not replace one. When Kimble asked Phil if he had matches, he lied at first. Then Kimble said something like "You don't want me to search you. Do you?". That's when he handed over the matches knowing that if he were searched Kimble would have discovered his sweater was missing. After all the things Phil had pulled up to that point, I would have been watching when I told him to get the sweater. Seems like something Kimble would have done also.

[Pearlee]

Anyone know the plural of Nemesis? Because Kimble had two in this episode, father and son, so the title should have been in the plural!

[Oznell]

Very interesting point, @Tique ,  that point about the sheriff, making a point of NOT saying the usual, reassuring thing.  I hadn't thought of that before.  What a malign, piece of work he was-- the way he abused his authority to try to get fish, and menace Kimble the way he did.

It's funny, no matter what they do with Gerard, I don't find him relatable or more appealing, or anything.  I will concede he had sort of a nice smile in this episode that he briefly bestowed on his son. 

But the man is so unbending, and prissy, and self-righteous-- even his boss, Captain X? (the pleasant, husky guy back in Stafford whose name I forget) seems a little annoyed and befuddled by Gerard's fanaticism!  The deeper I get into the series, the more I think that Barry Morse, talented as he was, just played Gerard a little too "one-note".  And of course the writing was at fault too...

@Pearlee,  I have a half-baked theory about Kimble and fights.   Yes, I don't think he sought them out, certainly.  But it's been my observation that, in, for lack of a better term, "male culture" (ha), even the most mild mannered of men, at some point, needs to stand toe to toe with another male who is being particularly predatory or aggressive.  It's sort of a matter of self-respect. And Kimble would be deeply offended that this "law man", this crooked sheriff, would try to bully him into violating his ethics over the fish that had been entrusted to him.

He just couldn't put up with that!  And I think in the other instances where he fought, a similar thing was at work.  The danger to him, recedes in his mind momentarily, or perhaps he calculates he'll beat the odds, or something.

Probably the writers of the episodes were mostly male, and I think that this way of thinking was probably normal and very much embedded in their psyches, when they were setting up the various scenarios....   As a female, and having a loathing of confrontation and 'fighting', I've found this sometimes mystifying myself, but I rather respect it!

Anyway, just a theory...