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Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,222
Registered: ‎11-08-2014

Re: THE FUGITIVE "THE GOOD GUYS AND THE BAD GUYS" DAVID JANSSEN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. METV

@twinsister,  forgot your comment about his medical skills not being used in the episode.  Hadn't thought of that, but true.  Your comment on that made me think of this.  Here's a generalization that not everyone would agree with, but in some of these really 'rural' episodes where he's on the run, the Kimble persona seems to step back, DJ ramps it down, and we don't get the full complexity of his character, perhaps.  

 

Maybe he's too busy dodging and reacting with alarm to events, etc.  It never seems quite as interesting as some other plots, at least to me.

 

Another random reaction:   Hey, although he didn't 'practice medicine' per se in this one, maybe he practiced a little psychiatry, trying to work on Laura to win her sympathies.  But that sprang from self-preservation, not pure altruism, ha.  Wonder if that counts?

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,535
Registered: ‎01-04-2014

Re: THE FUGITIVE "THE GOOD GUYS AND THE BAD GUYS" DAVID JANSSEN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. METV

[ Edited ]

I finally got around to watching this morning.


The theme to this weeks episode seemed to be a cautionary tale to treat people the right way. I always like to try and see how the show's title fits in with the episode. This time I guess those you like to think are the good guys aren't always so good, and the perceived bad guys not really bad. It comes down to how you treat people.

 

I enjoyed this episode. I liked the cat and mouse aspects. But I think I like all the episodes when Gerard is left disgusted, frustrated and empty handed. I was hooked from the beginning when Gerard said to the sergeant at the traffic checkpoint that they didn't know what type of man they were dealing with, and the seargent responded with him or you.

 

I found it refreshing to see Bruce Dern in a role where he was actually normal and not a disturbed psychotic. 

I like to think there are some jobs that one goes into because they have a calling. They want to serve their community and try to make it a nice place to live. They enjoy what they do and take a job for the right reasons. They try to do it well. That wasn't Charlie Judd. He wasnt just morally skeevy, he was self serving morally corrupt. He took a job because it was offered, and in how it could serve him. it seemed he was only interested in his open donations to his pension fund. Complete with the notice on the jail door. What type of man entrust securing a convicted killer to his untrained civilian girl friend?His sole concern was for a supposed reward, not justice, not Laura's safety.


Gerard's disgust towards him showed early on. Not much chance of cooperation by either of them. That fortunately eventually worked to Kimble's benefit. 

I liked the scene in the school office when Judd called Kimble by his name. Kimble sat down, totally deflated. Then when Judd started to mention a reward, after Kimble had already seen his avaricious nature firsthand, it was as if you could see him thinking how he could work a perceived reward to his advantage. 

Kimble did work on Laura's sympathies to his advantage, but I think even if he wasn't locked up, he would have told her that she deserved better. He had seen the way Judd's  friends had been treating her, that Judd could have put her in harm's way with a prisoner, that he had been stringing her along with talks of marriage. It bothers him when people don't treat each other with respect, especially to women.

 

If Judd had shown Laura some respect, rather than slap and insult her, things may have turned out differently for him.

 

As for Gerard, no you're not in a position to file charges on anyone. You're not in your jurisdiction. That's four states away. You can report it to the state police. They investigate and determine if charges should be filed. At the very least, hopefully Judd's removed from office.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,419
Registered: ‎03-12-2010

Re: THE FUGITIVE "THE GOOD GUYS AND THE BAD GUYS" DAVID JANSSEN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. METV

@Oznell- You brought up two valid points  I think DJ did pull back on how Kimble reacted to those characters he encountered in those rural, backwoods episodes.  I don't mean to sound snobbish or uppity, but most of those characters were not exactly Rhodes scholars and Kimble acted accordingly.

 

As for Kimble using a little psychiatry, instead of helping someone with a physical injury, he helped Laura in another way.  Almost like using his bedside manner with a difficult patient.

 

@Etoile308 - That scene you mentioned when Judd asked Kimble if he spelled his name with one L or two L did deflate him.  Also true about Bruce Dern, his characters are usually   disturbed.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,222
Registered: ‎11-08-2014

Re: THE FUGITIVE "THE GOOD GUYS AND THE BAD GUYS" DAVID JANSSEN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. METV

Ditto, @Etoile308 ,  to thoroughly enjoying Gerard's discomfiture (and being completely foiled) throughout the episode!   So true about Gerard's disgust with Judd.  For once, his reflexive scorn and self-righteous condemnation of another is justified.  He's also, it seems, very much blind to his own shortcomings as a law enforcement officer.  (Not that they compare to Judd's outright corruption, of course).    I'm wondering though, if he's starting to show any self-awareness at times, about how his rigidity and obsessiveness are hindering his task.

 

Come to think of it, I'd be interested if anyone has detected any "evolution" in Gerard or not--  or if you think he's exactly the same as when he started...  

 

Good point about Kimble's motives in showing Laura the reality of her situation--  you are right, his interventions would not be merely self-serving-- the Kimble compassion would also be there.

 

And @twinsister ,  what an apt term you used--  his "bedside manner".   I've never thought about it that way, but that's what he has!   He brings that to so many situations, either overtly or in a more submerged way....

Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,035
Registered: ‎03-14-2010

Re: THE FUGITIVE "THE GOOD GUYS AND THE BAD GUYS" DAVID JANSSEN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. METV

Oh Well.

 

I had been watching The Fugitive on ME TV the past several weeks. And it seems that at that late hour and watching in bed, I seem to miss a line or two.

 

So this week's episode I figure I would watch on You Tube. I purposely do not read the thread about the episode until after I have watched the episode. I want to read what people thought after I have seen the episode. And this week, I finally opened Oznell's post today. 

 

Oh Well. Apparently I did not miss one of the better episodes.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,419
Registered: ‎03-12-2010

Re: THE FUGITIVE "THE GOOD GUYS AND THE BAD GUYS" DAVID JANSSEN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. METV

@drizzellla - For me, it was not one of the better episodes.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,222
Registered: ‎11-08-2014

Re: THE FUGITIVE "THE GOOD GUYS AND THE BAD GUYS" DAVID JANSSEN MONDAY 2:00 A.M. METV

Yes, @drizzellla ,  it's too bad about the youtube episode this week!   I'm hoping it's more of a fluke than a trend.  It's nice to have youtube as a back-up to MeTV, even as annoying as that channel can be with its arbitrary edits....