The Fugitive (TV Series) The Judgment: Part II (1967) User Reviews

A dandy finale.

[planktonrules · 10/10 · 20 April 2018]

ABC and Quinn Martin Productions were smart when it came to "The Fugitive". First, they let the show go on for four seasons and didn't overplay the basic idea. Second, they wanted to make the finale a memorable one...so they stretched it out to two episodes....and it became, up until then, the most-watched show in television history. Folks all over America tuned in to see if Kimble could perhaps FINALLY confront the one-armed man and bring him to justice.

This review is for the second episode. It begins with Gerard haven taken Kimble into custody. They're aboard a train and Kimble is talking about WHO might have paid to have the one-armed man released (in the previous episode). Inexplicably, when Kimble asks Gerard for a chance to prove his innocence by stopping in nearby Stafford, he agrees...something that seems very much at odds with the Javert-like qualities (from "Les Miserables") we've seen in Gerard. Can the pair FINALLY catch up to the one-armed man AND know who's behind all this?

Despite the inconsistent behavior of Gerard, this is a great episode...filled with action and twists that make it well worth your time. And, at the time it debuted, it was the highest rated show in history--watched by more Americans than any previous television show.

The final suspenseful and happy ending

[Mikey48 · 10/10 · 10 May 2021]

I remember the day almost like it was yesterday--Tuesday, August 29,1967--it was the night before classes started my sophomore year in college. The large TV lobby in the dorm was packed to the gills--standing room only by the time I got there. No matter--I was willing to stand for the best TV show I had seen so far in my life.

We finally got to see what actually happened the night Helen Kimble was killed. And the one-armed man finally getting his due.

And it was a memorable experience. I remember narrator William Conrad's final words after the upbeat happy ending-- "August 29th, 1967--the day....the running.... STOPPED ! And the whole room applauded. I was undyingly loyal to this series.after I went away to college, it was the only weekly show I watched without fail. The highest rated Fugitive episode and in 1967, one of the highest rated TV shows of all time.

Not As Good As I Remembered

[TondaCoolwal · 8/10 · 27 December 2020]

I have been avidly watching the re-run of this excellent chase series on T V lately. I first watched it when it was compulsive viewing back in the sixties. As with many things, my rose-coloured recollection of the original final episode at age sixteen seemed to be slightly different and more satisfying than it does now. Gerard's sudden, almost Pauline, conversion from unrelenting, duty-bound automaton to Mr. Helpful, is definitely hard to accept. Never before has he given Kimble the benefit of the doubt or the chance to prove his innocence. Even though he can no longer deny the reality of the one-armed man and, the question of who posted his bail. Likewise, the convenient inclusion of never-before-seen Lloyd Chandler as the key to the whole premise, would be considered the worst sin for a crime fiction writer to commit. Cheat! Also, the discovery of two commonly-used types of bullet, one at the derelict homestead and one in young Bobby's drawer at the Taft's is the flimsiest of "evidence" linking Chandler to the case. Another clumsy bolt-on is the sudden appearance of "interested" former local girl Jean Carlisle who, inexplicably forms an immediate mutual attraction with Kimble. Surely a returning female character would have been more convincing. My choice would have been reporter Barbara Webb from the episode Wife Killer. Having said that, the final chase and confrontation between Kimble and Johnson is a very exciting and worthy conclusion. Even then, when the one-armed man falls to his death, Kimble's innocence still appears unprovable until Chandler admits that he saw Johnson kill Helen Kimble. Phew! That was a long 120 episode haul. Mind you; this time I did get to watch the finale in colour!

Edit: My wife just came up with an alternative ending. Kimble DID kill his wife and the one-armed man saw him do it whilst burgling the property and fled in terror. Kimble was hunting Johnson down all the time to prevent him from talking. Having disposed of Johnson, Kimble disappears, much to the chagrin of Gerard. Voiceover: "The one-armed man lies dead, and the running continues."

8/29/67: The Judgement, Part 2 (of my review)

[schappe1 · 1 April 2016]

There are a couple of things I don't like about the finale. For one thing, Gerard is not the same character we've seen for four years. I don't mind the idea that doubt finally crept into his mind and he realizes that he doesn't have to be absolutely certain about everything to function in life. But the touchy-feely Gerard of this episode is unrecognizable. We never get the other climax: Gerard coming face to the face with Kimble's innocence and realizing what he and the justice system has done to this man.

There's also the implication that Kimble's brother-in-law, Leonard Taft , was somehow involved in the murder. I don't mind that so much but why not stick with it? Why create this other character, played by J. D. Cannon, who witnessed the killing and uses Taft's name? Why not make Taft the witness? And why is Leonard Taft played by three different actors during the course of the series? (James Sikking, Lin McCarthy and now Richard Anderson), when Jacqueline Scott played Donna Kimble Taft in all the episodes in which her character appeared. Why not have one actor play Len and have him be the war hero whom his sister-in- law called after the fight and who felt powerless to intervene when the One-Armed Man arrived and was then afraid to admit the truth in the prior episodes in which he had appeared?

I've always felt that Kimble should have been reunited with Monica Wells, (Vera Miles) the woman he started a relationship with in the pilot, "Fear in a Desert City", who already had a son and thus gave Kimble a chance to be the father he always wanted to be. But Monica's profession, (lounge singer), doesn't fit into the plot of the finale. Instead, they invent a character, Jean Carlisle, (played by Diane Baker), we've never seen before who knew Kimble back in Indiana and whose own father was accused of embezzlement and her family shunned by the community. She works as a court reporter and spots the one-armed man and has access to police information, so she plays an important role here. But I wish she'd been introduced as a character previously. Ms. Carlisle's character could have been Ellie Burnett, the character played by Suzanne Pleshette in "World's End", who was in love with Kimble after seeing him through the trial since her father was Kimble's defense attorney.

Two touches I very much like: the recreation of the original opening at the end of Part 1, even to the same train whistle sound, and the simple, wordless handshake between Gerard and Kimble at the very end. Per Peterson's book, the writers had written a mawkish, sentimental exchange between the two men and the actors threatened to kiss each other if they were made to perform it.

Whatever quibbles one might have about this legendary episode, it retains its power if you've seen the 118 episodes that preceded it. When Williams Conrad intones "August 29th, 1967: the day the running stopped!", the surge of elation and relief that rises through you is unlike anything that any other line in TV history has ever produced.

(Interestingly, on the DVD collection I have, the date is September 5, 1967. I suspect that the finale was shown on a different date abroad and that that print was in better condition than the domestic one so it was used for the DVD. But I remember from the A & E presentation that the ending Americans saw said the date was August 29th, the day of the broadcast here.)

Plot summary

[ynot-16 · 9/10 · 28 October 2006]

For emotional impact this clearly gets a 10, but I give it only a 9 because of implausible character actions designed to heighten the excitement of the finale, and a weak, unconvincing romance between Kimble and Jean Carlisle (actress Diane Baker).

Kimble, Lieutenant Gerard and Fred Johnson all go to Stafford, Indiana, each of them with a mission. Johnson's mission leads to his undoing.

In this episode, we finally see the actual murder of Helen Kimble. We see who was there, how she was killed, and why she was killed. Lloyd Chandler (actor J. D. Cannon), a neighbor of Kimble's sister, plays an important role in having the truth come out.

The epilog is touching, and very fitting. Does Kimble go free? You'll have to watch and see for yourself.

The doc ends his run

[jsinger-58969 · 10/10 · 29 March 2022]

Some think it was out of character for Gerard to give Kimble a chance to prove his innocence. But what else was he to do? He surely didn't want to tempt fate to move its huge hand again. And wreck a train again. Now, what seems odd is that Gerard would take Kimble back to Indiana by train, a trip approaching 3 full days. Perhaps he reached the limit of his seemingly unlimited expense account for the case. Anyways, Kimble had saved his life no less than 5 times, and also helped repair his marriage and fix his relationship with his son. So he owed Dr K a solid. When they get to Stafford, the doc is flabbergasted to see that Len Taft, his brother-in-law, is the third different person who is married to his sister. Why are there three Lens when there were only two Darrens? He demands an explanation from Donna, who says that she has been married 3 times, and all of her husbands are named Len Taft. And besides, weren't there 2 different Helens, and both of them were already dead? OK, Dick exclaims, but the kids! What about the kids?! You had 2 kids before. Now you have one, and it's not even one of the original ones. Donna calmly explains that this is the current Len's kid. The other 2 kids are with the previous Lens. Dick is now twitching and smoking furiously. Look, there's only one one-armed man, right? If I don't find him by the end of the show, I'm going to be executed.

About this time, we're introduced to Lloyd Chandler, who holds the key to the whole thing. Lloyd is a well respected citizen whose reputation is based on his being a war hero, only he is not only really a coward, but he was having an affair with Helen at the time of her murder. The exact time. Everyone winds up at the old abandoned 6 flags over Stafford amusement park, where one-arm, whose real name was likely Gus Evans, which he was using before Helen's death and had no reason to change, inexplicably tries to escape by not leaving the park but by climbing to the top of the Ferris wheel. Kimble follows him but is overpowered by Lefty, who is about to kill him when Gerard shoots him dead. Wow, says Chandler. That was the greatest shot I ever saw. The worst, says Gerard. I was aiming for Kimble. The 3 survivors gather under the Ferris wheel, where Lloyd says something which is misinterpreted by Gerard as a crack on his wife, who is suffering from a medical condition. Gerard smacks Lloyd in the face and tells him to keep his wife's name out of his mouth. Lloyd then says that he not only witnessed Helen's murder, but that she was on top of him at the time. Kimble then kicks him in the groin. Gerard asks him if he is willing to testify to that in court but Lloyd says he's too embarrassed, at which point Gerard and Kimble savagely beat him until he agrees to testify. The two adversaries then shake hands as dramatic music plays. The moment we have all been waiting for.

Epilogue - Kimble and new wife Jean are seen arguing. The voice of William Conrad intones "Richard Kimble always wanted to be a father. The fact that his first wife could not bear children and refused to adopt was a source of discord in their marriage. The irony: Richard Kimble is now the father of dozens of children across America. The paternity suits are causing his latest marriage great strife.

Kimble leaves to cool off. He drives by Lake Stafford and smokes a pack while he watches a boy in a rowboat. He then returns home where he almost hits a one legged man hopping away from his house.

A Hitchcockian final episode worthy of the wait.

[mamalv20 · 10/10 · 28 March 2022]

The final episode of The Fugitive finds Kimble working with Gerard to get the one armed man to confess. My theory on Gerard was that he never really thought that Kimble was guilty, but in order to keep his unending pursuit going, at the risk of his own family and sanity, he had to make it true.

Kimble was an unwitting victim of the justice system which only saw him as the protagonist in a troubled marriage. We all wanted him to be exonerated and found to be the truth finder in this bizarre journey. It was shocking to find that the neighbor had seen everything and froze during the killing with Helen Kimble begging for his help. The worst thing was that he let Kimble run and run to escape a death sentence.

The final scene with Kimble being kicked and stepped on when he tries to climb onto the platform is reminiscent of all the running, the beatings, the gunshots during his travels. Finally Gerard kills the real killer and the neighbor stands up and says he will testify that he saw Fred Johnson kill Helen Kimble.

All in all a fine send off to a remarkable journey of four years. My only objection was that Diane Baker winds up with Kimble. They just did not have the same chemistry as Janssen with Suzanne Pleshette. I thought they should have worked it so she was the final choice and helper. Also the use of color for the fourth season took a lot of the noir feel away from the Fugitive. The dark rooms, corners and bleak surroundings were essential to the plight of Dr. Kimble.

Tuesday September 5th 1967: The day the running stopped!

[sol1218 · 8/10 · 3 August 2011]

***SPOILERS***Jaw dropping and exciting final episode of "The Fugitive" with fugitive from justice Dr. Richard Kimble, David Janssen, now in police custody and given one final chance to prove his innocence by his captor Let.Philip Gerard, Barry Morse. Kimble is given by Let.Gerard a 24 hour grace period to track down and force a confession out of his suspected wife Helen's, Diane Brewster, killer the elusive one armed man Lefty Fred Johnson, Fred Raisch, before he's sent on his way to Indiana's death row to await execution for her murder.

The one armed man who mistakes Stafford councilman Llyod Chandler, J.D Cannon,for Kimble's brother in law Lenny Taft, Richard Anderson, who used Lenny's name in bailing him out of jail back in L.A gets in touch with Chandler in getting the $50,000.00 ransom in an effort to keep his name out of the Helen Kimble murder case. It was Chandler who was at the Kimble residence back on September 19, 1961 the night that Helen Kimble was murdered! Having frozen up and doing nothing when Fred the one armed man based Helen's skull open with a floor lamp Chandler, a Korean War hero, was too embarrassed to go to the police and vindicate Richard Kimble in his wife's murder! Thus letting the clueless,in who murdered his wife, Richard Kimble go on his way to the Indiana State electric chair for a crime that he didn't commit!

Filled with pain & guilt in what he did in letting his good friend Richard Kimble twist in the wind these last six years Chandler now plans to shoot down the one armed man at the Stafford deserted amusement park where he arraigned to meet him and hand over the $50,000.00 ransom payment, which he can't come up with, he agreed to give him. It's Chandler's wife Besty (Louise Latham), who he tearfully confessed what to what he did to Kimble, who got in touch with both Det. Gerard and Richard Kimble with the news that her husband was on his way to kill the one armed man for all the trouble he caused for everyone involved,the Kimble's as well as himself, in the series. A nervous and wetting his pants Chandler is to meet, together with the $50,000.00 ransom money, Fred the one armed man at the deserted Stafford amusement park in his plan to ambush and gun him down.

***SPOILER*** Spine tingling final with Kimble taking off after Fred the one armed man after he gunned down and wounded Lt. Gerard with Chandler again freezing up and unable to finish the job, gunning down Fred, that he started out to do. Slugging it out with the lefty Freddie ,his both right hand and arm was missing, Kimble tries to bring him back alive in order to have Fred stand trial for his wife Helen's murder. Not all that cooperative Fred knowing that all the cards is on his side, with Kimble not having the will to shoot and kill him, seems to have gotten the jump on Kimble but he's stopped from murdering him by dropping him down a 100 foot parachute ride, without a parachute, by a wounded Let.Gerard himself who used Chandler's rifle to finish the job that Chandler started!

Now a free man Richard Kimble can finally stop running and have his arthritic feet finally treated for all the the running he did over the last four years in both avoiding capture and at the same time trying to track down and capture the one armed man who murdered his wife Helen whom he was arrested prosecuted convicted and about to be sent on a one way trip to the Indiana State electric chair! Both touching and fitting final scene with Dr.Kimble and his friend from back in Stafford Indiana Jean Carlisle, Diane Baker, walking down the street with a police car pulling up just in front of them with Kimble no longer afraid of being arrested and having to take off running like he did as a fugitive from justice over the last four years! Like the narrators said at the conclusion of the episode Doctor Richard Kimble's days of running are now finally over.

A couple of esoteric comments

[ColonelPuntridge · 9/10 · 18 April 2022]

I'm not gonna say anything about the overall final installment of the show. Well, OK, I'll say one thing about the whole: it's very good, a lovely, festive finale which recaps the series and does not disappoint. But enough reviewers have talked about that. I just have a two items which I haven't seen mentioned.

First, my complaint: the climactic four-way chase scene starts really well - what better venue for a chase than an empty amusement park, with lots of jolly ride-equipment to sneak around and hide behind and climb on, and lots of familiar (in the 1960s) family-outing feeling for the home viewers to enjoy? But (alas, I have to admit this) it does go on a bit too long. It really would be more effective if they had cut, say, 40% of the footage from the final chase, especially Dr. Kimble's grappling bout against the one-armed man. Do we really need to see Kimble pull up through the top-platform opening to the roof of the tower, and get his head kicked down by the bad-guy, and pull himself up again, FOUR times in a row, before he manages to get through and grip the guy by the leg? When the bad guy succeeds in disarming Kimble, does the gun really have to skitter across the platform and stop at the edge, where the two will struggle for another god-knows-how-many seconds trying to get hold if it without falling? They could have used the extra time to deepen the plot, or any of the characters. So, a point or two off for overplaying the final chase.

Now, here's what I especially liked, above and beyond the general stuff everyone is shouting about, is how the MUSIC is used during the flashback, where Lloyd Chandler (JD Cannon), frozen with fear, watches helplessly as the one-armed man beats Mrs. Kimble to death. I don't know whether this was stock-music used throughout the show, or whether it was specially composed for this finale, but either way, it's fantastic and makes the scene impossible to turn away from. A blind person could enjoy this scene, and given the popularity, at least one probably did.

The End (until the movie and the reboot)

[Guad42 · 9/10 · 12 April 2022]

As with most the reviewers, I thought this was a great conclusion, but I also have a few minor quibbles that mirror much of what others wrote. (but that won't stop me from writing it too) I also thought the final love affair was forced and it would have been far better to bring back one of the many women who helped Kimble along the way. As others suggested the obvious one was Suzanne Pleshette. They had great chemistry but, unfortunately, that also extended to off screen and their affair ended badly so, perhaps, the two of them working together was not viable. The choice for me is Janice Rule from the episode "The Walls of Night" from a few weeks prior to this episode. I realize she was on parole but the writers can make it work. Hell, writers bring characters back from the dead. Anyway, I thought their love affair was one of the most believable of the series and Janice is excellent in the role. For once, Kimble also seemed to be committed. Of course, by the time of this two part conclusion, he seems to have gotten over it. As I wrote in my review of 'Walls", two things TV characters get over in a hurry is love affairs and gunshot wounds. Kimble had plenty of both.

Another problem is the witness JD Cannon. Hard to believe a man would let an innocent neighbor be executed when he had the power to save him but decided to protect his reputation. People do damnable things, but I think it is a stretch. Lose that character and solve the problem by the one armed man blurting out a confession while fighting Kimble or he makes a dying declaration after he is shot and falls.

Why Kimble goes up the tower after the one armed man is beyond me. I get it from a dramatic point of view but it makes no sense. Just guard the ladder until police reinforcements get there. Catch him alive.

Still, all are minor problems with the ending of a great series. I can think of only two other series that had concluding episodes back then. Route 66 and Perry Mason. The Mason ending is quite unique. All the other endings I can think of - Route 66, The Fugitive, Mary Tyler Moore show, Bob Newhart show, MASH, Magnum PI, Cheers, Newhart, Friends, Frasier, NCIS New Orleans, rebooted Hawaii 5-0 - their conclusions had life changing events for some/all of the characters. The Perry Mason cast just kept doing what they had always done. We just didn't get to watch anymore. In the first Perry Mason tv movie, Perry is a judge but we never saw the promotion. Some shows deserve a sendoff and The Fugitive did it up right.

It seems the show lasted longer than four years. Part of that is more episodes per year than is done nowadays but part of it is good storytelling stays with you. Of course, a successful movie and a not very successful reboot helped keep the tale in the public arena. In the movie The Mask, when Jim Carrey declares, "It wasn't me! It was the one-armed man!" We all know what he is talking about. Decades later the show still resonates. I think any writer or actor would take that for a legacy.

See this episode and the whole series.

Good result

[evans-15475 · 8/10 · 25 September 2022]

I agree it made no sense that the cop suddenly decided to help Kimble It should probably have been a 1and a half hour special rather than 2 hours but I felt it was a very successful final episode the explanation of what happened was actually far more believable than I was expecting I knew there was no way they would let him have vigilante justice so it was disappointing although not unexpected But what a result for Kimble. Not only was he cleared but he ended up with a much hotter wife than he started off with and to dance on his dead wife's grave no doubt will end up having kids with her,those are the breaks.