TV Time EXTRA: Revisiting The Fugitive: The Judgment

In my latest TV Time column for ClassicFlix, I continue looking at the top-rated episodes in TV history, and one of the most prominent is part two of the classic series finale of "The Fugitive," "The Judgment." It's a crackerjack (do people still say that?) episode with thrills, chills, and because it's David Janssen, grimaces.

Let's not totally dismiss Part 1, though. My favorite scene is when Richard Kimble, seeing a report that the elusive one-armed man who he thinks killed his wife is in custody, calls the authorities to confirm. Is it really the Fred Johnson he's been pursuing?

Kimble has a brilliant explanation to give the cops for his snooping. "He owes me some money."

At police HQ, guest star Lloyd Hanes says there's no record that the man in custody used that name. “Could you give me some kind of description?”

Kimble replies, “Well, he's about 6 feet...210, maybe 215 pounds, dark hair...right arm is missing.”
I love how Kimble buries the lead. Maybe he thinks it would be too obvious or, worse, self-incriminating, to give away the whole not-having-a-limb thing?

Then Haynes' character says, “Hmm. Could be him, I guess. You got anything else to pin it down?” Anything else to pin it down! Yeah, do you have anything to distinguish him, like a mole?

Of course, our man Kimble ain't no fool. He eyes the copper and says, "Uh, no thank you," before getting the heck out of Dodge (NOTE: "The Fugitive" series finale does not actually begin nor end in Dodge).

"He's on to me! I KNEW I overplayed it by mentioning the arm thing. Nobody would ever use that to identify someone."