Through a bizaree a twist of fate--namely, a spectacular train wreck--Dr. Richard Kimble (
David Janssen, wrongly condemned to death for the murder of his wife, is able to escape his captor, Lt. Philip Gerard (
Barry Morse), and to embark upon a nationwide odyssey in search of the One-Armed Man who was the actual killer of the unfortunate Mrs. Kimble. Though this scenario does not constitute the action in the debut episode of
The Fugitive's first season, the series' premise would be firmly established in the pre-credits "teaser" that ran at the beginning of each and every Season One episode, accompanied by the stentorian narration of
William Conrad. As in subsequent seasons, the first 32
Fugitive episodes find Dr. Kimble taking on a variety of odd jobs and assuming a number of false identities as he travels from town to town, hoping to either catch up with the One-Armed Man or otherwise prove his innocence. Also in each episode, Kimble's trail is dogged by the tireless Lt. Gerard, who has made it his mission in life to recapture the fugitive and deliver him to "Death Row, State Prison." The premiere episode "Fear in a Desert City" finds Kimble, six months after his escape, travelling under the name of Fred Lincoln in Tucson, Arizona (Ironically, Tucson would serve as the locale for
The Fugitive's legendary two-part series finale in August of 1967).
Vera Miles and
Brian Keith are the first of the series' multitude of guest stars, playing local citizens whose lives would be inexorably altered by Kimble's presence. In the weeks to come, Kimble would pop up in Missouri, West Virginia, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington, Alaska, Kentucky, Utah, Connecticut, Nebraska, Illinois, Ohio and Indiana (Kimble's home state). Among the guest performers appearing during Season One are
Sandy Dennis,
Robert Duvall,
Ruby Dee,
Geraldine Brooks,
Jack Weston,
Leslie Nielsen,
Jack Klugman,
Bruce Dern,
Telly Savalas,
Eileen Heckart,
Carroll O'Connor,
Lee Grant and
Gloria Grahame. In the episode "Home is the Hunted",
Jacqueline Scott makes her first appearance as Kimble's married sister Donna Taft, who has always believed in his innocence and with whom he will sporadically remain in contact throughout the remained of the series. And in the two-parter "