The Fugitive
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Character: Zack
Created by: Roy Huggins
Directed by: Jeff Bleckner
Written by: John McNamara
Episodes: 1x03
Original airdate: October 20, 2000
Episode title: Guilt
Genre: Drama
Running time: 51 minutes

A remake of the popular 1960s TV series of the same name, CBS’ The Fugitive stakes out the old familiar ground. This time out, former Wings star Timothy Daly is cast as Dr. Richard Kimble, who was falsely accused of murdering his wife. Despite his protestations that he’d seen a “one-armed man” fleeing the murder scene, and apparently lacking the financial wherewithal to hire a lawyer like Alan Dershowitz or Johnny Cochran, Kimble was found guilty and sentenced to the electric chair. En route to prison, Kimble managed to escape during a train wreck, and he spends the rest of the series traveling from town to town, adopting a variety of aliases and professions, and helping those whose lives he touches. All the while, Kimble pursues the elusive One-Armed Man (Stephen Lang), even as he himself is being pursued by dogged, single-minded Police Lieutenant Gerard (Mykelti Williamson).

Synopsis:

Dr. Richard Kimble is framed for his wife’s murder by a mysterious one-armed man. During sentencing, Kimble escapes intending to catch the one-armed man and find out why he was framed. Following in hot pursuit is Inspector Philip Gerard, who is intending to bring in Kimble alive. But Gerard and the one-armed man are not the only thing Kimble has to worry about. The father of his late wife has hired bounty hunters who are willing to break the law to catch him, and in the age of internet tracking and high-tech surveillance, it’s not as easy to hide as it used to be.

episode info:

Dr. Kimble, now in Manchester, South Carolina, assumes the identity of Raymond Lee Pettiford and gets a job at a bar. In his first day at his new work, a group of high school boys walk in asking for liquor. Kimble says no and everything ends up in a fight. One of the boys is Zach Lardner, the sheriff’s son. The sheriff is doubtful about who actually started the fight and is suspicious about Jesse, the other bartender who came from Detroit after 18 months in prison. In an attempt to get back at Jesse, Zach and a friend steal the waitress’s car to blame Jesse for it so he can go to back to jail. But Zach speeds too much getting a cop after him. They speed up and the officer crashes and dies. Jesse is arrested for being the main suspect, and Sheriff Lardner investigates Kimble. Meanwhile, Gerard is trying to get some evidence that might lead him to the one-armed man. But he is still after Kimble, and a fax with Kimble’s face is sent to South Carolina. Jesse sees it and hides it before anyone sees it. Sheriff Lardner tries to get his son’s fingerprints, and Zach confesses that he is the one who stole the car, not Jesse. Jesse is released, and thanks Kimble for his help.