If you based your view of small towns on episodes of The Fugitive, Mannix, and Cannon, you would never stop in one of them again. Mayberry they ain't! In this small town two women have been murdered so the menfolk are conducting their own investigations of any stranger. Richard Kimble get interrogated and then when the sheriff shows up, he runs rather than be fingerprinted. He hides out with a girl with a self described "low IQ" helping him stay hidden as the pursuit continues throughout the town. Strong cast with Murray Hamilton (the mayor from Jaws), Harry Dean Stanton, David Sheiner, Mort Mills, and Val Avery. Even the future Mrs Olsen, Virginia Christine, makes an appearance in a memorable role as the girl's mother and she does make coffee. Everyone is a TV veteran and up to par here. June Harding gives a great performance as the challenged young girl who nobody is quite sure how to handle. She reminds me of Kim Darby. Maybe from Darby's role as Miri on Star Trek.
Eventually, Hamilton tricks the young girl in admitting she was with Kimble and the chase is on again. Now the real killer shows up. Kimble chases him around to save the girl. Why the killer would walk into the middle of the pursuit of Kimble, I have no idea. The bad guy gets shot by the cops and the girls shows Kimble the way to escape.
Good episode. Once again Kimble gets away without his gear. That guy must go through a lot of clothes and toilet articles. He needs to be like Jack Reacher - buy clothes and when they get dirty, throw them away and buy more.
8 Reviews
Plot summary
ynot-1628 January 2009
Kimble arrives in town and goes to a diner, where he is set upon by inquisitive vigilantes trying to find the killer who recently strangled two women. As the police arrive, Kimble bolts, and hides in an abandoned factory complex. While there he meets Joanne Mercer (actress June Harding), an attractive young woman of subnormal intelligence who lives with her mother nearby. Kimble and Joanne protect each other, but the police and vigilantes, now working together, arrive and try to flush him out.
Though Joanne wants to keep Kimble's secret, she is vulnerable to deception employed by the vigilantes. Kimble is trapped, and must protect Joanne from the real killer while somehow escaping the great dangers posed by the trigger-happy crowd as well as the police.
Though Joanne wants to keep Kimble's secret, she is vulnerable to deception employed by the vigilantes. Kimble is trapped, and must protect Joanne from the real killer while somehow escaping the great dangers posed by the trigger-happy crowd as well as the police.
Wrong place, wrong time
jsinger-5896914 January 2023
What else is new? Dick drifts into another small town and orders coffee and chili in another greasy spoon when the locals start making him very uncomfortable. Seems like there is a real killer in town who is a strangler. And when Kimble runs away from the sheriff and his prints are taken, it's said that he strangled his wife. It wasn't until later that the writers realized that old one arm was more likely to have bludgeoned poor Helen that to have strangled her. Anyways, Dick wanders into an abandoned building which serves as the playground for a low IQ teen girl. The place is somehow connected by a secret tunnel to the girl's house's basement. Well, the cops, and the girl's mama, suspect that Joanne knows more about Kimble than she's letting on. The more time goes by, the more you forget that there is a real killer out there somewhere. He finally shows up and almost gets Joanne, but good guy Kimble won't have that. He fends off the crazed killer until the cops shoot him (the crazed killer, not the innocent victim of blind justice). Dick bids farewell to Joanne and the cops decide to wait until morning to look for him, giving Dick enough time to blow this popsicle stand and move on to his next adventure.
This Episode was written in my honor
BruceUllm30 August 2007
My late father, Daniel B. Ullman, wrote the story and screenplay of this episode. At the time, I was 13 years old and "did not play well with the other kids." My birth sign is "Moon Child" (AKA: Cancer). The child depicted in this show doesn't fit in with the other kids, either. He is sensitive, introverted and intelligent. I will claim the first two and be grateful for any favorable comparison to the third.
My late parents were souls of patience with me and my ways then and I owe my lack of a criminal record to that. This Fugitive episode was my Dad's way of honoring me and making a case for many other kids like myself who could make it in life with the proper care and nurturing. My dad's caring attitude toward his children is reflected in many of his works, including a "Bonanza" episode entitled "The Unwritten Commandment" (Honor Thy Son).
Although it's difficult for me to be objective about this episode, I hope others may gain something from watching it.
My late parents were souls of patience with me and my ways then and I owe my lack of a criminal record to that. This Fugitive episode was my Dad's way of honoring me and making a case for many other kids like myself who could make it in life with the proper care and nurturing. My dad's caring attitude toward his children is reflected in many of his works, including a "Bonanza" episode entitled "The Unwritten Commandment" (Honor Thy Son).
Although it's difficult for me to be objective about this episode, I hope others may gain something from watching it.
My favorite episode
hmoika12 June 2020
I watched this episode for the second time (since I bought the DVD box set), and again I came away sure that this was my favorite Fugitive episode.
All of the actors turn in fine performances. Of course, June Harding gives THE performance of her short career. She's simply wonderful. And Virginia Christine gives her all (as always) in what is a small role.
Everything.....the script, the direction, the casting, created one of the most memorable episodes. In my estimation, of course.
All of the actors turn in fine performances. Of course, June Harding gives THE performance of her short career. She's simply wonderful. And Virginia Christine gives her all (as always) in what is a small role.
Everything.....the script, the direction, the casting, created one of the most memorable episodes. In my estimation, of course.
2/16/65 "Moon Child"
schappe18 June 2015
A group of small time vigilantes is after someone who killed one guy's wife (Murray Hamilton) and one guy's daughter (Harry Dean Stanton) and they think it must be some stranger, (such thinking is common to committees of vigilance). Kimble's in town and so they question him. He basically clears himself but Stanton isn't convinced and wants him finger-printed by the sheriff. This causes Kimble to bolt and a man-hunt to begin. Kimble winds up hiding in an abandoned building which is the private refugee of what we would now call a 'challenged' teen, (the term at the time was mildly retarded, which went out of favor when the last word was misused). She be friends him and hides him there and in her basement- then the real killer shows up.
Wide-eyed June Harding is the girl. He mother is played by Virginia Christine who in the next decade became "Mrs. Folger" in the coffee commercials. She pours coffee for the Sheriff and Hamilton in this episode but I didn't get the brand.
Wide-eyed June Harding is the girl. He mother is played by Virginia Christine who in the next decade became "Mrs. Folger" in the coffee commercials. She pours coffee for the Sheriff and Hamilton in this episode but I didn't get the brand.
Pretty weird.
planktonrules15 April 2017
Richard Kimble walks into the wrong small town! He didn't realize it but some psychopath has been murdering young women and everyone in town is on guard and looking for strangers. So, when Kimble shows his head he is immediately chased and runs for cover. In the process, he meets a strange mentally challenged young woman who helps him hide. But she is very unstable emotionally....one minute acting like she's his friend and the next calling out for help. She is an odd character, to say the least. In fact, he behaviors are not consistent with a person with an intellectual deficit....she's more just really weird...so weird and unpredictable that the episode comes off as difficult to believe and bizarre. As a result, it's a weak show and one that is watchable but not particularly good.
Moon Child
Christopher37019 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This is another season two favorite of mine mainly for the interactions between Kimble and Joanne, the young woman he encounters who has a low IQ.
Kimble treats her with kindness and sensitivity and never talks down to her due to her condition. She's a lonely person who seems to have no friends and keeps dolls close to her for company. She spends her days alone wandering an old closed down warehouse that has a maze of basements underneath that leads to her home and where she helps to hide her new friend Kimble.
There's a scene where she reveals her low IQ to Kimble and that she's aware that her condition will keep her from marrying and having children. There's both anger and sadness when she shares this with him and it's heartbreaking to watch.
She tries to make herself believe that she hates children anyway, and when she asks Kimble if he hates them too, he replies as he hugs her that he doesn't and that maybe someday he'll have a daughter "and she'll be a lot like you". It's really a wonderfully done scene between the two characters.
When it comes time to part ways and say goodbye, Kimble tells her not to forget that she saved his life. I think this is something that gives her life a new sense of worth and meaning. Before Kimble, she was a lonely girl who most likely didn't believe she mattered due to her condition and when Kimble tells she saved his life, that's now changed. She believes now that she does in fact matter---and hopefully this helps her to connect more with others and possibly even marry someday and have children.
Before Kimble leaves he hesitates for a moment. I think he wanted to leave her with something more but was unsure of what to say. It seemed to me in this moment that Joanne had a profound effect on him just as he did on her. He gives her an affectionate kiss on her forehead before turning to leave.
The look on her face afterwards is priceless and a joy to see because you feel that she'll be a happier person and maybe just a little more sure of herself now that she realizes that she made a difference and mattered in someone else's life. The chase scenes are exciting and suspenseful, but it's the quiet drama that makes this episode so special to me.
And i'd like to thank the reviewer here BruceUllm for sharing the origins of the script for this wonderful episode. It's learning things like this about an episode that gives me a much deeper appreciation for the story, so thank you very much for sharing that with us.
Kimble treats her with kindness and sensitivity and never talks down to her due to her condition. She's a lonely person who seems to have no friends and keeps dolls close to her for company. She spends her days alone wandering an old closed down warehouse that has a maze of basements underneath that leads to her home and where she helps to hide her new friend Kimble.
There's a scene where she reveals her low IQ to Kimble and that she's aware that her condition will keep her from marrying and having children. There's both anger and sadness when she shares this with him and it's heartbreaking to watch.
She tries to make herself believe that she hates children anyway, and when she asks Kimble if he hates them too, he replies as he hugs her that he doesn't and that maybe someday he'll have a daughter "and she'll be a lot like you". It's really a wonderfully done scene between the two characters.
When it comes time to part ways and say goodbye, Kimble tells her not to forget that she saved his life. I think this is something that gives her life a new sense of worth and meaning. Before Kimble, she was a lonely girl who most likely didn't believe she mattered due to her condition and when Kimble tells she saved his life, that's now changed. She believes now that she does in fact matter---and hopefully this helps her to connect more with others and possibly even marry someday and have children.
Before Kimble leaves he hesitates for a moment. I think he wanted to leave her with something more but was unsure of what to say. It seemed to me in this moment that Joanne had a profound effect on him just as he did on her. He gives her an affectionate kiss on her forehead before turning to leave.
The look on her face afterwards is priceless and a joy to see because you feel that she'll be a happier person and maybe just a little more sure of herself now that she realizes that she made a difference and mattered in someone else's life. The chase scenes are exciting and suspenseful, but it's the quiet drama that makes this episode so special to me.
And i'd like to thank the reviewer here BruceUllm for sharing the origins of the script for this wonderful episode. It's learning things like this about an episode that gives me a much deeper appreciation for the story, so thank you very much for sharing that with us.
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