Unlike many fictional mavericks, Kimble isn't weighed down by bitterness, contempt, or excessive self-regard.

He's a pragmatic, improvisational survivalist--quick on his feet, elusive, and adaptable to new environments. The Fugitive can be seen as an update of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. Like Inspector Javert in relentless pursuit of ex-con-turned-do-gooder, Jean Valjean, Gerard won't cut Kimble a break, no matter how many good deeds he does. The disgraced doctor's ever-present virtue and integrity serve as constant amplifiers of his tragedy. This is the story of a spiritual quest presented as an adventure tale. As a spiritually-evolved man, Kimble is in the world, but not of it, meaning that not even continual persecution can rob him of the kind of freedom he's determined to maintain.

This program represents a major television achievement. Its finale had the highest ratings in the history of TV at the time. While The Fugitive could get mannered and melodramatic, and the storylines were sometimes predictable, it still holds up today, in part because of Janssen's performance. That was a time when TV characters could be presented as passing every moral test they face, but the saints have disappeared. We're now asked to like characters despite their constant moral failures.