I'm not gonna say anything about the overall final installment of the show. Well, OK, I'll say one thing about the whole: it's very good, a lovely, festive finale which recaps the series and does not disappoint. But enough reviewers have talked about that. I just have a two items which I haven't seen mentioned.
First, my complaint: the climactic four-way chase scene starts really well - what better venue for a chase than an empty amusement park, with lots of jolly ride-equipment to sneak around and hide behind and climb on, and lots of familiar (in the 1960s) family-outing feeling for the home viewers to enjoy? But (alas, I have to admit this) it does go on a bit too long. It really would be more effective if they had cut, say, 40% of the footage from the final chase, especially Dr. Kimble's grappling bout against the one-armed man. Do we really need to see Kimble pull up through the top-platform opening to the roof of the tower, and get his head kicked down by the bad-guy, and pull himself up again, FOUR times in a row, before he manages to get through and grip the guy by the leg? When the bad guy succeeds in disarming Kimble, does the gun really have to skitter across the platform and stop at the edge, where the two will struggle for another god-knows-how-many seconds trying to get hold if it without falling? They could have used the extra time to deepen the plot, or any of the characters. So, a point or two off for overplaying the final chase.
Now, here's what I especially liked, above and beyond the general stuff everyone is shouting about, is how the MUSIC is used during the flashback, where Lloyd Chandler (JD Cannon), frozen with fear, watches helplessly as the one-armed man beats Mrs. Kimble to death. I don't know whether this was stock-music used throughout the show, or whether it was specially composed for this finale, but either way, it's fantastic and makes the scene impossible to turn away from. A blind person could enjoy this scene, and given the popularity, at least one probably did.
First, my complaint: the climactic four-way chase scene starts really well - what better venue for a chase than an empty amusement park, with lots of jolly ride-equipment to sneak around and hide behind and climb on, and lots of familiar (in the 1960s) family-outing feeling for the home viewers to enjoy? But (alas, I have to admit this) it does go on a bit too long. It really would be more effective if they had cut, say, 40% of the footage from the final chase, especially Dr. Kimble's grappling bout against the one-armed man. Do we really need to see Kimble pull up through the top-platform opening to the roof of the tower, and get his head kicked down by the bad-guy, and pull himself up again, FOUR times in a row, before he manages to get through and grip the guy by the leg? When the bad guy succeeds in disarming Kimble, does the gun really have to skitter across the platform and stop at the edge, where the two will struggle for another god-knows-how-many seconds trying to get hold if it without falling? They could have used the extra time to deepen the plot, or any of the characters. So, a point or two off for overplaying the final chase.
Now, here's what I especially liked, above and beyond the general stuff everyone is shouting about, is how the MUSIC is used during the flashback, where Lloyd Chandler (JD Cannon), frozen with fear, watches helplessly as the one-armed man beats Mrs. Kimble to death. I don't know whether this was stock-music used throughout the show, or whether it was specially composed for this finale, but either way, it's fantastic and makes the scene impossible to turn away from. A blind person could enjoy this scene, and given the popularity, at least one probably did.