Seems like it would be The Girl from Little Egypt for several reason. Surely someone knows the which one it was.
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Resolutely Analog In A Digital World!
That would be "Fear In A Desert City" with Brian Keith and Vera Miles.
"The Girl From Little Egypt" is a popular episode though because it gives people the background story. However it didn't come along until fourteen episodes into the first season of the series.
Well I knew that "Fear In A Desert City" was the first televised episode, but that doesn't automatically mean that it was the pilot for the series. Back in the old days episodes were often shown out of production order, for one reason or another, and it was often the case that the pilot episode was not the first one telecast.
I nominated "The Girl From Little Egypt," for a couple of reason: it recapitulated the murder, and it didn't follow the normal Fugitive dilemma, where Kimble is in danger of being turned in to the police. It's quite unlike any other episode and seems to have been done before they decided on the formula for the show.
I was hoping someone might have read a book that provided the background of the show.
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Resolutely Analog In A Digital World!
Well there's an excellent book by Ed Robertson on The Fugitive that gives some background on this show. Also Mel Proctor's book on the series devotes an entire chapter to the pilot episode.
Fear In A Desert City was not only the first televised episode, but was indeed the pilot for the series as well.
The Girl From Little Egypt came about when the network learned from several advanced screenings of the pilot that audiences wanted to know more about what happened the night Helen Kimble was murdered as well as the trial of Richard Kimble.
Quinn Martin asked one of the writers Stanford Whitmore to do a flashback episode - and so he wrote The Girl From Little Egypt.