S.1. Ep. 19. "The Purple Testament"

Lt. Fitzgerald

The handsome William Reynolds plays Lt. Fitzgerald a soldier stationed in the Philippines during WWI. Dick York plays Capt. Phil Riker. Lt. Fitzgerald has a special talent, he can see in the faces of his fellow soldiers who is going die in battle. A strange light glows in the faces of the soldiers. He marks four of 44 men. Then while visiting a wounded friend in the hospital he sees the light in his face. Seconds later, he dies. 

Lt. Fitzgerald's Friend, Smitty

Next up in Fitz freaky visions is his Capitan. He warns him to go out on the mission but his Capitan cannot not go so after Fitz leaves the tent Riker takes off his wedding ring and puts in on top of pictures of his wife and his two baby boys. Outside awaits the entire platoon. The men nervously stare at Fitzgerald wondering if their faces are glowing or not. One man freaks out and screams at Fitzgerald asking him to tell him whether or not he's going to make it. Riker tells the platoon there is no one who is a mind reader in the platoon, not even Fitz. The mission goes quite successfully. with the exception of the loss of Capt. Riker. Fitz is given the orders to report back to division for some R&R. 

As he packs up, he takes a double look into a mirror. As he does this... he sees the glow in his own face. He driver of the jeep approaches him and tells him they're all ready to take off. Another soldier tells Fitz that the driver is the most careful driver in the U.S. Army. The driver tell Fitz they have about a four hour drive. Fitz automatically sees the glow in the driver's face and says, "I doubt it." The next scene at the camp, the soldiers here a boom. However, they pass it off as thunder.

SPIN

I've previously discussed PTSD in other posts and how it really truly disturbs soldiers. I lived and witnessed a prime example, my dad. This episode of the TZ is interesting because it exemplifies the effects of PTSD in a war zone environment back in the age when the diagnosis didn't exist. Plus, the fact the William Reynolds is such a gorgeous man with a complicated psyche just makes this episode so enjoyable. So, I checked out the interwebs to see if I could find people who could predict deaths. Unfortunately, Shamanbook.com hasn't been created yet so I couldn't friend request any aboriginals. However, I did find a cat named Oscar.

 He's been a hot ticket for a couple years. This cat was rescued in 2005 as a kitten as raised in Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre in Providence, RI. Since 2007, Oscar has predicted 25 deaths. In 2010, when the cat was reviewed he had predicted 50 deaths. Animals can smell and detect the radical changes in chemicals in human beings in which allow doctors to give more accurate prognosis. Oscar will walk inside the room of a patient who has a few hours to live then sit outside the door before their death. That is how the doctors can tell. Oscar has been featured in the Daily Mail Online in 2007 and the Telegraph in 2010.