Predicting Your Own Death

Smartass twenty-year-old? Or just a really sad story? You decide.

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.

Entertainment Weekly talks to 80-year-old William Shatner about his experiences on The Twilight Zone

I would have reposted the article here but EW doesn't have a Blogger share button. Whomp, whomp.

The Shatner.

S.1.Ep.17. "The Fever"

Franklin Gibbs, played by Everett Sloane, and his wife, Flora Gibbs, played by Vivi Janiss, are in Las Vegas on vacation for winning a contest. Mr. Gibbs hates gambling but loves his wife. A drunken man gives him a coin and Mr. Gibbs uses it in a slot machine. His wife and him start to walk away, when he hears his name being whispered from the slot machine. That night he dreams of the potential money he could win. He abruptly awakes and tells his wife he has to return the tainted money to the machine. He goes back into the casino and plays the same slot machine over and over again for hours. Flora comes out to find him mindlessly feeding the machine. She tries to gently persuade him to stop playing but instead he flips out and tell her to stop giving him back luck. As he feeds the machine, he tells Flora that he believes if he keeps going it'll pay up, he'll win eventually, he can feel it, he knows he'll win soon enough. After losing every single dollar, he flips the machine over and security takes him back to his room. Flora puts him in bed. He's convinced that the slot machine is actually an entity or other worldly being out to get him. Soon enough, Franklin begins to hear his name called by the slot machine more clearly. He opens his hotel door and there stands the slot machine. It corners him to the window and pushes him out the window to his death.














SPIN


Since I'm quitting my shitty waitressing job soon I'm not afraid to write this.

Gambling is a serious problem. One of my managers is an obsessive gambler with the face of the Michael Meyers mask. I'm talking he has a bookee and everything. This dude gambles on everything, too. From scores of games to who's going to get hurt first in the season. He carries around a piece of paper in his pocket with statistics, strange insignia only he understands and he pays more attention to the 20 television sets in the place than the customers do. It's really annoying. He already hates his life and treats all us waitresses like shit. So if he loses or breaks even, you can tell. He becomes even worse. He's my boss. Too bad he acts like a five-year-old alcoholic.

Fresh off the internet press, Post-Gazette reporter, Tom Barnes, wrote about the progress of a law that would make it mandatory for casinos to send statements home to their regular gamblers reporting their winnings and losses for the month.

If this would pass, that would make gamblers see their damage on paper. Like they really want to see that nonsense. The casinos wouldn't want to send those out either, are you kidding? An honest casino is an oxymoron. Psshh. Please.

Nightmare At 20,000 Feet

John Lithgow is intense.

"Twilight Zone: The Movie"

Thanks to fellow Twilight Zone blogger, Craig Beam, I received the 1983 Steven Spielberg interpretation of the Zone. He held a contest for the movie and I won. Boom. Dan Aykroyd is the only actor I recognized. Spielberg, John Landis, Joe Dante and George Miller directed the four segments of the movie.

The first segment is directed by John Landis. He uses influences from "A Quality of Mercy", "Deaths-Head Revisited" and "What You Need".Guy begins offending people with racial slurs. Suddenly, people see him as the people he offended.

Segment two is a Steven Spielberg's remake of, "Kick the Can". Elderly people wish to be young again and a man named Mr. Bloom turns them all into children. They shortly realize there's no one to take care of them and they won't have the people they love. Mr. Blooms restores all except one to their true age.

Awesome Rabbit from "It's a Good Life"

Joe Dante directs the third segment a remake of, "It's a Good Life". This is my favorite segment of the movie. He used awesome 1980s cinematographic special effects. A little boy, Anthony, convinces a woman to take him home where she realizes she is doomed to escape. Anthony controls all aspects of his family and the people he has gained control of, too. At the end, Anthony wishes nearly everything away and goes home with the woman.


Segment four is the remake of the classic, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" directed by George Miller. John Lithgow plays Mr. Valentine. Lithgow's acting made me laugh aloud. He already appears cracked out. It's simply ridiculous to watch. His portrayal or Mr. Valentine is hysterical. Mr. Valentine believes there is a monster on the roof. He goes nuts on the plan, even opens a window and shoots a gun at the monster. When the flight lands, the technicians discover the damage on the plane's wing where Mr. Valentine believed he saw the monster.


One of my first few posts discusses this movie. I didn't like it then and I'm still not impressed.  Joe Dante's portion was the best. Also, I enjoyed the fact that Meredith Burgess, Mr. Bemis, recited the classic Twilight Zone opening narration. I give it two stars.

Time's Top Ten Twilight Zone Episodes Disagreement

Lists are fun. Organized. Interesting. Rated. I'm glad to see Time Magazine Online did make a top ten list of episodes but I'm going to have to disagree with them. Sorry guys.

I think the list as a whole is for amateur Twilight Zone viewers. Those people who call themselves fans because they remember the guy with the glasses but can't remember that his name is Mr. Bemis. Or they call the writer, director, creator and host, Ron Sterling instead of the correct, Rod Serling.

Here is my Top Ten list of Twilight Zone episodes:

1. "Two" (1961)
2. "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" (1961)
3. "A Penny for Your Thoughts" (1961)
4. "Nick of Time" (1960)
5.  "The Mirror" (1961)
6. "Little Girl Lost" (1962)
7. "Number 12 Looks Just Like You" (1964)
8. "The Masks" (1964)
9. "Stopover in a Quiet Town" (1964)
10. "Nightmare As A Child" (1960)

Don't worry, you'll learn about these episodes soon enough. All in good time, all in good time.