What did everyone think of "The Purple Testament"? Watch more Twilight-Tober Zone here - bit.ly/TwilightToberZone Follow Walter on Twitter - twitter.com/Awesome_Walter Follow us on Twitch - www.twitch.tv/channelawesome
I disagree with your take on this episode. This episode really spoke me and I came away with a completely different take. To me this was about how when you’re in an environment where you see so much death you can start to sense who is going to die around you. This has actually happened to people in war zones but is more common in hospitals. Yes he doesn’t really do anything but what can he do? He only knows they will die not when or how. It’s that sense of powerlessness that I found so tragic and powerful.
"The Invaders" was really bad imo, it took me so long to finish watching that episode. I hated how everything was handled the only decent part is the ending twist.
@@kingkrelly1315 it's a decent episode I just kind of wish they did more with it. Like play up the paranoia and resentment from the other soldiers or have him try to prevent a death only for things to get worse. Guess there's only so much time in an episode though
@@gregjenkinson7512 Great idea! I would love to see him try to save some fellow soldiers and they still end up dead. Then he has to ponder if fate took his interference into account. Basically it could have been an episode about fighting fate and pre-determinism. It needed more time in the oven for sure.
Even though the episode is a lot to be desired. I liked it a lot, because it’s not some magic devil, or some paranormal monstrosity that is aiming for the heads of our protagonist . Instead it is something small. Inconspicuous that haunts the lieutenant, something that does not seem too dreadful on paper, but makes the world of a difference to the wrong person at the right time
I personally like the idea of this episode. It’s sad and scary for the thought of knowing someone is going to die but try to explain and you will be seen is crazy. So is it best to know and be silent or not to know and save a life? Life can’t always be easy even in “The Twilight Zone”.
Considering the fact that Rod Serling served in WW2 and the fairly subdued nature of the opening and closing narration, not to mention that this episode came out while America was still recovering from one war and was on the verge of plunging into another, I think the entire point of the episode is the fact that the main character does very little with his gift/curse beyond just trying to get people to believe that it exists. Because really, what *can* he do with it? He's not the one in charge of sending these men to their deaths and when he tries to speak out about his power, the only people willing to believe him even a little are the ones who are even more powerless about the situation than he is, the ones whose morale is already at breaking point. So what realistic good could he possibly have done with the knowledge before each battle of who would die when no one in an actual position to help believes him? The question of causation vs correlation is deliberately left up in the air for the main character - is him knowing in advance which men will die what's causing them to die or is he merely seeing what was always bound to happen? He starts off convinced it's the former and then by the end, it's heavily implied that he sees it as the latter. The more he tries to convince his friend of what he's seeing and to stay behind on the latest mission, the more determined his friend is to not listen to him and dismiss the whole thing as the result of trauma and superstition. There's something just so sad and resigned about the episode, especially when it comes to the ending: he's come to accept so completely that anyone whose face glows is effectively a dead person walking that even when it comes to trying to save himself he does absolutely nothing to fight it and willingly goes to his death, probably as a form of suicide to stop the torture of knowing exactly who won't be coming back from each battle and being helpless to do anything to prevent it. It's as much a reflection of the growing disillusionment of "the glory of war" within the US post-WW2 as anything else. And to be perfectly honest, there's more than enough "protagonist has knowledge of future events and tries to change it" stories out there and they can only really end in one of two ways: either the protagonist succeeds in changing things or fails (99% of the time via self-fulfilling prophecy). I personally actually think it's quite refreshing to come across something in the "Cassandra mode" of such things - where the protagonist knows what will happen but cannot/will not try to change it.
One of my favorite Twilight Zone Episodes💯💯 Being a soldier (Rod Serling) in the war..... He knew the feelings displayed in this episode. Cause guaranteed, he felt the same during the war. In the beginning of the episode.. Listen to his narration.. That was a shoot, because he was there during WW2.
My favorite war themed Twilight Zone episode is: "Two" (S3E1) starring Charles Bronson & Elizabeth Montgomery, followed closely by "A Quality of Mercy". (S3E15) Good story & good cast. (including an early appearance by the legendary, Leonard Nimoy 🖖) I also love "30,000 Fathom Grave", (S4E2) but I don't know if most people wold consider it a "war" episode. (early 1960s US navy destroyer investigating an unknown sunken object which turns out being....(don't want to give away spoilers) Along with "Death Ship" (S4E6) they're also, IMO, the creepiest/spookiest Twilight Zone episodes. (although there are many great runner ups, like "The Invaders" (S2E15), "To Serve Man (S3E24) "The Grave, (S3E7) "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (S5E2), "Nick of Time" (S2E7) etc. The latter 2 both star the legendary William Shatner. The Twilight Zone is such a great series with so many great episodes. IMO it's on a VERY short list of the greatest TV series ever made. I believe the series is timeless. Even the futuristic Sci-Fi episodes that have proven to be wrong from a technology standpoint, are still great because they're a excellent example of "Retro-Futurism".
This episode is notable for marking the first role of Barney Philips, who played Gunther, in Twilight Zone. He went on to make three more appearances, most famously in Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up, and is considered a TZ legend.
One of my faves, largely because of the interaction between Fitz and Riker which was quite good. Fitz knew. Riker thought it was battle fatigue. Reynolds did a great job building character substance with such short notice in taking over the role. Thanks for posting this.
@@gingergoddess8953 Also there's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet". The 1980s version though it was tainted by what happened in one of the later segments of the movie involving Vic Morrow and the kids.
I actually like the concept. When you go to war, there is a good chance that you and your fellows are not gonna make it. I like the concept of every day could be your last and you are unable to change that.
"I like the concept of every day could be your last and you are unable to change that." I mean, that's kinda true for out of war as well. I know it's less likely, but it's still something to remember in everyday life.
I was about 10 years old when The Purple Testament aired on the Twilight Zone and it has haunted me from that very day! Another movie that I will never watch again is Deer Hunter - it so impacted me that I fell into a depression for several months over it! I also saw the original The Fly when I was about 8 or 9 at a drive-in with my folks - they were not well enlightened about how scary shit can stay with someone for a long time - I still vividly remember the scene of the guy caught in the spider's web!
seriously? this was the Greek story of Cassandra set during WW2. it was brilliant. cursed to see the fates of men but never to be believed? he welcomed that land mine...
War Stories had to be handled a lot more diplomatically in the years when this episode first aired. Between WWII and the Korean War, almost every person in the audience would have had family members who had first hand experience as soldiers. The films in our own era are far more like to treat soldiers like superheroes and war like a high-tech video game then the wars of this era and a lot of that has to do with the way warfare has changed in the subsequent decades.
This was one of the first twilight zone episodes I ever saw, and it gave me absolute chills! That final scene left me stunned, and Dick York was fantastic to watch. But it's true, it's a very typical war story, and a very typical supernatural tilt.
Personally I liked this episode. Not every episode needed to be complex or incredibly deep with a huge twist. Sometimes less is more. Sometimes it's the subtle little things which are the most terrifying of all. Also, having this ability; not as though there was much the main character could do with it.
I think this episode had more to do with that feeling some combat soldiers get when they feel their number is up. Fitz's power was this feeling manifested but it was not something he could control. It was not like the men could call in sick from the war and avoid their deaths. It was inevitable unavoidable fate and Fitz was cursed not blessed with this knowledge. Serling served in the Pacific and saw a lot of death which no doubt influenced this story.
I think that's the genius of the episode. It did not do much with the concept. The soldier could not do very much, it was hopeless. We got a brief glimpse of a situation that was doomed from the start. Brevity and gravitas all in one. :)
@@claytonrios1 I think this was the best thing they could have done with it. Instead of some Bombastic story about him trying and failing to use the power and save people its really a metaphor for watching your comrades die in war as you helpless march forward into. It represents his guilt as an officer, how personally he holds each loss.
Man, what could be worse? Knowing what's coming or not? War is Hell so much so that even walking into it forewarned might not provide much consolation.
There might be more to it. He's a soldier & gave himself a pretty confident look after seeing his reflection. He might have already been resigned to death from the start, the whole "death before dishonor" thing.
Bro, you just reviewed “The Fever”, and this is the episode you open with “I don’t really like it”? To each their own, I suppose lol. York leaving his photos and ring on the table is one of the most emotionally resonant moments of the series, in my opinion.
I thought the story was a strong one, but the lieutenant was the weak part. And i thought the almost mundane way his power was treated. Every one of them knows they could be killed at any point. His power is not all that helpful in the largest conflict in human history after all
That's why I don't understand the criticism that he didn't do anything with his power. There really was nothing he could do in that situation. He was answering to people above him and all he could do was carry out their orders knowing the fates of some of his men and that if those men didn't die somebody else would. I love this episode because it shows a real stark bleakness to the situation that they were in and the inability to change it in a much more subtle way than the over the top "Trying to force fate to change" type scenario's that are so common today.
I actually really like this episode, if it wasn't for a few minor moments when the acting was a little off, I would have given it an A+. Let's not forget that Dean Stockwell was originally supposed to play the lead, before having to back out due to a scheduling conflict, and then coming back for Season 3's "A Quality of Mercy". I like Reynolds in the lead though.
Just started watching the Twilight Zone for the first time and saw this episode last night. I'd like to point out that Dick York's character did end up believing that that soldier could see who was going to die. He left his photos and wedding ring behind before they went out on that fateful mission. I really like Dick York from Bewitched so it was fun watching his character. But I agree it was really frustrating how the soldier knew what was going to happen but had given up in the end and not done anything about it. Even if he didn't care about his own life, he could have tried to save the driver. Even if it seemed to everyone else that he was a raving lunatic, at least maybe they would have strapped him to a bed and kept him there out of concern for the other soldiers' safety. At least still try to do something anyway.
I can see now where 2008 movie starring john Malkovich in 'afterwards' got the idea of with the vision to foresee the death of someone with a glowing white light.
a better twist would've been that Riker continues to disbelieve fitzgerald...until he sees fistgerald's face glow, and upon his death Riker ends up taking fitzgerald's place,until he too ends meeting a man who doesn't beleive him, a man who may also end up tkaing Riker's place one day...
I like this one but I kind of like the 2002 version better in which a teacher sees the light on the faces and tries to prevent a school shooting. She also gave her life by trying to stop the assassin rather than it being an accident from a land mine. The performances are very good in this one and you can see the fatigue and despair in war that Serling experienced first hand.
See I don't care for that one as much simply because it is so tropey. I like that he's in a no win situation with this power where he can't do much to stop it and actually avoids all the tropes to this kind of thing in this version of the episode over the newer one (and many other books, movies, tv shows, etc).
I think, as a casual writer, the thing that bugs me in this episode is that it SCREAMS for the end of act II twist being 'And he sees the light on EVERYONE'S faces.' His included, naturally. Act III becomes 'how do I save anyone?' Maybe a confrontation with a general, maybe he gets accused of being a Nazi spy and shot, as he dies, he sees everyone else's faces go back to normal, plan compromised, has to be redone, something.
This is one where you have to be mindful of the time period it was made in. Vietnam War ring any bells? It was a subtle war protest episode. War Is Bad was a controversial statement then, as was any negative depiction of WWII.
The U.S. didn't get involved in Vietnam until the Kennedy years so I don't know where you got the idea this episode referenced the war. Most likely, The Purple Testament just reflected American exhaustion with war in general, especially considering the Korean War ended only 7 years before the episode's airing and PTSD was starting to be studied.
@@jlev1028 My guy, the US sent its first troops to Vietnam in the 1950s. The first ones to die in South Vietnam were in 1959. Not to mention the Cold War was going on and had been. People were tired of war.
Nothing new... that's kind of unfair. Just because the premise has been done to death NOW doesn't mean that it wasn't still original THEN. Geez, take off your modern lenses and look at it from the view point of 70 years ago, and maybe you won't be so harsh about it.
Please no, I would rather those skits be kept to Nostalgia Critic episodes. Whenever those "modern reenactments" were played at the start and end of certain Twilight Tober Zone videos, they not only broke the pace but felt pointless.
I’d almost say this wasn’t a Twilight zone episode,because it feels as if the character never actually used the power at all. What made the TZ work was when the characters seemingly had a chance to actually change their fate,but they actually stepped into what ment to happen.
Interesting that you described this at Twilight Zone's first "war" episode, I'd have said "Last Flight" could also meet that criteria. Speaking of, we're 2 for 2. "Purple Testament" has all the same problems its immediate predecessor does: it's well-performed, competently directed, originates from an interesting/spooky premise and it has *zero* twists. We don't question that Lt. Fitzgerald has precognition any more than we do that Lt. Decker has travelled through time. It's self-evident, there are no swerves, and thus no mark is made on the viewer. In this episode, it wouldn't have been hard to sew some doubt. When Fitz visits Smitty in the hospital, the man is clearly sweating and in pain even though everyone says he's going to be alright. Seeing this, Fitz could've subconsciously assumed Smitty was dying. Under the pressure of the war, he could've made similar guesses about his previous 4 soldiers too, but they never go there. Last similarity, both men are similarly resigned to their doomed fate. Of the two Decker comes out as more likable for his character growth and noble sacrifice for his friend. Fitz just sighs and takes his jeep ride knowing full well he and his driver are going to bite the big one... our hero ladies and gentlemen. I get that it's a commentary about how this knowledge and all the atrocities of war have broken him, but it does nothing help this episode's impact.
I thought this episode was fantastic. It's moody and somber atmosphere was never taken to extremes, the characters were compelling, and the episode was haunting. I've seen it over a million times, and it still gets to me. That's great writing, acting, and directing. I have to disagree with Walter on this one.
Totally with you on this. The part where Riker (played beautiful by Dick York) has just been told by Fitz that he won't survive the battle that he was about to lead his men into just destroys me. You know, the part where right after Fitz has told him and leaves his tent, Riker takes the photos of his family out of his wallet and puts them on his desk, then puts his wedding ring and dog tags on top of the photos. Damn, that's so moving.
The lieutenant's power was interesting yet the usefulness of it is in question. It shows him who will die but not how so if someone were to stay behind at camp after learning they would die, they'll still get killed somehow anyways.
How I would've done it: Make it where he can see who dies as well as who only gets hurt. Make it not as obvious at first, only a subtle difference between the two. Maybe he would try to use it to try to prevent their deaths, but cannot. I'd say, make it end with his whole platoon heading out, and all of them, including himself, glow with death.
Closing narration of the episode: "From William Shakespeare, Richard the Third, a small excerpt. The line reads, 'He has come to open the purple testament of bleeding war.' And for Lieutenant William Fitzgerald, A Company, First Platoon, the testament is closed. Lieutenant Fitzgerald has found the Twilight Zone." This line is actually from Richard II, not Richard III.
Everything that Walter said in this review, I agree with. "The Purple Testament" had potential but there was never a real punch to the twist because you could see it coming a mile away. If I were to rewrite this, I would have moved Riker's death scene. Fritzgerald would still be the one in peril at the end. However, Riker, starting to believe in his friend's strange ability, would find a way to save him, sacrificing himself instead.
my fav eps are the bad seed and the one with Anthony..my parents used to weirdly quote that last one all the time when I was a little kid..every time I had a tantrum telling me to 'put the person in the cornfield' my parents were weird lol XD
The concept for this episode was later reused for the 2002 reboot hosted by Forest Whitaker, entitled "Into the Light". Though that episode had a teacher gain the ability within a commentary on the Columbine shooting.
Interestingly enough, this premise was re-hashed in the early 2000’s remake of The Twilight Zone. But the war setting was replaced with that of a school, with the climax involving a school shooting. It wasn’t the most tactful approach, but I preferred that modern episode to this episode, which is weird to say cause I LOVE this original series.
This was about the futility of the Lieutenants effort to keep his men alive. The light is the guilt he feels knowing he is sending men into a meat grinder, and whoever survives has to suck it up and keep going. It’s very somber, and much like war very hopeless. Episode would have ended better if he saw the light in himself and just walked off, fading out. With more polish it would stand with the best
I agree they should have dug deeper with the concept, though I'm not sure how much they could have done in a half hour... This was another one where I saw the ending coming a mile away.
No star.trek Jokes.with "riker" ?_(yes I distinctly heard him say.PHIL ruler and yes I know the TNG character is WILL riker its.close enough damnit! ) lol
I heard Riker the entire time too -- never heard Ruler. He 100% says "Phil Riker" and tbh I wouldn't be surprised if William Riker got his name from that. Artists like to pay homage all the time. Heck! I literally made a space fairing character I named Troy Riker [well Jr but still]) in homage to TNG. Not that I'm anyone special, but it was one of those things that it's like "These things inspired my love of this concept so, Ima pay homage!"
They redid this one in 2000/1 that reset it to a school setting. The ending had a better set up too and the pace felt more timed rather than shamble-shamble-shamble RUUUSH
