The Incredible Hulk--
"Veteran"
Vietnam veteran Jack Hewitt is lost in the fog of memories of the war--and some sort of illness. Resting in an alley, a would-be robber tries to steal one of Jack's cases, but is scared off by café employee David
Barnes. David takes the ill Hewitt to his apartment, but the man cannot rest, as he's plagued by nightmares of the war, including his failure to stop the bizarre figure of a man in a porcelain-mask screaming
"Kill the enemy! Kill 'em all!!". Shocked from his nightmare, Hewitt and Banner learn a little about the other--
Hewitt: "You been on your own a long time?"
David: "Yup, long enough."
Hewitt: "It's been a while since...since I've been on my own. But here I am. I'm back, and a guy tries to steal my gear. Really nice, huh? Does that ever happen to you? I mean somebody jumps you and stuff?"
David: "I always run first."
Hewitt: "I run, too. I used to run all the time. No more. I'm gonna fight back, now! From now on!"
David: "Violence doesn't usually work. At least not for me. I find that it isn't worth it in the long run. You said something about being back. Is this your hometown?"
Hewitt: "I once lived in this city. Dad works here. My old man. A hard worker. Makes his living off of other people's throwaways. The things that he really doesn't want. But he uses them, you know? Like me. He really didn't want me. Not really. So, I come back to pay the debt."
David: "Debt?"
Hewitt: "Yeah, I...sorry. I'm not used to talking so much."
Feeling he's overstayed his welcome, Jack prepares to leave--and share the few dollars in his possession. David refuses the money, of course, but notices something in one of Jack's open cases. Not long after Jack's departure, David spots a newspaper ad for rifles, which jars his memory of Jack's case, which he now recalls contained rifle parts and box of .22 caliber bullets. Adding Jack's "
So, I come back to pay the debt", David fears Jack intends to kill someone.
Jack barges his way into Lisa Morgan's dance studio, which overlooks the park where preparations are made for the campaign rally of Harrison Cole (Hewitt's old squad member); Lisa's protests are met with Jack's erratic demands--and her getting full sight of the rifle. Hinting that he will hurt her if she causes trouble, Lisa stands petrified. Elsewhere, David makes an anonymous call to the police, warning them about Jack's plans. For his effort, the police assume David is connected, trace the payphone, and suspect the call came from a restaurant (thanks to the sound of dishes in the background). At Lisa's studio, the dancer breaks down, begging for an explanation for his plan to kill Cole; Jack's mind slips into memories again, where he entered an army morgue, unzipped a body bag containing
his dog tags...his body. Behind him, the porcelain-masked man reveals himself to be Harrison Cole.
Speaking of Cole, David--not expecting police action--visits Cole, warning him about Jack's alleged assassination attempt, only to be laughed at by Cole, who believes Jack died in the war. Kicking David's claims aside, Cole suddenly becomes irate, and signals his assistant--Howard Miller--to forcibly remove David. Privately, Cole believes David knows some unspoken truth about him, which Miller will discover, using the usual methods...
One of those methods includes strapping David to a char, and connecting him to a device originally designed to stress test alloys, now modified to send powerful electric charges through David's head. Not accepting any of Banner's repeated explanations or warnings, Miller reconnects the device, cranks it up , then leaves a screaming Banner alone in the room. Seconds later, Banner transforms into the Hulk, breaks out of the room, and throws a shelf into the bodies of Miller and his gun-toting associates, before leaving the building.
That evening, Jack--still holding Lisa hostage at her dance studio--cradles the rife, still focused on killing Cole--
Lisa: "Can I ask you something? You said he killed you. Listen, I might die tomorrow, and I want to know why."
Jack: "You won't die. I promise."
Lisa: "How can you promise anything? You're the one that's gonna start it all, for God's sake! I wanna know why! Maybe I could help."
Jack: "Lance Corporal Jack Hewitt...Captain Harrison Cole...they were in a war. And there was a war going on between them, too."
Lisa: "Vietnam?"
Jack: "Nam, yeah...Sunny Southeast Asia. Going up against craziness...going up against it every day. Pretty soon, Lance Corporal Hewitt couldn't take it. No more! I couldn't! And I told Harrison Cole! Right out--right to his face, I told him! One more time, just one more time you murder one of those dumb fools, and I'm gonna tell the whole world! Cole believed me. He believed me, and he knew that when it happened again, I would talk. Pretty soon, there was a patrol sent and it was a setup...nobody was coming back. We were all zapped."
Jack: (motioning to his case)
"It's all in the bag. all written down. The whole story. All the so-called reasons. All the insane stupidities. And the name of the man responsible for letting the murder multiply..Captain Harrison Cole. "
Lisa: "But you said he killed you. How?"
Jack: (distracted)
"You're really pretty, you know? It's...it's really weird being with someone as pretty as you. It's been a long time since I've even seen anyone as pretty."
Lisa: "Jack, I still don't understand."
Jack: "Justice. I'm executing a murderer. The murderer of Jack Hewitt. "
The following morning, the police visit David, still thinking he's filed a false report--or knows more than he's telling. Simultaneously, the power-hungry Cole blames Miller for David's escape, completely disbelieving the Hulk story, and sends Miller to along with increase his personal security for the rally, then catch and kill David.
Speaking of Banner, the police continue their soft line of questioning, until David recalls Jack's line about his father--"
The things that he really doesn't want. But he uses them, you know?"-- leading the police to take that lead (with Banner in tow) to Archer Hewitt's scrapyard. The elder Hewitt finally reveals his connection to Harrison Cole--how the candidate once rescued his failing business, which Archer assumed was to honor out of guilt over Jack's death in Vietnam. The story takes another turn when Archer produces a photo of Jack and his other son, Doug--recognized by David
as Jack.
Continuing, Archer recounts how Doug wanted to join the service to be with his brother, but due to an injury, did not meet the physical requirements. Instead, Doug obsessively read Jack's weekly letters from Vietnam, and was understandably devastated to learn of his brother's death, acting as if
he had been killed, too. Eventually, Doug's thinking he was a walking dead man forced Archer to have him committed to the state psychiatric hospital, where he had been for the past six years. With Doug armed and on the loose, the police now see David's puzzle coming together...
At the dance studio, Lisa delicately tries to talk Jack out of his plan for the last time, admitting she likes him, and does not want to see him hurt. Before he can respond, both notice the heavy police presence as Cole's car arrives at the site of the rally. With the police checking every building surrounding the area, its not long before an officer knocks on the door of the dance studio. Outside, David and his handler show up, with the officer's superior checking with the policeman who checked the dance studio. In the studio window, an officer waves to confirm all is clear...but its distance obscures the fact Jack/Doug has knocked out the officer and dressed in his uniform...
The entire scene is tense as Cole is escorted to the podium; David spots Doug/Jack in the window and yells for everyone to take cover as Hewitt fires at Cole. In the pandemonium, David is mistaken for a would-be assassin by Cole's security team--with several beating Banner to the ground, sending his body rolling under the podium...as he transforms into the Hulk. As Cole takes cover, a firefight breaks out between Doug/Jack, the police and Cole's security; the Hulk rips the podium apart, using the platform to disable the security/police, then violently tosses another into the rest of the officers. With Doug/Jack still shooting, the Hulk uses his body to shield Cole; Lisa pleads with the man to stop--that murder is not the way, which reminds Doug/Jack of David's statement a day earlier--
David: "Violence doesn't usually work. At least not for me. I find that it isn't worth it in the long run."
Doug lowers his rifle as the police break in the studio. Between Lisa and Doug referring to what amounts to Jack's army unit confession regarding Cole's murders, the police promise to look into it all, as they take him into custody. As Doug leaves, Lisa reminds him that he--Doug--still lives.
Later, one of the officers tells David that Hewitt is doing better under treatment for what was described as "acting out his psychosis". As for Cole, Jack's letters have led to an investigation by the Marine Corps, so foe time being, Cole's business and political goals are as dead as his wartime victims.
NOTES:
This is not a cure-related episode.
Jack McGee does not appear in this episode.
"Veteran" was a novel spin on what was a
well-worn subject of 1960s/70s TV drama--the Vietnam veteran "back in the world", suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (once called "combat stress reaction" or "shell shock") and turning violent for various reasons. Here, the character's reaction was due to a death he did not experience in person, yet the loss was so devastating, that his inability to accept the death (and the corruption leading to the crime) sent him into the fantasy of being the judge and jury in the form
of the murdered brother. Koslo had no difficulty playing both the psychologically disturbed and sympathetic Doug, when such a story in another actor's (and overall production's) hands could have ended up like too many cop dramas with a gunshot, followed by the expected,
"what can we do..what can WE DO??" or
"he wasn't at home here--or there" kind of melodramatic performances. Thankfully, that was not the case here.
GUEST CAST:
Paul Koslo (
Doug Hewitt) previously guest starred as biker Carl Rivers in
"Long Run Home" from season three. Koslo is arguably best known for his role as Dutch opposite Charlton Heston in the post-apocalyptic sci/horror drama
The Omega Man (Warner Brothers, 1971), the second adaptation of Richard Matheson's
I Am Legend. Other fantasy roles--
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (NBC, 1980) - "A Dream of Jennifer"
- Galactica 1980 (ABC, 1980) - "Spaceball"
- The Hitchhiker (HBO, 1985) - "Petty Thieves"
- Misfits of Science (NBC, 1985) - "Twin Engines"
- The Highwayman (NBC, 1988) - "The Haunted Highway"
- Robot Jox (Trans World Entertainment, 1990)
- X-Tro II: The Second Encounter (New Line Cinema, 1990)
- Solar Crisis (Bridge Entertainment, 1990)
- The Flash (CBS, 1990) - "Sins of the Father"
- Project Shadowchaser (EGM, 1992)
- Stargate SG-1 (Showtime, 2000) - "The Serpent's Venom"
Bruce Gray (
Harrison Cole) has jumped across the entire fantasy TV/film landscape with a very deep credits list--
- Invitation to Hell (ABC, 1984) - directed by Wes Craven
- Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future (Syndicated, 1987-88) - voice of Mentor / Dr. Stuart Power
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (NBC / USA Network, 1986 / 1989) - "Happy Birthday" & "For Art's Sake"
- Captain Power: The Beginning (Syndicated, 1989)
- The Hidden Room (Chesler/Perlmutter Productions / MCA Television, 1991) - "Splinters of Privacy"
- Star Trek: The Next Generation (Syndicated, 1993) - "Gambit: Part 1" - as Admiral Chekote
- Star Trek: Deep Space (Syndicated, 1993) - "The Circle" as Admiral Chekote
- The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (FOX, 1994) - "High Treason: Part 1"
- Robocop: The Series (CTV / Syndicated, 1994) - "Public Enemies"
- Roswell: The U.F.O. Cover-Up (Viacom TV, 1994)
- Legend (UPN, 1995) - "Bone of Contention"
- Babylon 5 (PTEN, 1997) - "Intersections in Real Time" & "Between the Darkness and the Light"
- Starship Troopers (TriStar Pictures / Touchstone, 1997)
- Earth: Final Conflict (CTV / syndication, 2000)
- The Outer Limits (SciFi Channel, 2001) - "The Vessel"
- Cube 2: Hypercube (Lion's Gate Entertainment, 2002)
- Star Trek: Enterprise (UPN, 2004) - as Surak
- Charmed (The WB, 2005) - "Ordinary Witches" & "Carpe Demon"
- Stargate SG-1 (Showtime, 2005) - "The Ties that Bind"
- Medium (CBS, 2009 / 2010) - 11 episodes as Joe's Dad
- Falling Skies (TNT, 2011) - 8 episodes as Uncle Scott
- Timeless (NBC, 2017) - "The Red Scare"
Richard Yniguez (
Frank Rivera)
- Rod Serling's Night Gallery (NBC, 1972) - "The Miracle at Camafeo"
- Shark Kill (NBC, 1976)
- World War III (NBC, 1982)
- Zorro (The Family Channel, 1990 / 1992) - 3 episodes
- The Sentinel (UPN, 1996) - "Flight"
- The Burning Zone (UPN, 1996) - "Night Flight"
- Mysterious Ways (CTV/Pax, 2001) - "A Time to Every Purpose
Wendy Girard (
Lisa Morgan)--
- The Twilight Zone (CBS, 1985) - "Her Pilgrim Soul"
Let's just get it out there:
David White (
Archer Hewitt) will always be best remembered for the role of Darrin Stephens' boss Larry Tate on
Bewitched (ABC, 1964-72), and he reunites with Bill Bixby after guesting on 3 episodes of
My Favorite Martian (CBS, 1963-66). He's no fantasy slouch in other productions--
- Danger (CBS, 1955) - "Telegram"
- Studio One in Hollywood (CBS, 1956) - "The Power"
- Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond (ABC, 1959) - "Delusion"
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (CBS, 1959) - "Dry Run"
- Encounter (ABC, 1960) - "Rehearsal for Invasion"
- The Unforeseen (CBC, 1960) - "The Brooch"
- The Twilight Zone (CBS, 1960 / 1962) - "A World of Difference" & "I Sing the Body Electric"
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (NBC, 1963 / 1964) - "An Out for Oscar", "The Dark Pool" & "Night Caller"
- My Favorite Martian (CBS, 1964) - "A Nose for News" & "The Memory Pill"
- Search (NBC, 1972) - "The Murrow Disappearance"
- The Six Million Dollar Man: The Solid Gold Kidnapping (ABC, 1973) - the third and final TV movie before the debut of the regular series
- The Amazing Spider-Man (CBS, 1977) - Pilot movie. White earned the distinction of being the first live action J. Jonah Jameson (replaced by Robert F. Simon in the regular series)
- Wonder Woman (CBS, 1979) - "The Starships Are Coming"
Alexander Zale (
Howard Miller)--
- Firefox (Warner Brothers, 1982)
- Intruders (CBS / Dan Curtis Productions, 1992)
