"Wish I May"

Episode 203
(aired the week of 10/13/1997)
Case # 36-0203

Log line: Two brothers killed in separate accidents return from the dead.

Synopsis: In a tiny rural town, on the shore of a murky swamp, stand Sheriff Jackson and a local man who has come upon a floating dead body and a wrecked boat. They manage to pull the boat ashore, but, as they attempt to retrieve the body, the swamp begins to boil and churn violently. Beating a hasty retreat from the water, the two men look back to find that the body is gone.

Meanwhile, Lizzie Hamilton has been brewing a mysterious potion in her kitchen. It was the moment that her potion boiled that the swamp went wild and the body - of her 21-year-old son Billy - disappeared. The "undead" Billy's next stop is his mother's home where he is met by the welcoming arms of his little sister Layla and his mother.

Local county doctor Christine Lowrey calls the Office of Scientific Investigation and Research (O.S.I.R.) to help her investigate rumors of witchcraft and Billy Hamilton's apparent return from the dead. When the O.S.I.R.'s Lindsay Donner and Dr. Anton Hendricks question the mother and daughter, they learn that her eldest son, Seth died in an unsolved hit-and-run car accident just months before.

Dr. Hendricks focuses his attention on Billy's unusual medical condition. Even though Billy can talk and breathe, his body shows signs of deterioration - like those exhibited by a dead body. In discussing the condition with the team, Hendricks is not himself, his usually even temper flares and he storms out of the room.

Lem jackson, Sheriff Jackson's younger brother, stalks Billy Hamilton and his young sister Layla. It 's obvious that Billy knows too much about something Lem desperately wants to keep secret.

While running some tests on the swamp, Axon's monitors register a strange reading. When he and Hendricks set out to investigate, they are side-tracked by a commotion in the forest. When they reach the scene they find themselves staring down the business end of Lem's shotgun and a dead man - just shot by Lem - sprawled on the fence of Lem's property. When they move closer to identify the trespasser they are all shocked to see the supposedly dead Seth Hamilton looking up at them.

When Hendricks gets Seth onto the examining table for autopsy he is confounded by the state of the man's body; he appears to have been dead and buried for months yet he bears the new gunshot wound from Lem and fresh mud on his boots which suggests recent walking. Complicating matters, Hendricks has malaria, which he has been hiding from Praeger for quite a while, and the local conditions have caused a bad flare-up of symptoms.

In a team meeting, Praeger rallies the team to pick up the slack that Hendricks' odd behavior is creating. Axon reveals a possible reason that Lem is so protective of his land - he found marijuana growing on the property line between Lem's land and the Hamilton's.

When Praeger enters the examination room to speak to Hendricks, he finds him passed out on the floor and the "dead" body of Seth Hamilton missing. Praeger confirms his suspicion that Hendricks is near-delirious with malaria and that other team members, including Dr. Davison, knew about his condition and helped him hide it.

Seth Hamilton returns home to his family and gets a mixed reception. His sister Layla is thrilled to see him and his mother is happy but his brother Billy is disturbed by all of the undead happenings and wants it all to end so he can rest in peace.

Matt Praeger confronts the Sheriff about his knowledge of his brother Lem's illegal pot farm and the possibility that the deaths of the Hamilton boys were not actually accidents but murders driven by Lem's desire to keep his drug operation secret.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team have gathered at the Hamilton house where they hope to find Seth. While the O.S.I.R. are questioning the family, Lem shows up intending to torch their house and eliminate the entire Hamilton family. But Seth Hamilton turns up in the nick of time, and, because the boys are set on returning to the ranks of the dead, Lem seems fated to get more for his visit than he bargained for.

Starring:
Matt Frewer - Case Manager Matt Praeger
Barclay Hope - Peter Axon
Nancy Anne Sakovich - Lindsay Donner
Colin Fox - Dr. Anton Hendricks
Soo Garay - Dr. Claire Davison
Dan Aykroyd - Host

Guest Stars:
Andrew Tarbett - Billy Hamilton
Donna Goodhand - Lizzie Hamilton
Clinton Walker - Seth Hamilton
Katheryn Long - Layla Hamilton
R.D. Reid - Sheriff Jackson
Jody Racicot - Lem Jackson
Kaya McGregor - Dr. Christine Lowrey

Written by: Will Dixon
Directed by: John Bell