JAG: King of the Fleas

Airdate: October 21, 1997.
This episode introduces that unforgettable character, Roscoe Martin, aka Willie, a paraplegic and a PoW during the Vietnam War. Roscoe/Willie kills a Vietnamese civilian (supposedly the cruel commander of a prisoner-of-war camp) on a street corner in Washington. He then goes to JAG HQ, looking for a lawyer so he can confess to murder, not of the civilian he has just killed, but to one committed 30 years ago. He literally runs into Harm, and immediately "chooses" him. Harm finds himself playing a desperate game of cat and mouse with Roscoe, who has accused Harm's father of betrayal. In the painful process of his search for the truth, Harm's faith in his father is re-affirmed and he learns something more of himself.
"Fleas" was what the PoW camp commander called the prisoners in his charge. Roscoe was the one in charge of the prisoners, and was known as the "King of the Fleas".
David James Elliott said that this was a favourite episode because the script read like a play.

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