"Nowhere Man" is coming to DVD

[Thomas Veil]

At last, a decade after it premiered as part of the new UPN network, Nowhere Man is finally being released on DVD!

I was hooked on this show from its pilot (back in 1995) to the mind-blowing revelation of its final episode. If you think you're hooked trying to figure out what's going on on Lost, give Nowhere Man a try.

For the unitiated...the plot revolves around photojournalist Thomas Veil and a picture he took of a military execution in some banana republic. On one particular night following this incident, Veil's entire life vanishes. His wife and friends don't recognize him anymore, his bank cards don't work, he doesn't have a documented history anywhere. It's as if he has been literally erased.

Veil soon learns that his plight has something to do with the photograph he took, which he titled "Hidden Agenda". Ominous men pursue him, demanding the negative. And as the series goes on, Veil learns a little bit more about the conspiracy, picking up clues as to who "they" are and why they want the negative so badly.

I can honestly tell you that the series' conclusion was nothing like what I expected. Though the final episode does not answer every question (the show was cancelled after one season), it does reframe the entire series in a startling new way. It's a terrific payoff for anyone who has followed all 25 episodes.

Lest I prattle on any more, I'll just conclude by saying that many fans of the show have compared it favorably to that classic 1960s series The Prisoner. It's not as arcane, but it is just as paranoid and cerebral.

Anybody else here remember this show?

 

[watcher2001]

At last, a decade after it premiered as part of the new UPN network, Nowhere Man is finally being released on DVD!

I was hooked on this show from its pilot (back in 1995) to the mind-blowing revelation of its final episode. If you think you're hooked trying to figure out what's going on on Lost, give Nowhere Man a try.

For the unitiated...the plot revolves around photojournalist Thomas Veil and a picture he took of a military execution in some banana republic. On one particular night following this incident, Veil's entire life vanishes. His wife and friends don't recognize him anymore, his bank cards don't work, he doesn't have a documented history anywhere. It's as if he has been literally erased.

Veil soon learns that his plight has something to do with the photograph he took, which he titled "Hidden Agenda". Ominous men pursue him, demanding the negative. And as the series goes on, Veil learns a little bit more about the conspiracy, picking up clues as to who "they" are and why they want the negative so badly.

I can honestly tell you that the series' conclusion was nothing like what I expected. Though the final episode does not answer every question (the show was cancelled after one season), it does reframe the entire series in a startling new way. It's a terrific payoff for anyone who has followed all 25 episodes.

Lest I prattle on any more, I'll just conclude by saying that many fans of the show have compared it favorably to that classic 1960s series The Prisoner. It's not as arcane, but it is just as paranoid and cerebral.

Anybody else here remember this show?

Wow, I can't believe it has been 10 years...I remember the show and remember that I really wanted to see it. But for some reason or other I never caught it. (It might have been up against something else I was watching?) I will definatley give it a watch if I can pick it up at Blockbuster or Netflix.

 

[2jaded2care]

Gee, Thomas, looks like you and I are the only ones who liked this show. Wonder why they cancelled it?

The movie "Enemy of the State" also reminded me of this show. Liked that movie, but it did have a few problems despite the clever parts.

I also liked the Prisoner -- a little better than Nowhere Man maybe, but the Prisoner was admittedly a bit more esoteric. Or British. Or both.

Don't know if I'll be asking for this DVD or not... Price isn't bad, but there's so darn many DVDs nowadays...

 

[clayj]

Anybody else here remember this show?

Yep... some Microsoft friends and I gathered every week to watch it. I remember that it was really good, but we were really disappointed when the show didn't get renewed... so unlike The Prisoner, we never got any sort of real "conclusion" to the story.

 

[balamw]

Gee, Thomas, looks like you and I are the only ones who liked this show. Wonder why they cancelled it?

I also loved that show. At least the first 2/3 of the season had me holding my breath until the following week. They kind of lost the touch though (IMHO) for the last few episodes as they were trying to wrap things up/set up the conclusion. Every time I see Bruce Greenwood I think of that show.

I had very much the same reaction to "24." Season 1 was great until Dennis Hopper showed up and ruined the whole thing for me. The last 2 episodes kinda made up for it though.

B

 

[2jaded2care]

Yep... some Microsoft friends and I gathered every week to watch it. I remember that it was really good, but we were really disappointed when the show didn't get renewed... so unlike The Prisoner, we never got any sort of real "conclusion" to the story.

He used "Micro$oft" and "friends" in the same sentence... where's a moderator when you need one?

 

[clayj]

He used "Micro$oft" and "friends" in the same sentence... where's a moderator when you need one?

I got yer moderation right here.

 

[2jaded2care]

Sorry, didn't mean to dis your friends... though I have to wonder if any of them thought the program should have been more complicated and difficult to understand. Or that, in order to end the program, the producers should have had to hit the start button...

... Thanks, but I hadn't any plans to give up the day job anyway.

 

[Sun Baked]

I got yer moderation right here.

Are you sure that is a moderate response.

 

[clayj]

Are you sure that is a moderate response.

Much more so than it might have been were I not so... moderate.

 

[Thomas Veil]

Yep... some Microsoft friends and I gathered every week to watch it. I remember that it was really good, but we were really disappointed when the show didn't get renewed... so unlike The Prisoner, we never got any sort of real "conclusion" to the story.

Supposedly the DVDs will include a feature in which creator Larry Hertzog explains how the show was meant to end.

For myself, I thoroughly enjoyed the ending. (SPOILER WARNING!) I loved the very final scene, where Tom was strapped to a chair (as he was in the pilot), mindlessly saying, "My name is Thomas Veil." Not only do you get a "Holy ****!" reaction, because you now know how his identity was erased, but you realize that the writers have puckishly ended the series with the exact same words that began every episode. And then, to top that, you hear that familiar crashing glass.... (END SPOILER WARNING)

And yeah, 2jaded2care, the price is right. I thought for sure it'd be $79.95 or something like that. (AFAIK, The X Files still holds the high-water mark for absurd single-season pricing.)

 

[szark]

It's about time!!! I think I'll place my order as soon as I get home. I loved this series -- never missed an episode.

And yeah, 2jaded2care, the price is right. I thought for sure it'd be $79.95 or something like that. (AFAIK, The X Files still holds the high-water mark for absurd single-season pricing.)

Actually, I think that Star Trek: The Next Generation might hold that title. ($139.99 per season)