Nowhere Man: 9 Disc DVD-Video Box Set Review

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Title: Nowhere Man: 9 Disc DVD-Video Box Set

Region: One

Episodes Disc One) “Absolute Zero”, Turnabout”, “The Incredible Derek”

Episodes Disc Two) “Something About Her”, “Paradise On Your Doorstep”, “The Spider Web”

Episodes Disc Three) “A Rough Whimper Of Sanity”, “The Alpha Spike”, “You Really Got A Hold On Me”

Episodes Disc Four) “Father”, “An Enemy Within”, “It’s Not Such A Wonderful Life”

Episodes Disc Five) “Contact”, “Heart Of Darkness”, “Forever Jung:”

Episodes Disc Six) “Shine A Light On You”, “Stay Tuned”, “Hidden Agenda”:

Episodes Disc Seven) “Doppelganger”, “Through A Lens Darkly”, “The Dark Side Of The Moon”

Episodes Disc Eight) “Calaway”, “Zero Minus Ten”, “Marathon”

Episode Disc Nine) “Gemini Man”

Genre: Thriller

Star: Bruce Greenwood

Guest Stars: Megan Gallagher, Ted Levine, Michael Tucker, Carrie Ann Moss, Richard Kind, Dean Stockwell, Bryan Cranston, Michael Maguire, Sean Whalen, Maria Bello, Dean Jones, James Tolkan, Scott Coffey, Patrick Kilpatrick, Melanie Smith, Dwight Schultz, Roy Brocksmith, Cliff DeYoung, Robin Sachs, Sydney Walsh, Jason Waters, Trevor Goddard, and Hal Linden

Created By Laurence Hertzog

Producer: Peter Dunne

Executive Producer: Lawrence Hertzog

Feature length: 19 hours

Extras: Interview: Producer Peter Dunne, Star Bruce Greenwood, Creator/Writer Lawrence Hertzog, Audio Video Commentaries, Video Commentaries, Episodic Promos, Interview: Creator/Writer Lawrence Herzog, Supervising Producer Art Monterastelli, Rough Cut To Final Cut Comparisons, Interview: Director Guy Magar, Creator/Writer Lawrence Hertzog, Director Steve Robman, Interview Star Bruce Greenwood, Producer Peter Dunne, Interview: Creator/Writer Lawrence Hertzog, Interview Director Michael Levine, Interview: Creator/Writer Lawrence Hertzog, Director Ian Toynton, Interview: Stars Bruce Greenwood and Megan Gallagher, Interviews: Creator/Writer Lawrence Hertzog, Art Monterastelli, Peter Dunne, Star Bruce Greenwood, Original Series Promos, Bruce Greenwood Series Promo Outtakes, “Networking” Featurette, “Fact Or Fiction?” Featurette

DVD-ROM Features: Original Scripts

Languages: English Stereo Sound

Subtitles: N/A

Packaging: 9-Disc Book Style Digipack Within A Glossy Slipcase

Chapter Stops: 9 For The Pilot Including Credits/ 7 Per Episode Including Credits

Sound: Stereo Sound

Years of Television Broadcast: 1995-1996/DVD Release: 2005

Home Video Distributor: Image Entertainment

MPAA Rating: Not Rated

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

“My name is Thomas Veil, or at least it was…” This classic quote from the cult UPN television series “Nowhere Man” would become more true than viewers of the show would ever imagine not only in the direction in which the series would ultimately culminate, but in the sudden cancellation of “Nowhere Man” that had occurred despite the critical claim and an unprecedented for that time network order for 13 more additional episodes that came early in the series’ production schedule. “Nowhere Man” was one of the first original television series UPN premiered in the network’s initial launch. Short in and around Portland, Oregon, “Nowhere Man” in some ways was reminiscent of the kind of paranoid stories Chris Carter was telling with “The X-Files” complete with the same composer Mark Snow providing the score for both “The X-Files” and “Nowhere Man.” In some ways I find the Oregon settings to appear not unlike some of the Vancouver settings used for the production of “The X-Files.” However while there was a huge influx of sci-fi programs on all the networks trying to either imitate the success of “Star Trek” or “The X-Files,” “Nowhere Man” had more in common with programs like “The Prisoner” and “The Fugitive.” “Nowhere Man” was also more paranoid and times even a bit more fantastic than “The X-Files” and this is despite the fact that unlike the “X-Files,” “Nowhere Man” had no monsters or aliens. The conspiracy was more of a backdrop since the series was more like a quasi anthology that followed the character of Thomas Veil, played brilliantly by Bruce Greenwood, as he tries to get his life back while staying under the radar of the shadowy forces out to claim negatives of an execution he took photos of and displayed in a gallery exhibit. Images that for him were not even so much a journalistic action, but an artistic reflection of the world as he perceived it.

Thomas Veil ultimately has no interest in necessarily trying to expose a “hidden agenda.” Veil is the everyman caught in a Kafkaesque situation. Some people have referred to “Nowhere Man” as being a sci-fi show, but personally I think the show was more of a thriller than anything else. Bruce Greenwood is outstanding as Thomas Veil because he could convey many emotions at the drop of a hat without saying a word. I think part of the fun to “Nowhere Man” was watching how his character would react whenever he sensed something was not right. According to series creator and executive producer Laurence Hertzog, UPN picked up the series late in the time when networks usually pick up shows and despite a rigorous production schedule, “Nowhere Man” earned respectable ratings for the fledgling network and critical acclaim. They were certain of a series renewal and then the brass of UPN changed and suddenly it did not matter how well “Nowhere Man” was doing. UPN decided to take its original programming in a different direction and there was no place for “Nowhere Man” on the schedule anymore. Some might cry out that the sudden cancellation of “Nowhere Man” smacks of a conspiracy to take it off the air, but in some ways it might have been a blessing. The series producers did not have any story arc planned because the show was put together rather fast in order to have it ready for the fall of 1995 television season. With what is now more or less the series finale “Gemini” opened up more questions than the series answered and while this created opportunities for future season storylines, the truth is if the show did not live up to it’s noteworthy first season then the cult following “Nowhere Man” earned might have become tarnished and the show would have lost its edge. To put it another way, at least those who remember the series and liked it can always look back upon it fondly, especially now that it is available in a fabulous 9-disc DVD box set from Image Entertainment.

While there are elements of the show that are slightly dated, I am actually surprised at how well the series holds up after ten years and am impressed at the level of participation put into making this a great DVD collection for the fans. In addition to series star Bruce Greenwood, Producer Peter Dunne, and Series Creator and Executive Producer Laurence Hertzog, Supervising Producer Art Monterastelli, and Directors Steve Robman, Michael Levine, and Ian Toynton. Since Directors of episodic television can find his or herself bouncing from one show to the next, which frequently requires some traveling, to get the level of participation involved for the DVD set is in my opinion impressive. Actress Megan Gallagher, who went on to appear in the Chris Carter series “Millennium,” also participates in an new retrospective interview with Bruce Greenwood. Sadly Horror Filmmaker Tobe Hooper, who directed the series pilot and first follow-up episode thereafter, did not participate in any of the audio and video commentaries especially produced and included within this nine-disc set. There also a number of recognizable guest stars in the series that include Ted Levine (The Silence Of The Lambs), Michael Tucker (LA Law), Carrie Ann Moss (The Matrix), Richard Dean Stockwell (Quantum Leap), Bryan Cranston (Malcolm In The Middle), Dwight Schultz (The A Team), Robin Sachs (Babylon 5), and Hal Linden (Barney Miller).

The episodes don’t look too shabby either considering the film was edited on standard definition analogue video. Presented in the original (1.33:1) broadcast aspect ratio, “Nowhere Man” looks appropriately gritty without appearing as though it was suffering from the effects of poor video compression. A striking English Stereo Soundtrack is provided, but there are no captions or subtitles encoded onto any of the discs. Much like the “Hercules”, “Xena” and “Highlander” DVD sets distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment, “Nowhere Man” features audio commentaries for select episodes that sometimes include a shorter video commentary version with the screen split so one can see the commentators on the left and the show action being discussed on the right. The episodes that feature video as well as audio commentary include “Hidden Agenda” (22:49), “An Enemy Within” (20:07), and “Through A Lens Darkly” (22:42). There are also individual interview clips featuring Producer Peter Dunne, Star Bruce Greenwood, and Creator/Writer Lawrence Hertzog (22:49), Creator/Writer Lawrence Herzog, Supervising Producer Art Monterastelli, Director Guy Magar, Creator/Writer Lawrence Hertzog (24:34), Bruce Greenwood and Producer Peter Dunne (5:03), Laurence Hertzog (4:41), Director Michael Levine (4:43), Creator/Writer Lawrence Hertzog, Director Ian Toynton (10:45), Bruce Greenwood and Megan Gallagher (7:48), and a closing set of interviews with Creator/Writer Lawrence Hertzog, Supervising Art Monterastelli, Producer Peter Dunne, Star Bruce Greenwood (7:22).

These interviews often relate to select episodes as well as aspects involving the evolution of the series. There are also extended and deleted scene rough cut comparisons to finished episode scenes which appear on the bottom half of the screen and several 30-second promos, a reel of series promos that aired before the show premiered (5:44), and outtakes with Bruce Greenwood (3:57). A more in depth discussion of the series cult success and sudden cancellation is included with former UPN Executive Mike Sullivan and Series Creator Laurence Hertzog (12:51) and finally an interesting and frightening interview with a shadowed and anonymous ex-CIA operative, who discusses various types of conditioning that he claims have taken place as well as his opinions on whether or not “Nowhere Man” is plausible (15:41).

DVD-ROM users will have access to all 25 TV scripts presented as Word files and an additional ten scripts in Acrobat format. The main menu begins with a classic crossroads segment from the show and then stops with a freeze frame. From there on the menus are all standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate. The 9 discs come housed in a book style Digipack gatefold similar to how shows like “Babylon 5” have been released to DVD. The discs are then housed in glossy slipcase and there is an insert detailing episode loglines and disc contents within the box set too.

“Nowhere Man: 9 Disc DVD-Video Box Set” is an outstanding and definitive collection worthy of any fan of the series DVD collection and definitely worth a look for those unfamiliar with the show, but who enjoy a good thriller show too. “Nowhere Man: 9 Disc DVD-Video Box Set” an outstanding TV on DVD release for a cult series that is available now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Image Entertainment.

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