1)ABSOLUTE ZERO(The Pilot)
Written by Lawrence Hertzog
Directed by Tobe Hooper
Aired 8/28/95, 1/8/96
Episode Number NM101
Production Number R390

UPN PRESS RELEASE: Unknown forces conspire to erase Thomas Veil's identity and without warning, every aspect of his life is turned upside down--his wife acts as if he's a stranger, his credit cards are suddenly invalid, his keys no longer fit the door to his home and in one one or the other, his family and friends are silenced. Frightened, confused and angry, Veil realizes there is no one he can trust. He's left alone with no option but to begin a desperate quest to find out who is behind the increasingly bizarre circumstances which are plaguing him and the reason why he has been victimized.

In the premeiere episode, "Absolute Zero", documentary photographer Thomas Veil seemingly has his whole existance anulled during the course of one evening. Everyone he knows acts as if they don't know him, including his wife Alyson. The once stable Veil, overwhelmed with this strange experience, begins to question his own sanity. Appearing to be deluded and paranoid, he is eventually forced into a psychiatric hospital.

There, he learns that even the doctors are part of the mysterious plan to annihilate his identity. Determined to preserve his life, he escapes from the sanitarium. Now completely alone, Veil sets out on a cross country course-searching for answers while eluding his unknown enemy. His only clue to the possible motivation behind the harrowing ordeal is the disappearance of one of his photographs. Entitled, "Hidden Agenda", the photo depicts the execution of natives in a third-world country.

GUEST STARS: Megan Gallagher as Alyson Veil; Ted Levine as Dave "Eddie" Powers; Bernie McInerney as Father Thomas and Michael Tucker as Dr. Bellamy.

NOTES FROM LARRY:
My favorite line in the pilot is when Tom confronts Dr. Bellamy shortly before his demise and wonders how they got Alyson to go along. Bellamy tells him that in the end, most people do. Tom suggests that it "must take a great deal of pressure and threat". Bellamy looks at hom and says, "YOU'D BE SURPRISED". Makes me smile(unfortunately).

FOR CLUEHEADS ONLY:
*Tom mailed several sets of negatives to himself care of General Delivery. It's not clear exactly *where* he mailed them, but since he used "G" stamps, they have to be a post office in the United States.

*Tom goes to the bathroom to smoke. The only other time he smoked was the flashback sequence in HIDDEN AGENDA.

PICKY,PICKY:
*Tom flies into visit his mother in Council Bluffs,Iowa and lands at the Des Moines airport. Which meant he then had to drive hours to get to Council Bluffs. Of course, he could have just flown into Omaha and drove across the bridge. But maybe he likes to drive.

*Even though Tom is married, you never see him wearing a wedding ring.

I LOVE THE SOUND OF BREAKING GLASS:
*The scene in the restaurant.
*After Tom is turned away from his home by Alyson's "husband", he returns to his studio and he hears the sound of breaking glass.
*Just after that, he brushes the glass away from the American Gothic photo.
*The windows of the studio explode into pieces from automatic weapons fire.
*When Tom flees from his mother's house, the rear window if the car is shattered by shots fired by the deputy.

GEMINI MOMENTS:
*When Dr. Bellamy takes Tom to his studio to test his version against reality, Tom is great at pretending that the negatives have been taken from the underside of the table, and making Bellamy believe that he is really confused and no longer sure of himself.