Lost with his dog in the remote wastelands of New Mexico, as am I, Ed Nelson finds himself in a tiny town and is having his tank filled when he sees a little girl take out a small device, like a transistor radio, and make his dog disappear. The dog's disappearance in a twinkling leaves Nelson discomfited. He's even more frazzled when someone else with a device causes his dog to reappear.
Well, Nelson is a reporter and is now determined to get to the bottom of this. The hotel is open but the attractive receptionist tells him the rooms are all taken, even though every key is hanged from its proper hook. The only restaurant in town is closed, permanently it seems.
Nelson gets to the bottom of things alright. A hundred years ago a stranger appeared with all kinds of machines and notebooks that make things come and go, from ham sandwiches to people. Nobody gets sick. Nobody dies. They could probably call up a serving of escalope de veau chanticleer if they wanted to, and a good robust and assertive wine to go with it. They wouldn't be subject to a steady diet of tamales and Dos Eqis like some of us. Every once in a while the restaurants here will slip you a Habañero instead of an ordinary chili pepper and you'd better look out.
The town leaders, including David Opatoshu, explain all this to a puzzled and resentful Nelson. Why don't they release this magical tool to the world and cure sickness and hunger? Because the world would do the same thing as they did with E = MC2. They'd weaponize it. A secret experiment, with Nelson as the sole subject, proves them right and they sentence him to amnesia and send him on his merry way to Albuquerque.
In a way, you can't blame him for wanting to get out of town after he finds out about the device. It's a drab place and looks like a Hollywood back lot. There seem to be no more than half a dozen residents, and none of them are particularly friendly. On the other hand, there is that hotel receptionist, freckle-faced Natalie Trundy. She's friendly enough. Attractive too, and with a figure that's been assembled with considerable authority. I don't know whether she's worth a steady diet of tamales but in any case she turns out to be a traitor.
I rather liked Ed Nelson's performance. All the performances are of professional character but many of them look and sound like the experienced actors they are. I can't tell if Nelson is handsome or not. He apparently fits the usual template. But he brings a little something different to the delivery of his lines. And when he shifts his gaze, there's a lazy quality to the action, as if he's thinking while doing it. It's not easy to describe but if you watch it, you'll probably see what I'm getting at. I have no idea what his range as a performer is but in a role like this he's quite interesting.
Well, Nelson is a reporter and is now determined to get to the bottom of this. The hotel is open but the attractive receptionist tells him the rooms are all taken, even though every key is hanged from its proper hook. The only restaurant in town is closed, permanently it seems.
Nelson gets to the bottom of things alright. A hundred years ago a stranger appeared with all kinds of machines and notebooks that make things come and go, from ham sandwiches to people. Nobody gets sick. Nobody dies. They could probably call up a serving of escalope de veau chanticleer if they wanted to, and a good robust and assertive wine to go with it. They wouldn't be subject to a steady diet of tamales and Dos Eqis like some of us. Every once in a while the restaurants here will slip you a Habañero instead of an ordinary chili pepper and you'd better look out.
The town leaders, including David Opatoshu, explain all this to a puzzled and resentful Nelson. Why don't they release this magical tool to the world and cure sickness and hunger? Because the world would do the same thing as they did with E = MC2. They'd weaponize it. A secret experiment, with Nelson as the sole subject, proves them right and they sentence him to amnesia and send him on his merry way to Albuquerque.
In a way, you can't blame him for wanting to get out of town after he finds out about the device. It's a drab place and looks like a Hollywood back lot. There seem to be no more than half a dozen residents, and none of them are particularly friendly. On the other hand, there is that hotel receptionist, freckle-faced Natalie Trundy. She's friendly enough. Attractive too, and with a figure that's been assembled with considerable authority. I don't know whether she's worth a steady diet of tamales but in any case she turns out to be a traitor.
I rather liked Ed Nelson's performance. All the performances are of professional character but many of them look and sound like the experienced actors they are. I can't tell if Nelson is handsome or not. He apparently fits the usual template. But he brings a little something different to the delivery of his lines. And when he shifts his gaze, there's a lazy quality to the action, as if he's thinking while doing it. It's not easy to describe but if you watch it, you'll probably see what I'm getting at. I have no idea what his range as a performer is but in a role like this he's quite interesting.