In The Middle Of Nowhere (Part 1)
| Series | |
|---|---|
| Work In Progress | |
| Original Broadcast Date | |
| 1987 | |
| Cast | |
| Tim Jerome, Larry Block, Arthur Miller, Nick Ullett, Ryan Cutrona | |
| Format | |
| Scripted Actors, 60 minutes | |
| Preceded by: | Rent A Family (Part 3) |
| Followed by: | In The Middle Of Nowhere (Part 2) |
"Oh oh God, oh my arm!"
In The Middle Of Nowhere (Part 1) is a program Joe Frank produced as part of the series Work In Progress. It was originally broadcast in 1987.
Cast of characters
- An unnamed prospector (Nick Ullett)
- Bud (Larry Block), a traveling salesman
- Ray (Ryan Cutrona), who owns the local road house
- Ryder (Tim Jerome), an ambulance driver
- A 'gay angel' (Arthur Miller)
Synopsis
An eccentric French ambulance driver, Ryder (Tim Jerome), side-swipes a prospector (Nick Ullett) in a rural area, injuring his arm. On the way to a hospital the prospector calls his colleague, Tom, to tout the riches he has found, on the pay-phone in the ambulance.
8:20: At Ray's roadhouse Bud (Larry Block), a traveling Bible and religious goods salesman on his way to a big tent show in Paradise, talks to Ray (Ryan Cutrona) about the stuff he sells, including large crucifixes and confessionals. Ryder had side-swiped Bud's car, so it was at Mac's, the mechanic in Itmon.[1]
16:30: Ryder describes the convoluted route to the hospital, says that the prospector is equally to blame for their collision, which angers the prospector. At Ryder's insistence they stop to watch the sunset at the edge of a cliff.
28:00: At the roadhouse Bud talks about people watching a tornado. Bud was scared of the tornado; Ray tells him 'it's an opening into a new life'. When Bud refers to the town as being in the middle of nowhere, Ray objects, tells him about the area's significance.
33:30: The prospector tries to push Ryder off the cliff[2] but Ryder pushes the prospector off instead.
36:20: Ray expatiates on metaphysical matters to Bud, including tarot cards, fortune-tellers, and unseen forces. When Bud professes to believe what Ray has told him, Ray tells him it's nonsense.
42:30: Ryder and an angel (Arthur Miller)[3] converse about Ryder's life. First Ryder says that he's adrift, has no past, no identity, then refutes that by describing himself and his history in detail. The angel makes advances on Ryder, which Ryder rebuffs.
- A prospector is hit by an ambulance, taken on a long circuitous route toward a hospital, and is eventually thrown off a cliff by the driver.
- Bud, a traveling religious item salesman on his way to Paradise talks with a local in a road house: portable confessionals, the middle of nowhere, mysteries of the universe, seers, comparing a map with a hand.
- Ray, the ambulance driver talks to a therapist or religious-leader about having lost his way: "I don't have a name, I don't have a place of birth. . ."
Music
- "The Stone" - Andreas Vollenweider (from White Winds, 1984) | YouTube [1:05]
- "Make The World Go Away" - Hank Cochran and Jeannie Seely (from Honeysuckle Rose, 1980) | YouTube [8:45]
- "Gotta Serve Somebody" - unknown version [11:43]
Additional credits
The original broadcast credits state: "With Tim Jerome, Nick Ullett, Arthur Miller, Larry Block, and Ryan Cutrona. It was recorded by Jess Plumley at Westrax Studios in New York City, and mixed by Tom Strother. The music was by Sonic Images."
Miscellanea
- Samples of In The Middle Of Nowhere (Part 1) appear on the Still Life EP Limitations Boundaries And Failures track "Into Fruition"
Footnotes
- ↑ the name I give the unnamed town to make writing this synopsis easier
- ↑ with an injured arm?
- ↑ I take that from the synopsis at joefrank.com; nothing explicit in the text of the show identifies the speaker as an angel.