The Manicoid Teleportation Conundrum

The Manicoid Teleportation Conundrum

Wendy is working on a painting of a gorilla with a gun and shows it off to Lacey. Lacey is less than thrilled but has to admit that Wendy is enthusiastic about her work. However, she also has to admit that Ben put their break-up on the Internet. Wendy brings up the video and isn't happy, and is even less happy when she finds out Ben advertised it with a bulk e-mailing.

The next morning, The Middleman contacts a depressed Wendy with a priority message to meet him at the rendezvous point. He neglects to mention what the rendezvous point is. She goes to get her computer as Lacey watches Dr. Gil, a self-help guru. Lacey is worried that Wendy is suppressing and will start watching Italian zombie movies, but Wendy is too busy trying to find the rendezvous point, until Lacey mentions there's a Rendezvous Point Diner. Wendy goes there to find him waiting for her, and he notes he'll be testing her on a wide range of subjects, particularly teamwork.

A woman with an oddly distorted face, Isabel Schon, is shopping when a beam of light shoots down out of the sky and teleports her to a desert location. She sees a figure she recognizes pointing a gun at her, and is shot down.

At Middleman HQ, Wendy is trying to reassure her mother that she's not worried about Ben, and The Middleman interrupts to inform her she needs to know everything there is to know about being a Middleman. He shows her The Middleman Dojo and The Middleman Changing Room, but is forced to admit he doesn't know who pays for it all. He then takes her to The Middleman Interrogation Room, where she gets to practice on a cute Interrodroid 3000 android. The Middleman monitors her when Ida reports that they have a red ball on the disappearance of a rich woman. Ida is less than thrilled with the idea of Wendy as a sidekick but they're interrupted when Wendy demolishes the Interrodroid. The Middleman suspects she's releasing her suppressed emotions.

The Middleman takes her on the case and they check out the disappearance site. A teleport beam shoots down and deposits Isabel corpse on the spot it vanished from. The Middleman quickly concludes a teleportation beam is responsible. Ida identifies the body and they go to talk to Isabel's family. Isabel's brother has the same extensive plastic surgery, as does her sister Doris. Doris mentions there was another attack but Isabel's brother quickly denies it and asks them to leave.

The Middleman and Wendy return to Middleman HQ where Ida has determined that there have been similar crimes in the last six months and several victims were missing their head. All of the victims shared the same plastic surgeon, Dr. Newleaf. Wendy assumes Newleaf is responsible, but they're interrupted when Noser and Lacey arrive at the reception area to pay Wendy a visit and help her through her expected breakdown. Lacey gives Wendy a Dr. Gil DVD and doesn't believe she's okay with the break-up. When Lacey wants to see Wendy's desk, The Middleman intervenes and pulls Wendy away on a fake emergency. He doesn't believe Newleaf is responsible and gets a rare gem out of the safe.

They go to Newleaf's Beauty Institute and The Middleman runs another test, giving her a Fish & Wildlife ID to use. They talk to Newleaf, who has the same plastic surgery. The Middleman shows Newleaf the gem and the doctor can't resist taking it… and eating it. Newleaf hits the intruder alert button and two security guards arrive and they start speaking in alien tongue as Newleaf gives them orders to detain the Earthlings. Wendy goes for her gun only to find The Middleman has turned it off. He then tries a more peaceful approach and Newleaf insists that Wendy leave. The Middleman explains that the aliens are Manicoids, who blend into upper-society where their normal appearance looks just like plastic surgery patients. Newleaf offers to talk to The Middleman once Wendy leaves.

Outside, Wendy calls Lacey and finds out more bad news: Ben has received a substantial contract to make a movie out of his video. Meanwhile, Newleaf refuses The Middleman's offer of help but The Middleman gives him a signal watch to contact him just in case. Heading back to HQ, Wendy is angry that The Middleman doesn't trust her but he warns that her psych profile says that she will have problems with the break-up. She insists the psych profile is wrong and tosses it out the window. Back at her sublet, Wendy finds Lacey watching Dr. Gil again advising one of his guests that crying is okay. Wendy insists on going up to her bedroom.

Dr. Newleaf is leaving his office when a teleportation beam strikes him and beams him away. The Middleman calls Wendy to the scene but en route she realizes that The Middleman gave Newleaf her watch, and it has a tracking device. The Middleman assure her that the watch has a signal for a reason, and he'll always have her back. They follow the signal to KBTTF TV Broadcast Studio, which has the broadcast equipment necessary to send a teleport signal anywhere in the world. the find a secret room containing hunting trophies, including alien heads. Dr. Gill arrives and cheerfully admits that he hunts Manicoids for sport and has teleported Dr. Newleaf to his private hunting ground. Dr. Gil explains that his father opened fire on a UFO, but was crushed when it fell to earth. Dr. Gil salvaged its teleportation device and now hunts aliens for revenge. Dr. Gil opens fire and escapes through the teleporter, but Wendy leaps through after him before a stray shot destroys the controls.

Dr. Gil opens fire on Wendy, who stumbles across Dr. Newleaf. She refuses to back down, draws her gun, and goes after Dr. Gil. However, the gun is still in shutdown mode because of The Middleman. She complains about her week and Dr. Gil offers some impromptu counseling. He assures her he won't leave her like her father and boyfriends… and is then blasted to dust by a Manicoid UFO. The Middleman emerges along with Newleaf's security team and Wendy admits that she knew that he'd always be there for her and all she had to do was stall until he tracked her by the watch.

Wendy returns home and makes up with Tracey, and they settle in to watch Italian zombie movies. However, they're interrupted by a newscast announcing that Dr. Gil was trampled by a herd of runaway rhinos.

Episodes

The Pilot Episode Sanction

Artist Wendy Watson is working as a temp secretary at A.N.D. Laboratories, answering the phone and playing with her father's Zippo.

The Accidental Occidental Conception

Wendy and Noser go to the police station to get Lacey out of jail after she was arrested for indecent exposure in a sushi restaurant.

The Sino-Mexican Revelation

Lacey and Wendy are commiserating over money woes, and Wendy doesn't get paid until she completes training.

The Manicoid Teleportation Conundrum

Wendy is working on a painting of a gorilla with a gun and shows it off to Lacey.

The Flying Fish Zombification

Wendy is talking with her mother over the phone as Lacey paints.

The Boyband Superfan Interrogation

Wendy, Lacey, and Noser are trying to get illegal satellite and pick up Varsity Fanclub, the most popular boy band in the world.

Cast

Lacey
Lacey
Brit Morgan

Brit Morgan plays Lacey, Wendy’s free spirit activist roommate and best friend. Lacey is always out trying to make a difference in the world, from protesting sushi restaurants to throwing fake blood on fur coats, she doesn’t back down from a fight. While she thinks Wendy’s new boss is good looking, she questions what kind of job her friend has signed up for.

As soon as she finished high school, 18 year old Brit Morgan packed up her pick-up truck and started the long drive from New Jersey to Los Angeles. She soon got a couple of breaks, including a guest role on ABC Family’s series, “Greek.” A guest star role on “CSI: NY” soon followed and the lead in a series of webisodes for Sony entitled “Buried Alive.” Morgan was then thrilled to work alongside William H Macy in his TNT pilot, “Family Man.” She recently completed work on her first feature film role, “Beer For My Horses,” where Morgan tags along on a wild cross-country adventure with Willie Nelson, Rodney Carrington and Toby Keith.

Noser
Noser
Jake Smollett

Jake Smollett portrays Noser, Wendy and Lacey’s eccentric neighbor. A musician who is continuously working on a concept album, he is an oasis of calm in Wendy and Lacey’s turbulent world.

A native New Yorker who hails from a family full of actors, Smollett began his career as a baby, diaper-model. He got his scripted start on the series “Hanging with Mr. Cooper” before starring alongside his five brothers and sisters in their ABC sitcom, “On Our Own.” Smollett also starred in the critically acclaimed feature film “Eve's Bayou,” directed by Kasi Lemmons. Aside from acting, Smollett is a long time supporter of Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA), a nonprofit organization working in the US and South Africa to combat HIV/AIDS, assist children orphaned by AIDS, advance human and civil rights, safeguard voting rights, and educate and empower youth.

Ida
Ida
Mary Pat Gleason

Mary Pat Gleason portrays The Middleman’s cranky robot assistant Ida. Always there to help The Middleman and Wendy with research and the technical side of cases, Ida can’t help herself from giving the newbie a tough time.

On film, Gleason can be seen in “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry,” “Because I Said So,” “Intolerable Cruelty,” “Bruce Almighty,” “Traffic,” “The Crucible,” “A Walk In The Clouds,” “Lorenzo’s Oil,” “Man Trouble,” “Basic Instinct,” “Soap Dish,” and “Defending Your Life.”

Her television series credits include “Sex & The City,” “ER,” “Friends,” “Will & Grace,” “Malcolm in the Middle,” “NYPD Blue” and “L.A. Law.” She played Jane Hogan on “Guiding Light” and won an Emmy Award® for editing the show in 1986. She has also appeared in Hallmark Hall of Fame’s “A Season For Miracles” and movies of the week such as “The West Side Waltz,” “Children of the Dark,” “Right To Remain Silent,” and “The Jerry Sherwood Story.” Gleason has theatre credits that include her one-woman show “Stopping Traffic,” which she has performed in both New York and L.A., and the recent workshop of Nancy Shayne’s musical “The Becky Show” at Ars Nova. Her other theatre credits include “Space,” “Growing Gracefully,” “Only A Kingdom,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “Plaza Suite,” “Jitters,” “Tartuffe,” “The Seahorse,” and “Frankie and Annie.”

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