Push, Nevada
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''Push, Nevada'' is an American mystery television series set in the fictional town of Push, Nevada. It premiered on September 17, 2002 on ABC, and ran for 7 episodes before it became one of the first shows to be canceled during the Fall 2002 season.


Overview

Created by
Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS education ...
and Sean Bailey (co-producer of '' Project Greenlight'') and co-produced with
Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Ameri ...
and Chris Moore, ''Push, Nevada'' was unique in that it offered viewers a chance to follow along and solve the mystery of Push for a prize of $1,045,000. Each episode contained clues, from web addresses in the opening credits to specific phrases uttered by characters in the show, each having its own significance to the mystery. 24-year-old
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
resident Mark Nakamoto won the grand prize, calling a special number within just two minutes of the last clue being given during an airing of ''
Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, ...
''. The show's cancellation came about two weeks before the final clue was given, but U.S. law required that the contest continue until its conclusion.


Plot

The show followed a mild-mannered IRS agent, Jim Prufrock, as he traveled to the mysterious desert town of Push, Nevada. While investigating a sizable accounting error made by the Versailles Casino, he begins to realize that there may be stranger things going on in this town than embezzlement. Despite frequent warnings from a "Slo-dancer", Mary, to leave town before he's in too deep, Jim continues to investigate things that don't seem to add up. After many unpleasant incidents, and with the help of his faithful secretary, Grace, Jim discovers that no one in Push has filed an income tax return since 1985. There's also a clandestine corporation known as Watermark, LLC., that appears to control every financial facet of the town, as well as local law enforcement and even forces in the federal government. With the help of Shadrack, Mary Sloman, Caleb Moore, Job, and other townspeople who seem less crooked, Jim begins to unravel the mystery surrounding the missing million (and Bible), and the strange behavior of Push's residents. By the final episode, Jim has not learned the contents of the North Wing of Martha's Boarding House, or that his father, Alfred (presumed dead since Jim was a child), sent the mysterious fax that first brought him to Push.


Characters


Main

* Jim Prufrock (
Derek Cecil Derek Cecil (born January 5, 1973) is an American actor. He played the role of Seth Grayson on the Netflix series '' House of Cards'', starred in the short-lived series ''Push, Nevada'' and '' The Beat'', and made several appearances in the serie ...
): a mild-mannered IRS agent who travels to Push to investigate a fax that was accidentally sent to his office. * Mary Sloman (
Scarlett Chorvat Scarlett Chorvat (born August 25, 1972 in Bratislava, Slovakia) is a Slovak American actress. She moved to the U.S. at the age of five. Chorvat started playing tennis semi-professionally at the age of 15, but moved on to become a model (person) ...
): a "Slo-dancer" at the local bar who seems to have a great interest in Jim's well-being.


Supporting

* Silas Bodnick (
Jon Polito Jon Raymond Polito (December 29, 1950 – September 1, 2016) was an American character actor. In a film and television career spanning 35 years, he amassed over 220 credits. Notable television roles included Detective Steve Crosetti in the fir ...
): a rude, little bald man who's been skimming approximately a million dollars from the Versailles Casino each year. He's involved with Watermark LLC, but has no idea how powerful they really are. * Grace (
Melora Walters Melora Walters (born October 21, 1959) is an American actress. She is best known for her starring roles as Wanda Henrickson in the television series ''Big Love'' and Kathy Kone in '' PEN15'', and has appeared in several Paul Thomas Anderson films. ...
): Jim's enigmatic secretary at the IRS. * Martha (
Conchata Ferrell Conchata Galen Ferrell (March 28, 1943October 12, 2020) was an American actress. Although she was a regular cast member of five TV sitcoms, she was best known for playing Berta the housekeeper for all 12 seasons of ''Two and a Half Men''. For her ...
): the owner and operator of Martha's Boarding House. She seems to have known Jim's father, Alfred, from her Slo-Dancing days. * BRB (
Tom Towles Tom Towles (March 20, 1950 – April 2, 2015) was an American character actor of film, theatre, and television, known for his portraying villains and intimidating supporting characters. His breakthrough role as Otis in '' Henry: Portrait of a Ser ...
): a strange truck driver, who picks up Jim in the desert after his car breaks down. BRB is also involved with Watermark. * Oswald Wilkes (Daniel Sauli): Silas Bodnick's killer (with the serpent tattoo). * Mr. Smooth (
Armand Assante Armand Anthony Assante Jr. (; born October 4, 1949) is an American actor. He played mobster John Gotti in the 1996 HBO television film '' Gotti'', Odysseus in the 1997 mini-series adaptation of Homer's ''The Odyssey'', Nietzsche in ''When ...
) * Dwight Sloman ( Raymond J. Barry): a crooked businessman, owner of many of Push's establishments (including the Versailles Casino, and the Slo-Dance Bar), and, we find out later, Mary's incestuous father. * Caleb Moore (Monty Bane): constantly freezing local who helps Bodnick steal the money and Bible from the Versailles safe. * Job: an "honest mechanic". He tows and fixes Jim's car after it breaks down—for free. * Ira Glassman: Jim's boss at the IRS. Ira is a yes man, doing what his superiors say, and apparently cannot think for himself. Ira felt comfortable enough with Jim's visit on their first encounter by wrapping up the meeting with "let's grab an Arby's". * Sheriff Gaines: a moron. His idiocy could be the result of blind obedience to the Watermark boys. Clearly, they control him. * Dawn (
Liz Vassey Elizabeth Leigh Vassey (born August 9, 1972) is an American actress. Her most notable roles include Emily Ann Sago on ''All My Children'', Captain Liberty on ''The Tick'', Wendy Simms on ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', Lou on '' Brotherly L ...
): at first, apparently a flaky, quirky Sheriff's deputy. Later, we learn she is an agent from the U.S. Treasury, investigating Dwight Sloman. * Shadrack ( W. Earl Brown): an eccentric desert artist. Shadrack was a city official in Push before Watermark took over. He also used to know Jim's father. * Darlene (
Abby Brammell Abby Brammell (born March 19, 1979) is an American television and stage actress. Early life and education Brammell was born in Kentucky and raised in San Antonio, Texas, where she graduated from Churchill High School in 1997. She graduated fro ...
): Jim's soon-to-be ex-wife. She has more addictions than she has money, so between drunken one-night-stands, she calls Jim for more money, which he sends. Later, Watermark does its voodoo on Darlene, and she transforms herself into the perfect little housewife, trying to woo Jim back into her arms (and out of Push). * Delilah ( Alexondra Lee): a former Slo-Dancer, now BRB's wife. She's under Watermark's mind-control, but senses there is something wrong with her behavior. * The Well Dressed Men ( Larry Poindexter,
Steven Culp Steven Bradford Culp (born December 3, 1955) is an American actor. Culp appeared in films '' Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday'' (1993), ''James and the Giant Peach'' (1996), ''The Emperor's Club'' (2002), and most notably in the 2000 politica ...
, Tom Gallop): three expensive-suited, Lexus-driving corporate thugs. They are the go-between for Watermark and Dwight Sloman. They also handle Watermark's public relations through persuasive suggestion. * Michael Sudris (Joel Bissonnette): Job's tattoo-artist friend. He tattoos Jim's back with "Death & Taxes". He couldn't handle Watermark's mind-control attempts when they first began in Push. He flipped out one day, and moved to Demonhead Flats in his trailer/tattoo parlor to smoke peyote and never watch TV again.


Contest

Each of the 13 originally planned episodes was to have a clue word or phrase embedded into it. This word was repeated and hidden several times throughout the episode. For example, the clue for the seventh episode ''Jim's Domain'' was "www.toyota18.com", and that web address was seen throughout the episode as the address of the Carson City IRS, spelled out by letters on stacks of books and boxes, and hidden as an acronym of the news headline "Why Would We Drive Or Take Taxis? One Young Orphan Takes An 18 Day Outing To Climb Oracle Mountain". After the sixth episode aired, the clues for the remaining 6 unaired episodes were shown, and viewers were told that the final clue would be revealed during the October 28, 2002 episode of ''
Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, ...
''. The complete list of episode clues was: # 1,045,000 # television # orange # Peter Pan # g # Morse code # www.toyota18.com # five # longitude # underwear # southeast # Bodnick # Eliot The final clue given during Monday Night Football was "Spaces and punctuation count. Don't count the first episode. Then 5th place, 1st, 9th, 1st, 5th, 7th, 4th, 1st, 2nd, 7th, 5th, and 2nd places in order." By taking the appropriate letters from each episode (5th letter of "television" is V, 1st letter of "orange" is O, etc.), the word VONGEYELNAIL was spelled. Replacing EYE with the letter I (as a sign in the background of the clue instructed) produced the word VONGILNAIL, which translates into the phone number 866-445-6245. The first person to call that phone number won the contest.


References


External links

* * {{authority control 2000s American mystery television series 2002 American television series debuts 2002 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming Puzzle hunts Fictional populated places in Nevada Television series by ABC Studios Television shows set in Nevada Tie-in alternate reality games Television series created by Ben Affleck Television series created by Matt Damon