The Vanishing Man
Season 1, Episode 1
Nobody Does it Better

Written by Tony Jordan Directed by Rick Stroud Originally Broadcast (UK), 18th July 1998 on ITV

In a cell, a man can be heard wailing, Inspector Moreau joins some scientist outside the cell door. Inside the cell is "The Head" of what was the Gyges Project, and the only other human being who has undergone the invisibility process. Alas, he is now permanently invisible and has now gone insane. Looking through the glass window, Moreau watches as the room is slowly trashed by an invisible man.

Later, we see Alice who has since moved to a new house. She answer her front door to find Moreau there. He's obviously after Nick, but Alice doesn't know where he is. It would seem that during the previous six months Nick and Alice have parted company, on not very amicable terms. Moreau and his team used to know where Nick was, but since Nick and Alice parted company, tracking him down has been hard. He explains that they think they've found Nick again, but he needs her help. He fears Nick won't listen to hi unless Alice is around. When she doesn't seem to helpful, he tell her of the "The Head" and his new found insanity. Meanwhile Nick and his brother Joe are at a local casino. Joe is playing the tables with the help of Nick who fixes the dice so Joe wins every time. Soon Joe has a tidy sum in chips, and a girl on his arm. Nick finally tells Joe to call it a night. Joe leaves with his new woman in tow, who has agreed to go back to her place. Nick grabs Joe's arm and asks for help getting home. Joe reluctantly agrees to drop Joe off in a taxi on his way to the woman's flat. Unfortunately as Joe makes his move, Nick fads back in and scares the woman half out her wits! They promptly leave the cab!

They arrive home, unaware that a man in a car has been following them. The man makes a call to Moreau, telling him where Nick is.

The following day, Moreau arrives at Joe's new place. He tells him to get a message to Nick, it's important that they meet. As he speaks to Joe, a bottle on a nearby table suddenly moves, giving away Nick's presence. Moreau wants to meet Nick, and explains that Alice will be at the meeting as well to show it isn't a set up. He leaves a business card and asks Nick to be at the address on it, by twelve noon.

Alice sits in her house, holding an identical business card. She's still unsure about going to the meeting.

Joe argues that nick shouldn't be going to this meeting, that Moreau just wants to use him. Nick argues that Joe's already using him, and besides he only said Moreau had something to tell him. Joe then points out Nick is only going through with the meeting because Alice will be there. A point Nick flatly denies - a bit too much! They finally reach the address, and Joe give Nick an ultimatum, if he goes through with the meeting he and Nick are finished. Nick doesn't hesitate to walk through the revolving door into the office building.

In Moreau's office, Nick meets Alice again, and while the air is somewhat strained, things look okay between them. Moreau then introduces Alice and Nick to Michelle Peters. She a doctor who is the head of a research unit who was brought in to oversee what's left of the Gyges process equipment. Moreau tells them that after the original experiment was shut down, the Gyges team scattered. They now believe that Ms Jefferies is trying to re-build a research unit to continue the work, possibly even abroad.

"The Head" of the Gyges project, was taken to a specialist institution, and was even helping Michelle with some of her research. That was until two weeks ago. "The Head" had always been partial invisible, but then he started to fade in and out. Eventually the gaps between the fading got longer, and now they believe he has become permanently invisible. Alice asks if the same fate could befall Nick. Yes, Michelle replies. There is hope however, Michelle is confident that the process can be reversed. The catch is that Nick has to make himself available for tests. Things are further complicated, when Nick is asked to make himself available to work for Moreau, in return for the research into making him permanently visible.

That night, Michelle is in bed working. It's raining outside, and the wind is blowing making all sorts of noises. The door handle turns, but it's only her son James. He says he heard a noise, but thinks it was a monster. Michelle tells him not to worry, and puts him back to bed. Asleep herself, she woken by a man wearing a John Major mask, followed by another man wearing a Tony Blair one.

Both Michelle and her son are taken to a building. A woman then enters the room. She's of average height and slim build, but you instantly know she's a hard woman, not to be crossed. Michelle is to help her find Nick Cameron.

Meanwhile Nick ad Alice are walking around by the river. He starts complaining that Alice never told him wear she moved to. She never sent him one of those little "I have moved" cards. She points out he's moved. Nick tells her he's written the cards, he just hasn't posted them yet. Alice's card is the top of his pile. She points out he wouldn't know where to post it, and he admits he's talking cobblers! Nick then apologies to Alice for the way he treated her, and it almost seems like old times between them.

Back at the warehouse type building where Michelle is being held. The woman turns out to be Ms Jefferies, who accuses Michelle of stealing her work on the Gyges process. She tells Michelle that unless she retrieves some vital components, and all the notes on Gyges she has, her son will die.

Alice and Nick are now at a restaurant, about to order lunch. Alice asks him what he's going to do. Nick, doesn't seem to have a choice, and will probably agree. The thought of being permanently invisible was enough to persuade him.

Alice asks Nick what happened to the bike and suit he took from the Gyges Institute. He had to ditch the bike (he took it to a garage to get fixed, when he returned they couldn't find it!), and one trip to the launderette cost him the suit. He couldn't keep a job, because if it rained he'd be marked down as absent even though he was there! He explains that he's been making a living with the help of Joe's scams.

Meanwhile Michelle is now at the research institute. She's gathered all her files together onto one CD-ROM, and then goes down to the lab to retrieve the components from the original Gyges apparatus. It isn't long before she's found out, and is stopped before she can leave the building.

Nick tells Joe he's decided to take up Moreau's offer. Needless to say Joe isn't pleased, it means an end to all his scams. The doorbell rings, and it's Moreau.

Michelle is waiting by the road side for a car. It arrives and she is told to put the case she is carrying on the back seat. She asks about her son, and is told if the contents of the case check out, her so will be returned to her in one hour. She opens the door long enough for Nick to climb into the car before she puts the case in. Nick is invisible, and the hopes are he will help to get Michelle's son back. Jacob, one of Moreau's men is following the car, and gets caught at a traffic light. He eventually catches up with the car, which is now parked. The car then suddenly explodes. It would seem the bad guy, switched cars on them.

Alice checks the car, but can't find any sign of Nick. Michelle takes her anger out on Moreau, but she doesn't know the worst of it. Moreau switched the components in her case before the drop off. The components are all duds, and won't work, making Moreau doubly glad that Nick is on the case to help James.

Ms Jefferies is pacing up and down. Her man should have been back by now and he isn't. Her other thug tells her he will be here in a few minutes. She tells them to take their masks off even in front of James, as she refuse to talk to them until they do.

Meanwhile, Alice is also getting worried. They should have heard from Nick by now.

Nick and the thug in the Margaret Thatcher mask eventually arrive with the briefcase. While Ms Jefferies goes through the case, Nick talks to James and tells him Michelle sent him. He then leaves to find a phone to call Moreau, after his attempts to borrow one of the thugs phones fail. He eventually "borrows" a mobile phone from a man in the street.

He tells Moreau where he and James are, and that they're not to enter the building until he's got James to safety. His signal will be to smash a window, and then they can storm the building.

Ms Jefferies has now gone through the notes and found nothing new. She then moves to check the parts. Nick then re-enters the building and tells James to run for the door as fast as he can when he gives him a signal. Unfortunately Nick chooses this time to fade-in, and is caught with his pants down - literally. He's stark naked and has a gun pointed in his face, things couldn't get much worse. Ms Jefferies then tells Nick she has a team of people ready to dissect him to find out why the process only worked on him.

The police have now surrounded the building, and taking advantage of the brief panic, Nick tells James to run for it. Nick then has to dodge a few well placed bullets from Ms Jefferies and hides behind some huge silver tubing. He checks the coat he was given to wear from anything he can use. All he has are some cigarettes and a lighter, useless! Tat is until he notices a sprinkler near him, and he places the lighter underneath to set it off. Now wet he turns invisible again and manages to escape. Ms Jefferies finds the coat and the lighter, and realises water must have something to do with the process.

Nick runs up the stairs, leaving behind a series of wet footprints which Ms Jefferies follows. Meanwhile one of the thugs has found James, but Nick hits him with some tubing. The second thug tries to shoot Nick with his gun, but Nick manages to disarm him and shoot out a window. Seeing the signal the police storm the building, while Nick disposes of the gun and sees to James.

The police arrest one of the thugs as he tries to drive away, and Michelle and Alice try to find James. James, meanwhile seems to be holding Nick's arm when Ms Jefferies finds them. But James is only pretending, and Nick disarms her. Unfortunately the third thug has now come to, and proceeds to hit Nick on the back of the head with a piece of pipe. The police then enter, and while they tackle the thug, Ms Jefferies escapes.

Nick then asks Alice if she was worried about him. She tells him she wasn't....much. She places a plaster on him, and when he fades in, we see the plaster is over his mouth!

The thugs are taken away, and Ms Jefferies holds a gun at a stranger's head (actually it's the man from whom Nick "borrowed" a mobile phone) and asks if he knows the way to Heathrow.

Nick is then shown to his new home, which is conveniently over the research labs Michelle works in. Nick refuses to stay there, saying Moreau can find him through Alice. He's fed up of being told what he can and can't do, if Moreau wants to use him, it will be on Nick's terms.

The End

Guest Stars

Razaaq Adoti as Jacob Liz Anson as Blonde Lionel Guyett as Dr. Connor Alan Graves as James Peters Andy Henderson as Tony Blair Chris Brand as John Major Cameron Jack as Margaret Thatcher