This week’s Con Man episodes on Vimeo can be described as one of Wray Nerely’s worst days. He is fired from a video game, forced to fill in for someone at a comic book opening and information from his past almost gets him clobbered.
This week’s set not only includes the longest and shortest episodes in the series, but guest stars like Gina Torres, Jewel Staite, Seth Green and Michael Dorn (Star Trek: The Next Generation).
Wray is doing some video game voicing with Jerry Lansing (Nolan North) and Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes). While they’re doing very macho characters, Wray is playing Marion, a guy who was shot in an unpleasant place. That was done because the engineer (Torres) thinks Wray’s voice isn’t manly enough. He then shows he can do other voices, but the one he does gets him fired. When Jack (Nathan Fillion) calls, with a drunk Japanese chef juggling in the background, Wray claims he quit. Jack does offer him a job in a movie, which Wray is all too happy to take. Milo then asks Wray to attend a comic book store opening for him so he can go on a date. The $5,000 fee is enough to get him there.
Of course, Jack isn’t there when Wray arrives, but his assistant Faith (Alison Haislip) is. They spend time in the pool, and Wray finds out Jack wants to make a Spectrum movie. That’s not good news. We see more of Wray’s fears about his future. He compares doing Spectrum to being a one-hit wonder band like The Knack, and he’s terrified he can’t get anything else.
At the comic book store, Wray is not in good shape. He’s reminded of his stalled career at every turn, especially when Bobbi (Mindy Sterling), his booker, keeps telling him (even on his phone) that he needs her. His assistant (J. Doc Farrow) is an ex-Marine who served in Afghanistan named, of all things, Marion. Later, he finds himself in a panel discussing overcoming stereotypes in “hate art” with Dorn and Kevin Grevioux (Underworld). It’s revealed, thanks to Bobbi, that he did some very stereotypical voices for a cartoon show. The crowd, especially Dorn and Grevioux, are ready to tear Wray apart, if not for an unexpected rescuer.
If this isn’t quite rock bottom for Wray, it’s probably close. However, the final three episodes will feature Amy Acker as his apparent love interest. Things may be looking up.
Con Man is available at vimeo.com/ondemand/conman