Television studio executive Gil Hurn (David Margulies) is approached by Mr. Smith (Lenny von Dohlen), a mysterious investor who asks him to complete the final episodes of Max Paradise, a short-run detective series from 1965 that was cancelled before said episodes were aired. Mr. Smith and his mysterious backers are willing to pay any price, specifically gold bars, to see the series finished, complete with bringing the original actor, Van Conway (Darren McGavin), out of retirement. Unknown to the others, Mr. Smith is an alien from a planet that has received TV signals from Earth 20 years after they originally aired, and Max Paradise has become immensely popular on their planet.