The Lost Room 

A detective investigates a mysterious motel room, which acts as a portal to an alternate universe.

Stars:

Peter Krause, Julianna Margulies, Peter Jacobson

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 11 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Peter Krause	...	Joe Miller 3 episodes, 2006
Julianna Margulies	...	Jennifer Bloom 3 episodes, 2006
Peter Jacobson	...	Wally Jabrowski 3 episodes, 2006
Dennis Christopher	...	Dr. Martin Ruber 3 episodes, 2006
April Grace	...	Lee Bridgewater 3 episodes, 2006
Elle Fanning	...	Anna Miller 3 episodes, 2006
Kevin Pollak	...	Karl Kreutzfeld 3 episodes, 2006
Benjamin Petry	...	Isaac Kreutzfeld 3 episodes, 2006
Jason Douglas	...	Anthony 3 episodes, 2006
Chris Bauer	...	Lou Destefano 2 episodes, 2006
Harriet Sansom Harris	...	Margaret Milne 2 episodes, 2006
Margaret Cho	...	Suzie Kang 2 episodes, 2006
Ann Cusack	...	Helen Ruber 2 episodes, 2006
Roger Bart	...	Howard 'The Weasel' Montague 2 episodes, 2006
Nicholas Guilak	...	Arjun Mehta 2 episodes, 2006
Tim Guinee	...	Eddie McCleister / ... 2 episodes, 2006
Chris Monberg	...	Little Jim 2 episodes, 2006

Storyline

Detective Joe Miller comes into possession of a seemingly innocuous motel room key while working on a murder case. The key can open every door and take him into a motel room that seems to exist outside of normal time and space. However, if he leaves something in the motel room that did not originally come from there, it will be gone as soon as the room "resets"... He discovers that there are special objects hidden in different places. They don't look special, but they have special powers. When his daughter disappears and he is framed for killing his partner, he must find a way to bring her back from the room, while working with different groups and people searching for the objects. But who can he really trust when everyone goes crazy after touching the objects...

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Plot Keywords:

teleportation | tv mini series | cursed object | 

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Taglines:

Some doors are better left closed.

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Genres:

Action | Fantasy | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site Space [Canada]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 December 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Motel Man

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lions Gate Films, Lionsgate Productions, Motel Man Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

270 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 'The Key' Wally explains that the bus ticket sends people to a spot outside Gallup, New Mexico. Gallup is situated on US Route 491, formerly known as Highway 666. It was renumbered in 2003 due to repeated thefts of the highway signs.

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Goofs

In the scene where Karl and Joe try to get into the vault they use the Clock, it is heard ticking but the second hand doesn't move. Within the context of the series, the Clock's hands are permanently frozen at 1:20:45 (the time that The Event occurred). In real life, the "second hand" on this particular make of clock is not a second hand, but rather an alarm indicator.

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Connections

References Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

User Reviews

Rules rule

Though I like fantasy and SF, I have to admit to being fondest of rule-based fantasy, like that of Tim Powers -- as a reader or viewer, you have an idea of what's possible and impossible, despite the supernatural elements of the story. Fantasy without rules is far less satisfactory, since characters in those stories can do whatever the writer arbitrarily decides they can do (or can't), and as a result, the writing is lazier.

"The Lost Room" is all about rules and the characters who find creative ways to abuse them. (Tim Powers fans would like it, I'm sure.) The writers have come up with cool supernatural powers for a host of innocuous looking objects (combs, pens, cards, bus tickets, watches, a key, etc.) Each object has a power and rules to govern them. Many of the powers don't seem that nifty, until you see how creatively they are used. And, along those lines, virtually every scene contains a fun, "Hey, that's a good idea!" move, and they tend to come at you faster than you can anticipate them if you aren't taping the show and hitting pause.

What's best about this is that the writers stick with it all the way. Many of these shows go David Lynch/Twin Peaks on us, setting us up with the promise of great stuff to come, and then disappointing us in a big way later. (Dean Koontz novels always seem to fall apart in this way, at least for me.) "The Lost Room" keeps up its promises all the way to the very end, which, like the rest of the miniseries, is clever and interesting and makes perfect sense in hindsight, given the rules.

I honestly can't think of the last time I saw a miniseries or movie of this ilk that pulled off its ending this well. It's a darned good miniseries, and I sincerely hope it becomes a full-blown series, as apparently is being considered.