Relics of the Lost Room

Last year I posted something about a movie on the SCI FI channel - The Lost Room. It's being shown again, and this time I was able to catch the first hour (of 4.5 hours), which I missed before, and it makes a little more sense. I think it's worth a rental, for those interested ...

Joe Miller (played by Peter Krause) is a homocide detective who comes upon a mysterious key through a series of bizarre murders. The key, which will open any locked door, belongs to a certain 1961 vintage motel room, and no matter which door one opens with the key, one will alwaus enter that motel room ... one can exit the motel room anywhere in the world one wishes. As it turns out, the key is just one of the "objects" or relics that belong to that out-of-phase motel room, and which are coveted by many, including The Order, The Legion, and The Collectors, for their magical powers. The show takes off emotionally when Joe's little girl enters the motel room and disappears. Below is some of what I had in my last post ...

The series revolves around at least 100 everyday items that possess unusual powers, such as a comb that can stop time for ten seconds, or a pen that microwaves anything its tip touches. The incident that caused the objects to be imbued with the extraordinary endowments is referred to as "The Event" and it occured on May 4, 1961 at 1:20 P.M.. Some characters have theorized that God is dead and the objects are pieces of His corpse, imbued with His powers, or that the objects originate from part of the universe experiencing a fluke in physics, allowing the objects to defy natural laws. It is said that anybody who collects all the items and returns them to their "rightful place" will achieve "divinity" though there are some individuals who believe that these items should be destroyed ... - Wikipedia

And here below is some of a New York Post review - Check-Out Time: Object Lessons of 'Lost Room' .......

"Our human interaction with the objects around us is really a fascinating Rorschach test, whether it's in this story or in our own lives," Krause reflected yesterday in a conference call with reporters. "I had a conversation recently with somebody about telecommunications and how now, with the Blackberry or the Treo - these sort of superphones - these objects become so important to people.

"And so many times the obsession that we have with objects in our lives can destroy or hamper relationships with other people, either on a large scale between nations or between just two people."

Whoa! Hold on there, Peter, you're getting ahead of yourself.

For one thing, the objects in the miniseries are a lot less complicated than the handheld gadgets to which we are so devoted today.

The objects in "The Lost Room" represent a lost world. They are from 1961, and they originate from a mysterious motel room on the old Route 66 near Gallup, N.M.

That's the "lost room" of the title, and you won't learn what happened there (on May 4, 1961) until the third night of this otherworldly miniseries, which also stars Julianna Margulies, Kevin Pollak, Elle Fanning (Dakota's little sister), Chris Bauer ("The Wire," "Smith"), Margaret Cho, Dennis Christopher and John Beasley ("Everwood") ...

The key is one of the most powerful of all the objects and consequently, it is one of the most sought-after by several competing, fanatic groups bent on collecting all the objects.

If the miniseries sounds complicated, it really isn't. Basically, what happens is this: The objects make everyone crazy who comes into contact with them.

And the quality of their lives declines as well. Krause plays a Pittsburgh homicide cop who comes into possession of the key, which soon causes his daughter (Fanning) to go missing.

Here's what he meant by the Rorschach test analogy. "For the characters in the [miniseries], their [true] character is revealed through their interaction with the objects," Krause said of watching the first two parts of "The Lost Room."

His analysis rings true. And it's also true that "The Lost Room" is a darned fine miniseries with tons of potential to become a regular series on Sci Fi.


- Krause and Julianna Margulies