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Lost and Found and Forgotten and Forgiven
By bukkhead | July 11, 2007
TV REVIEW: ‘THE LOST ROOM’
Written by Laura Harkcom, Christopher Leone, and Paul Workman
Directed by Craig R. Baxley and Michael W. Watkins
270 mins. (6 episodes)
Back before cable TV and VCRs were ubiquitous, studios would occasionally treat us to that TV show/move hybrid, the mini-series. It’s a great genre for those of us who want something more than a schlocky two hour feature, but don’t want to invest in eighteen episodes of recycled pap. With On-Demand viewing, movie-streaming over the internet, and even the gaming consoles offering TV show downloads, I think the mini-series could become a viable genre once more. And if the Sci-Fi channel can produce more offerings like “The Lost Room,” it’s a genre that can flourish again.
“The Lost Room” packs a whole lot of story into just six episodes, and indeed, it could have been a full-length series. But part of its allure is that it leaves some of the mystery as mysterious. Rather than tie up everything and explain every detail, it establishes the world in which the events take place, gives us an easy plot motivator, and follows that plot to its end. Some questions get answered along the way, some don’t, and the door is left open for a sequel if you want it (pun intended), while the ending is satisfying and let’s you go.
The story is very intriguing: scattered around the world are dozens, maybe hundreds, of objects from a motel room circa 1961. These objects possess strange powers: a comb that when used can briefly stop time, a bus ticket that immediately transports anyone who touches it to a rural area outside Gallup, New Mexico, a ball point pen that microwaves anyone who touches the writing portion. The most intriguing object is the key, which can open any door with a regular pin-and-tumbler lock, but when open the door leads to the originally motel room itself.
Joe Miller is a police detective who ends up with the key, and who’s daughter disappears into the room. Now he has to find out what the objects do, where they come from, and how to use them together in order to get his daughter back. Along they way he encounters some of the misfits who possess the objects, along with the various power-players and cabals set on using the objects for their own nefarious purposes.
Directors Craig Baxley and Michael Watkins give the series a gritty, dirty feel, detailing sets with, decayed, broken imagery. Although this is sci-fi (or fantasy, if you’re a nomenclature purist) the series plays out more like a mystery, thanks to the mood and tone set by the directors. In many ways, it almost has a comic-book feel, one of those indie-label comics that relies less on established characters and more on a fascinating setting.
Sometimes we binge on TV DVDs and end up watching one or two discs in one night. This is definitely one for that kind of mood. Even better, at just two discs, this is one you can probably afford to purchase, because you’re going to want to lend it to your friends. And maybe watch it again yourself.
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