Saturday, December 23, 2006
The Lost Room
There is one major problem with mini series that are developed to test the waters for a series... that is that the miniseries can never bring the story to resolution. The Lost Room is no exception. The good news is that sometimes the result is a very good series, like The 4400 or Battlestar Gallactica. I'm not sure what sort of series will come from this, it's too early to tell. But I will say that the mini series could have had a more satisfying conclusion if it didn't need to keep the storyline open.
The premise is interesting. The Lost Room from the title, is apparently motel room #10 from a motel in New Mexico where something profound happened a long time ago. One of the many weird things, is that this motel apparently only had 9 rooms at the time. Somehow, this mysterious event, in this non existent room caused everything in the room, including the occupant, to take on mystical and sometimes bizarre abilities. For example, the comb that was in the room at the time of the event, can stop time for 10 seconds at a time. It seems that everything in the room, no matter how seemingly innocuous, has become an "object" with an ability. Objects include the room key, a deck of cards, a pen, etc. In addition to their normal abilities, "objects" may display new abilities when used in combination. Finally, all "objects" are indestructible when not in the "room". The ability of the room key, is that it can open any door, and take the user to this lost room, which exists outside of our normal time/space.
The story focuses on detective Joe Miller, who gets the key through a series of events, and has to piece together what the key is and what it does. The other main characters are collectors of "objects" who operate on both sides of the law. For some, the event and the objects form the core of a religion.
The show's viewers tag along with Joe as he unravels the history and mystery of the room. Along the way, we meet all of the various groups who are also aware of and interested in the Room. We get a glimpse of perhaps 10 of the 100 objects. At the end, something happens to Joe that seems to bind his future to the room. At that point, the show comes to a very sudden end.
I see the possibilities for a series, I just don't know if it really has legs. I'm not sure what process is involved in helping the TV deities decide whether a show goes on to the next phase of having a show, but I would at least be interested in seeing what they can do with it.
If you have not seen the miniseries, it's probably a pass unless they commit to the series. Otherwise, the miniseries will leave you wanting more, with no way to get it.
Labels: Mini Series and Movies, tv
