| Product: |
The Lost Room (DVD) |
| Date: |
26.04.08 (118 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Exciting, interesting, well-acted and the right pace
Disadvantages: It was cancelled!
The Lost Room is a relatively unknown TV mini-series, which broadcast for one series in 2006 before it was (criminally) cancelled. It tells the story of a police officer named Joe Miller, who attends the crime scene of a man who has been literally cooked alive. In tracking down a potential witness to the crime, he encounters a young Hispanic man, who has taken possession of a key that is being hunted down by a shadowy group of ruthless individuals. When the young man turns up in Miller's apartment, he is only able to pass Joe the key before he dies of gunshot wounds, leaving Miller confounded as to how he got into the hallway closet.
Whilst Miller's young daughter, Anna, is asleep one night, Miller takes the key and tries to use it to unlock the closet door. To his amazement, the key fits perfectly, but when he opens the door, he is astounded to find that it leads to a completely unknown motel room. It seems that the key has a magical property and that the holder can use it to open any room in the world, to transport himself into this mysterious hotel room. But Miller soon realises that all the time he holds the key, he is placing himself in mortal danger; a fact he realises too late for his daughter Anna who, during a struggle with a dangerous hunter, disappears into the room, seemingly never to be seen again......
The Lost Room is one of the best television dramas to emerge from the US in decades. Imaginative, exciting, well-made and thought-provoking, the only real disadvantage to the series is that it was cancelled after just one series. Given the series' obvious appeal (and reading around the rapturous reception that it received online) it's really hard to see how this decision was made, but what it does mean is that the series remains uniquely appealing and unspoilt by overloaded sequels or badly-managed continuation.
The Lost Room centres on a mysterious hotel room, in which strange events took place in the 1960s. Initially, we know very little of these events and the six episodes gradually piece together the mystery to try and reveal why the room was "lost". We quickly learn that the key is only one of many mysterious objects, each of which exhibits a special power, each of which in turn can evolve if the object is brought into contact with another one of these special objects. Along with Joe Miller, we gradually learn that a number of secret societies around the globe are intent on finding and collecting these objects, for a variety of different reasons. Karl Kreutzfield, for example, is a wealthy business man whose son is dying of leukaemia, and he believes that one or more of the objects will be able to save his son's life. One organisation believes that the objects are inherently dangerous and wishes to hide them away from the rest of the world, whilst another believes that the objects are holy and worships them all as part of some cultish faith. Needless to say, Joe Miller comes into contact with representatives of each of these factions, as he tries to work out how to rescue his daughter AND stay alive.
The series somehow manages to keep what could be a rather over-complicated concept entertainingly simple, with a logical, progressive narrative that takes the characters on an exciting journey full of twists and turns. As you can imagine with any such story, many individuals are not who or what they appear to be, and as the tale moves on, individuals are crossed and double-crossed as they each play out their separate agendas. At the centre of it, is a believable, engaging and extremely likeable lead (Miller) whose plight genuinely draws sympathy, meaning that the audience is truly rooting for him come the end of episode six.
The fantastical elements of the story boost this enormously. As each episode unfolds, we are exposed to more and more of the objects, and likewise more and more of their capabilities. Many of the objects are attached to a curious, eccentric character, meaning that their discovery is all the more eventful for Joe Miller. This process of introduction is not dissimilar to the much more successful series Heroes, whereby each episode seems to dwell upon the reveal of another object and another keeper. They're a pretty wild bunch, including a slightly backward fellow who can briefly suspend time by combing his hair and an obnoxious loudmouth who can banish people to the other side of the country by tapping them on the head with a bus ticket. It probably sounds a bit silly, but it's simultaneously interesting and effective and great use is made of both characters and objects to help spur the action along.
Unlike many of its counterparts, the series also manages that rare feat of not descending into slushy, emotion-driven character drama. The plight of Joe's daughter is integral to the story, but never allows things to stall. Similarly, along the way, Joe meets up with the mysterious (and of course beautiful) Jennifer Bloom and whilst romance starts to blossom, it's a tiny part of the story. For once, the inclusion of these human elements genuinely adds value to the story, providing a subtle human interest against a backdrop of fantastical and big-scale fantasy drama.
The Lost Room is tagged as science fiction but never feels like your conventional sci-fi drama, and is almost certainly the better for it. There are hints and elements of many other series here (the super-powered involvement of Heroes, the supernatural elements of Supernatural, the fantasy of Stargate and the dark side of the X Files) but it's true to say that the series is generally quite unique, seeming to invent a genre of its own. There are some quite profound themes here too, looking at faith, religion and destiny, but its not a demanding exercise for the audience who can choose either to simply enjoy the series at face value or explore deeper for something else. The series' conclusion is not entirely satisfying with some elements not quite cleared up and some confused bits that never really make sense, but in all, it's rather nice to watch a self-contained series that can either exist in its own right, or go on to enjoy further success. Certainly, the sheer number of objects and owning characters means that The Lost Room could continue a number of directions. The special effects are good too; nothing too ambitious but everything pretty convincing.
Best known for his role in Six Feet Under, Peter Krause is extremely likeable as Joe Miller. Coming across as your average "Joe", Krause is nicely under-stated and commands attention on screen without trying too hard. His natural, relaxed style is perfect for the role and it remains a source of bemusement that the actor isn't seen much more. Julianna Margulies' dark features are certainly appropriate to her rather shadowy character and certainly Bloom's agenda remains a mystery pretty much up to the end. Margulies works well with Krause and they make an effective screen couple. Strong acting pedigree clearly runs in the Fanning family, as hot on the heels of child actress Dakota comes her younger sister Elle, who shares her sister's natural screen presence and ability to draw sympathy. Kevin Pollak has a great time a good / bad / good guy Kreutzfield but Peter Jacobson has more fun as the obnoxious Wally who keeps transporting people to the middle of nowhere with his bus ticket.
It's hard to fault The Lost Room and it's almost a certainty that this will appeal to pretty much anyone. It's exciting, interesting and often quite funny too, with nothing to offend, disturb or frighten. It's astounding that the series was cancelled but at least it went out on a high and comes highly recommended from this viewer.
Other good news is that since the UK DVD release last year, the price has dropped dramatically and you can pick the set up for around £15. It's a bargain!
Summary: Television gold
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