TVSquad

Recently I was sent the first two episodes of a new "limited run" series coming to Sci Fi called The Lost Room. My contacts at Sci Fi tell me the show is currently being labeled as a mini series, which to me means it's possible they're hoping for another Battlestar Galactica-like series to come out of it, though I really hope they just leave it be once it's over. That's not to say it's bad at all, just that expanding it further might ruin its magic.

To explain what The Lost Room is, well, a little hard to explain without either making you completely confused or to sell the story short. But I'll do my best to explain it, as I think it's something worth watching.

The Lost Room stars Peter Krause (Six Feet Under) as Det. Joe Miller and Julianna Margulies (ER) as Jennifer Bloom, along with a couple of familiar faces from Desperate Housewives: Roger Bart and Harriet Sansom Harris. You may also recognize Joe's daughter, Anna, played by Elle Fanning, sister of Dakota.

I'll do my best to give you the gist of the story without spoiling too much, which will be quite a feat. Joe happens upon what looks like an ordinary hotel key when investigating a bizarre crime. What he quickly learns is that this is no ordinary key, as it can fit into any swinging door with a keyhole (other than an auto door). However, once that door is opened, what lies beyond is not what you'd expect. Instead the door opens into an old hotel room, one seemingly frozen in time. And when you leave the room through the same door, simply thinking of a place for it to open into will take you there, as long as there's a swinging door with a keyhole in the knob at that location.

What Joe finds out later is that this key is one of many "Objects" that were taken from that particular room at one point, and each of these Objects has a unique power associated with it, the key being one of the most useful and powerful. For example, there's a comb taken from the room that, when combed through the user's hair, will freeze time for ten seconds around the user.

The hotel room has one particular side effect. The room resets once the key user leaves the room with the key, meaning that anything that was left in the room disappears and anything that was disturbed in the room is brought back to its original state. So, when Joe's daughter enters the room without the key and the door is shut, you can imagine what Joe's goal is from then on.

So, what are these weird objects and why do they have powers? Why do some have powers that are seemingly useless while others are incredibly powerful? What happened in Room 10 of the Sunshine Motel back over 40 years ago?

There's much more to the story than that, but I'll leave the rest for you to discover from watching it. There are a few things I really like about this show. For one, it's a mini-series, meaning there is an end in sight and we won't be stuck wondering when it's all going to finish up. I'd like to see more series try this approach instead of petering out in the end and leaving true fans disappointed with the outcome. I also think the story around the Objects, along with the odd powers they have, is one that definitely intrigues me. What did happen to cause those objects to attract powers? Some on the show say God was killed in that room, but are they right?

One thing I will say that I'm not sure really disappoints me, but it's a weakness that needs mentioning. Believe it or not, as odd as the premise is for this show, I found much of it predictable. I figured out what the "Prime Object" would be very early on, for example. I also think I know what the ultimate endgame will be: to get all objects back into the room, including the key, and shut the door with nothing but those objects in the room. What that will do, though, is something we'll just have to wait to see.

The Lost Room premieres on Sci Fi on December 11.