The Lost Room (2006)

A mysterious event in May of 1961 seemingly obliterates a New Mexico motel room from existence, and endows all the objects that were in said room with indestructibility and other mysterious powers that range from the mundane (a wrist watch that will hard-boil any egg placed within the watch band), to the potentially world changing (a glass eye that can “destroy or heal all flesh”). One of the more significant objects is a key that can (with a few restrictions) transport you to nearly any doorway in the world. A Pittsburgh homicide detective (Peter Krause) investigating a truly odd double murder (the victims were fried to death but their clothes remained unsinged) comes into possession of this key, eventually resulting in his 8 year old daughters being trapped in another dimension, and the fathers desperate struggle to get her back.

Krause’s character becomes immersed in the world of those individuals who are aware of ‘the objects’ existence, and forms many temporary alliances in his efforts to find an object capable of restoring his daughter to ‘this’ reality. The objects and there powers are fun and often inspired in there silliness, and the different factions and their approaches to and beliefs about the objects intriguing. Indeed I must say this mini-series seems to have struck upon a truly original and entertaining idea, and although the beginning and to a lesser extent the end are weak, the middle is an enjoyable romp. However this all felt less like a mini-series, and more like the first season of a TV series, the ending left so much unresolved I almost immediately started thinking up plot lines for season 2. Baring the unlikely event of getting Peter Krause back, surely this could be an entertaining series of novels. Grade: B.