The Lost Room
Encyclopedia
The Lost Room is a science fiction
television miniseries
that aired on the Sci Fi Channel
in the United States. The series revolves around the titular room and some of the everyday items from that room which possess unusual powers. The show's protagonist, Joe Miller, is searching for these objects to rescue his daughter, Anna, who has disappeared inside the Room. Once a typical room at a 1960s motel
along U.S. Route 66
, the Lost Room has existed outside of normal time and space since 1961, when what is only referred to as "the Event" took place.
. At 1:20:44 p.m. on May 4, 1961, something happened at the site of the Room that erased it and all its contents. This is referred to as "the Event" or "the Incident", and is thought to be the reason for the unusual properties of the Room and the Objects from within it. At the time of the Event, the motel was in serviceable condition, holding ten rooms before the event and only nine afterwards. One of the Objects, the undeveloped Polaroid
picture, allows a person to view the tenth room as it was at the time of the Event by standing at its current vacant location at the Sunshine Motel ruins.
The Room can be accessed only by whoever has the Key. The Key will open any hinged door with a pin tumbler lock
anywhere in the world, turning the door into a portal accessing the Room regardless of where that door would normally open. As Joe Miller sees on the surveillance tape, while the door that originates the portal is open, it still appears closed to the observer on the other side of that door. When exiting the Room the door opens not necessarily to the original place of entry, but to any room the holder of the Key has in mind, or to a random room if the user does not focus. To reach a specific room the user must have a clear picture of the room's door and the area around it. The "Lost" Room thus serves as a means of instant travel between similar doors anywhere on Earth. Hinged doors with types of locks other than a tumbler lock or with no lock at all, sliding doors and rotating doors cannot be used to access the Room.
The holder of the Key can bring other people into the Room, but to exit they must leave together or the key-holder must let the others out of the room while remaining behind, since the Room "resets" whenever the door is opened from the outside using the key: everything is restored the way it was originally, minus any Objects outside the Room. If something from outside the Room (including a person) is left in it when the holder of the Key leaves, it disappears. If Objects are left in the Room, they return to their original position at the moment of the Event when the Room resets. A benefit of this is that an Object may be retrieved from something within which it may be encased or hidden (such as a safe) by leaving whatever the Object is in inside the Room and resetting it. This can also let someone distinguish a real Object from fakes, since the fakes disappear.
Objects, when outside the Room, possess special powers and are indestructible. When inside the Room, the Objects lose their special properties and can be destroyed. However, according to the Occupant, a new Object will take the destroyed Object's place, a phenomenon he refers to as the Law of Conservation
of Objects. The Occupant states that there are many Rooms, and so any non-Object left in the Room does not disappear, but exists in a different instance of the Room. The reset, in turn, represents a confluence of these Rooms, allowing the Occupant (the only Object capable of consciously existing during a reset) to retrieve things lost during a reset, provided he has a clear idea of what he wishes to retrieve.
One faction, the Order of the Reunification, operates under the belief that the Objects are pieces of God's mind or body (God having presumably died or been killed somehow) and that reuniting them will allow them to communicate with God. More extreme versions of this view hold that reuniting the Objects will turn one into God or at least give that person God-like powers. Martin Ruber purports that the Occupant confirmed this particular theory for him in a vision, making him the self-proclaimed "Prophet of the Objects", but his near-death state from dehydration and heat exhaustion at the time casts doubt on his claims. Additionally, the Occupant himself shows no knowledge of the circumstances behind the event. The Deck of Cards, which gives one who is exposed to it a vision of the events during the Collectors' failed attempt to use the objects on Room 9 of the hotel, may be the source of their beliefs, as it is used in their rituals.
Another (though not necessarily contradictory) view of the phenomenon suggests that reality was somehow shattered at the location of the Room, thus separating it and everything in it from time and giving its contents metaphysical abilities. Should the items be collected and returned to the room by an individual, that person would then have complete control over reality. This theory works under the assumption that the one gathering the objects has the knowledge to utilize them properly. Since the Objects are just considered tools, they would do no good if the user were unaware of their paranormal functions.
and consist of roughly 100 everyday items one would expect to find in an occupied motel room in the 1960s. They are indestructible (except when inside the Room) and possess various other-worldly powers when taken outside the Lost Room, but do not work within the Room itself. According to the Occupant (Eddie McCleister), when an object is destroyed within the room, another object takes its place. Whether the new object takes the former's properties partially or totally is unknown. Various characters repeatedly put forth the opinion that, over time, Objects lead to something akin to bad karma
or bad luck for their owners. All of the items (including the occupant) attract to one another, wanting to come together. The Occupant states that the objects are aware of each other, constantly sending out pings to each other and that for a living mind this is torture.
s". Wars between cabals are mentioned in the series. There are at least three cabals:
The Collectors : The original group of Object-seekers formed some time after the Event. Led by Arlene Conroy, the manager of the Sunshine Motel, most of the Collectors were killed or driven insane after the disaster in Room 9 in 1966. The survivors hid their most important Objects in a place called "The Collector's Vault", buried in a fallout shelter beneath an abandoned prison.
The Legion : A cabal dedicated to collecting the Objects and stopping them from causing more harm. They claim to follow an established set of rules, including that they never kill in order to acquire the Objects, although this rule is sometimes put to the test.
The Order of the Reunification : Also referred to as "The Order" or "The New Religion". They believe that the Objects are pieces of God and must be reunited. Once so restored, members of the Order would be able to communicate with God for the first time in human history. Unlike the Legion, The Order have no qualms about killing.
The miniseries is presented as six "one-hour" (44 minute) episodes, rather than as three "two-hour" episodes as originally broadcast. These are named "The Key", "The Clock", "The Comb", "The Box", "The Eye", and "The Occupant". The DVD also includes an 18-minute long making-of featurette, "Inside The Lost Room", with comments from the writers and actors.
The Region 1 release of the DVD has had reported problems—the menus do not always display correctly, the previews of other Lionsgate attractions cannot be skipped (fast-forward and skip buttons are disabled), subtitles appear to be turned on by default in each program set (meaning that even if the viewer uses their DVD player's menu to turn them off, they will reappear whenever the disc jumps from one episode to the next), and the "play all" button does not work as expected.
. Positive reviews included Mike Duffy of the Detroit Free Press
who called it "a terrific, six-hour miniseries, beautifully written and sharply directed." David Hinckley of the New York Daily News
called it "a very complex metaphysical mystery, the enjoyment of which comes, in no small part, from the surprises that spill out as it slowly unfurls." Negative reviews came from Matt Roush of TV Guide
, calling it "an especially silly descent into incoherence."
The miniseries received two Emmy Award
nominations, for Outstanding Main Title Design and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie. It was nominated for Best Presentation on Television at the 33rd Saturn Awards
. Writers Laura Harkcom, Christopher Leone, and Paul Workman were nominated for a 2008 Writers Guild of America Award
.
will be publishing a sequel, in comic book form, to The Lost Room. Publication is expected in late summer or early autumn 2011.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
that aired on the Sci Fi Channel
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
in the United States. The series revolves around the titular room and some of the everyday items from that room which possess unusual powers. The show's protagonist, Joe Miller, is searching for these objects to rescue his daughter, Anna, who has disappeared inside the Room. Once a typical room at a 1960s motel
Motel
A motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...
along U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 66 was a highway within the U.S. Highway System. One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926 -- with road signs erected the following year...
, the Lost Room has existed outside of normal time and space since 1961, when what is only referred to as "the Event" took place.
Cast and characters
- Peter KrausePeter KrausePeter William Krause is an American film and television actor and film producer. He is perhaps best known for his lead roles as Nate Fisher on Six Feet Under, Adam Braverman on Parenthood, and Casey McCall on Sports Night...
as Detective Joe Miller – A Pittsburgh detective who stumbles upon the existence of the Room. When his daughter becomes lost inside the Room, Joe sets out to get her back by using the Key to track down other Objects. - Elle FanningElle FanningMary Elle Fanning , credited as Elle Fanning, is an American actress. She is the younger sister of actress Dakota Fanning and mainly known for her starring roles in Phoebe in Wonderland, Somewhere, Super 8 and We Bought a Zoo which will receive a theatrical release on December 23,...
as Anna Miller – Joe's 8-year-old daughter. Her disappearance is seen by others as a probable family abduction by Joe in an ongoing child custody battle with his (unseen) ex-wife, Vanessa. - Chris BauerChris BauerMark Christopher "Chris" Bauer is an American film and television actor.-Early life:Bauer was born in Los Angeles, California and attended high school at Miramonte High School in Orinda, California. He played on Miramonte Championship football team his senior year, 1984...
as Detective Lou Destefano – Joe's partner, whose murder in the story is blamed on Joe. - April GraceApril GraceApril Grace is an SAG Award-nominated American actress.In the early 1990s, Grace landed a recurring role as the transporter chief on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Interspersing acclaimed and award-winning stage work in Los Angeles with her film and TV roles, the actress slowly rose from bit parts...
as Detective Lee Bridgewater – Joe's friend at the police department. She is trying to clear Joe's name, and in so doing slowly discovers the powers held by the Room and its Objects. - Dennis ChristopherDennis ChristopherDennis Christopher is an American actor. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is known for playing Dave Stoller in Breaking Away and tragic film buff psychopath Eric Binford in Fade to Black....
as Dr. Martin Ruber – A forensic scientist who works with Joe and who becomes obsessed with the Objects, going as far as killing in an attempt to get the Key. Through his obsession, he learns of and joins the Order of the Reunification, a cabalCabalA cabal is a group of people united in some close design together, usually to promote their private views and/or interests in a church, state, or other community, often by intrigue...
that believes the Objects are pieces of GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and will allow direct communication with God if reunited as they were at the time of the Event. By the end of the series, Ruber believes he has become the ProphetProphetIn religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
of the Objects after having a vision while staring at the PolaroidInstant filmInstant film is a type of photographic film first introduced by Polaroid that is designed to be used in an instant camera...
Object. - Julianna MarguliesJulianna MarguliesJulianna Luisa Margulies is an American actress and producer.After several small television roles, Margulies achieved success in her regular role as Nurse Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama ER, for which she won an Emmy Award...
as Jennifer Bloom – A member of the Legion, another cabal dedicated to finding all of the Objects and hiding them for the protection of humanity. Jennifer tries to warn Joe of the inherent danger of the Room and the Objects therein. Her brother, Drew, became obsessed with the Objects, and Jennifer believes that something in Room 9 of the Motel "destroyed" him. - Kevin PollakKevin PollakKevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, impressionist, game show host, and comedian. He started performing stand-up comedy at the age of 10 and touring professionally at the age of 20...
as Karl Kreutzfeld – A former member of the Legion and collector of Objects. He owns a chain of dry-cleaning stores and several pawnshopsPawnbrokerA pawnbroker is an individual or business that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral...
that he uses to acquire Objects. Kreutzfeld claims to be searching for the Glass Eye to cure his son Isaac's leukemiaLeukemiaLeukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
. Alternately an ally and an enemy to Joe. - Peter JacobsonPeter JacobsonPeter S. Jacobson is an American film and television actor.-Life and career:Jacobson was born to a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Chicago news anchor Walter Jacobson. He is a graduate of Brown University and Juilliard...
as Wally Jabrowski – A man who has the Bus Ticket and is effectively a drifter. He has extensive knowledge about the Objects and their history. - Ewen BremnerEwen Bremner-Early life:Bremner was born in Edinburgh, the son of two art teachers. He attended Davidson's Mains Primary School and Portobello High School. He originally wanted to be a circus clown, but was offered a chance in show business by television director Richard D. Brooks. One of his first notable...
as Harold Stritzke – A voyeur who inherited the Comb from his aunt Barbara, a member of the Collectors. He has become very paranoidParanoiaParanoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
after being pursued by the Order and others who want his Object for themselves. - Roger BartRoger BartRoger Bart is an American actor and singer.-Life and career:Bart was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, the son of a teacher and a chemical engineer, and grew up in Bernardsville, New Jersey. His uncle is journalist Peter Bart. He made his Broadway debut in Big River as Tom Sawyer in 1987...
as Howard "The Weasel" Montague – A former philosophyPhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
professor turned small-time criminal. He's an obsessed collector of Objects who charts the Objects' relations to one another and introduces the idea of the Prime Object. - Chris McCarty as Milton Vrang – A former member of a Cabal and only living burn victim of the Pen. He provides valuable and secret information to Dr. Martin Ruber on the mysterious and dangerous world of Objects and Object Seekers.
- Margaret ChoMargaret ChoMargaret Cho is an American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, and recording artist. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race and sexuality. She has also directed and appeared in music...
as Suzie Kang – A tough, chain-smoking, independent operator who works as an Object tracker, selling information about the locations of the Room's Objects. She never touches them, as she recognizes the dangers that the Objects carry. Suzie runs her Object-tracking business out of the back of her mother's dry-cleaning business. She charges a fortune for the information. - Jason AntoonJason Antoon-Stage career:He is best known for his role in the 2000 Tony Award-winning musical Contact. For his performance, he received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical.-Movie career:...
as The Sood – A seedy, Las VegasLas Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
-based dealer of Object "Science" – pictures, videos, and artifacts relating to Objects – but never Objects themselves. - Jason DouglasJason DouglasJason Douglas is an American stage and film actor who is gaining increasing visibility of late by breaking into mainstream film and television work. He is also a known anime voice actor who works for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, and OkraTron 5000.-Anime Voices:* A.D...
as Anthony – The intimidating bodyguard, hitman, and head of Kreutzfeld's personal Secret ServiceUnited States Secret ServiceThe United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
-style security team. - Hugo Perez as Pumeet – The Sood's ubiquitous manservant and bodyguard.
- Tim GuineeTim GuineeTimothy S. "Tim" Guinee is an American stage, television, and feature film actor.-Life and career:Guinee, who has two brothers and two sisters, was born in Los Angeles, California and raised in Illinois and Texas....
as The Occupant, formerly Eddie McCleister – The Occupant was removed from time and space during The Event that made the Lost Room, leaving only his personal belongings as "Objects". Eddie no longer exists in time and there is no memory of his ever doing so, as even his wife has no recollection of him. He resides in a sanitarium under the name "John DoeJohn DoeThe name "John Doe" is used as a placeholder name in a legal action, case or discussion for a male party, whose true identity is unknown or must be withheld for legal reasons. The name is also used to refer to a male corpse or hospital patient whose identity is unknown...
" until found by Joe. Like the objects, he doesn't age, and can't be damaged (hurt) in any way, so he himself is essentially one of the objects. - Jorge PalloJorge PalloJorge Luis Pallo is an American actor of Hispanic descent. He is best known for his role as Marc Molina on "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" and for his appearance on "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" as an extra.-Early life:...
as Ignacio "Iggy" Loca – Survivor of the pawn shop murders, temporarily holder of the Key, hands it to detective Miller when dying.
The Room
The Room is the nonexistent Room 10 at the abandoned Sunshine Motel outside of Gallup, New MexicoGallup, New Mexico
- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 20,209 people, 6,810 households, and 4,869 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,513.7 people per square mile...
. At 1:20:44 p.m. on May 4, 1961, something happened at the site of the Room that erased it and all its contents. This is referred to as "the Event" or "the Incident", and is thought to be the reason for the unusual properties of the Room and the Objects from within it. At the time of the Event, the motel was in serviceable condition, holding ten rooms before the event and only nine afterwards. One of the Objects, the undeveloped Polaroid
Instant camera
The instant camera is a type of camera that generates a developed film image. The most popular types to use self-developing film were formerly made by Polaroid Corporation....
picture, allows a person to view the tenth room as it was at the time of the Event by standing at its current vacant location at the Sunshine Motel ruins.
The Room can be accessed only by whoever has the Key. The Key will open any hinged door with a pin tumbler lock
Pin tumbler lock
The pin tumbler lock is a lock mechanism that uses pins of varying lengths to prevent the lock from opening without the correct key...
anywhere in the world, turning the door into a portal accessing the Room regardless of where that door would normally open. As Joe Miller sees on the surveillance tape, while the door that originates the portal is open, it still appears closed to the observer on the other side of that door. When exiting the Room the door opens not necessarily to the original place of entry, but to any room the holder of the Key has in mind, or to a random room if the user does not focus. To reach a specific room the user must have a clear picture of the room's door and the area around it. The "Lost" Room thus serves as a means of instant travel between similar doors anywhere on Earth. Hinged doors with types of locks other than a tumbler lock or with no lock at all, sliding doors and rotating doors cannot be used to access the Room.
The holder of the Key can bring other people into the Room, but to exit they must leave together or the key-holder must let the others out of the room while remaining behind, since the Room "resets" whenever the door is opened from the outside using the key: everything is restored the way it was originally, minus any Objects outside the Room. If something from outside the Room (including a person) is left in it when the holder of the Key leaves, it disappears. If Objects are left in the Room, they return to their original position at the moment of the Event when the Room resets. A benefit of this is that an Object may be retrieved from something within which it may be encased or hidden (such as a safe) by leaving whatever the Object is in inside the Room and resetting it. This can also let someone distinguish a real Object from fakes, since the fakes disappear.
Objects, when outside the Room, possess special powers and are indestructible. When inside the Room, the Objects lose their special properties and can be destroyed. However, according to the Occupant, a new Object will take the destroyed Object's place, a phenomenon he refers to as the Law of Conservation
Conservation law
In physics, a conservation law states that a particular measurable property of an isolated physical system does not change as the system evolves....
of Objects. The Occupant states that there are many Rooms, and so any non-Object left in the Room does not disappear, but exists in a different instance of the Room. The reset, in turn, represents a confluence of these Rooms, allowing the Occupant (the only Object capable of consciously existing during a reset) to retrieve things lost during a reset, provided he has a clear idea of what he wishes to retrieve.
The Event
The Event is a shorthand term given to the moment in time that the Lost Room was created. It occurred at 1:20:44 p.m. on May 4, 1961, and erased the room and all of its contents from history. The reason behind this and the ultimate purpose of the Objects is yet unknown, though two primary hypotheses have been postulated. Even the man occupying the room at the time of the event doesn't seem to know what happened, so the truth remains a mystery. Both hypotheses essentially lead to the same conclusion, but attribute the event to different causes.One faction, the Order of the Reunification, operates under the belief that the Objects are pieces of God's mind or body (God having presumably died or been killed somehow) and that reuniting them will allow them to communicate with God. More extreme versions of this view hold that reuniting the Objects will turn one into God or at least give that person God-like powers. Martin Ruber purports that the Occupant confirmed this particular theory for him in a vision, making him the self-proclaimed "Prophet of the Objects", but his near-death state from dehydration and heat exhaustion at the time casts doubt on his claims. Additionally, the Occupant himself shows no knowledge of the circumstances behind the event. The Deck of Cards, which gives one who is exposed to it a vision of the events during the Collectors' failed attempt to use the objects on Room 9 of the hotel, may be the source of their beliefs, as it is used in their rituals.
Another (though not necessarily contradictory) view of the phenomenon suggests that reality was somehow shattered at the location of the Room, thus separating it and everything in it from time and giving its contents metaphysical abilities. Should the items be collected and returned to the room by an individual, that person would then have complete control over reality. This theory works under the assumption that the one gathering the objects has the knowledge to utilize them properly. Since the Objects are just considered tools, they would do no good if the user were unaware of their paranormal functions.
The Objects
The Objects are powerful artifactsMagic item
A magic item is any object that has magical powers inherent in it. These may act on their own or be the tools of the person or being whose hands they fall into. Magic items are commonly found in both folklore and modern fantasy...
and consist of roughly 100 everyday items one would expect to find in an occupied motel room in the 1960s. They are indestructible (except when inside the Room) and possess various other-worldly powers when taken outside the Lost Room, but do not work within the Room itself. According to the Occupant (Eddie McCleister), when an object is destroyed within the room, another object takes its place. Whether the new object takes the former's properties partially or totally is unknown. Various characters repeatedly put forth the opinion that, over time, Objects lead to something akin to bad karma
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
or bad luck for their owners. All of the items (including the occupant) attract to one another, wanting to come together. The Occupant states that the objects are aware of each other, constantly sending out pings to each other and that for a living mind this is torture.
The Cabals
Many Object-seekers have organized themselves into groups, known as "cabalCabal
A cabal is a group of people united in some close design together, usually to promote their private views and/or interests in a church, state, or other community, often by intrigue...
s". Wars between cabals are mentioned in the series. There are at least three cabals:
The Collectors : The original group of Object-seekers formed some time after the Event. Led by Arlene Conroy, the manager of the Sunshine Motel, most of the Collectors were killed or driven insane after the disaster in Room 9 in 1966. The survivors hid their most important Objects in a place called "The Collector's Vault", buried in a fallout shelter beneath an abandoned prison.
The Legion : A cabal dedicated to collecting the Objects and stopping them from causing more harm. They claim to follow an established set of rules, including that they never kill in order to acquire the Objects, although this rule is sometimes put to the test.
The Order of the Reunification : Also referred to as "The Order" or "The New Religion". They believe that the Objects are pieces of God and must be reunited. Once so restored, members of the Order would be able to communicate with God for the first time in human history. Unlike the Legion, The Order have no qualms about killing.
Episodes
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
DVD release
| Release dates | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 |
|---|---|---|
| April 3, 2007 | August 27, 2007 | March 11, 2009 |
The miniseries is presented as six "one-hour" (44 minute) episodes, rather than as three "two-hour" episodes as originally broadcast. These are named "The Key", "The Clock", "The Comb", "The Box", "The Eye", and "The Occupant". The DVD also includes an 18-minute long making-of featurette, "Inside The Lost Room", with comments from the writers and actors.
The Region 1 release of the DVD has had reported problems—the menus do not always display correctly, the previews of other Lionsgate attractions cannot be skipped (fast-forward and skip buttons are disabled), subtitles appear to be turned on by default in each program set (meaning that even if the viewer uses their DVD player's menu to turn them off, they will reappear whenever the disc jumps from one episode to the next), and the "play all" button does not work as expected.
Reception
The Lost Room received mixed and average reviews, scoring 58 out of 100 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. Positive reviews included Mike Duffy of the Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
who called it "a terrific, six-hour miniseries, beautifully written and sharply directed." David Hinckley of the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
called it "a very complex metaphysical mystery, the enjoyment of which comes, in no small part, from the surprises that spill out as it slowly unfurls." Negative reviews came from Matt Roush of TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, calling it "an especially silly descent into incoherence."
The miniseries received two Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominations, for Outstanding Main Title Design and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie. It was nominated for Best Presentation on Television at the 33rd Saturn Awards
33rd Saturn Awards
The 33rd Saturn Awards, honoring the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror film and television in 2006, were held on 10 May 2007 at the Universal City Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California. They were hosted by Greg Grunberg and Jeffrey Ross...
. Writers Laura Harkcom, Christopher Leone, and Paul Workman were nominated for a 2008 Writers Guild of America Award
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949...
.
Comic book continuation
In July 2010, the series' creators announced at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International that Red 5 ComicsRed 5 Comics
Red 5 is an independent comic book publisher, known for producing a combination of creator-owned and internally developed titles, including their best known title, Atomic Robo...
will be publishing a sequel, in comic book form, to The Lost Room. Publication is expected in late summer or early autumn 2011.