Sci-fi fans have been treated to some phenomenal stuff in recent years on NBC owned SCI-FI Channel. 2002 brought us the Spielberg mini-series ‘TAKEN’ starring the too cute and maybe a bit creepy Dakota Fanning. ‘TAKEN’ was followed in 2003 with a brand new ‘Battlestar Galactica’ series that not only improved on the original, but became some of the best overall television on air. Now the SCI-FI Channel’s 2006 series ‘The Lost Room’, previously announced as the working title ‘Motel Man’, has found its leading man.
Peter Krause, best known for his Emmy nominated role as Nate Fisher on HBO’s ‘Six Feet Under’ has been cast as the lead in the SCI-FI series set to air in December. Peter will take on the role of homicide detective Joe Miller who finds a motel room key; which unlocks a door to a world of power and causes him to become a target of those who wish to claim it. Other items in the room possess powers, but the room key is the…well, key item. Followed by a group trying to claim the objects, especially the key, Miller’s daughter vanishes in the motel room and he becomes hunted by the police as well. A fugitive gone head first through the looking glass, Miller must play by rules he does not know in a game he does not understand.
Elle Fanning (mini-moppet sister of Dakota Fanning) has been cast to play Krause’s daughter Anna Miller. Fanning is no stranger to the world of sci-fi, having co-starred with her sister in ‘TAKEN.’ With big eyes and a face, which just screams, “They’re here,” the young actress should fit nicely into the otherworldly SCI-FI series.
Variety also reports that Kevin Pollak (Hostage), Margaret Cho (Face/Off), Dennis Christopher (‘Deadwood’), and Ewan Bremner (Trainspotting) have joined the cast. Pollak will play Karl Kreutzfeld, a wealthy businessman who’s after the key; Cho will play a chain-smoking independent player who sells info on the room’s objects to anyone ready to pay; Christopher portrays Dr. Martin Ruber, a colleague of Miller’s who may not have the best of intentions; and Bremnar plays Harold Stritzke, a petty thief whom Miller teams with in his search for his lost daughter. There’s no word on whether Pollak will be playing Christopher Walken portraying Karl Kreutzfeld, but knowing Pollak do not rule out the possibility.
If it sounds like ‘The Fugitive’ falls down a rabbit hole and emerges in ‘The Twilight Zone,’ that may not be far off. Executive Produce Richard Hatem has a penchant for supernatural and just plain odd stories. ‘The Lost Room’ is a perfect addition to his resume alongside the CW’s ‘Supernatural’ and Richard Gere thriller The Mothman Prophecies.
Catch ‘The Lost Room’ on the “What if?” network this December.
