Misplaced Pages

#22977

54-597: The Room is the now nonexistent Room 10 at the abandoned Sunshine Motel outside Gallup, New Mexico . 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,

108-588: A dormitory that housed Native American students attending Gallup-McKinley schools. In 1973, it had about 300 students. That year, the BIA closed Manuelito Hall, planning to move students to various boarding schools. Major highways: Railroad: Bus: Magic 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 . Their fictional appearance

162-403: A pin tumbler lock anywhere in the world, turning that door into a portal accessing the Room regardless of where it would normally open into. As Joe Miller sees on the surveillance tape, when a door is opened using the key, it appears closed if viewed from the other side of that door. When exiting the Room, its door opens not necessarily to the original place of entry, but to any room the holder of

216-511: A 4-out-of-4-star review calls in several actors and actresses for attention, especially the "good comic support from Peter Jacobson as a homeless man with the bus ticket, while Ewen Bremner gives an exceedingly eccentric and strange, albeit by the end of the episode, also endearingly likeable performance as the man with the comb." The miniseries received two Emmy Award nominations, for Outstanding Main Title Design and Outstanding Sound Mixing for

270-407: 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 . In July 2010, the series' creators announced at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con that Red 5 Comics will be publishing a sequel, in comic book form, to The Lost Room . Publication

324-557: A city its size. Crime is a serious problem in Gallup. In 2012, violent crime was nearly five times the national average. As a result, the city has the highest violent crime rate in New Mexico. According to an article published in November 2014, "Gallup saw 463 violent crimes last year including murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. That’s an 11% increase from the year before and two times

378-399: A cool semiarid climate ( Köppen BSk ). The summers are hot during the day, but the high altitude and low humidity mean that nights remain distinctly cool; as late as July 2, 1997, the temperature fell to 31 °F (−1 °C). Despite the large diurnal temperature range , most rain falls in the summer from afternoon thunderstorms. Snow is common and sometimes heavy; the maximum in a month

432-507: A different instance of the Room. The reset, in turn, represents a confluence of these Rooms, allowing the Occupant (the only Object with consciousness) to retrieve things lost during a reset, provided he has a clear idea of what he wishes to retrieve. 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

486-427: A female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were not families. About 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.85, and the average family size was 3.39. In the city, the age distribution was 32.7% under 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 or older. The median age

540-655: A hotel room. "Paul's idea was that if he had the power to teleport into a hotel room, that would be life-changing," said Leone in a 2016 interview... This became combined with Leone's mothballed movie pitch, about someone who gets a glass eye with magical powers, and becomes drawn into an underground war over it. He and Harkcom, while searching for a concept to spin into a series for the Sci-Fi Channel (latterly SyFy), took these ideas and mixed them together. The specific superpowers became, instead, attached to individual objects, allowing people to trade, buy or steal them, thus creating

594-437: A modestly lively night time culture downtown, Indian dances during summertime nights, art crawls, and small museums, including a Navajo code talk museum. Gallup commissioned a number of murals highlighting local culture, and contributions dot downtown. Being the largest city between Flagstaff and Albuquerque, Gallup claims many notable buildings, places, events, and people. The historic El Rancho Hotel & Motel has hosted

SECTION 10

#1732854697023

648-460: A numerous array of movie stars, including John Wayne , Ronald Reagan , Humphrey Bogart , Spencer Tracy , Katharine Hepburn , Joan Crawford , Kirk Douglas , Doris Day , Gregory Peck , and Burt Lancaster . The rugged terrain surrounding Gallup was popular with Hollywood filmmakers during the 1940s and '50s for the on-location shooting of Westerns . Actors and film crews would stay at that hotel during filming. Films made in Gallup include Billy

702-473: A paymaster for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. There is widespread belief that during World War II , the city fought successfully to prevent 800 Japanese American residents from being placed in wartime internment, the only New Mexico city to do so. But this is not true. Executive Order 9066 was never used to intern people living in Gallup, and the city complied with all federal orders and policies during

756-502: A plot-related means of destruction is generally substituted. Artifacts in D&;D are split into two categories. Minor artifacts are common, but they can no longer be created, whereas major artifacts are unique – only one of each item exists. In the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling , several magical objects exist for the use of the characters. Some of them play a crucial role in

810-448: A population of 21,899 as of the 2020 census . A substantial percentage of its population is Native American , with residents from the Navajo , Hopi , and Zuni tribes. Gallup is the county seat of McKinley County and the most populous city between Flagstaff and Albuquerque , along historic U.S. Route 66 . Gallup is known as the "Heart of Indian Country" because it is on the edge of

864-481: Is 29.1 inches (73.91 cm) in December 1992 and the most in a year 65.1 inches (165.35 cm) between July 1990 and June 1991. Actual snow cover , with the hot sun at Gallup's altitude, however, has never exceeded 13.1 inches (33 cm), and for no day averages over 3.5 inches (8.9 cm). As of the 2000 census , 20,209 people, 6,810 households, and 4,869 families were residing in the city. The population density

918-450: Is as old as the Iliad in which Aphrodite 's magical girdle is used by Hera as a love charm. Magic items often act as a plot device to grant magical abilities. They may give magical abilities to a person lacking in them, or enhance the power of a wizard . For instance, in J.R.R. Tolkien 's The Hobbit , the magic ring allows Bilbo Baggins to be instrumental in the quest, exceeding

972-434: Is stark noir, pulpy fiction, spiritual thriller, hero's-quest fantasy, and brainy videogame all at once. It's one of the most creative ideas to hit TV in a while. It falls to pieces at the end — but it's so much fun along the way you almost won't care... A large part of the fun is watching Miller learn to maneuver through his new, weird world, gathering clues that will bring back his daughter — it's like Riven meets Lord of

1026-406: Is the tale in which a hero has two rewards stolen from him, and a third reward attacks the thief. Many works of folklore and fantasy include very similar items, that can be grouped into types. These include: In role-playing games and fantasy literature, an artifact is a magical object with great power. Often, this power is so great that it cannot be duplicated by any known art allowed by

1080-560: Is the tale where the hero has a magic item that brings success, loses the item either accidentally ( The Tinder Box ) or through an enemy's actions ( The Bronze Ring ), and must regain it to regain his success. Another is the magic item that runs out of control when the character knows how to start it but not to stop it: the mill in Why the Sea Is Salt or the pot in Sweet Porridge . A third

1134-457: 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

SECTION 20

#1732854697023

1188-601: The Kid (1930), Pursued (1947), The Sea of Grass (1947), Four Faces West (1948), Only the Valiant (1951), Ace in the Hole (1951), Escape from Fort Bravo (1953), A Distant Trumpet (1964), and The Hallelujah Trail (1965). Other movies shot here are Redskin (1928), and Superman (1978). Gallup is sometimes called the "Indian Capital of the World", for its location in

1242-625: The Navajo reservation and is home to members of many other tribes, as well. The city is on the Trails of the Ancients Byway , one of the designated New Mexico Scenic Byways . Because of the nearby rugged terrain, it was a popular location in the 1940s and 1950s for Hollywood Westerns . Gallup was founded in 1881 as a railhead for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad . The city was named after David Gallup,

1296-584: The Objects and considers scientific aspects of the miniseries), calls it "brilliant" and "a mind-bending excursion." Rob Buckley of website The Medium is Not Enough writes, "It alternates between dramatic, comedic, and intellectually exciting within minutes and keeps you engrossed the whole way through, avoiding most of the possible clichés that could have arisen." Den of Geek , awarding it 5 stars out of 5, praises it as being full of twists with "a complexed, careful and utterly believable mythos." The acting has also been praised. Josie Kafka of Doux Reviews (who finds

1350-566: The Order of the Reunification, operates under the belief that the Objects are pieces of God's mind or body, 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

1404-598: The Rings ." Alex Doyle enthuses, " The Lost Room was, hands down, the best thing ever produced by the Sci-Fi channel ... The few loose ends left could have set up another round of storytelling in the world." The Sci Fi Freak Site calls it "not just such an original idea, but so original as to be astonishing," "fiercely original, irresistibly clever," and so "otherworldly, that you can't help but get drawn into it." The website Interesting Engineering (which gives meticulous descriptions of

1458-532: 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

1512-447: The Room, possess special powers and are indestructible. When inside the Room, Objects lose their special properties and can be destroyed. 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 is not erased, but exists in

1566-399: The Room. The door used does not have to be installed in a wall and can be a smaller prop door or a freestanding doorway; the only important elements are the lock and that it be a hinged door. Any time the door is closed with the key outside the room, the Room "resets": everything that is not an Object disappears, including people. Multiple people can enter the room at once, but they must exit

1620-418: The abilities of the dwarves. Magic items are often, also, used as MacGuffins . The characters in a story must collect an arbitrary number of magical items, and when they have the full set, the magic is sufficient to resolve the plot. In video games , these types of items are usually collected in fetch quests . Certain kinds of fairy tales have their plots dominated by the magic items they contain. One such

1674-742: The area where the Occupant had resided for years. The Objects include the Key, which opens any hinged door that has a lock and turns that door into a portal to the Lost Room; the Comb, which stops time for ten seconds; the Glass Eye, which can heal or destroy living things; the Pen, which microwaves living things and short-circuits electronics; and the Scissors, which rotate a target, such as a person, in three dimensions. Many Object-seekers have organized themselves into groups, known as " cabals ". Wars between cabals are mentioned in

The Lost Room - Misplaced Pages Continue

1728-406: 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 are powerful artifacts 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

1782-415: The city was $ 34,868, and the median income for a family was $ 39,197. Males had a median income of $ 33,380 versus $ 24,441 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 15,789. About 16.6% of families and 20.8% of the population were below the poverty line , including 26.8% of those under age 18 and 16.8% of those age 65 or over. Gallup has a significant Palestinian-American population, unusual for

1836-440: The film holds a critical rating of 77% based on 13 reviews, with an audience rating of 86%. The site's critical consensus reads, " The Lost Room dazzles with its bold supernatural vision, even when its mythology becomes overwhelmingly convoluted." Craig Ceramist wrote in 2012, "The show (as with most good sci-fi series) amassed a huge cult following [...] Today fans are still trying to track down copies of 'the objects' that appear in

1890-542: The heart of Native American lands, and the presence of Navajo , Zuni , Hopi , and other tribes. Well over a third of the city's population has Native American roots. Gallup's nickname references the huge impact of the Native American cultures found in and around the city. Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools is the local school district. Previously, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) operated Manuelito Hall in Gallup,

1944-406: The items (including the occupant) attract 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 Occupant was eventually found when a search of the recorded history of other Objects revealed a small circular area where the Objects had never been detected, representing

1998-418: The miniseries "enchanting" and compares it with Primer ) writes, "Krause brings a necessary deadpan incredulity to the proceedings," and declares Pollak and Jacobson to be standouts. The website Television Heaven lauds the acting skills of Pollak and Bremner, the "excellent" performance of Dennis Christopher, and the "charismatic central performance by Krause." Moria, a website for fantastic-genre reviewing, in

2052-465: The motel was in serviceable condition, but after the event nobody remembers that a tenth room ever existed. 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 now vacant location at the Sunshine Motel ruins. The Room can be accessed only by the person who has the Key. The Key will open any hinged door with

2106-506: The number changed because "666" is associated with Satan and Devil worship, thus it was considered "cursed" or a "Beast" to some locals. The situation was exacerbated by the high death toll on the highway, which was largely a result of high rates of drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and budget shortfalls among both the New Mexico Department of Transportation and state and local law-enforcement agencies. Gallup has

2160-445: The premises of the fantasy world, and often cannot be destroyed by ordinary means. Artifacts often serve as MacGuffins , the central focus of quests to locate, capture, or destroy them. The One Ring of The Lord of the Rings is a typical artifact: it was alarmingly powerful, of ancient and obscure origin, and nearly indestructible. In Dungeons & Dragons , artifacts are magic items that either cannot be created by players or

2214-646: The programmes." Mike Duffy of the Detroit Free Press 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." A negative review from Matt Roush of TV Guide called it "an especially silly descent into incoherence." Entertainment Weekly ' s Gillian Flynn writes, " The Lost Room

The Lost Room - Misplaced Pages Continue

2268-429: The rate of Albuquerque , the state’s largest city." U.S. Route 66 passed through Gallup, and the town's name is mentioned in the lyrics of the song " (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66 " ("You'll see Amarillo and Gallup, New Mexico"). In 2003, the U.S. and New Mexico Departments of Transportation renumbered US Highway 666, the city's other major highway, as Route 491 . Former Governor Bill Richardson pushed for (and got)

2322-415: The room and all of its contents from history. The reason behind this and the ultimate purpose of the Objects is 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,

2376-401: The room when the Key does. When the Room resets, any Objects in the Room will return to their original position at the time of the Event. A benefit of this is that an Object enclosed within something else, such as a safe, may be retrieved by leaving it inside and resetting the room. This can also be used to distinguish real Objects from fakes, since fakes will disappear. Objects, when outside

2430-434: The secrets to their creation is not given. In any event, artifacts have no market price and have no hit points (that is, they are indestructible by normal spells). Artifacts typically have no inherent limit of using their powers. Under strict rules, any artifact can theoretically be destroyed by the sorcerer / wizard spell Mordenkainen's Disjunction , but for the purposes of a campaign centered on destroying an artifact,

2484-461: 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

2538-419: The series. There are at least three cabals: The website Television Heaven explains the genesis: [T]he series came about from a combination of two ideas that Leone had been sitting on for years. One was a joke pitch involving weirdly specific superpowers, [with] which he and his colleague Paul Workman had played around. The most intriguing of their spitballed superpowers was the ability to teleport in and out of

2592-460: 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

2646-498: The underground war that had previously hinged on the glass eye (which, indeed, became one of the Objects in the series). The hotel room remained central to the story. 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 includes an 18-minute-long making-of featurette, "Inside The Lost Room ", with comments from

2700-527: The war. On August 4, 2022, an SUV, driven by an intoxicated individual, drove through a parade crowd during the city's 100th annual Intertribal Celebration, leaving 15 injured, including two police officers and several children. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 13.4 square miles (35 km ), all land. Gallup, like most of the interior Mountain West, has

2754-411: The writers and actors. Part of the featurette shows "how sections of the motel were created and then deliberately aged so they looked like they were nearly 50 years old." The Lost Room received mostly positive reviews, scoring 58 out of 100 on review aggregator website Metacritic by critics, who called it "intriguing" but also confusing, and an audience approval rating of 8.3. At Rotten Tomatoes ,

SECTION 50

#1732854697023

2808-504: Was 1,513.7 inhabitants per square mile (584.4/km ). There were 7,349 housing units at an average density of 550.5 per square mile (212.5/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 43.8% Native American, 35.2% White, 2.0% Asian, 1.2% African American , 12.1% from other races, and 5.8% from two or more races. About 31.7% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 6,810 households, 41.1% had children under 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 19.8% had

2862-399: Was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 86.2 males. It has close proximity to Native American reservations, and historic lack of economic development in addition to many mine closures in the last century. As a result of these closures, a large proportion of Gallup's households is low-income. The median income for a household in

2916-490: Was expected in late summer or early autumn 2011. The January 2012 update from Red 5 states that although production of the comic has "slowed" due to the creators being pulled into other projects, Red 5 Comics is still "100% committed to completing this comic". As of April 2013, the project has been put on hold indefinitely. Gallup, New Mexico Gallup is a city in McKinley County, New Mexico , United States, with

#22977