Hotel Room

Hotel Room is an American drama series that aired for three episodes on HBO from January 8 to 9, 1993. Produced by David Lynch (who directed two episodes), each drama takes place in the same New York City hotel room (number 603 of the Railroad Hotel) in 1969, 1992, and 1936, respectively.

Introduction

Each episode began with this narration: "For a millennium the space for the hotel room existed – undefined. Mankind captured it and gave it shape and passed through. And sometimes when passing through, they found themselves brushing up against the secret names of truth."

Episodes

The only consistent characters in each episode are a maid (played by Camilla Overbye Roos) and a bellboy (played by Clark Heathcliffe Brolly), both of whom never age over the course of the series.

Episode 1: "Tricks"

September 1969
Moe arrives at the Railroad Hotel where he and a hooker named Darlene are shown to the hotel room: 603. Before Moe can act, a man from his past named Lou arrives at the room and takes control of the situation, to the detriment of Moe. The two converse as Darlene smokes marijuana and tells them she used to be a cheerleader. Lou insists she perform a routine for them, she obliges with a very seductive dance and falls to the floor due to lightheadedness. Lou picks Darlene up, undresses her and despite Moe's protest, proceeds to have sex with her. Some time later, Moe and Lou accuse Darlene of murdering her husband, which she denies before screaming for help and leaving the room. Lou assures Moe that everything will be all right. Later that night, the police show up at room 603, find Lou's wallet in Moe's pocket, and tell Moe that he is under arrest for the murder of Phylicia. Moe becomes hysterical and protests as the screen cuts to black.

Starring Harry Dean Stanton, Glenne Headly, and Freddie Jones

Episode 2: "Getting Rid of Robert"

June 1992
Sasha arrives in room 603, and receives a phone call from her friends (Tina and Diane) who are in the hall and ask to her whether they can come up. Then a great discussion begins about the future of Sasha and her future husband Robert, whom she has arranged to meet in the hotel. After Sasha angrily berates the maid for accidentally hitting her in the head with a champagne cork, the three friends discuss Sasha's relationship with Robert. Sasha intends to tell Robert that she is breaking up with him as they "don't talk enough", although in reality she is aware of his adulterous behavior. When Robert arrives, although initially attentive to Sasha, he begins openly flirting with both women and openly kisses Tina when she leaves. Before Sasha has a chance to break things off with Robert, he takes the opportunity to break up with her, saying she is not a nice person. Sasha becomes upset and tries to assure him that she can change, despite her original intention to leave him. As Robert attempts to leave room 603, Sasha hits him over the head with a brass fireplace poker. The maid enters the room to see Sasha trying to hide a semiconscious Robert, who is bleeding from the head. After calling the doctor, the two promise not to fight anymore. They tell the maid to leave and share a kiss on the hotel room floor as the screen fades to black.
Starring Deborah Unger, Griffin Dunne, Chelsea Field, and Mariska Hargitay

Episode 3: "Blackout"

April 1936
A significant power failure occurs in New York; a man (Danny) enters his room with food and finds his wife on the settee in the darkness with a hand on her eyes. Danny tells Diane about his day and tells her he will take her to the doctor tomorrow. Diane appears to have psychological problems, as she soon forgets the bellboy was ever in the room and believes Danny has been talking to her in Chinese. The couple alludes to something that happened to both of them "17 years ago". Diane begins talking nonsense: discussing Danny's time in the Navy (despite the fact that he was never in the Navy), then of a giant fish that tells her stories of her six children, of which she claims Danny is one. Danny assures his wife that they no longer have any children - their son drowned in a lake at the age of two.

Diane at first seems not to remember, then to believe their child is still alive, then finally remembering that he is dead. Danny tells Diane a story about his old friend "Famine", to which she does not really pay attention. As Danny watches the rain outside, Diane picks up a lit candle and begins hauntingly following it around the room before collapsing. After Diane recovers, she claims she was not drunk when their son drowned and that Danny was away, which he protests that he was not. Diane asks that when they see the doctor tomorrow, they not mention the death of their son. Suddenly, the hotel phone rings, and the person calling asks to speak to Diane. Diane converses with the man whom she reveals was the doctor they are seeing tomorrow. As Diane lies on the sofa, the two seem to come to terms with the death of their son, they share a kiss as the lights of the hotel finally come back on. They go over to the window to see the view, when a blinding white light engulfs the whole room as the episode ends.
Starring Crispin Glover and Alicia Witt

Production notes

Barry Gifford wrote and Lynch directed the first and third episodes; Jay McInerney wrote and James Signorelli directed the second. The series was produced by Deepak Nayar; executive producers were Monty Montgomery and David Lynch. Music was by frequent Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti.

The show's rights were once owned by Spelling Entertainment (via WorldVision Enterprises);^[1][2] these rights are now owned by the successor company, CBS.

Book

The teleplays for the Barry Gifford-written episodes were published as a book by University Press of Mississippi in 1995 titled Hotel Room Trilogy: Tricks - Blackout - Mrs. Kashfi ISBN 0-87805-777-3

References

External links

• Hotel Room introduction, episode info, pictures, teleplay info at The City of Absurdity site
• Hotel Room at Allmovie
• Hotel Room at the Internet Movie Database
• Hotel Room at TV.com
• Hotel Room episode guide on AboutLynch.com