Show: Enigma House
In response to jjpor's prompt: Our protagonist wakes up in a swanky hotel room with no recollection of who s/he is or how s/he got there. Oh, and there's a dead body they don't recognise in the en suite bathroom as well...
I'm not sure where the resulting total insanity came from, but here goes...
***
ENIGMA HOUSE
8 hr long eps per series; BBC (probably by Kudos!) Quirky sf/supernatural drama; 2 seasons. A young woman wakes up in the Royal Clarence Hotel with no memory and a dead man in the bathroom, who seems to be the sanest person around. Centres around the quest for her identity - and the mystery behind some of the hotel's stranger guests and the location of the supposedly non-existent Room 151.
(I tried for realistic casting, I really did, but just ended up completely unrealistic and with a lot of former spooks...)
***
The Cast
Mary X/Jane Smith/Chloe Larcombe (Talulah Riley)
Wakes up in The Royal Clarence Hotel (somewhere on the SE coast) with no memory of anything that happened before. She finds she was signed in as 'Jane Smith' and says she might as well have used 'Mary X', which is how she's generally referred to, although some people call her Miss Smith. There's a possibility she's Mrs Larcombe's missing daughter, Chloe. She's got a briliant mind - for everything but long-term memory. She also finds her stay is being paid for by the elusive hotel proprietor, but more informative answers are hard to come by. Other people also see some of the weird events she witnesses in the hotel, but she's the only one who can actually talk to the dead man who keeps appearing in the bathroom ('Deadman'). She can't leave the hotel for too long without having some sort of relapse of her condition.
Mia Robinson (Sheridan Smith)
Mia's new to the hotel and though Bob (the porter) tries to wind her up with tales of hauntings, she doesn't believe any of it till she finds Mary and the dead body that vanishes. She's the one who calls in the police. Despite everything, she still hopes for a rational explanation and believes her social life and problems are the most important things around here. Nevertheless, as time goes on, she becomes Mary's closest friend - and likes to flirt with DS Jordan, though no one ever knows if she's serious.
DI Michael Harrison (Matthew Mcfadyen)
He turns up to investigate a murder that doesn't seem to have happened yet. He's suspicious of the set-up at the hotel, but while he doesn't believe in ghosts and vanishing bodies, he knows when something doesn't add up. He has an interest in the hotel owner McAllister. He thinks Mary looks familiar and is the one who points out her resemblance to missing person Chloe Larcombe, a case he investigated two years ago. He's gradually forced to accept the reality of some of the incidents, and is particularly concerned about Mary's connection to 'Deadman'.
'Deadman' (Raza Jaffrey)
One of the central mysteries around the show. 'Deadman' appears as a bloody corpse in several of the rooms at random, and seems to be able to communicate with Mary. He's tells her that Room 151 has the key. He's seen in the town on occasion, in the crowd, apparently alive, but can never be tracked down. The culmination of the two seasons centres around his actual murder.
DS Robert Jordan (Wil Johnson)
Works for Harrison. He's heard rumours about the hotel and once saw a ghost when he sneaked in for a dare as a teenager (so he claims), and is readier to believe some of the stories than his DI. However, he says the scariest thing by far at the Royal Clarence is definitely Mia.
Bob (Sanjeev Bhaskar)
The genial porter who teases Mia and helps Mary out where he can. Nevertheless, he seems to know much more than anything else about what's going on and Mary finds there are times when he can seem to be a sinister figure.
Mrs Margaret Howell (Gemma Jones)
One of the more regular guests. On the face of it, an elderly lady who seems oblivious to any oddness, but the revelation of her backstory provides one of the more striking episodes. She becomes an unofficial ally of DI Harrison - eyes and ears in the hotel for him.
Mrs Adele Larcombe (Addy) (Sophie Thompson)
The mother of missing person, Chloe Larcombe, she is insistent that Mary is her daughter. Harrison is inclined to agree with her to begin with, but as time goes on, he feels that too many things about Addy Larcombe don't add up and that she is fact has her own reasons for making the claim - and a connection to McAllister.
McAllister (Robert Glenister)
The wealthy owner of the Royal Clarence. He appears only briefly and apparantly regards any tales of hauntings as nonsense, but he's paid for Mary's stay, Harrison is sure he has high-level criminal connections and he also knows Addy Larcombe, but he never slips up - until the end.
With various guest stars (as both regular and supernatural hotel guests) and other supporting characters, particularly other staff and members of the police force.
***
Pilot Episode: The Morning After
Mia (on meeting Mary): It's going to be one of those mornings, isn't it?
Other guest: Excuse me, but I'd like to complain about the lack of soap in my bathroom!
Mary (to Mia): Can I swap with him, please?
Mary (to Deadman): Are you talking to me?
Deadman: 'Course not. I'm dead. It's one of those things you can't do when you're a corpse, like - well - pretty much everything when you come down to it.
Mary: But I'm hearing you. Or going mad. That's definitely a possibility today.
Deadman: Oh, I can communicate with you. Which means you must be one messed up person. Not a good day for either of us, then.
Mary: No. I suppose it could have been worse.
Deadman: Really?
Mary: Well... I... we both have our clothes?
Deadman: No, I'm not finding that much of a comfort.
Mary: I am.
Mia (to Mary): Room 151? Don't you get how the numbers work? It's 1 for the first floor, then the room numbers, like 07, 21 and all that. You've been wandering around here all day and you haven't worked out we don't have more than 25 rooms to a floor?"
(In reference to the pilot, the final episode was titled 'The Day Before').
***
Reviews were generally scathing, but it proved popular enough to return for a second series. Not all of the show's mysteries were explained. (There was a rumour on the internet that S3 would have revealed everything to be down to aliens and Mary a cloned replacement of Chloe Larcombe, but that was a hoax by fans.)
***
Supporting cast and Episode Guide can be found HERE.
Mods, I am new and need tags etc.
I'm not sure where the resulting total insanity came from, but here goes...
***
ENIGMA HOUSE
8 hr long eps per series; BBC (probably by Kudos!) Quirky sf/supernatural drama; 2 seasons. A young woman wakes up in the Royal Clarence Hotel with no memory and a dead man in the bathroom, who seems to be the sanest person around. Centres around the quest for her identity - and the mystery behind some of the hotel's stranger guests and the location of the supposedly non-existent Room 151.
(I tried for realistic casting, I really did, but just ended up completely unrealistic and with a lot of former spooks...)
***
The Cast
Mary X/Jane Smith/Chloe Larcombe (Talulah Riley)
Wakes up in The Royal Clarence Hotel (somewhere on the SE coast) with no memory of anything that happened before. She finds she was signed in as 'Jane Smith' and says she might as well have used 'Mary X', which is how she's generally referred to, although some people call her Miss Smith. There's a possibility she's Mrs Larcombe's missing daughter, Chloe. She's got a briliant mind - for everything but long-term memory. She also finds her stay is being paid for by the elusive hotel proprietor, but more informative answers are hard to come by. Other people also see some of the weird events she witnesses in the hotel, but she's the only one who can actually talk to the dead man who keeps appearing in the bathroom ('Deadman'). She can't leave the hotel for too long without having some sort of relapse of her condition.
Mia Robinson (Sheridan Smith)
Mia's new to the hotel and though Bob (the porter) tries to wind her up with tales of hauntings, she doesn't believe any of it till she finds Mary and the dead body that vanishes. She's the one who calls in the police. Despite everything, she still hopes for a rational explanation and believes her social life and problems are the most important things around here. Nevertheless, as time goes on, she becomes Mary's closest friend - and likes to flirt with DS Jordan, though no one ever knows if she's serious.
DI Michael Harrison (Matthew Mcfadyen)
He turns up to investigate a murder that doesn't seem to have happened yet. He's suspicious of the set-up at the hotel, but while he doesn't believe in ghosts and vanishing bodies, he knows when something doesn't add up. He has an interest in the hotel owner McAllister. He thinks Mary looks familiar and is the one who points out her resemblance to missing person Chloe Larcombe, a case he investigated two years ago. He's gradually forced to accept the reality of some of the incidents, and is particularly concerned about Mary's connection to 'Deadman'.
'Deadman' (Raza Jaffrey)
One of the central mysteries around the show. 'Deadman' appears as a bloody corpse in several of the rooms at random, and seems to be able to communicate with Mary. He's tells her that Room 151 has the key. He's seen in the town on occasion, in the crowd, apparently alive, but can never be tracked down. The culmination of the two seasons centres around his actual murder.
DS Robert Jordan (Wil Johnson)
Works for Harrison. He's heard rumours about the hotel and once saw a ghost when he sneaked in for a dare as a teenager (so he claims), and is readier to believe some of the stories than his DI. However, he says the scariest thing by far at the Royal Clarence is definitely Mia.
Bob (Sanjeev Bhaskar)
The genial porter who teases Mia and helps Mary out where he can. Nevertheless, he seems to know much more than anything else about what's going on and Mary finds there are times when he can seem to be a sinister figure.
Mrs Margaret Howell (Gemma Jones)
One of the more regular guests. On the face of it, an elderly lady who seems oblivious to any oddness, but the revelation of her backstory provides one of the more striking episodes. She becomes an unofficial ally of DI Harrison - eyes and ears in the hotel for him.
Mrs Adele Larcombe (Addy) (Sophie Thompson)
The mother of missing person, Chloe Larcombe, she is insistent that Mary is her daughter. Harrison is inclined to agree with her to begin with, but as time goes on, he feels that too many things about Addy Larcombe don't add up and that she is fact has her own reasons for making the claim - and a connection to McAllister.
McAllister (Robert Glenister)
The wealthy owner of the Royal Clarence. He appears only briefly and apparantly regards any tales of hauntings as nonsense, but he's paid for Mary's stay, Harrison is sure he has high-level criminal connections and he also knows Addy Larcombe, but he never slips up - until the end.
With various guest stars (as both regular and supernatural hotel guests) and other supporting characters, particularly other staff and members of the police force.
***
Pilot Episode: The Morning After
Mia (on meeting Mary): It's going to be one of those mornings, isn't it?
Other guest: Excuse me, but I'd like to complain about the lack of soap in my bathroom!
Mary (to Mia): Can I swap with him, please?
Mary (to Deadman): Are you talking to me?
Deadman: 'Course not. I'm dead. It's one of those things you can't do when you're a corpse, like - well - pretty much everything when you come down to it.
Mary: But I'm hearing you. Or going mad. That's definitely a possibility today.
Deadman: Oh, I can communicate with you. Which means you must be one messed up person. Not a good day for either of us, then.
Mary: No. I suppose it could have been worse.
Deadman: Really?
Mary: Well... I... we both have our clothes?
Deadman: No, I'm not finding that much of a comfort.
Mary: I am.
Mia (to Mary): Room 151? Don't you get how the numbers work? It's 1 for the first floor, then the room numbers, like 07, 21 and all that. You've been wandering around here all day and you haven't worked out we don't have more than 25 rooms to a floor?"
(In reference to the pilot, the final episode was titled 'The Day Before').
***
Reviews were generally scathing, but it proved popular enough to return for a second series. Not all of the show's mysteries were explained. (There was a rumour on the internet that S3 would have revealed everything to be down to aliens and Mary a cloned replacement of Chloe Larcombe, but that was a hoax by fans.)
***
Supporting cast and Episode Guide can be found HERE.
Mods, I am new and need tags etc.