What would you do if you had a room key that could unlock any door, then lead you almost anywhere once the door was open?

For police detective Joe Miller, who was given that key by a young man dying from a gunshot wound, it proves handy at first for instant holidays.

But such a key isn’t really meant for fun, as Joe soon finds out in the Sci Fi Channel miniseries “The Lost Room”.

It originally was meant to fit a certain motel room where something terrible took place. Now the room is a mysterious trove of seemingly mundane objects, each of which possesses forbidding powers — with the key the most potent object of all.

And the most coveted. Joe discovers rival organisations have dedicated themselves to collecting those charmed objects to pursue their own sinister goals. Now these shadowy cabals are after Joe in a relentless pursuit of his key.

Meanwhile, his young daughter uses the key to vanish inside the motel room. Then he becomes the focus of a heated police investigation. Will Joe find a way to save himself and his little girl before it’s too late?

Peter Krause (“Six Feet Under”) plays the beleaguered cop. Julianna Margulies, Kevin Pollak and Margaret Cho co-star. “The Lost Room” airs Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 to midnight

Other shows this week to look out for:<$>

l You can witness a single cell develop into a baby elephant weighing more than 260 pounds. Then watch as a dolphin foetus learns to swim inside its mother’s womb. On the National Geographic Channel special “In the Womb: Animals”, viewers trace the vastly different paths of three mammals (a dog as well the elephant and dolphin) from conception to birth. State-of-the-art real-time ultrasound imagery probes the hidden prenatal worlds. This two-hour programme uncovers evolutionary clues to the animals’ ancestral past by observing, phase by phase, the foetus’ in-utero development. The program me premieres tomorrow at 9 p.m.

l Love, politics and family collide when a gay party planner agrees to organise the nuptials for his straight brother — then organises a wedding boycott instead, in the A&E romantic comedy “Wedding Wars”. Ben (Eric Dane) is engaged to marry the daughter of the governor of Maine, for whom he works as campaign manager. But brother Shel (John Stamos) brings the process to a halt when he learns that Ben was behind a speech by the governor against gay marriage. Shel decides to organise a strike for marital equal rights, which spreads nationwide. But where does that leave Ben and his intended? It airs on Monday at 10 p.m.

[bul] At the same hour on Monday, another wedding is in the works — and in jeopardy. In the Lifetime comedy “A Christmas Wedding,” Sarah Paulson (“Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”) plays Emily, a hard-charging real estate developer who falls in love with an easygoing would-be writer. Since they had met and become engaged on Christmases past, they plan to marry when the next Christmas Day rolls around, complete with a perfect “winter wonderland” ceremony. But then, just days before Christmas, Emily’s relentless boss whisks her from Denver to an island off the coast of Florida for a business meeting. What will happen when the meeting runs long, then a tropical storm grounds all the airlines? Meanwhile, back home, Emily’s laid-back fiance (Eric Mabius, “Ugly Betty”) displays a lackadaisical approach to handling last-minute details. Will Emily get back in time — and what will she find when she gets there?

[bul] Fans of “The Office” won’t want to miss a one-hour holiday episode directed by Harold Ramis (“Analyse This,” “Groundhog Day”). At the office, there’s a rift within the party planning committee that results in two competing Christmas parties. Meanwhile, Michael (Steve Carell) gets his heart broken by girlfriend Carol, who dumps him after he’s invested in two tickets to a Jamaica resort. He goes out drinking with Jim (John Krasinski) and Dwight (Rainn Wilson), who has his own contribution to the holiday party: a Christmas goose he found dead in the road. “A Benihana Christmas” airs on Thursday at 9 p.m. on NBC.

[bul] Bravo’s OUTzoneTV.com, devoted to the gay and lesbian online community, presents “Manhunt: The Search for America’s Most Gorgeous Male Model”. The new season is unfolding on OUTzoneTV.com with a new weekly episode each Friday. The eight-episode one-hour series is accompanied by an online poll to determine “OUTzoneTV.com’s Sexiest 2007.” There are three categories — “Sexiest Gay Celebrity,” “Sexiest Gay-Friendly Celebrity” and “Sexiest Gay of the Year” — with voting through December 28.

Winners will be announcedon January 5, 2007.