Kingdom Hospital

On Wednesday night, I went to the hospital, Kingdom Hospital that is. I've been waiting eagerly for Stephen King's mini-series adapted from a 1994 Danish mini-series called "Riget" (The Kingdom), written by Lars von Trier and Niels Vorsel. King's mini-series is going to be 13 (lucky 13, perhaps?) episodes long. For me, the fascination behind a mini-series this long is the cat-in-the-bag guarantee that the show will air for its intended time. It bothers me when I get hooked onto a new show and then the rumors start flying about it being canceled. Such as it was, with another supernatural show called "Miracles." I tell you, sometimes I think I jinxed shows, if I like them, shortly they are kaput, forgotten, lost into a television junkyard of disposable memories. Fortunality, for me, this time I win, and will get to see a show run its course.

King's Rose Red was another mini-series, and by no way lengthy, it was only six hours long, but certainly had King's creative and chilling blood and fear all over it. The show was very appealing because he has such a way of scaring the bejibbies out of oneself when you least expect it.

How will it stack up against other King tales? First, it is an adaptation, so King's own storytelling genius will be set aside to enable his still genies talent to be able to reinvent Kingdom Hospital with his own cryptic ingredients. So, for pure King fans, there is probable going to be some of that quality missing, but on the other hand, it still will be something that King fans will surely identify with, and hopefully like, since King's hands will be getting dirty from playing around with it.

Also, we will get to look inside King's own near fatal encounter back in 1999, when a car while walking home struck King that led to his own experiences of being in a hospital. Right there is the real frightening story, and something that speaks from the heart, even the heart of a horror writer.

In the opener, we find out that Kingdom Hospital was built on shaky ground, a place where in 1869, a textile mill suspiciously burned down, taking the lives of mainly children. Kingdom Hospital now rests upon the graves of these lost souls who have found a way out.

The staff of Kingdom Hospital is, themselves, a mystery. There are lots of bizarre and quirky personalities. They are oddly perplexing, offbeat, down right disasters in the making, and will soon come face to face to what lies underneath Kingdom Hospital.

While going out for his routine jog, Peter, (Jack Coleman) who happens to be famous painter, critically and supernaturally gets knock out of his mind and body from a horribly cruel and scummy loser of a human who leaves Peter for dead after hitting him with his car. Not only can Peter not move, but also his life has entered into another realm, where he can communicate with other life forms telepathically, such as an anteater. But, before you brush off a sense of frightfulness, not accompanying the anteater, it is there, and in more ways than one, as Peter's paintings have captured, even before his accident.The singer, (I mean) doctor, in charge of saving Peter's life is Dr. Hook, (Andrew McCarthy) who is a stitch above the rest of the doctors in the Hospital, including the vulgar and deplorable Dr. Stegman (Bruce Davison), the chief of neurosurgery, and Dr. Jesse James (Ed Begley Jr.), the leave-it-on-the-back burner hospital administrator. Yes, lots of wacky used and historical names which add so much fun to the show.

Once inside the Hospital, things are not as sterile as one would assume a place of healing to be. Sally (Diane Ladd), a psychic and a hypochondriac, feels that Kingdom Hospital is haunted, and she's right! There is much evil, but where evil is, good is always near. But, who will win?

The cast is one that I'm looking ahead to see lots of kooky, crazy, and spooky things to happen to. It's great to see Andrew McCarthy back and peeling off his 80's success by putting on a new and more tailored suit to fit his excellent acting wardrobe. Diane Ladd, Bruce Davison, Ed Begely Jr, and Jack Coleman; sounds like great casting to me, and they by no doubt have the talent, and stamina to make it work!

I'll be making "out patient" calls for the next little while and perhaps other King fans or fans of the cast will be making the same.