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The Beginning
In the pilot episode of the new version (co-written by
Stephen King and Richard Dooling), artist Jack Coleman (Peter
Rickman) is hit on the side of the rode while jogging by a
hit/skip driver. Jack is an artist by trade, and he is taken
to Kingdom Hospital, something King can write about with authority
since he, himself, was hit in his own 1999 traffic accident.
The first two episodes introduce us to the spectre haunting
the Hospital and the players involved in the story. Mrs. Sally
Druse is a sensitive which knows something is going on in
the Hospital out of common sight and mind. She precipitates
the investigation through interaction with the patients and
the staff.
Making The Rounds
While in a coma, Coleman is visited by a ghost. The ghost
tells Jack to help Mary another ghost who needs help. Upon
awaking, Coleman can now communicate with the spirits in the
facility but not with his wife or the hospital staff. Later,
he communicates through a series of drawings which help the
people around him understand what is happening…and that is
the premise of the thirteen story series.
Mary haunts the hospital because of a horrible tragedy
that, decades earlier, started the present paranormal chain
of events in motion. If a solution to the otherworld problem
is not found, there is a good chance the whole hospital may
succumb to a series of very localized earthquakes.
Dr. Stegman (Bruce Davison), a doctor tainted from past
incompetence and indiscressions, is a character you love to
hate. He becomes at the same time a comic foil and a despicable
character.
There are some side plots which take interesting turns
and keep the general story interesting while moving along
to its final resolution. A Christ like story is an interesting
aside, with a death of a mission padre and "resurrection."
The staff having to deal with a lawyer who becomes a patient
is especially ironically funny.
Post Mortem
Andrew McCarthy plays Dr. Hook, who along with Sally Druse,
played by Diane Ladd and other hospital staff helps to solve
the mystery of this haunted hospital. Mrs. Druse convinces
Dr. Hook to believe her and in believing her he will help
the hospital and his comatose patient.
Kingdom Hospital contains all the usual accoutrements
of a King work, ghosts, bizarre characters, interesting subplots
and scary, creepy moments. There is also a CGI anteater-thing
called the Antubis, which at first is mostly bizarre and out
of place. However, the writers, Dooley and King, explain later
in the series, its existence logically and convincingly providing
an interesting twist. After a slow start the ending is a good
one and satisfied me after I invested the time to watch the
whole series.
ABC apparently not feeling real good about the series,
shuffled it around its schedule, the series perhaps never
finding its audience
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