Customer Reviews

Kingdom Hospital: The Complete Series (Four-Pack + Tin Packaging)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is one of those things that will totally confuse you, if you don't pay close attention. The visuals tell at least half of the story, very much like "Twin Peaks". The pace for the first couple of disks is markedly slow. Too much abstract cinematography and dialog, but not enough character development. Bruce Davison plays the slimiest character I've ever seen him portray; who knew he had that kind of nastiness in him?! Someone else here mentioned that some of the story mimics King's own experiences. Well, the shot of Coleman's character ("Rickman") being struck by a van on a Maine country road, is clearly and unequivocally drawn from King's having been struck by a van on a Maine country road. The thoughts that are running through the victim's mind were no doubt very close to the things King himself was thinking at the time. Also, when Rickman is being brought into the emergency department, he can hear the staff recognizing that he's a celebrity (artist) - no doubt that happened to King as well. King has always drawn his work from real-life experiences, be they his or someone else's, which I think is his greatest storytelling gift. A radio-announcer even says "a Stephen King-like horror story" - can you say obvious ringer? Some of the kooky scenes in this show are certainly very reminiscent of "Twin Peaks", but this feels much heavier, nearly suffocating at times. The always-dark hospital was especially unrealistic to me, as I'm a nurse; there is no way you could function effectively if *that* much of the hospital had dim lighting. Another medical nit is that the nurse who keeps fainting at the sight of blood, would *never* have made it through nursing school! The sexually harassing morgue attendant (or whatever his job is) would have been booted from the staff immediately, the very *first* time he made sexual advances - especially with a *doctor*! Though, she seemed to encourage the attention, which was rather nauseating; she manipulated the perve for her own ends. Those nits aside, it is a very engrossing piece, that, if you can watch it *carefully*, will keep you riveted.

Co-producer Stephen King and his daughter Tabitha are contributing writers to this thirteen chapter TV series about a spook-infested hospital that was built on the ruins of a mill fire disaster. KINGDOM HOSPITAL's great cast elevates a creepy ghost story that fails only in a final recap-driven, pull-it-all-together episode. Otherwise, it's a fine way to lose youself for many hours in the suprernatural, the comic and the tragic.

Recommended to all!


Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 imdb viewer poll rating.

(6.5) Kingdom Hospital (TV-2004) - Jamie Harrold/Andrew McCarthy/Bruce Davison/Diane Ladd/Ed Begley Jr./Benjamin Ratner/Alan Scarfe/Antony Holland/Michael Lerner

Good series from Steven King, just wish they would have made more then just one season. If you like Kings style of horror and humor this is a good dvd to get.

Stephen King Presents Kingdom Hospital: The Entire Series
Great Mini Series directed by Steven King, but not written by him. It's stars, among others, the Horn rimed Glasses guy from Heroes. He really looks cute in this series. The price for this series is really low now and makes a great gift for Steven King Fans.
In ways, this film series mimics parts of Steven Kings life.

I was so surprised at the collectors box that came with dvd's.
Its very nice.
MOvies in excellent condition, New.

You wouldn't know it from watching "Kingdom Hospital", but Stephen King used to be a respected horror writer. In the last decade or so, it's begun to seem that his best work is behind him. And maybe he does have another good novel or two left in him--but WHY is anyone in his right mind letting King anywhere NEAR a movie/TV production? Between this piece of crap, "Maximum Overdrive", and the remake of "The Shining", it seems clear--King has NO BUSINESS making MOVIES!

Each episode of "Kingdom Hospital" is two hours long--which hurts, a lot, since each episode only has about fifteen minutes of content, and the rest is risible padding. SEE! the talking spirit anteater with big sharp teeth and gorilla hands, who thinks that ants are "Ant-solutely delicious!" SEE the two people with Downs syndrome who, because they are developmentally challenged, are on a "higher plane" and thus able to know what is going on at the haunted hospital! SEE personality-free two-dimensional characters with names like Jesse James, Dr. Hook, and Johnny B. Goode!

It's a long, drawn-out soap opera with an occasional halloween costumed extra shot out-of-focus peeking in from the background. It's like you're watching a particularly bad episode of ER where they haven't paid the lighting bill, with footage from a JC's Haunted House randomly edited in. You've never SEEN so much NOTHING happening on-screen before.

"Kingdom Hospital" sucks. It just SUCKS. The only noteworthy thing about it is that King actually had the balls to try and get away with this turd. No, he didn't write it--it's actually based on a Danish novel--but King did direct and screenwrite this thing, so it's his albatross.

Unless you're one of those hardcore Stephen King fans who believes he can do no wrong (test: did you like "Maximum Overdrive"? Did you think his version of "The Shining" was better than Kubrick's? If so, you are!), then avoid this thing like the plague.