"Kingdom Hospital" (2004)TV series

Director:

Craig R. Baxley

Writers:

Richard Dooling (writer) (5 episodes)
Stephen King (writer)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

3 March 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

Check your pulse at the door.

Plot:

Stephen King's take on the masterpiece series by Lars von Trier. The story takes place in a hospital in Lewiston, Maine, built on the site of a Civil War-era mill fire in which many children died.

Plot Keywords:

Hit And Run | Civil War | Ghost Story | Anteater | Car Accident

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Wed. July 9	8:00 AM	SCIFI	Thy Kingdom Come	#1.1
Wed. July 9	10:00 AM	SCIFI	Death's Kingdom	#1.2

Cast

Jamie Harrold	...	Dr. Elmer Traff (13 episodes, 2004)
Suki Kaiser	...	Natalie Rickman (13 episodes, 2004)
Jodelle Ferland	...	Mary Jensen (13 episodes, 2004)
Diane Ladd	...	Sally Druse (12 episodes, 2004)
Bruce Davison	...	Dr. Stegman (10 episodes, 2004)
Jack Coleman	...	Peter Rickman (10 episodes, 2004)
Julian Richings	...	Otto (7 episodes, 2004)

Also Known As:

Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

Argentina:608 min | UK:40 min (per episode) | USA:780 min (13 parts)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Hungary:16 | Finland:K-15 (TV rating) | Australia:M | UK:15 | Argentina:16 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Britannia Beach, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Touchstone Television

Trivia:

Jack Coleman is wearing a "Little Tall" sweatshirt. Little Tall is an island that is the setting for Stephen King's Storm of the Century and Dolores Claiborne.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Peter finds the old newspaper clippings in the back of Mary's doll, the headlines say "Hundreds Missing and Dead in Gates Falls Mill fire", and under it is the information on the fire. When Sally and Hook save Mary and the headlines change to "Mill Owner, Foreman Arrested in Arson Plot", underneath is the very same information that was on the last newspaper, which was supposed to no longer exist.

Quotes:

Peter Rickman: [Peter overhead someone talking about a massive earthquake that is going to hit the hospital] Is he right?
Mary Jensen: Yes. When I ring my bell again, it won't just be for one or two; it'll be for the hundreds.

Movie Connections:

Remake of "Riget" (1994)

Soundtrack:

Where's Your Head At

Get the original - this is trite

There is obviously an audience out there for very dumbed-down versions of masterpieces but it still hurts. Lars von Trier's original Kingdom works on so many levels - entertaining, scary, thoughtful, full of lifelike though odd characters and the genius of the "dogme" style of filming created by von Trier. But this version is only horrific in it's wasted opportunities - populated by blandness and distracting in its use of animation (CGI) and badly worked out (edited?) sub-plots. It is a disappointing collection of ugly features that once made up a renaissance classic. I give it 2/10 because you may be looking for background imagery for a techno-party and this would suit well. In summary, I cannot understand how King can put his name to this - it can only be the dollars. It must have been a lot.