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he two-hour premiere of ABC's new series Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital begins in 1869, when a mill burns to the ground and most of the children working there do not escape. Eventually, Kingdom Hospital is built on the same land. It's a place where science rules and superstition is pushed aside. However, there are supernatural forces at work, and the patients and staff of the hospital are about to meet their match.
World famous artist Peter Rickman (Coleman) takes a run along a winding road and is hit by a man driving a minivan. The terrible accident leaves him near death, and the two-time loser who hits him takes off. Unable to move, Peter begins to have terrible visions, and in the ambulance he sees a little girl with a bell who can't possibly be there.
At the hospital, eccentric surgeon Dr. Hook (McCarthy) operates and saves Peter's life. Thrilled to have a celebrity on their hands, the clueless hospital administrator, Dr. Jesse James (Begley), rushes to get involved and the arrogant chief neurologist, Dr. Stegman (Davison), butts heads with Hook and just about everyone else.
But strange things are starting to happen as earthquakes shake the place up, a security guard and a psychic patient have ghostly encounters with a little girl, and Peter's condition miraculously takes a turn for the better. As Peter drifts in and out of consciousness and his visions become more shocking, he will discover that he's been saved for a reason, and that reason has nothing to do with science.
An autobiographical nightmare
"Thy Kingdom Come," the two-hour premiere of Kingdom Hospital, is a bizarre, funny and not completely effective opening for the series. There's no doubt it's spooky, and the scary imagery is laid on thick. The characters are weird and wonderful, and the hospital becomes a character all its own. However, the story doesn't quite come together, although that should change as the series progresses.
King takes his time to get us into the story and the horror of the situation. Sometimes he's subtle, and other times the horror is anything but. When the security guard sees the reflection of a little girl in the monitor of his computer instead of his own reflection, it's creepy. However, when Peter goes for his run and gets creamed by the van it's disturbing, especially for anyone who knows about King's own accident. Once that happens, and Peter begins to communicate with animals and spirits, everything in the story has more impact. King is telling us he has more than a little connection to Peter, and what happened to Peter is to some extent drawn from his own experience. After that, talking anteaters with big teeth seem a little silly.
There are some clues about where Kingdom Hospital is going, and many threads have been put into place for the series to continue. Moments of brilliance and moments of absolute silliness are mixed together. Most of the time it works, but those few times it doesn't throw the rest of the story off balance.
The cast is terrific, and McCarthy and Coleman are well cast in their respective roles. King loves his characters, and he's given time and lots of meat for the actors to dig into. The character that doesn't quite work yet is Davidson's Stegman. So much time is spent in "Thy Kingdom Come" with him being a jerk to everyone, it feels heavy-handed.
However, even though some moments don't quite jel with the rest, Kingdom Hospital has 13 more hours to play with. Judging from the premiere, the series has great potential. One thing's for sure, there's nothing else like it on the air.
Kingdom Hospital is uniquely Stephen King. Undoubtedly, he's going to take his time to get into the characters and the story, but in the meantime there are plenty of scares and laughs to pave the way. — Kathie
Also in this issue: Red Dwarf Series III DVD
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