said_scarlett | Oct. 21st, 2005

Last night I was feeling a wee bit icky, so I decided to pop in a DVD and just veg. I thought I'd watch the first episode of Kingdom Hospital, and I ended up watching the entire first disc. It doesn't matter how many times I see this show, I never lose affection for it. And everytime through I notice more little things that make me smile.

Last night, what really stuck with me was Stegman's introduction. I think the manner in which he's introduce presents him to us perfectly. It shows us exactly what sort of man he is - a 'pathetic, terrible man' as Sally calls him later. And completely out of place and out of sync with everyone else, which was demonstrated by 'Gin and Juice' playing in the background through the entire parking lot scene. Here we have an esteemed surgeon who is quite obviously anal, finicky, obsessed with presentation and with a stick up his bum the size of a redwood. And he's introduce to the strains of Snoop Dog.

But I think there's something else about Stegman, something that's put across much more subtlely. He's a scared man. He covers this with his brashness and his bravado and his constant deriving of everything around him. I know he's one of the least liked characters, but I really do like him.

I'm still struck with how much the series reminds me of Insomnia. But I think this is only because the scenes I remember most vividly from Insomnia are the hospital scenes, and Paul's continued use of the term 'short timer'. Also, Gottriech reminds me of the little bald doctors, with his old bag of medical instruments.

And as always, for a Stephen King fan, there are so many little in jokes and references that it isn't even funny. And I so didn't realize until last night that the narrator is Stephen King.

I really do recommend this series to anyone who's a Stephen King fan. I know he gets called a sell out and a talentless author who just caters to the masses, but I consider him one of the most talented authors of our time. And I like to think that anyone who's read The Shawshank Redemption or The Green Mile or The Body or Rage couldn't disagree too strongly with that. Not everything he writes is a work of art, but that doesn't diminish the books he writes that are.