said_scarlett | Kingdom Hospital

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.

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Oh I love Stephen King. There were a few summers when I would go on a massive Macabre obsession and read all the King I could find. My only complaint with him is that his endings are a bit lacking, but that's only sometimes. He creates some deliciously creepy characters and some fucked up situations. Misery was pretty bad. As was The Shinning. The Last Stand was creepy in the whole "the disease that ate the world" way. Truly played up my love of harmful diseases. It was spooky until it reached the end. That's where I felt it fumbled.

But as you said, not all Stephen King is art. THe fact that he was able to draw me in even if I didn't particularly enjoy his ending says that he's a good writer.

Oh, I forgot to mention The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. That book was good all the way through. I love how he writes personal demons. They're more scary then the actual monsters.

The Stand is my favorite Stephen King book ever. And I adore the mini-series. One of the best book adaptions I've seen, but Stephen King had the biggest hand in that one. I love the characters and the way he deals with good and evil being a choice, rather than inherent. Nadine is a very good example of that, I think, and Larry as well.

I agree with his endings, though. Some of them are lacking, mostly in his horror. I prefer his non-horror endings.

Some of it is purely fan service dimestore novel fare. And that's fine. The man writes what he wants to write and he's good at it.

I have to read that one. I also want to read Hearts In Atlantis, as I've heard many good things about it.

I don't know if I have a favorite. Misery still bugs me out because not only does Paul have to overcome his own limitations to just survive, there's Annie. Nothing is creepier then being at the complete mercy of a psychotic fan who is obsessed with a character that you killed off at the end of the series. (-prays silently for J.K. Rowling and hope she never goes driving near any rabid fans house-)

I even like his dimestore novel fare. Carrie was good. As was Nightshift which had a load of creepy short stories, one of which is the starter to The Stand in which a bunch of survivors talk about the disease.

The Girl is very good, fairytale-ish in ways. I don't think I read Hearts In Atlantis. I know I saw the movie but obviously I didn't think it was very good since I can't remember much of what it was about.

Misery was very, very creepy. I have special fondness for Eyes of the Dragon, too, as it was the first thing I read by him. The only thing by him that has actually left a lingering creeped feeling is Gerard's Game, and that's not in the good way. The end of that still makes me shudder.

His dimestore stuff is massively entertaining. I loved Christine. Nightshift was good. My favorite short story by him is Ballad of the Flexible Bullet out of Nightmares and Dreamscapes, I think.

I saw the movie to, and all I can say is that Anthony Hopkins was in it and the little boy's mother was a bitch.

Ugh! Gerald's Game was nasty. Oh man, I still get the shivers and god knows what else from just thinking about some of those scenes. And then I felt dirty after having read it. Just...yeesh!

I think the short story that stays with me is Boogeyman, mostly because when I was younger (third/fourth grade) I was over my friends house for a sleep over and her older brother decided it would be a good idea to read King to all the little girls. He read that story and I FLIPPED OUT! It just bugged the crap out of me and still to this DAY I'm freaked at the open closets.

That's about all I remember of the movie too. Not much else. And something with the government and psychic abilities.

It was so dirty! And so many people had said how good it was, and now I wonder 'what were you on, people?!?'.

I don't think I'm familiar with the boogeyman one. And I think I am glad for this. The one that scares me the most is the Hotel Room, from Everything's Eventual. I still have this lingering fear that I'll answer a phone one day and hear those voices.

I don't remember the psychic stuff at all. I really ought to read the book, I imagine it's ten times better.

It had so many "squicky" moments to use a fandom term. Her and her father, and the whole REASON for why she's handcuffed to the bed, and getting out of the blasted handcuffs, and the THING...ugh, just ew.

Squishy noises. That's all I have to say for the Boogeyman. And I never read the Hotel Room one. But the phone sounds like Dial 'M' for Murder which was a good play. Non-Stephen King, but still a good creepy play.

The book is always better unless it's a "book adaptation from tv" then it's just kinda...campy.

It really did! Everything was just so icky!

Yeeep. I shall steer clear of that one. The Hotel Room one was basically... this guy who disproves haunted stories goes to this hotel room where basically it's the birthplace of evil. There's this part where the phone rings and on the other side it's these voices counting down at each number they tell him something awful.

Yeah, there are very few movies which are on par with the books. And soem book adaptions of movies are better.

Kingdom Hospital - Revisited

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