Stephen King Presents Kingdom Hospital

Kingdom Hospital was a 2004 mini series based on the teleplay by Stephen King who also excutive produced this weird but wonderful ride.
The series takes its' name from the fictional hospital which it portrays in Lewiston,Maine.The building was erected upon the ground of a mill which burned down(due to arson)in 1869 killing outright most of the child slave labourers but one,Mary Jensen.She escaped briefly only to be caught by the factory owners' sadistic brother and "medical practitioner".He used medically unauthorized procedures on most of his patients/victims and poor Mary succumbed as a result.
Fast forward in time and we enter the world of Kingdom Hospital with its' eclectic variety of medical and support personnel.The story kicks off with the tragic hit and run of a famous local painter and from what I have read probably a close proximity to Stephen Kings' own terrible ordeal some years ago.He is rendered comatose with multiple internal and external injuries and has virtually no hope of recovery.Soon he begins to experience some strange things and he slowly begins a recovery thought impossible by the admitting physicians.However the restless undead are at work and in a battle on this property and he is the pivotal key in the story.Two figures are important to the painter throughout and that is Mary Jensen herself and her "companion" Anubis the mythological Egyptian gatekeeper between our world and the next,who she mistakenly calls Antubis.Antubis closely resembles a giant ant eater,the difference being this one has a long and large mouth with very sharp and powerful teeth.
As the story weaves its' way to its' inevitable climax, many characters come in and out of the story and all are in some way directly affected by the strange malevolence that abounds throughout the hospital.Each character has its' own and unique personality which gives this memorable story arc such depth.
We have psychic Mrs.Drus(Diane Ladd),Dr.Hook(Andrew McCarthy),Bruce Davison(Dr.Stegman),Head of the Hospital Dr.Jesse James(Ed Begley Jr.) and so many more.There is even a caretaker called Johnny B.Goode which is a running gag throughout the series.Everytime Dr.Stegman goes to look for him he's always away.Actors like Charles Martin Smith,Dick Smothers and Wayne Newton(!) step in to play the character fill-in for him.When Johnny finally does appear it turns out to be Stephen King himself!
I recommend this mini series to everyone.It is chock full of memorable charcaters and situations and never fails to hold your attention.Sometimes you wonder where the story is going but like any story arc one must be patient and your patience is definitely rewarded in Kingdom Hospital.

This is rather unusual even for Stephen King.It's a bit slow in parts but I enjoy looking at the background details anyways.The story is very good and of course is based on an incident in the past which occured on the property on which Kingdom Hospital was built.And so it all comes to a big climax eventually involving the hospital staff and patients, and it is about all the incidents leading up to that.It has moments of humor,and frightening moments, especially for those of us who have to go to the hospital.It makes you think about parellel worlds beside you and what is happening to people who appear to be in comas.I think it is very entertaining!

Kingdom Hospital isn't like any show you've ever seen before and odds are it's better.This is a wonderfully original,quirky,fun and still dramatic little show that ended long before it's time.