In 2004, a series called Kingdom Hospital came and went without very much of a reaction. Based on a Danish eight episode mini series by Lars Von Trier called The Kingdom it was originally intended to be of similar duration. It was eventually developed into what was intended to be an ongoing series though in the event it only lasted for one thirteen episode season. It was developed by none other than Stephen King, more used to others developing his work, and directed by Craig R Baxley. To describe it as slow would be to understate considerably because it moves like a snail with a tendancy to repeat certain visual or musical signatures. I’m not even sure how you would define it. Is it a medical drama? Yes. Is it a fantasy? Yep. Is it extremely weird? Oh yes. It unpeels mysterious happenings, oddball characters and bizarrely is set in an interior that seems to bear no relation to the striking exterior shot we see of the building. There is a palpable sense of unease generated by the direction and script, and its circuitous structure can sometimes irritate not least that song which is playing when Peter Rickman is first run down by a truck. Yet if you become absorbed in it- and it is a big If – it seems important to watch every bit of it.
