# Stephen King's KINGDOM HOSPITAL **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2004, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304 "2004-01-20T09:11:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/81 "2004-03-12T23:07:11Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Okay, I layed my hands on a copy of the episode to double check it, just for fun, and it is “the Emperor of Ice Cream” in both instances. Huh. Could’ve sworn I heard “king”. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/82 "2004-03-18T07:54:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Nah nah nah nah… nah nah nah nah… hey hey… goodbye! Way too fucking funny. Glad to see the phantom ambulance showing up-- I regretted its absence in the first episode. I hope they keep the radio contact. Again, I really hate being hit over the head with the Keepers’ secret sign — and now that we _know_ that Helmer knows what it means-- what’s the point? They’ve taken a brief exchange by which Dr. Hook silently communicated, (with delayed significance,) that Steg would do well to tone down the arrogance, because in the Order they’re equals, and Steg may soon find himself needing an “ask” from Hook, and, through repetition, turned into something silly and pointless. Bleah. I like the anteater more and more, though. Great fun. ---
**Author:** ![sbic56](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@sbic56](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbic56)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/83 "2004-03-18T12:26:37Z")
Ahhhh…nice to see something other than reality TV! Thank you Stephen King for saving Wednesday evening for a season, at least. No it isn’t a masterpiece, but Kingdom Hospital is good fun. Lewiston is my birthplace, (no condolences, please), so being able to relate in that regard only adds to the enjoyment. ---
**Author:** ![ShawnKemp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@ShawnKemp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShawnKemp)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/84 "2004-03-18T13:52:58Z")
I officially am in love with this show. I couldn’t quit laughing when that guy pulled out his chest tube and started singing. And, the anteater, we are bit by bit learning more about it. Can’t wait for next week. What’d people think of last night? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/85 "2004-03-18T13:58:34Z")
I got this in book form because I don’t have time to watch a miniseries, and I gave it up by page 26. Guess I should have watched! ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/86 "2004-03-18T14:13:25Z")
I sort of found the “Kiss Him Goodbye” scene to be funny, but at the same time, I thought it was really pretty creepy. The guy’s more or less dying on the table, and suddenly he pops up and starts singing? I think I’d have run out of the room, screaming my tiny head off. ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/87 "2004-03-18T14:22:33Z")
Oh, there was something I wanted to ask. I could have sworn that the vampire kid said something along the lines of “This is none of your business, short-timer,” to Rickman. Did anyone else hear this? ---
**Author:** ![ShawnKemp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@ShawnKemp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShawnKemp)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/88 "2004-03-18T15:22:49Z")
I definitely heard the boy say that, and I saw someone else mention this on the boards. What does this mean? Also, do you think that the anteater is people’s concience (sp?)? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/89 "2004-03-18T22:27:48Z")
Rickman is only able to perceive and exist in what Mrs. Drusse calls “Swedenborgian space” temporarily, as a result of his accident. (The spirit world of the Kingdom is loosely based on the writings of Emmanuel Swedenborg.) Compare [this](http://swedenborg.newearth.org/hh/hh46.html), from _Heaven and its Wonders and Hell, From Things I Have Seen_ > [@](#): > > As to the senses of the body I was brought into a state of insensibility, thus nearly into the state of the dying; but with the interior life and thought remaining unimpaired, in order that I might perceive and retain in the memory the things that happened to me, and that happen to those that are resuscitated from the dead. I perceived that the respiration of the body was almost wholly taken away; but the interior respiration of the spirit went on in connection with a slight and tacit respiration of the body. Then at first a communication of the pulse of the heart with the celestial kingdom was established, because that kingdom corresponds to the heart in man. Angels from that kingdom were seen, some at a distance, and two sitting near my head. Thus all my own affection was taken away although thought and perception continued. I was in this state for some hours. […] The celestial angels who are with the one that is resuscitated do not withdraw from him, because they love every one; but when the spirit comes into such a state that he can no longer be affiliated with celestial angels, he longs to get away from them. When this takes place angels from the Lord’s spiritual kingdom come, through whom is given the use of light; for before this he saw nothing, but merely thought. I was shown how this is done. The angels appeared to roll off, as it were, a coat from the left eye towards the bridge of the nose, that the eye might be opened and be enabled to see. This is only an appearance, but to the spirit it seemed to be really done. When the coat thus seems to have been rolled off there is a slight sense of light, but very dim, like what is seen through the eyelids on first awakening from sleep. […] Those that have not believed in the world in any life of the soul after the life of the body are greatly ashamed when they find themselves to be alive. But those that have confirmed themselves in that disbelief seek affiliation with their like, and are separated from those that have had faith. Such are for the most part attached to some infernal society, because they have also denied the divine and have despised the truths of the church; for so far as any one confirms himself against the eternal life of his soul he confirms himself also against whatever pertains to heaven and the church. Anyway, vampire boy calls Rickman a “short-timer” because has only been that realm a short time, and he’s not going to remain there. > [@sbic56](#): > > Lewiston is my birthplace, (no condolences, please), so being able to relate in that regard only adds to the enjoyment. Heh. Does it “feel” like Lewiston? Because it seems 100% Vancouver to me. 😃 (Especially when they use undisguised exterior shots of VGH instead of the digital matte of the Kingdom tower.) I’m guessing that’s because I know squat about Lewiston and don’t recognize any of the more subtle location cues that they’re using. Did anybody catch what Mary called the anteater? (I assume she meant the anteater, anyway.) When she said to Rickman “Help me! Help me like ant\*\* helped you!” ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/90 "2004-03-19T00:49:07Z")
IIRC, “short-timer” is a reference to Insomnia, which is a kind of companion piece to the Dark Tower books. I can’t find my copy right now to look it up, but it seems to me that “short-timer” was another word for “mortal.” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/91 "2004-03-19T01:31:53Z")
Doh! Haven’t read _Insomnia_, and gave up on the Dark Tower series midway through _The Waste Lands_. I’ve heard good things about _Insomnia_ and enough positive stuff about the _Wizard and Glass_ that I may give the series another chance. For some reason that reminded me – was there a title on the Stephen King book that was displayed so prominently in last night’s _Kingdom_? I couldn’t make it out. ---
**Author:** ![sbic56](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@sbic56](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbic56)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/92 "2004-03-19T02:05:50Z")
[QUOTE= Heh. Does it “feel” like Lewiston? Because it seems 100% Vancouver to me. 😃 (Especially when they use undisguised exterior shots of VGH instead of the digital matte of the Kingdom tower.) I’m guessing that’s because I know squat about Lewiston and don’t recognize any of the more subtle location cues that they’re using. [/QUOTE] He definitely is putting his psychotic bent to it, but the little snippets, like flashing the local newspaper, make me realize he is talking about the same place I knew. That’s about where the similarity truly ends, thank goodness. It’s bizarre how he has twisted the hospital he recovered in after his accident into the story line that was already in place. In Carrie, he did the same thing with Lisbon High school in Maine. He graduated from there. (Me, too, and I don’t remember my high school days much like he does, either.) ---
**Author:** ![ShawnKemp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@ShawnKemp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShawnKemp)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/93 "2004-03-19T14:42:16Z")
The book he showed was Bag of Bones. Does anyone have any sort of clue as to what exactly the anteater’s role is in the show? What it may represent? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/94 "2004-03-19T15:29:07Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Glad to see the phantom ambulance showing up-- I regretted its absence in the first episode. It was there but only showed up on a security monitor for a moment. You probably missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/95 "2004-03-19T17:24:15Z")
I definitely missed it in the monitor. (The Danish series starts with the security guy and his dog trying to come to grips with another appearance of the ambulance – which no-one else in the hospital seems to see.) ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/96 "2004-03-20T23:08:27Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Haven’t read _Insomnia_, and gave up on the Dark Tower series midway through _The Waste Lands_. I’ve heard good things about _Insomnia_ and enough positive stuff about the _Wizard and Glass_ that I may give the series another chance. I liked Insomnia, but from comments I’ve read on this board, I understand that it’s not for all tastes. But give it a try; see what you think. I do recommend you try the Dark Tower books again. Love that series. ---
**Author:** ![ShawnKemp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@ShawnKemp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShawnKemp)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/97 "2004-03-25T14:52:15Z")
Did y’all watch the show last night? I really enjoyed the story line with Elmer. It was nice to see the character development furthering. Every Wednesday when it’s over, I wish it was a week later so that I could see what happens next. ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_of_the_Lake)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/98 "2004-03-25T18:06:42Z")
> [@ShawnKemp](#): > > Did y’all watch the show last night? I really enjoyed the story line with Elmer. It was nice to see the character development furthering. Every Wednesday when it’s over, I wish it was a week later so that I could see what happens next. I did! 🙂 Wednesday nights are my new ‘home’ nights, replacing Tuesday ‘Buffy’ nights! Too bad that Kingdom is on so late (here it starts at 9:00 p.m.). I enjoyed the majority of the show, and find myself more and more intrigued by Dr. Hook. Why did he have little graves of his patients in his room? Were they little graves, or little plants? It’s rather odd… The scary boy was a very good touch for me, quite believable. I didn’t understand why the ‘bad’ patient would want to follow his advice and try to kill the psychic though… It seems good policy to just say ‘no’ when scary white faced children ask you to harm others. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/99 "2004-03-25T19:50:14Z")
> [@Lady of the Lake](#): > > Too bad that Kingdom is on so late (here it starts at 9:00 p.m.). 10:00pm, here – for optimum nightmare potential. 😃 > [@](#): > > Why did he have little graves of his patients in his room? Were they little graves, or little plants? Every cross represents a botched case. It’s Hook’s morbid way of keeping score. > [@ShawnKemp](#): > > I really enjoyed the story line with Elmer. Me too-- but I’m beginning to suspect that they might leave out part of his peculiar courtship attempts as "too gruesome."He finds a body in the morgue that is a “dead ringer” for him, so he saws off its head, puts his glasses on it, packages it up like Van Gogh’s ear and gets Hook to give it to Camilla. A great joke, until the head gets “lost.” Heh heh. ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304/100 "2004-03-25T23:15:16Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > He finds a body in the morgue that is a “dead ringer” for him, so he saws off its head, puts his glasses on it, packages it up like Van Gogh’s ear and gets Hook to give it to Camilla. A great joke, until the head gets “lost.” Heh heh. Charming. As to why Rolf (the ‘bad’ patient) would listen to the scary white-faced boy - well, for one thing, he _is_ a crazy serial killer. It’s more or less in the job description. For another, I have a feeling that scary white-faced boy is not someone you would want to mess with. Hence the willingness to follow orders. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-kingdom-hospital/225304.md?page=6)