1.01 - Thy Kingdom Come

Kingdom Hospital, built on the site of a tragic mill fire, is haunted by the spirits of those who died in that catastrophe. When artist Peter Rickman is severely injured in a hit-and-run accident and brought to Kingdom Hospital he becomes a central figure in a conflict between the living and the dead and the forces of good and evil.

I do you a solid, you do me one. That's how it works. - Antubis

Over a century ago, during the American Civil War, the Gates Falls Mill produced uniforms for the Union army. Its workers, many of them children, labored long hours under very difficult conditions. When a fire broke out at the mill, most of the adult workers managed to escape. Most of the children did not.

Many years later, Kingdom Hospital was built on the former mill site. But the spirits of those who died in that fire do not rest easily.

Inside the hospital, a blind man slumps in a wheelchair while a German Shepherd eats the sandwich he was holding. A nurse takes the man away and the dog runs off. Elsewhere, Dr. Hook dives a small electric cart though an underground passage.

An earthquake shakes the hospital and one of the elevators grinds to a halt, alarm bells ringing. Otto, the security guard, checks the interior of the elevator on a monitor and is shocked to see the ghostly image of a girl looking at him. The girl disappears and he looks around for her but instead sees Dr. Hook who has entered the security booth bringing him a soda. They talk briefly then Otto calls Abel Lyon on the intercom and asks him to reset the breaker on the elevator. He also asks if Hook has seen Blondie, his German Shepherd.

Able and his coworker Christa Mendelson comment that it is always elevator two that has the problem. The two are kitchen workers and possibly general maintenance as well. They also both suffer from Downs Syndrome. They somehow know that Hook is with Otto and what they have been talking about. Christa flips a circuit breaker and the elevator begins to move again. As it does, we see a doll which is inexplicably sitting on the top of the elevator fall over.

Through a window in a door we see the same girl that Otto saw earlier. The door opens but no one is there. The girl is recognizable as one of the children who died in the mill fire.

Elsewhere, artist Peter Rickman is getting ready to go jogging. His wife Natalie warns him to stay off the main road but he says there should be no problem since all the summer tourists have gone home. He also indicates that he is angry with her for looking at one of his paintings before he was finished. He leaves and we see the painting, an anteater walking in front of a small brick building.

We then see Peter jogging past the same building and listing to a CD via headphones. He jogs onto the main highway.

Also on the highway is a van being driven by Dave Hooman. Hooman is trying to keep his dog from getting into the groceries he has bought and the van is weaving all over the road.

Peter does not hear the van approach because of the headphones. (Incidentally, Peter's CD and the radio in the van are playing the same song; Red Dragon Tattoo.) Hooman doesn't see Peter in time and hits him. Peter bounces off the windshield of the van and is flung to the side of the road.

Hooman gets out to check on Peter who is obviously mangled and bloody. Peter tries to talk to him and cannot but we hear his inner dialog. He at first does not seem to think he is hurt that badly but soon realizes that he is in very bad shape and cannot move or speak. However, Hooman says he cannot help him because he is driving on a suspended license and has drugs in his van. Hooman leaves.

A vehicle drives by but Peter is too far off the side of the road to be seen. A raven lands on Peter's chest and we "hear" the raven say it plans to eat Peter's eyes. Before it can do so, an anteater (who we later learn is named Antubis) bursts from the bushes and roars, displaying a mouth full of needle sharp teeth. The raven flies off. Antubis tells Peter to save his strength and drags him away.

Another truck comes down the highway and sees Peter, now lying next to the road. The trucker calls for help on his CB and an ambulance arrives. There is a lot of back-and-forth between the EMTs and Kingdom Hospital but Peter is eventually loaded into the ambulance and it takes off. In the ambulance, Peter sees Antubis again and it tells him to watch for Mary and her bell. Peter sees Mary, the girl from the hospital, standing in the corner. Antubis tells him that her bell is a "death bell".

At the hospital Dr. Hook is getting ready to operate. He talks briefly with Dr. Christine Draper who is also getting ready to meet her patient, Sally Druse. The two talk and it is obvious that Druse has been to the hospital many times and is considered a hypochondriac.

The ambulance carrying Peter arrives and he is carried into the operating room. Dr. Hook begins operating with the aid of Dr. Elmer Traff, nurse Christine von Trier and several other nurses and technicians. Peter is semi-aware of what is happening but hallucinates, seeing Dr. Hook standing over him with a chainsaw and the like. Mary and Antubis are also in the operating room but only Peter can see them.

One of the nurses points to a monitor and says that Peter's injuries are healing at incredible speed. The others agree but Peter is still in danger. Dr. Hook has to drill into his skull at one point to relieve pressure (singing the theme from The Beverly Hillbillies as he does). Carrie passes out from the sight of the blood.

Hospital administrator Dr. Jesse James is meeting with Dr. Brenda Abelson who is telling him about Peter. Dr. James is happy that Dr. Hook is treating Peter instead of Dr. Stegman. Dr. Abelson seems to disagree but says nothing. Dr. James is also very interested in the fact that Peter is a famous artist and that the Rickmans have a lot of money. Dr. Abelson leaves but not before Dr. James gives her a button for "Project Morning Air". After she leaves, Dr. James makes an odd gesture where he makes a fist with his thumb extended, sticks his thumb in his mouth, then raises and lowers his little finger while seeming to "blow" into his thumb.

Natalie Rickman is preparing dinner and seemingly concerned about the fact that Peter has not returned as it is now later in the evening and it has started to rain. She is watching television and the show is interrupted with a news bulletin telling of Peter Rickman's accident. At the same time she receives a call from Kingdom Hospital telling her that Peter is gravely injured. She rushes off for the hospital. As she does, she passes the painting we saw earlier. It has changed, now showing the anteater rearing upwards and displaying a mouth full of needle sharp teeth.

Meanwhile, Dr. Draper has met with Druse and her son Bobby who is also an orderly at the hospital. Druse insists that there really is something wrong with her this time and that her hand has "pins and needles". Dr. Draper reluctantly agrees to run some tests.

Otto pushes Druse down the hall in a wheelchair and into an elevator. He does not enter himself but simply pushes the button for the correct floor. As the elevator travels, Druse hears a girl crying. The crying stops when the elevator doors reopen and she asks the nurse there if she heard the girl. The nurse says she did not.

Natalie arrives at the hospital but at first does not find anyone. She starts screaming for her husband and somewhat freaks out. Elmer and Dr. James appear and try to calm her down but are unable to do so. Natalie wants to see Peter. Dr. James does not think this is a good idea but a nurse agrees to take her to him. Otto calls for Dr. Hook.

Hook has driven his cart through the underground passage and has arrived in some sort of living quarters. He responds to Otto's call then gets back in the cart to return to the hospital.

He is waiting when Natalie, Dr. James and the nurse arrive at the ICU. He talks to her and agrees to let her see Peter. She enters Peter's room. Dr. James compliments Hook on his handling of the situation and tells him to make sure one of the apartments across the street is made available to Natalie. He then makes the odd blow-into-his-thumb gesture and Hook returns it. James leaves.

Back in the security booth, Otto has fallen asleep with Blondie at his side. Blondie is watching a monitor where we see an old 1940's style ambulance pull up outside the emergency room entrance. There is no driver in the ambulance.

Peter, unconscious in the real world, finds himself standing in the corridor of what seems to be an old abandoned building; probably also a hospital. He can hear Natalie trying to talk to him but her voice is coming from loudspeakers in the building. He wanders around and finds an elevator on which someone has written "Beware of the Walking Dead". He looks around and sees a teenaged boy looking at him; dark circles around his eyes.

In the kitchen, Able and Christa comment that Peter has met "the other one".

Elsewhere in the hospital, Mrs. Druse has met Lenny Stillmach, the blind man in the wheelchair from the first scene. It becomes obvious that they have known each other for some time. Druse comments that something has changed in the hospital and that she thinks it may be haunted.

Dr. Hook enters Peter's room and talks to Natalie. He describes Peter's injuries in great detail and tells her that Peter may never regain consciousness and that even if he does then he may be a quadriplegic for life. (As he does, he places about five boxes of Kleenex around the room.) Natalie eventually can't take it any more and goes to the bathroom and becomes sick. When she is done she returns to Hook and tells him that she wants him to continue to treat her husband and that she will stay in one of the apartments. He thanks her for her confidence in him.

Elsewhere, Hooman is in his house taking pills and drinking beer while watching television. He is watching a game show where contestants must answer questions correctly or be electrocuted. The show is interrupted by an image of Peter lying beside the road. Hooman attempts to change channels but the image is on all of them.

He hears a noise and looks around the house but can't find anything. As he returns to the TV we see Antubis watching him from outside the house.

At the hospital, Dr. Draper gives Mrs. Druse an MRI.

Some time later, all of the doctors and other staff have gathered for a staff meeting. Everyone looks bored as if they are waiting for someone. Finally, Dr. Hook says that it is obvious that Dr. Stegman isn't coming so that they should start without him. He tells everyone about Peter and Dr. Draper talks about Mrs. Druse. Everyone laughs when they hear she is in the hospital again and someone comments it is about the tenth time she has been admitted. Dr. Hook says that there may really be something wrong this time and that he authorized an MRI. This seems to annoy Dr. Abelson for some reason.

Outside, Dr. Stegman is just arriving. He is fumbling for something in the seat and nearly causes an accident, to the amusement of several street teens hanging out on the corner. He yells at them as he looks for a parking space, eventually parking in a handicapped spot and covering the sign with a paper bag. He then stares at the teens as he deliberately puts a steering wheel lock on his car then opens the trunk and puts a boot on one wheel. The teens continue to laugh. He yells at them some more and turns to leave, tripping and falling on a crack in the parking lot as he does. They laugh more.

MRI finished, Bobby is pushing Mrs. Druse though the hospital. He puts her in the elevator and sends it on its way. The elevator stops between floors as before and the alarms go off. The lights in the car go out and the hatch in the roof opens. Druse senses someone or something there and says she isn't afraid of it.

Otto is trying to get the elevator started again when Dr. Stegman enters and yells for him to cut the alarms off. Otto tries to call Able but Able and Christa are holding each other in fear and do nothing. Eventually the alarm cuts off and the elevator begins moving again.

Dr. Stegman goes to maintenance to complain about the crack in the parking lot but the head of maintenance, Johnny B. Goode, isn't there. The person filling in for him offers to fill out a maintenance form but Stegman leaves annoyed.

Stegman finally makes it to the staff meeting just as it is about to adjourn. He is angry that the others held the meeting without him and demands that everyone sit down while they hold the meeting again.

They do and Dr. Stegman becomes angry when he learns that Mrs. Druse has been readmitted and even more angry when he learns that Dr. Hook approved an MRI for her. He stalks off to report Hook to Dr. James. One of the others asks Hook if he is worried and Hook responds by making the blow-into-his-thumb gesture.

Elmer approaches Dr. Hook and asks if he can have some time in the sleep lab. Hook says he can order an MRI but not that. Elmer then approaches Dr. Lona Massingale and asks if he can come work in her lab. She accepts but only if he comes there to work and not to flirt.

Peter is still wandering through the halls of the abandoned building, Red Dragon Tattoo blaring from the speakers. There are numerous flashbacks to his being hit. At one point he sees the teenage boy again and this time he opens his mouth, revealing vampire fangs.

Finally, Peter wakes up. He looks around and sees the ICU room he is in and Natalie sitting beside him. He also sees Antubis.

"I do you a solid, you do me one." says Antubis. "That's how it works. Tell Hook about Mary. Tell the old woman. They'll hear you... if you make them."

At this point, Nurse Carrie enters the room carrying a tray of instruments. She does not see Antubis but does see Peter awake and aware. She drops the tray in astonishment. Blondie, who was lying beside Peter's bed, gets up and leaves.

In the kitchen, Able and Christa comment that Peter is "back from the Old Kingdom".

Another earthquake hits the hospital.

Dr. Hook arrives in Peter's room. Peter seems to be unconscious again but Carrie tells him about Peter's recovery and asks what happened.

"In medical terms?" says Hook, almost not believing what he is seeing. "A miracle."

Kingdom Hospital is Stephen King's adaptation of a Danish mini-series from several years ago named The Kingdom. King says he got the idea for a horror series based in a hospital several years ago when he was a patient in a hospital himself.

The accident suffered by Peter Rickman at the start of the episode and the injuries he received are identical to those suffered by King himself. He too was hit by a van while jogging. The accident even occured for the same reason and the driver really was driving on a suspended license, though in King's case the driver did call for help and wait with him for assistance to arrive.

While I enjoy the series, I have two major problems with it. First, it is slow. Very slow. Glacially slow. Mood establishing shots of darkened corridors are fine but get old after a while. We see Peter's accident at least a half-dozen times (I quit counting). Even Dr. Stegman's arrival seems to drag out forever.

The other problem is that the show seems to be trying hard to be "quirky" just for the sake of being odd. This may have worked for shows like Twin Peaks or Northern Exposure but doesn't seem to work here. It is very difficult to make quirky and horror work well together and Kingdom Hospital doesn't quite pull it off.

There are several amusing references in the show to other Stephen King works. The name of nurse Carrie von Trier seems to derive from the King novel Carrie and from the name of the producer of the original Danish series, Lars von Trier. The truck that finds Peter is carrying Noza-la Cola, which is from the Dark Tower series. And, of course, Peter Rickman seems to be Stephen King himself.

There are many questions raised in this episode. Who is Mary? Who (or what) is Antubis? (The name Antubis is probably derived from Anubis, the Egyptian god of the dead.) What is Antubis up to and what does it want? Who is the vampirish looking boy seen by Peter? What is the "Old Kingdom"? Why do Able and Christa seem to know everything that is going on (and what else do they know that we don't)? What's with the earthquakes? What is the meaning of the ambulance? What is the significance of Mary's "death bell"? Why does this hospital let a dog wander around in ICU (and what's with the security guard who can barely see)? And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Hopefully, we will find out.