OT: Stephen King did NOT invent Kingdom Hospital

[Roanon]

Stephen King is notorious for adding his name to things he wasn't involved in very much. There are a lot of "Stephen King" books which he hasn't written, there is just too much difference in style and quality.

[DemoMonkey]

The Danish producer of "The Kingdom" was an exec producer on the new series. That said, there ARE quite a few differences between the two. I don't really see enjoyment of one competing with enjoyment of the other.

As for why Stephen kings name is so prominently attached to it...Stephen King's name is on it because his name sells. Network executives like money.

Mmmmm. Money.

[PvK]

Yes, the reason is pretty clear - shameless greed. I'm glad at least some of the original folks get to cash in a little, but is it really helping King to grab more money or credits? Not a big deal. It just seemed like a particularly silly example and the thing to do was to yell loudly so some people who didn't know, would.

I thought the original was a very good and entertaining mix of eerie spookiness, comedy, and "what's the heck is going on here?" Though, it's in Danish and not very high-budget, so those might be impediments to some people's enjoyment. It's also quite long and what many would perhaps label "slow". Those contributed to a major aspect of what I liked about it: that it seemed fairly unique and quirky (not like, say, the King story about "big rig" trucks and cars that decide to hunt humans which is extremely ridiculous and lame). So, re-hashing it under the generic "Stephen King's" (TM) brand name seemed particularly ironic.

PvK

[ March 04, 2004, 18:37: Message edited by: PvK ]

[sachmo]

The show clearly states that this series is based on the series "The Kingdom", and then states that Steven King wrote this teleplay. Maybe he bought the rights?

[gregebowman]

Originally posted by PvK:
Yes, the reason is pretty clear - shameless greed. I'm glad at least some of the original folks get to cash in a little, but is it really helping King to grab more money or credits? Not a big deal. It just seemed like a particularly silly example and the thing to do was to yell loudly so some people who didn't know, would.

I thought the original was a very good and entertaining mix of eerie spookiness, comedy, and "what's the heck is going on here?" Though, it's in Danish and not very high-budget, so those might be impediments to some people's enjoyment. It's also quite long and what many would perhaps label "slow". Those contributed to a major aspect of what I liked about it: that it seemed fairly unique and quirky (not like, say, the King story about "big rig" trucks and cars that decide to hunt humans which is extremely ridiculous and lame). So, re-hashing it under the generic "Stephen King's" (TM) brand name seemed particularly ironic.

PvK

True, the movie Maximum Overdrive was Maximum Suckage. The short story it was based on was much better, and not as hoaky (?). As much as I love King's work, I just don't think he's a very good screenwriter. Look at the actual scripts he's written for tv or movies, and even he can't make his stuff work for that medium. My favorite book of all time, The Stand, sucked, and he wrote the screenplay. I know he had to make compromises to bring the time down to a 8 hour mini-series, but I think he should have held out for 10 hours, and maybe it would have been a better show.

[Randallw]

Originally posted by DemoMonkey:
Stephen King's name is on it because his name sells. Network executives like money.

Mmmmm. Money.

this is off topic but I got to say it.
Place: episode of Futurama.

Calculon to Network president about Bender.
C: But hes a Filthmonger!
P: Here at the Network we love Filth!......Filthy Rich that is!......Being Filthy Rich that is!.