Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital is the au courant punchline for schlocky horror. As critics agree, the scariest thing about that pretentious ABC miniseries was its power to induce boredom. This week, TNT airs its miniseries based on King's vampire tale, Salem's Lot (Sunday and Monday at 8 pm/ET). Does Rob Lowe — who stars as tortured novelist Ben Mears — fear that Kingdom's bad mojo may rub off?
"When you look at the classic stories in horror, Salem's Lot is one of the all-time best-selling, proven stories," Lowe tells TV Guide Online. "Kingdom Hospital was a whole other kettle of fish. The Shining, The Stand and Salem's Lot are my three favorite King stories. And I had such a great experience doing The Stand 10 years ago, I was excited to be back at bat."
Lowe hasn't yet heard what King thinks of the final product. "I spent time with him on The Stand, but not
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It seems no matter what he does, Ed Begley Jr. can't escape that '80s show, St. Elsewhere. In the minds of classic TV aficionados, he'll always be Dr. Victor Erlich. And it's a good thing for him, 'cause he keeps on gettin' gigs playing MDs! Next up, he costars in ABC's 13-week miniseries Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital (debuting March 3). Is he enjoying the gig?
"It's a lot like St. Elsewhere, without all the distractions," he jokes. "You don't have Howie Mandelputting a [rubber] glove over his head or Denzel Washington becoming a matinee idol. Between those two things, I could barely remember my lines back in the '80s."
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