St. Elsewhere

St. Elsewhere was set at the fictional St. Eligius Hospital, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood. (The South End's Franklin Square House Apartments, formerly known as the St. James Hotel and located next to Franklin and Blackstone Squares, stood in for the hospital in establishing shots, including the series' opening sequence.)[5] The hospital's nickname, "St. Elsewhere", is a slang term used in the medical field to refer to lesser-equipped hospitals that serve patients turned away by more prestigious institutions; it is also used in medical academia to refer to teaching hospitals in general.

In the pilot episode, surgeon Dr. Mark Craig (William Daniels) informs his colleagues that the local Boston media had bestowed the derogatory nickname upon St. Eligius since they perceived the hospital as "a dumping ground, a place you wouldn't want to send your mother-in-law." In fact, the hospital was so poorly regarded that its shrine to Saint Eligius was commonly defiled by the hospital's visitors and staff.

Just as in Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere employed a large ensemble cast; a gritty, "realistic" visual style; and a multitude of interlocking serialized stories, many of which continued over the course of multiple episodes or seasons. In the same way Hill Street was regarded as a groundbreaking police drama, St. Elsewhere also broke new ground in medical dramas, creating a template that influenced ER, Chicago Hope, and other later shows in the genre. St. Elsewhere portrayed the medical profession as an admirable but less-than-perfect endeavor; the St. Eligius staff, while mostly having good intentions in serving their patients, all had their own personal and professional problems, with the two often intertwining. The staff's problems, and those of their patients (some of whom did not survive), were often contemporary in nature, with storylines involving breast cancer, AIDS, and addiction. Though the series dealt with serious issues of life, death, the medical profession, and the human effects of all three, a substantial number of comedic moments, inside jokes, and references to television history were included, as well as tender moments of humanity.[6]

The producers for the series were Bruce Paltrow, Mark Tinker, John Masius, Tom Fontana, John Falsey and Abby Singer. Tinker, Masius, Fontana, and Paltrow wrote a number of episodes as well; other writers included John Tinker, John Ford Noonan, Charles H. Eglee, Eric Overmyer, Channing Gibson, and Aram Saroyan.

The cast of St. Elsewhere (season one)

The show's main and end title theme was composed by famed jazz musician and composer Dave Grusin. Noted film and TV composer J. A. C. Redford wrote the music for the series (except for the pilot, which was scored by Grusin). No soundtrack was ever released, but the theme was released in two different versions: the original TV mix and edit appeared on TVT Records' compilation Television's Greatest Hits, Vol. 3: 70s & 80s, and Grusin recorded a full-length version for inclusion on his Night Lines album, released in 1983.

Along with established actors Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd and William Daniels, St. Elsewhere's ensemble cast included David Morse, Alfre Woodard, Bruce Greenwood, Christina Pickles, Kyle Secor, Ed Begley Jr., Stephen Furst, Howie Mandel, Mark Harmon, Denzel Washington and Helen Hunt. Notable guest stars include Tim Robbins, whose first major role was in the series' first three episodes as domestic terrorist Andrew Reinhardt, and Doris Roberts and James Coco, who both earned Emmy Awards for their season-one appearance as, respectively, a bag lady and her mentally challenged husband.

St. Elsewhere ran for six seasons and 137 episodes; the first season (1982–83) aired Tuesdays at 10 p.m. (ET), with remaining seasons airing Wednesdays at 10 p.m.

St. Elsewhere was noteworthy for featuring episodes with unusual aspects or significant changes to the series' status quo. Some of those episodes included:

"The Last One"

Tommy holds the St. Eligius snow globe in the final moments of "The Last One".

Original air date: May 25, 1988

St. Elsewhere's series finale features momentous changes for several main characters, including the departures of Drs. Fiscus and Morrison and the death of Dr. Auschlander, as well as the return of Dr. Westphall to an active leadership role at St. Eligius after Weigert agrees to sell the hospital back to the Boston archdiocese, as Dr. Gideon is set to move on to another hospital in San Jose, California.

The finale is more known for its provocative final scene: Westphall and his son Tommy Westphall (played by Chad Allen), who has autism, are seen in Dr. Auschlander's office watching snow falling outside. The image cuts to an exterior shot of the hospital, shaking. At that moment, Tommy and Daniel Auschlander are seen in an apartment building, with Tommy playing with a snow globe. A much younger-looking Donald arrives home from a day of work, and it is clear from the uniform he wears and the dialog in this scene that he works in construction. "Auschlander" is revealed to be Donald's father, and thus Tommy's grandfather. Donald laments to his father, "I don't understand this autism thing, Pop. Here's my son. I talk to him. I don't even know if he can hear me, because he sits there, all day long, in his own world, staring at that toy. What's he thinking about?" As Tommy shakes the snow globe, he is told by his father to come and wash his hands for dinner. Donald places the snow globe on the family's television set and walks into the kitchen with Tommy and Auschlander; as they leave the room, the camera closes in on the snow globe—which holds a replica of St. Eligius.[11]

The most common interpretation of this scene is that the entire series of events in the series St. Elsewhere had been a product of Tommy Westphall's imagination, with elements of the above scene used as its own evidence.[12][13] Author Cynthia Burkhead explains that with this final shot, "St. Elsewhere managed to take the idea of a dream and alter it just enough, putting it in the imagination of an autistic boy", and surmises that an ending constructed in this manner "reminds viewers that the fiction they have watched for six years is actually fiction within a fiction, occupying a second level of unreality, one level beyond the space of illusion filled by all narrative television."[14] A notable result of this ending has been the attempt by individuals to determine how many television shows are also products of Tommy Westphall's mind owing to its shared fictional characters (the "Tommy Westphall Universe").

"The Last One"'s closing credits differ from those of the rest of the series. In all other episodes, the credits appear over a still image of an ongoing surgical operation, followed by the traditional MTM Productions black-backgrounded logo, featuring Mimsie the Cat in a cartoon surgical cap and mask; here, the credits appear on a black background, flanked by an electrocardiogram and an IV bag, with Mimsie lying on her side at the top of the screen; at the end of the credits, the heart monitor flatlines, marking Mimsie's death and the end of St. Elsewhere. Coincidentally, Mimsie the Cat died in real life shortly after the airing of "The Last One" at the age of 20.[15]

"The Last One" brought in 22.5 million viewers, ranking 7th out of 68 programs that week and attracting a 17.0/29 rating/share, and ranking as the most watched episode of the series.[16] In 2011, the finale was ranked No. 12 on the TV Guide Network special TV's Most Unforgettable Finales.[17]

St. Elsewhere was known for the insertion of several allusions, large and small, to classic movie, pop culture, and television events (the latter especially) throughout its run, including other shows that were produced by MTM Enterprises.[1] Some of the more noteworthy allusions have included:

• The St. Eligius public address loudspeakers periodically summoned characters from other television series, often going unnoticed by the show's characters.
• The character of hospital orderly Warren Coolidge (played by Byron Stewart) was carried over from The White Shadow, where Coolidge had been a student at Carver High. (Before St. Elsewhere, Bruce Paltrow served as Shadow's showrunner.) Coolidge occasionally sported a Carver High T-shirt while working at St. Eligius. In third-season episode "Any Portrait in a Storm", Coolidge sees guest star Timothy Van Patten (another Shadow alumnus) in an elevator and calls out "Heyyyy!! Salami!!", to which Van Patten, playing an unrelated character (named Dean, in a three episode story arc), replies "You got the wrong guy, pal.", leaving Coolidge trying to plead his case with a confused "No – it's Warren." as the elevator doors close.
• In the third season episode "Playing God, Part 2", the Craigs are in their bedroom and Mrs. Craig says she wants to see who is on Merv. Dr. Craig says, "Probably some stupid comic." She turns on the TV and Howie Mandel, the actor/comedian who played Dr. Wayne Fiscus on the show, can be heard. Dr. Craig says, "What is he wearing, a hand?" (a reference to Mandel's routine that involved wearing a surgical glove on his head).
• The third season episode "Sweet Dreams" features a recreation of the music video for the ZZ Top song "Legs. It features the Eliminator car, but the band was played by members of the cast.[18]
• The fourth season episode “Close Encounters” has numerous crossovers.
  • In the psychiatric ward, patients watch various MTM-produced shows on television – MTM (headed by Mary Tyler Moore and Grant Tinker) was the company that produced St. Elsewhere.
    • The patients briefly watch MTM's The White Shadow, produced by St. Elsewhere showrunner Bruce Paltrow. It is seen here as fictional, even though orderly Warren Coolidge is a carryover from The White Shadow (see above). (In the previous season, the bar from Cheers is seen as both fictional and part of the St. Elsewhere universe.)
  • The amnesiac patient John Doe #6, a recurring character played by Oliver Clark, while watching an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show on a hospital TV, believes himself to be that series' lead character Mary Richards. He then mistakes guest star Betty White for Sue Anne (the character White had played on that same show). She responds, "I'm afraid you've mistaken me for someone else."
  • John Doe #6 is verbally disparaged by another patient in the psychiatric ward — Elliott Carlin, the resident neurotic from The Bob Newhart Show played by Jack Riley. Carlin's treatment of Doe mirrored his behavior toward Oliver Clark's Bob Newhart Show character, Mr. Herd. Mr. Carlin subsequently appeared on an episode of Newhart, still uncured from the damage caused by "some quack in Chicago."
• In "Santa Claus is Dead", Dr. Craig mentions serving in Korea with his drinking buddy, B.J. Hunnicutt, implying that Dr. Hunnicutt was reassigned to another unit in Korea following the July 1953 deactivation of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital at the end of M*A*S*H’s finale, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen".
• The crew filled the series finale, "The Last One", with an abundance of allusions and homages. The cold open has Dr. Fiscus saying to an ER patient "General Sarnoff..." (the man responsible for launching NBC, the first television network, in 1926) "... cut down the time you spend in front of the television". There is a direct reference to the 1967 series finale of The Fugitive, when orderly Coolidge catches a "One-Armed Man", on a water tower, for "Dr. Kimble". A patient appears to get his hair cut by (The Andy Griffith Show's) Floyd the Barber, including his first name, face and clothing. There is a call over the public address system for a Code Blue (someone has reached their "end") in Room 222. There is a direct reference to the 1977 series finale of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, including a group hug, a group shuffle to get tissues and a suggestion that they sing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary". The finale for the character Dr. Henry Blake in a 1975 episode of M*A*S*H is referred to when cadaver "4077" is autopsied after a "helicopter crash". There are numerous song references, including Dr. Fiscus saying "It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine", and Dr. Auschlander exclaiming "Jumpin' Jack, what was that flash?".[19]

St. Elsewhere was also host to one crossover, served as the source material for two others, and has been paid homage to in several ways:

• The third season's finale featured Drs. Westphall, Auschlander, and Craig visiting the eponymous pub of Cheers (also set in Boston) for a drink. During the second season of Cheers, barmaid Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman) gave birth to a child at St. Eligius, and here expresses her displeasure about her hospitalization there, even getting into a verbal altercation with Dr. Craig.
• Two St. Elsewhere characters were carried over to the NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street, which was executive produced by St. Elsewhere alumnus Tom Fontana. In an episode in season six entitled "Mercy," Alfre Woodard reprises her role of Dr. Roxanne Turner, who is accused of illegally euthanizing a cancer patient. Woodard was nominated for an Emmy Award as Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her performance. In other Homicide episodes, the character of Detective Tim Bayliss (played by Kyle Secor) develops a bad back and is treated by an offscreen "Dr. Ehrlich." In the Homicide: The Movie finale, Ed Begley Jr., makes an uncredited appearance as Dr. Victor Ehrlich.
• Ed Begley Jr., William Daniels, Stephen Furst, and Eric Laneuville reunited to appear in a season-one episode of Scrubs; the episode saw the actors not reprising their St. Elsewhere characters but rather guest as a quartet of doctors that fell sick at a medical convention. The episode was part of a week-long series of events honoring NBC's 75th Anniversary.[20]

Showtime's series City on a Hill (S01E07 "There Are No F**king Sides") based in early 1990s Boston has a hospital scene where Drs. Wesphall and Fiscus and Nurse Papandreau were paged in the background on the hospital's PA system. In S01E08, St. Eligius was mentioned by name.

St. Elsewhere won 24 out of 106 award nominations. The series garnered 62 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning 13 of them. Out the thirteen wins, Ed Flanders won once and William Daniels won twice for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series; Bonnie Bartlett and Doris Roberts each won for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series; James Coco won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series; John Masius and Tom Fontana won two awards for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series and Mark Tinker won for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.[21] It received five Golden Globe Award nominations, with four of them for Best Television Series – Drama.[22] St. Elsewhere received seven TCA Award nominations, winning once for Outstanding Achievement in Drama.[23] The series also won three out of four Q Awards. Additional accolades include a Peabody Award[24] and People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Dramatic Program.[25]

In May 2003, Walden Media announced a partnership with Roth Films to create a film adaptation of the television series. The film was re-designed to be similar to Walden's project Holes. It was never made.

After its initial run, reruns of St. Elsewhere aired for a time in syndication, with later runs on Nick at Nite, TV Land, Bravo and AmericanLife TV Network.

Also a popular series in the United Kingdom, St. Elsewhere has been aired twice by two separate British broadcasters. Channel 4 aired the series between 1983 and 1989, with Sky One later airing repeats in a daily Midday timeslot during 1992–93. In 2009, Channel 4 began showing the series again, usually at around 03:30AM, and have repeated the entire series several times since then. All 137 episodes are also available to view online at 4OD.

Nick at Nite first added St. Elsewhere to its regular lineup on April 29, 1996 as part of an all-night sneak peek of sister network TV Land. After the sneak peek, Nick at Nite aired St. Elsewhere regularly from May 4 until July 6, 1996 every Saturday night as part of a short-lived programming block called Nick at Nite's TV Land Sampler. St. Elsewhere was among one of many rotating shows airing Saturday nights as part of Nick at Nite's TV Land Sampler, which included (among other shows) Petticoat Junction, That Girl and The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour along with past Nick at Nite Classics Mister Ed and Green Acres. Nick at Nite aired reruns of St. Elsewhere once again from June 30 until July 4, 1997, as part of the week-long event The 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.[26]

On November 28, 2006, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the complete first season of St. Elsewhere on DVD in Region 1.[27]

In Region 2, Channel 4 DVD released the first season on DVD in the UK on April 2, 2007.[28] All episodes have been made available on Channel 4's UK on-demand internet stream 4OD (4 On-Demand) in the UK and Ireland, though these episodes are edited versions for syndication and not as they were originally aired.

As of October 2018, all six seasons of the series are available for streaming on Hulu.

• Robert J. Thompson (1996). Television's Second Golden Age. Oakland, California: Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0826409010.
• Bianculli, David (1992). Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0815606536.
• Bianculli, David (1997). Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television's 500 Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0826405777.
• Turow, Joseph (1989). Playing Doctor: Television, Storytelling, and Medical Power. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780-195044904.

Wikiquote has quotations related to: St. Elsewhere

• St. Elsewhere at IMDb
• Cast list and links
• St. Elsewhere at epguides.com
• St. Elsewhere in the Encyclopedia of Television
• The Tommy Westphall Universe