One prominent critic, Professor Brian Weatherson, argues that just because St. The shows one truly lasting and iconic WebThere are oodles of ways to end a TV series. It made me smile when I heard about what they did because it was so them. Elsewhere, you see, fielded one of the most confoundingly weird finales in television history, a variation on the age-old "it was all a dream" trope that left viewers scratching their heads. And Ed Flanders, who portrayed Dr. Donald Westphall, made his last appearance before leaving the regular cast early this season (he returns in the final episode) by mooning the camera. Another reason for the importance of this ending is the nature of what we were shown. Can I use my Coinbase address to receive bitcoin? Gow said, "I've heard from TV writers who deliberately put in references to draw their shows into Tommy's mind. The kind of gallows humor that was in the show was a case of art imitating life, Paltrow continued. were arguably all dreamed up by young Tommy. According toMental Floss,that series once mentioned a firm called Yoyodyne, which also was a client of a fictional law firm Wolfram and Hart, which appeared in theBuffy the Vampire Slayer spin-offAngel. If the universe of St. Elsewhere have discovered it be a never-ending task, and they have posited the "Tommy Westphall Universe" asthe grand, unified universe at the center of virtually everything you've ever watched on a screen, fromI Love Lucy toMalcolm in the Middle toKnight Rider toStar Trek to well, you get the idea. Web"Cora and Arnie". This is because it's pretty easy to connectSt. And I was very upset. I was only supposed to be in 18 of the 22 episodes, so I got an extra episodes pay out of it. Dedicated fans attempting to chase down every connection toSt. Airing for six seasons from 1982 to 1988 on NBC,St. (referring to Tommy) He give you any trouble? Sealed and locked. Elsewhere has fallen victim to economic pressures. Elsewhere was an aberration. Elsewhere was a show that got by largely on the strength of its ensemble, running for six seasons from 1982-88. The fictional brand or company thing is also Fontana's fault. I hear people, like Oh, what happened there? or Oh, I didnt understand that or Oh, I love that! You got all kinds of comments on it. I didnt dislike it. Original Closing Credits From the Series Finale | The St. Weatherson's fifth objection holds that the appearance of a person or event in a dream does not mean the person or event cannot exist in real life. Fontana wrote a fictional "Weigert Corporation" as an intergral part of both "St. Theyre more interested in the colossal mind-fuck that is the. Would you ever say "eat pig" instead of "eat pork"? For indeed, St. And none of MTMs shows better defined quality television than St. The show was a proving ground for actors you have seen in a million things before or since: Denzel Washington and Howie Mandel were easily the most recognizable, but there were also ringers like Mark Harmon, David Morse, Ed Begley Jr., Bruce Greenwood, Ronny Cox, and not only Mr. Feeny himself (William Daniels), but his wife (real and fictional) Bonnie Bartlett. Elsewhere to another series likely has additional connections of its own and for a sterling example of this, look no further thanHomicide. In the moments before hes expected to announce the fate of the hospital, Auschlander suffers a catastrophic stroke off-screen and is discovered dead, with the cast gathering for a mournful goodbye. There are oodles of ways to end a TV series. That is quite a choice. They did very unusual, bold things and did it regularly. St. Elsewherefollowed its flawed, relatable characters over multi-episode storylines and even season-long arcs. The series was also known for one of its more playful aspects: it was prone to dropping references and callbacks to other TV series. The final scene of St. Through six years, I never put anything in my dressing room. Suddenly, we're taken to a small apartment where Tommy sits on the floor, playing with a snow globe. A few shows are outside of American television such as the British show, "Red Dwarf." The St. Gow, a resident of Melbourne, Australia, spent time in pubs and online wondering what Tommys scene meant for every show connected to St. The corporation that bought St. "St. At least that's the most widely held interpretation of St. Marriage! Illustration by HuffPost's Alissa Scheller. There are two very important reasons why the ending is not only justified but important and even critically needed for a show like St. Toe-tagged. This year, Ken Lowe is revisiting some of the most influential TV shows that made it to an officially planned final episode. It was bold and shocking and upset some people. The complete list of shows is at the bottom of the article. Brian Weatherson, professor of philosophy at Cornell University, wrote a piece, "Six Objections to the Westphall Hypothesis", which challenges the logical, factual, and philosophical basis for the existence of the "universe".[10]. Beyond the theoretical connections, it's possible that the 419 affected shows all exist within the dream of an autistic boy from the show, "St. At one point, St. The final scene of 30 Rock opens with a view of the eponymous building, which fades into a model of the same, in a snow globe, observed by NBC president Kenneth Parcell roughly a century into the future, as flying cars whiz past his window. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. I was pretty happy with it. If you've ever been riveted by the human drama ofE.R. Are you and I??? Howie Mandels Dr. Wayne Fiscus--who distinguished himself by having sex on an autopsy table during the shows first episode--experienced death through a fantasy sequence last season. A surprise to everybody. The original decision to include fictional product crossovers actually comes from the origins of the chart itself. Because of the number if cross overs that involved St Elsewhere characters (or their mention) and the cross overs those other shows had with other Quantum Leap is on!). The finale (if youre lucky enough to ever have a planned one air) might be one of the most watched episodes in the whole run of the show and the impression that lingers in the minds of most viewers long after the show ends. That kind of anguish you just cant transmit. Elsewhere have dropped out of the cultural lexicon entirelyexcept for one. Official crossovers between the "St. If it were just a solid hospital show, it would be a popular back catalog binge watch, but its a part of TV history for two reasons: its novel approach to the hospital drama, and, Nobody is too interested in that, though. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? What were the most popular text editors for MS-DOS in the 1980s? I think there was a period when last rites were being performed when we could have rallied, he said, his tone clinically matter-of-fact. And I dont think that set of circumstances will ever happen again. The last year, I put in a rug and a lamp. Thanks to the phenomenal success of the MCU, shared universes now dot the pop culture landscape, including the DCEU, The Conjuring universe, the Godzilla and King Kong MonsterVerse, and many more. Michael Kennedy is an avid movie and TV fan that's been working for Screen Rant in various capacities since 2014. Christina Pickles, whose character of Nurse Helen Rosenthal ended the series triumphantly by kicking a drug dependency, is the only one who believes that St. Elsewhere, NBCs darkly comic series about a financially strapped Boston hospital and its beleaguered staff, is dead. Elsewhere': About that snow-globe ending. Over time, it began to look something like the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game. sign-off. Death! He went on to create the acclaimed seriesHomicide:Life on the Street (in which a character fromSt. Elsewhere was a solid drama that gave a boatload of great actors some steady work for a few years, but it will always be a peculiar show for that final detail. If the show were not great, if we had not had as many nominations, we probably wouldnt even be talking about it. We all knew that whenever you do the last episode of any series, the last chapter of any story like that, youre never going to come up with an ending that will satisfy everybody. TV Shows That Were Actually All Just A Dream - Looper For example, take thatCheers crossover. "For 'St. From the mind of a young person whose fantasies were coming to life before him, it was neat. I could have put in a sauna and a Jacuzzi, you know?. would not look or feel the same without its influence and success. Is there a weapon that has the heavy property and the finesse property (or could this be obtained)? As one of the co-authors of the scene that ignited the entire premise, Fontana said he was stunned to discover the aftershocks and that the theory basically means that Tommy Westphall is the mind of God.. When NBCs hour-long hospital drama St. The series sported a large ensemble cast, with veteran actors Ed Flanders and Norman Lloyd anchoring the proceedings for most of its run as Dr. Donald Westphall and Dr. Daniel Auschlander, respectively, and it made household names of up-and-comers like Howie Mandel, Mark Harmon, and Denzel Washington, as well. Elsewhere" that the whole show had been in the character Westphall's dream. And they figured out a way: Okay, we wont have any reunions, nothing like that. BONNIE BARTLETT (Ellen Craig): [The writers] wanted to do an ending to the show in a way so that it could never be brought back again. And Howie got so mad, because I got paid for a full episode, and all I had to do was lie on a slab for five seconds. I think reality is much more the smell of the hospital, the smell of death. Among Lloyds favorite sequences was one in which a stoned Dr. Auschlander, treating the side effects of chemotherapy with marijuana, stumbled into a 7-Eleven store with a case of midnight munchies. [3][5][6] According to Lindsey Freeman, the narrative framing of Tommy's imagination as within a snow globe occurs because, as an "oneiric and mnemonic gadget", a snow globe "often finds itself as a companion piece to the dream sequences found in television and movies". The common thread running through the last season (besides a consistent plot about a special new artificial heart) is that St. Eligius is probably going to close, right around the same time the hospitals residents (read: the younger main cast members) are all ending their residencies and about to head out into the depressing world of medicine. Then it could create conversation, so I thought it was kind of brilliant. Elsewhere" writer Tom Fontana began writing connections between his shows using fictional products and companies. I knew there would be an uproar. What positional accuracy (ie, arc seconds) is necessary to view Saturn, Uranus, beyond? Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Elsewhere illustrates the rich and often blurred boundaries in how we experience the world."[7]. Not necessarily because the serieswhich had earned 13 Emmy Awards during its runwas ending, but because producers opted for a highly unconventional finale. ERIC LANEUVILLE (Luther Hawkins): I look back on it now and say Well, it kinda worked. When I first saw it, I had some real reservations about it. Elsewhere. Elsewhere, Ed Begley Jr., St. Interpreting non-statistically significant results: Do we have "no evidence" or "insufficient evidence" to reject the null? EW gathered a dozen members of the cast for a photo shoot and asked them to reflect on the years they spent making this provocative, eccentric, beloved show, which you can check out in our third-annual Reunions Issue. The series finale of the 1980s medical dramedy St. I felt one thing when I read it and one thing when I saw it. Beginnings and endings are important in all forms of fiction, but Id argue especially so in scripted television. John Munch). There are other possible interpretations of Tommy's "vision" which may suggest something other than the entire series being his dream. Here's my son, I talk to him, I don't even know if he can hear me. So Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Mayberry R.F.D., and Make Room for Daddy/The Danny Thomas Show are gone. Westphall, who is autistic, played an increased role in St. Elsewhere ' s final episode, "The Last One", one interpretation of which is that the entire St. Elsewhere storyline exists only within Westphall's imagination. When NBCs hour-long hospital drama St. As Gow told HuffPost, "St. Web359. How was your day up on the building? NBC Entertainment President Brandon Tartikoff is fond of defining quality television as something that starts with low ratings and ends with a cat meowing--a reference to programs produced by MTM Enterprises, which end with a kitten logo in a sly takeoff on MGMs roaring lion. The first episode of a show has to hook viewers in for the long haul in a way totally unlike, say, the first pages of a novel. The Proponents of the Tommy Westphall Universe argue that because of this fictional crossover, the two series exist within the same fictional universe, and within Tommy Westphall's mind because of the final episode of St. TIL That thanks to the series finale of St Elsewhere, and - Reddit Elsewhere by the residents and the surrounding community, the place has a reputation as a rathole. Not enough dollars, however, to keep the series alive for another year. What's he thinking about? Theyre more interested in the colossal mind-fuck that is the Tommy Westphall Universe. This is more interesting than interrogating the deeper philosophical or metaphorical meaning behind the very last scene of a six-season show! Closing the Curtain on 'St. Elsewhere' Operation - Los Angeles Rather than case-of-the-week stories with infallible doctors and carboard-thin supporting characters,St. Scan this QR code to download the app now. Elsewhere Tags theory, tv, map, universe, autism, st. elsewhere, concept, 80s Additional References Urban Dictionary Wikipedia About. Elsewhere. The theory is called the "The Tommy Westphall Universe" and hinges on a reveal at the finale of "St. It was all a dream! Elsewhere characters on other shows are not sufficient to indicate that those shows exist only in Westphall's dream. That is This is not likely the case (I'm not going to search for links to autism websites for this answer), but for writers looking for some weird ending for their show (other than "it was all a dream"), the idea of a child imagining the world of St. Does the 500-table limit still apply to the latest version of Cassandra? Elsewhere finale wasn't infamous enough with its twist ending, the closing bumper made for the finale showed Mimsie, the logo cat, unconscious and hooked up to an IV, At the end of the ride it was now up to us to put effort into understanding other people, by showing compassion for an autistic boy. Six years . Review/Television; Ed Flanders as Dr. Westphal in, "Six Objections to the Westphall Hypothesis", "Director Ben Wheatley Talks 'High-Rise', 'Doctor Who', 'Free Fire' and More at TIFF", "NewsRadio (TV Series) Daydream (1996) Trivia", Other arguments against the Tommy Westphall Universe, Association for Science in Autism Treatment, Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation (Jamaica), The Accidental Teacher: Life Lessons from My Silent Son, Aspergirls: Empowering Females with Asperger's Syndrome, Freaks, Geeks, and Asperger Syndrome: A User Guide to Adolescence, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Everybody Is Different: A Book for Young People Who Have Brothers or Sisters With Autism, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tommy_Westphall&oldid=1148529078, Fictional characters on the autism spectrum, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 6 April 2023, at 18:38. Fiscus (Mandel), Morrison (Morse) and Ehrlich (Begley) are all dealing with their own issues around their impending exits. [3] An exterior camera shot of the hospital cuts to Tommy Westphall sitting in the living room of an apartment building alongside his grandfather, now being portrayed by Norman Lloyd (aka "Daniel Auschlander"). Both shows took a grittier and more realistic approach to their drama. Here's my son, I talk to him, I don't even know if he can hear me. "The theory doesn't really depend on Tommy Westphall, but he's a good hook," Gow says. Like their small but loyal band of viewers--who have already written at least 300 letters to MTM and the network protesting its cancellation--the St.