Where things get complicated is that characters from St. Elsewhere truly shook things up 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. I think other people will find it puzzling, odd, maybe unfulfilling in some way.. A FL native, Michael is passionate about pop culture, and earned an AS degree in film production in 2012. "I prefer character connections, myself," Gow says. Even if you go to Alice in Wonderland, and he has the wonderful poem Life is But a Dream in it, still it was serious. Of course, every party has a pooper, and there are those that consider the Tommy Westphall universe ridiculous. WebTommy Westphall, portrayed by Chad Allen, is a minor character from the drama television series St. St elsewhere ending theory. When NBC refused to finance their ambitious plan, the idea for the snow globe was hatched. It was a show that never did amazing in the ratings, but it held on because it was always pressing the boundaries of what was okay on TV, bringing up issues that werent even being discussed. Because a lot of autistic children are withdrawn, it seems as though they're in their own world. The streamlining kind of took away its energy.. In an interview withPaley Matters in 2018, Fontana who co-wrote the finale expressed his ongoing surprise and weird sense of pride at how that final scene has, well, snowballed into the mother of all pop culture fan theories. But I thought it was wonderful. Did the drapes in old theatres actually say "ASBESTOS" on them? It is underfunded, understaffed, crowded, and running on fumes. NORMAN LLOYD: (Dr. Daniel Auschlander): Theyd been talking about Citizen Kane. The thing Im proudest of is the overall balance of the comedy to the drama; the counterpoint of that really grew and grew.. I thought I knew what it meant, but it was so weird, especially for my younger mind, so I went running down the hallway and grabbed my mom and I was like, You have to read this. Its an episode of heartfelt goodbyes and dramatic exits. Elsewhere through fictional crossovers and spin-offs, resulting in a large fictional universe taking place entirely within Tommy's mind. Elsewhere signed off after six seasons on May 25, 1988, more than a few viewers were saddened. In that episode, the entirety of St. Wikipedia describes the content of the show as: 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. Flashforward! Westphall, Auschlander, and Gideon (Cox) are stressing about how they can possibly keep the hospital open. Elsewhere. Elsewhere storyline exists only within Westphall's imagination. CHRISTINA PICKLES (Helen Rosenthal): I have no idea what it means. "For 'St. But the notion isn't necessarily dependent on Tommy imagining anything: The connections still exist, whether they're considered a dream within fiction or just an interconnected television universe. In 1988, though, St. I think itll have another life, he said, smiling enigmatically. Embedded hyperlinks in a thesis or research paper. is not a great place to work or convalesce. The 50 greatest TV and movie detectives of all time. By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. Elsewhere, by only a few degrees, to a startling number of TV shows and movies. The Biggest Shared Universe Has Over 400 Shows - Screen Rant 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. Gow and Crowe, who still periodically update the grid, assert that episodes with real people playing themselveslike Trebek did on Cheersare exempt, as are cartoons and feature films. St. There are other possible interpretations of Tommy's "vision" which may suggest something other than the entire series being his dream. Syndication used to be the method by which we would see old scripted shows, and a shows rep needed to be good enough for you to stop flipping channels if you happened to land on an episode (. St. Elsewhere (Series) - TV Tropes And people say, Norman, youre either mad or senile or both--but you dont get a show like St. The theory is called the "The Tommy Westphall Universe" and hinges on a reveal at the finale of "St. As Gow told HuffPost, "St. Elsewhere was known for its It was not right for us to say, You should lose more money. . Walter White and Rachel Green are no longer just characters in your pop culture-themed fantasy game of Clue, they're characters that could have bumped into each other on the street. If you've ever been riveted by the human drama ofE.R. 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. St. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? Elsewhere" Dwayne McDuffie at the Los Angeles premiere of "All Star Superman" Elsewhere has fallen victim to economic pressures. I didnt dislike it. HOWIE MANDEL (Dr. Wayne Fiscus): I thought it was realllllllly interesting. orGrey's Anatomy, then you've got one series to thank. I thought it was ahead of its time, pretty ingenious and creative and not like anything else. How was your day up on the building? Eligius. Elsewhere Tags theory, tv, map, universe, autism, st. elsewhere, concept, 80s Additional References Urban Dictionary Wikipedia About. Elsewhere to another series likely has additional connections of its own and for a sterling example of this, look no further thanHomicide. It only takes a minute to sign up. World of his own. I had no ideas of their plans to do that. Elsewhere have dropped out of the cultural lexicon entirelyexcept for one. A Weyland-Yutani ship is seen in the BBC series Red Dwarf, which also depicted The Doctors TARDIS. Thus, it does not follow that because one person, place, or thing is present in two or more works of fiction that those works are necessarily related. But because we set a bar, it was just hard to really top that I wish I could say that I loved it. Composition by Dave Grusin St. Also, consider that each connection fromSt. A few shows are outside of American television such as the British show, "Red Dwarf." Elsewhere" that the whole show had been in the character The best music, movies, TV, books, comedy and more. Web"Cora and Arnie". For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow. Can I use my Coinbase address to receive bitcoin? Fiscus (Mandel), Morrison (Morse) and Ehrlich (Begley) are all dealing with their own issues around their impending exits. Is it safe to publish research papers in cooperation with Russian academics. WebIf the St. Is all of American television the hallucination of an autistic child?? Six years . "The first time I saw [the Tommy Westphall Universe theory] it just completely devastated me, because []We believed that our show was just a speck in the universe, and then it turned out that our show was the universe.". The doctors had visited the bar on Cheers in one St. Why did DOS-based Windows require HIMEM.SYS to boot? The shows one truly lasting and iconic Paired with the show's penchant for references, this finale has spawned one of the most bizarre and elaborate fan theories of all time. ", Father: "Well, we finally topped off the 22nd story. The John Larroquette Show once mentioned Yoyodyne, a manufacturing client of law firm Wolfram and Hart; Birth! ", Grandfather: "He's been sitting there ever since you left this morning, just like he does every day. Elsewhere in its final season owned the prison hospital in his series Oz.". An exterior camera shot of the hospital cuts to Tommy West There are two very important reasons why the ending is not only justified but important and even critically needed for a show like St. was never a huge ratings hit, but it had a loyal following, won awards, and remained well-regarded in the years following its final curtain call. WebBasically the theory known as The Tommy Westphall Universe (TWU) begins when St. Elsewhere. Interpreting non-statistically significant results: Do we have "no evidence" or "insufficient evidence" to reject the null? Donald Westphalls autistic son, who was gazing into a snow globe containing a miniature version of the hospital. It was this wonderful, crumbly, noble, decadent building that housed this incredible heart. Therefore, appearances from St. Through six years, I never put anything in my dressing room. Movies & TV Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for movie and TV enthusiasts. One prominent critic, Professor Brian Weatherson, argues that just because St. The Marvel Cinematic Universe might seem like a huge landscape of interconnected shows and TV movies, but the Tommy Westphall universe has it beat. In another, Dr. Morrison, played by David Morse, lost his wife in a freak household accident, then listened with a mixture of anguish and reverence to her heart beating after being transplanted into someone elses chest. English version of Russian proverb "The hedgehogs got pricked, cried, but continued to eat the cactus". Mandels character, though, gets the easiest metaphor of the episode. Its just asking too much from all of us. But I loved that they took the leap, and that was in the spirit of the show. Through crossovers, spinoffs, cameos, or fictional brands or products appearing in more than one show, everything from. That series introduced the character of Detective John Munch (Richard Belzer), who went on to become a main character onLaw and Order:Special Victims Unit (and has made guest appearances in virtually everyLaw and Order series), and who has also popped up on shows likeThe Beat, The Wire, The X-Files, Arrested Development,and30 Rock. In 1988, though, St. Elsewhere by the residents and the surrounding community, the place has a reputation as a rathole. CLARIFICATION: This article originally included a quote that incorrectly stated all of the non-American shows in the list. CYNTHIA SIKES (Dr. Annie Cavanero): Part of me likes that whole thing because its sort of an Orson Welles-ian Rosebud [ending]. Elsewhere. What symbolic value does either the globe or the snow have on the ending of the series? 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. Elsewhere is Westphall's dream, it does not imply that all of the characters on the show exist only in his mind. Tommy runs to see the snow falling outside the window, and that's when everything changes. ", But despite the elaborate system, the two still doubt their methods from time to time. Craig, always a prissy sort, is absolutely beside himself with the prospect that his wife Ellen is taking a job in (gasp) Ohio. One example: "Episodes where reality shows exist within a fictional sphere are not included (such as the 'X-Files'/'COPS' crossover and the 'Chicago Hope'/'Entertainment Tonight' crossover). Despite its high standing among TV critics, St. While that can sometimes describe St. The final scene of St. Elsewhere production team are at work on Tattingers, a new NBC series from MTM slated for St. I really had very little to say about that episode because I thought it was a letdown. Elsewherefollowed its flawed, relatable characters over multi-episode storylines and even season-long arcs. [1] As characters from St. As a special tribute to recently deceased writer Dwayne McDuffie, CBR is pleased to present one of the most well-known texts from his time writing about the art of comics in "Six Degrees of St. St Elsewhere 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, Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. What world is Tommy imagining inside that snow globe, he wonders aloud. I remember reading about it in the paper that there was controversy over it. If you notice any other connections, feel free to join in on the madness. Specific to the Westphall Hypothesis, even if we accept that St. St. Eligius is a teaching hospital in Bostons South End (the building that appears in the title sequence is actually an apartment building there). This year, Ken Lowe is revisiting some of the most influential TV shows that made it to an officially planned final episode. Elsewhere signed off after six seasons on May 25, 1988, more than a few viewers were saddened. Theres also nothing standing in the way of the belief that perhaps the Tommy Westphall end sequence was itself a dream, negating the snow globe conceit. The St. [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"). Can my creature spell be countered if I cast a split second spell after it? 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. As far as I could tell, there was always controversy around St. For instance, it may be the other way around, and the snow globe scene may itself be the dream. The series is (implied to be) a figment of Tommy Westphall's imagination, existing in the snowglobe that he is focused on. This is the final scene from "The Last One", the 22nd episode (137th overall) from the sixth and final season of NBC's 1982-88 medical drama Westphall, who is autistic, played an increased role in St. They tried to really think outside the box the box in this case being that little television box of the 80s and they did something so different. As the episode comes to a close, Dr. Westphall is sitting alone in the office of his friend and mentor Dr. Auschlander, who has recently died when in runs his son, Tommy (Chad Allen), a quiet, autistic boy whom viewers had met a time or two before. If a person dreams about visiting London and meeting Gordon Brown, it does not follow that because the city of London and Gordon Brown appeared in a dream, they do not exist in real life. It is underfunded, understaffed, crowded, and running on fumes. St It's not even that much of a leap to make a connection to the Mighty Marvel Cinematic Universe (you can get there a number of ways, according to Polygon). Elsewhere 's characters appear in Tommy's dream doesn't mean they don't also At one point, St. The most far-reaching regulation is that they "do not include any show that is not a narrative live-action program with a shared continuity from episode to episode. Lloyd also enjoyed the priest who heard confession in a toilet stall (I mean, that was wild--I never thought that would get on), a nude surgery sequence based on Scandinavian medical practices and a scene in which Auschlander discussed sexual awakening with a frightened boy. What world is Tommy imagining inside that snow globe, he wonders aloud. But this television-changing theory doesn't stop there. I saw it as a show about people struggling to answer lifes ridiculous questions--sometimes they would do it in a comic way, sometimes they would do it in a serious way, said Tom Fontana, one of the shows core group of writers and producers, who served as a creative consultant this season. For indeed, St. ", Tommy, who is shaking a snow globe,[5] is told by his father to come and wash his hands. Elsewhere an autistic boy is shown to have imagined and created a vast and deeply human universe. ), I expect a very mixed reaction, Bruce Paltrow, one of the show's executive producers, told the Chicago Tribune in 1988. I think some people will think it's extraordinary and existential and quintessential St. In the final scene of the series, the camera widens out from St. Eligius, until it becomes clear the hospital is a model inside a snow globe being shaken by Tommy as he plays on the floor of a small apartment. Elsewhere also shared characters with The White Shadow and Its Garry Shandlings Show, McDuffie wrote. So far, the included shows span from "I Love Lucy" in 1951, to today, with 26 listed shows still on the air. St. Fontana went on to create Homicide: Life on the Street and HBOs groundbreaking prison drama Oz. They really wanted to kill the show. Why is it shorter than a normal address? Both shows took a grittier and more realistic approach to their drama. The episode marked the end of St. Law & Order creator Dick Wolf is close friends with Fontana and frequently crossed Homicide characters over into his own series. This is more interesting than interrogating the deeper philosophical or metaphorical meaning behind the very last scene of a six-season show! Elsewhere take place were arguably all dreamed up by young Tommy. 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. 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. (Quizzed by IndieWire in 2012 as to who exactly came up with the idea, neither Fontana nor co-writers Channing Gibson or John Tinker could remember. Why was it necessary for St. Elsewhere, and I venture to say stuff like House or Scrubs, or even Greys Anatomy would not look or feel the same without its influence and success. Much of the humor between characters is gallows humor. 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. The problem that I see with the ending is that they explained away the whole show as the daydreams of an autistic child's imagination. St Nobody is too interested in that, though. Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy, and director Rob Marshall share the tale behind making their underwater musical with a groundbreaking Disney princess. Elsewhere cast reunion: It was a show that changed television, 'St. Scan this QR code to download the app now. For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow @Paste_TV. It's not every day we see Plucky Comic Relief commit suicide. Elsewhere" writer Tom Fontana began writing connections between his shows using fictional products and companies. Was the fact that Tommy is considered Autistic symbolic in any way? was a show that got by largely on the strength of its ensemble, running for six seasons from 1982-88. He sits there, all day long, in his own world, staring at that toy. lump on inside of buttocks cheek Cookies help us deliver our Services. A terrible ending! Contemporary television writers have even bought in to Gow and Crowe's theory. Elsewhere, Alfre Woodard's Dr. Roxanne Turner,appeared) andOz (in which a company that briefly owned St. Eligius, Weigert, makes a bid to buy that show's Oswald Maximum Security Prison). Elsewhere, Paltrow, Fontana and the several cast members interviewed all said they would have been willing to continue indefinitely. More: Why The X-Files Season 12 Never Happened. WebSt Elsewhere Closing Credits Season 5 Lorenzo F 1.61K subscribers 47 Share 14K views 2 years ago #bumpers #tvthemes #televisionthemes WELCOME TO MY VIDEOS of little-known, forgotten TV gems. Elsewhere" -- the notion of which is a hated cliche, yes, but could it be the reality of almost every story arc you've ever loved on American television? To me the last 10 minutes of the final episode of St. Toe-tagged. In their defense, the theory's original creator, Dwayne McDuffle, actually posited it while attempting to mock crazy shared universe theories based around guest appearances by one TV show's character(s) on another show. Although you may have never noticed the connection, there's a compelling case that "Friends," "Breaking Bad," "Seinfeld," "I Love Lucy" and just about every other popular American television show exist within the same universe. Suddenly, we're taken to a small apartment where Tommy sits on the floor, playing with a snow globe. Over time, it began to look something like the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game. A Weyland-Utani ship is also seen in a spaceship graveyard in the British sci-fi series Red Dwarf.. 7. Revisiting McDuffie's "Six Degrees of St. Elsewhere characters got the business from Carla while drinking at Cheers, the bar from, uh, , a spinoff, must also exist somewhere in that snow globe. sign-off. The implication was that Tommya character on the autism spectrumhad imagined the entire show, a fiction-within-the-fiction conceit that had angered viewers during the infamous dream season arc on Dallas five years earlier. Elsewhere was the designated comic relief for the first few episodes. And in the end, Fiscus patient does finally sing. Elsewhere, Ed Begley Jr., St. The Ending Of St. Elsewhere Explained - Looper Thats really cool for a teenager. 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. Surely more shows have somehow become connected in the four years since, especially since the Crisis on Infinite Earths Arrowverse crossover included characters from nearly every DC movie and TV continuity ever. With the aria "Chi il bel sogno di Doretta" (Doretta's Beautiful Dream) from Puccini's opera La Rondine playing, Tommy Westphall enters the office and runs to the window, where he looks at the snow falling outside St. Elsewhere to end the way it did? Over time and with the help of reader contributions, The Tommy Westphall Universe grew to include shows as diverse as ALF, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Knight Rider, Melrose Place, Seinfeld, and dozens of others, much of it helped along by the character of Munch appearing in more than 10 series, and those series making reference to other characters and brands. Quantum Leap is on!). He went on to create the acclaimed seriesHomicide:Life on the Street (in which a character fromSt. If the universe of St. The stories speak for themselves. Elsewhere. But I wasnt surprised that there were many people who didnt find it satisfying. The thing is, autism was - and still is - Elsewhere take place within Tommy's mind, but so do numerous other television series which are directly and indirectly connected to St. If Cheers is not real, then is Trebek? What is the Russian word for the color "teal"? TV Shows That Were Actually All Just A Dream - Looper That kind of anguish you just cant transmit. This 40-year-old show looks like that nurses job in that ER, and the characters coping mechanisms and responses to trauma may be dramatized, but they arent implausible. Crowe told HuffPost that if they were to start over today, they'd exclude fictional products as being the basis for counting a crossover, explaining, "since we started this, there's apparently been a real consolidation in fake-prop companies.". I can't find any justification for ending the show this way, other than the writers wanted to end the show on a twist ending, rather than just another typical ending. I thought it was an interesting choice to make I respect [the ambition]. Elsewhere, the magic was in the tone, as it was with another show by the same production company, Hill Street Blues. Wolfram and Hart had another client, Weyland-Yutani, that made a weapons display screen for Firefly; Elsewhere visited the Cheers bar, the creators of Cheers offered no consent to have their series thought of as imaginary. St. Elsewhere links to Doctor Who [PDF], hypothetically rendering the TARDIS a figment of Tommys imagination: Donald Westphall and two other doctors visited Sam Malones bar from Cheers; St. And none of MTMs shows better defined quality television than St. Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. Elsewhere characters Dr. Roxanne Turner (Alfre Woodard) and Dr. Victor Ehrlich (Ed Begley Jr.) appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street. He gets Tommy up to wash up for dinner, and as he puts the snow globe on the TV set, the camera zooms in. ", This means cartoons and late-night shows are notably excluded, but it gets far more specific than that. But I think now weve got the toe tag on, and were in the drawer, and its sealed and locked., St. The complete list of shows is at the bottom of the article. Yet, none of those universes compare to the sheer enormity of the Tommy Westphall world, which traces back to the series finale of popular 1980s medical 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. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Not enough dollars, however, to keep the series alive for another year. Through it all, time skips are marked off by a digital clock readout in the corner, and its the lightest touch that makes a world of difference in how the show goes over, marking the endless grind the characters face in tangible hours and minutes. 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. I thought it was interesting. Fox doesnt think hell live to be 80: Every day its tougher. Elsewheres bumbling Dr. Victor Erlich, offered the final diagnosis of his medical career.
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