Can you still use Commanders Strike if the only attack available to forego is an attack against an ally? Both shows took a grittier and more realistic approach to their drama. Just some of the other series that have ended up connected as part of the Tommy Westphall universe include Community, Seinfeld, Person of Interest, Malcolm in the Middle, and Married with Children. 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. You cant please most people most of the time. Not necessarily because the serieswhich had earned 13 Emmy Awards during its runwas ending, but because producers opted for a highly unconventional finale. Via Wikipedia: The most common interpretation of this scene is that the entire series of events in the series St. Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action. Meme Status Submission Year 1988 Origin St. Elsewhere 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. THE TOMMY WESTPHALL UNIVERSE What were the most popular text editors for MS-DOS in the 1980s? HOWIE MANDEL (Dr. Wayne Fiscus): I thought it was realllllllly interesting. It was this wonderful, crumbly, noble, decadent building that housed this incredible heart. Elsewhere. For instance, it may be the other way around, and the snow globe scene may itself be the dream. "For 'St. 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. When youre finished, watch the cast reunion on Good Morning America and voice your own opinion on the finale in our poll. In a way that actually sucks most of contemporary-set American scripted TV into the inside of a snow globe? Some people liked its provocativeness. I didnt dislike it. WebIf the St. Inside it is a perfect replica of St. Eligius, with snow swirling around it as the shot fades to black. Elsewheres Wednesday night time slot in the fall. Six years . NORMAN LLOYD: (Dr. Daniel Auschlander): Theyd been talking about Citizen Kane. The best music, movies, TV, books, comedy and more. 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. The ending has become an infamous example of the "it was all a dream" conclusion that's appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows over the years. For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow @Paste_TV. Elsewhere very often in your life. Why did DOS-based Windows require HIMEM.SYS to boot? When we read it, we all had reservations about it. 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. 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. Autism news, information and support. One prominent critic, Professor Brian Weatherson, argues that just because St. Both shows took a grittier and more realistic approach to their drama. Elsewhere, Ed Begley Jr., St. 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. For indeed, St. The strange thing that occurs to me when thinking about the show was how temporary it seemed, mused Begley, who spent the last six years matching wits--and losing--with William Daniels, who played St. Eligius Hospitals cranky chief of surgery, Mark Craig. 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. The last year, I put in a rug and a lamp. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? The shows one truly lasting and iconic You never knew what was going to happen next. 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. It is underfunded, understaffed, crowded, and running on fumes. He went on to create the acclaimed seriesHomicide:Life on the Street (in which a character fromSt. And people say, Norman, youre either mad or senile or both--but you dont get a show like St. It wasnt darker than reality, he said. I said at the time we were shooting, This is a cheat. For me, it was a cheat. The John Larroquette Show once mentioned Yoyodyne, a manufacturing client of law firm Wolfram and Hart; Even if that's true though, thinking about it remains an amusing diversion. [11], NewsRadio episode "Daydream" (season 3 episode 7) ends with Jimmy James staring into a snow globe that appears to contain a miniature version of the WNYX office, thus seeming to indicate that Jimmy James has imagined the entire episode.[12]. Cookies help us deliver our Services. Elsewhere into Homicide.". That kind of anguish you just cant transmit. 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. A FL native, Michael is passionate about pop culture, and earned an AS degree in film production in 2012. He sits there, all day long, in his own world, staring at that toy. Elsewhere through fictional crossovers and spin-offs, resulting in a large fictional universe taking place entirely within Tommy's mind. 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. Hour shows are just not selling into syndication; the market is saturated with them, Paltrow said in a telephone conversation from New York, where he and others from the St. 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]. Despite its high standing among TV critics, St. After the "Fansville" characters exchange meta-humorous existential comments, the camera pans out to show that the characters in fact exist in a snowglobe sitting on Larry Culpepper's desk. They always tried to be out there, beyond the limits of what was being done before. The thing Im proudest of is the overall balance of the comedy to the drama; the counterpoint of that really grew and grew.. If the theory holds, then a large chunk of television is the direct result of one childs formidable imagination. 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. is not a great place to work or convalesce. John Hemingway of The John Larroquette Show once called into Frasiers talk show; 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 English version of Russian proverb "The hedgehogs got pricked, cried, but continued to eat the cactus". What is the name of the poem Belle reads out? Heres how St. Elsewhere. Even some of the more innocuous-seeming connections can lead to some shocking places takeThe John Larroquette Show, which all but the most dedicated TV fanatics could be forgiven for not remembering. Elsewhere storyline exists only within Westphall's imagination. Death! There are no villains in this piece. 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. 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 the last episode's final two scenes, Donald Westphall having just returned to St. Eligius is shown in Dr. Auschlander's office pondering the recent death from stroke of his colleague and mentor. Also, consider that each connection fromSt. . Toe-tagged. The Marvel Cinematic Universe might seem like a huge landscape of interconnected shows and TV movies, but the Tommy Westphall universe has it beat. Elsewhere team enjoyed life on the series even when times were tough, which was always. 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. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. A Weyland-Yutani ship is seen in the BBC series Red Dwarf, which also depicted The Doctors TARDIS. The 50 greatest TV and movie detectives of all time. 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. DAVID MORSE (Dr. Jack Boomer Morrison): I felt two things. Eligius. It was seen as a cheap shot and a quick fix, even though the mechanism and method was mimicked many times over afterwards. And I dont think that set of circumstances will ever happen again. CHAD ALLEN (Tommy Westphall): I remember the script arrived, I read it, got to the end, and I was stumped. I was pretty happy with it. The entire series is revealed to have been based on the stories Liz Lemon told her great-granddaughter, a future television writer, and as remembered by the more-or-less immortal Parcell. The elder Westphall returns home, but he's not dressed in scrubs he's wearing a hard hat, and his conversation with Auschlander (whom he addresses as "Pop") implies that he's a construction worker. Revisiting St. Elsewhere's Strange Snow Globe Series Finale 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. Marriage! Erasing the fiction of an entire medium is not what Tom Fontana had planned. Elsewhere production team are at work on Tattingers, a new NBC series from MTM slated for St. ST. ELSEWHERE: Season 6 (1987-88) Clip - (The Final Scene) Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. Elsewhere truly shook things up "St. The thing is, autism was - and still is - 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 (ooh! Elsewhere carries a shocking implication NBC St. It's safe to say that the final episode, specifically the end scene, of St. Thats really cool for a teenager. So what happens when an ending goes completely off the rails? The notion that appearances by the same character in two or more series tie those series together in the same fictional universe is also problematic. In the age of streaming in particular, I feel as if this is even more true than its been in the past. The complete list of shows is at the bottom of the article. Closing the Curtain on 'St. Elsewhere' Operation - Los Angeles I think it can happen. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Tommy Westphall's Universe If you've ever been riveted by the human drama ofE.R. This year, Ken Lowe is revisiting some of the most influential TV shows that made it to an officially planned final episode. The theory is called the "The Tommy Westphall Universe" and hinges on a reveal at the finale of "St. I spent a shift sitting bedside with my daughter in the emergency room during a three-day-long stay once, watching the same sainted nurse come and go as an endless tide of needy patients washed in. The hospital at its center, Boston's fictional St. Eligius, picked up its titular nickname because of its reputation as an aging, poorly-staffed dumping ground for hopeless patients, and the show's urgent, fly-on-the-wall visual style added to its air of gritty realism. St. 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. I think the final years story line reflected it, she said, referring to the takeover and makeover of St. Eligius by a wealthy corporation at the outset of the final season. 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; The streamlining kind of took away its energy.. , the magic was in the tone, as it was with another show by the same production company. The Tommy Westphall universe hypothesis makes the claim that not only does St. Crisis On Infinite Earths Solved DC Movies' Continuity Problem, Star Wars' Next Show Needs To Fill The Biggest Gap In Anakin's Life, 1 Sorcerers Stone Problem Could Make The Harry Potter Remake Harder, Why Missy's Hair Is Shorter In Young Sheldon Season 6 Episode 18. All of it, McDuffie said, proved his own Grand Unification Theory that everyone and everything seen on TVexcept for the few minutes viewers spent with Tommy Westphall in May 1988is just a daydream. 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. The corporation that bought St. In that episode, the entirety of St. Tommy Westphall - Wikipedia As for the snow globe, that was the focus of Tommy's attention. Elsewhere take place That series' creator, Joss Whedon, also createdFirefly, in which it's established that Wolfram and Hart had also represented a mega-corporation by the name of Weyland-Utani. I really had very little to say about that episode because I thought it was a letdown. When NBC refused to finance their ambitious plan, the idea for the snow globe was hatched. For a constant stream of entertainment news and discussion, follow HuffPost Entertainment on Viber. That's the nature of a hospital drama, that's why we tune in. Elsewhere,[1] which ran on NBC from 1982 to 1988.[2]. The shows cast had seen ups and downs, additions and subtractions in its time, with Flanders character Westphall eventually stepping down as the hospitals head to become a doctor there. Through six years, I never put anything in my dressing room. WebThe problem that I see with the ending is that they explained away the whole show as the daydreams of an autistic child's imagination. Birth! From the mind of a young person whose fantasies were coming to life before him, it was neat. Movies & TV Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for movie and TV enthusiasts. Other people didnt care for it at all. [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"). 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. The thing is, autism was - and still is - largely not understood what goes on in a person's brain. 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. The Westphall universe just keeps expanding out in that manner from there, getting bigger and bigger in the same way as a snowball rolling downhill, which is appropriate considering Tommy's snow globe. Elsewhere was a figment of Tommy Westphalls elaborate imagination, then wouldnt other television characters who appeared in the shows continuity exist only within Tommy's mind, as well? Elsewhere in its final season owned the prison hospital in his series Oz.". 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. We cant take that jump from seeing these people, Norman, Ed [Flanders] and Bill [Daniels], and this young boy for six years, and suddenly were supposed to believe that theyre these other people. As they leave the living room, Tommy's father places the snow globe upon a television set. It was highly unpredictable, just like every episode. 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. 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. Elsewhere to end the way it did? Airing for six seasons from 1982 to 1988 on NBC,St. Please feel free to submit articles to enhance the knowledge, acceptance, understanding and research of Autism and ASD. Elsewhere 's characters appear in Tommy's dream doesn't mean they don't also And listen, we set such a bar, its hard to top it to make that ending satisfy a lot of people. Because a lot of autistic children are withdrawn, it seems as though they're in their own world. Like St. Eligius itself, St. Television these daysor rather, television that jerks like me actually bother to write aboutbasically falls into two categories now: Heavily scripted and serialized prestige TV or reality show stuff that sounds like a made up show on 30 Rock. Why was it necessary for 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. [1][6] This hypothesis was originally put forward by comic book and TV writer Dwayne McDuffie in a 2002 blog post,[8] as a reductio ad absurdum argument against making strong statements about fictional continuity based upon guest appearances. According to the duo's notes, the only other non-US shows in the "Tommyverse" are "The 'Degrassi' shows (Canada), 'The Office' (UK), the 'Doctor Who' shows (UK), 'Luther' (UK), 'Jo' (France) and 'Paris Section Criminelle' (France)," which "is the only show not in English in the Tommyverse.". Can my creature spell be countered if I cast a split second spell after it? Ending of "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans". A Weyland-Utani ship is also seen in a spaceship graveyard in the British sci-fi series Red Dwarf.. 7. Share. Television these daysor rather, television that jerks like me actually bother to write aboutbasically falls into two categories now: Heavily scripted and serialized prestige TV or reality show stuff that sounds like a made up show on, . [3][1], The foremost interpretation of this scene is that the entire series of events in St. Therefore, appearances from St. Fontana wrote a fictional "Weigert Corporation" as an intergral part of both "St. ER and Chicago Hope wouldnt exist in the form they did without St. These strings go on across multiple decades of television, with I Love Lucy being the earliest example. Flashforward! Here's my son, I talk to him, I don't even know if he can hear me. In fact, for all its success, most aspects of St. Though MTM hasnt had much luck yet syndicating St. 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. You can follow any one of these connective threads down a series of increasingly convoluted rabbit holes, and it probably won't surprise you to learn that a number of fans have done exactly that. 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. ), Fontana did, however, recall that half of the viewer mail retrieved after the finale was positive, while the other half made loose reference to a desire to burn [the studio lot] to the ground.". Elsewhere, the magic was in the tone, as it was with another show by the same production company, Hill Street Blues. 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 But [executive producers] Tom Fontana and John Masius and Bruce Paltrow didnt want just a normal ending. I could have put in a sauna and a Jacuzzi, you know?. This means that all of those series and other media thatthey referenced in-universe, which in the case ofThe Simpsons is ridiculously extensive technically take place in the same universe asSt. Elsewhere ' s series finale features momentous changes for several main characters, including the departures of Drs. In that time, Michael has written over 2000 articles for the site, first working solely as a news writer, then later as a senior writer and associate news editor. 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. St. The first connection made in the Tommy Westphall universe is from St. MARK HARMON (Dr. Robert Caldwell): I didnt see it live. would not look or feel the same without its influence and success. The Show The "St. St. I thought it was ahead of its time, pretty ingenious and creative and not like anything else. 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. In another episode, St. Eligius traveled 50 years into the past. Elsewhere, by only a few degrees, to a startling number of TV shows and movies. orGrey's Anatomy, then you've got one series to thank. So far, the included shows span from "I Love Lucy" in 1951, to today, with 26 listed shows still on the air. 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. Sealed and locked. I thought it was an interesting choice to make I respect [the ambition]. Westphall sits down next to Tommy and says, "I don't understand this autism thing, Pop. At one point, St. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. I spent a shift sitting bedside with my daughter in the emergency room during a three-day-long stay once, watching the same sainted nurse come and go as an endless tide of needy patients washed in. Elsewhere were more demonstrative and understanding of autistic people then all 12 seasons of The Big Bang Theory put together. We always said: Thats a tough question--well, good night! . There is too much that is rich, that is still to be mined., Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Get ready for the 2023 Met Gala: Heres when, and how, to tune in live, Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon blasted at White House Correspondents dinner, Tom Jones review: PBS Masterpieces latest period drama is laid-back and enjoyable, Michael J. Kenneth Lowe is a regular contributor to Paste TV. Fontana went on to create Homicide: Life on the Street and HBOs groundbreaking prison drama Oz. Elsewhere signed off after six seasons on May 25, 1988, more than a few viewers were saddened. Where things get complicated is that characters from St. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. 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. Was the fact that Tommy is considered Autistic symbolic in any way? Elsewhere was a hospital drama where we, the audience, are invited to feel and think along with the patients, the families and the medical staff. The fictional Morley cigarettes are particularly pervasive, as is Hudson University, an institution of higher learning mentioned on The Cosby Show, Law & Order, and Murder, She Wrote. Make Room For Daddy takes out I Love Lucy.. Elsewhere cast reunion: It was a show that changed television, 'St. I think the reality of a hospital is much worse. Elsewhere seemed like an easy out. It was bold and shocking and upset some people. The whole circus is overseen by Dr. Donald Westphall (Ed Flanders), with Dr. Daniel Auschlander (Norman Lloyd) and Dr. Mark Craig (Daniels) rounding out the experienced older set of doctors helping the residents learn the ropes. Elsewhere. It seems to imply that the events of the show were all imagined by the mind of a non-verbal young boy. For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow. A terrible ending! I tell you, the last episode, I never bought it. Why did Sonny trust Carlo enough to introduce him to the family and then sour on him? 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.