By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. BTW, in the Wikipedia article about the last episode, someone estimates that "90% of the shows existed in this kid's head" due to the many show crossovers. Elsewhere also shared characters with The White Shadow and Its Garry Shandlings Show, McDuffie wrote. What symbolic value does either the globe or the snow have on the ending of the series? Somehow, a literal airplane has crashed into the hospital. Westphall, who is autistic, played an increased role in St. Elsewhere is not a great place to work or convalesce. Elsewhere" and "Oz," and, as Gow tells it, "It was that little connection that spawned a thousand other connections -- references to fictional airlines, companies, nods from one series to another.". Elsewhere in its final season owned the prison hospital in his series Oz.". After six seasons of letting those within the hospital doing the hard work of being human and showing humanity it was our turn. But now, viewers are picking shows out to binge watch, and they want to know that their time investment is going to have some payoff. Death! Weatherson, in his sixth objection, offers the example of Michael Bloomberg playing the role of New York City Mayor both on Law & Order and in real life, which, if one accepts the logic of the hypothesis, indicates that real life is in the head of Tommy Westphall. Howie goes to the morgue, slides me out, says something to me and pushes me back in. (referring to Tommy) He give you any trouble? He also loves both Marvel and DC movies, and wishes every superhero fan could just get along. 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 thing is, autism was - and still is - Elsewhere characters Dr. Roxanne Turner (Alfre Woodard) and Dr. Victor Ehrlich (Ed Begley Jr.) appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street. Elsewherefollowed its flawed, relatable characters over multi-episode storylines and even season-long arcs. Elsewhere, by only a few degrees, to a startling number of TV shows and movies. 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. 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. St. Eligius is a teaching hospital in Bostons South End (the building that appears in the title sequence is actually an apartment building there). [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]. Elsewhere': About that snow-globe ending. Why does the husband leave the family in The Others? 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. 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. ", Tommy, who is shaking a snow globe,[5] is told by his father to come and wash his hands. Elsewhere take place As of this writing, 441 shows can be tied to St. 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. Lloyd, whose Dr. Auschlander was supposed to die years ago but enjoyed a miraculous remission, is even more hopeful. 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. Elsewhere" universe with other shows, then those shows with other shows, has created an elaborate web of American television. In that episode, the entirety of 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. Elsewhere into Homicide.". It's not every day we see Plucky Comic Relief commit suicide. Then it could create conversation, so I thought it was kind of brilliant. St Elsewhere By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. When NBCs hour-long hospital drama St. "The theory doesn't really depend on Tommy Westphall, but he's a good hook," Gow says. It made me laugh actually because it just is so like those guys. It was certainly something no other network would put up with. Fontana was the executive producer and showrunner for Homicide for its entire seven years. 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. The original decision to include fictional product crossovers actually comes from the origins of the chart itself. Its an episode of heartfelt goodbyes and dramatic exits. He went on to create the acclaimed seriesHomicide:Life on the Street (in which a character fromSt. 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. Craig, always a prissy sort, is absolutely beside himself with the prospect that his wife Ellen is taking a job in (gasp) Ohio. "Red Dwarf" is now included as well. Elsewhere's characters. Most of us failed. Elsewhere, he was openly hostile toward any idea of a reunion special down the line and insisted that the series finale should be definitive. 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. In the closing moments of the episode, a boy named Tommy Westphall (Chad Allen), the son of medical director Dr. Donald Westphall, was seen peering into a snow globe. One prominent critic, Professor Brian Weatherson, argues that just because St. Elsewhere was an aberration. My character died in the second-to-last episode, but I was in the last episode in a scene in which Howies character pays a visit to Dr. Axelrods corpse in the morgue. What's the cheapest way to buy out a sibling's share of our parents house if I have no cash and want to pay less than the appraised value? There are other possible interpretations of Tommy's "vision" which may suggest something other than the entire series being his dream. Elsewhere characters got the business from Carla while drinking at Cheers, the bar from, uh, Cheersand therefore, Frasier, a spinoff, must also exist somewhere in that snow globe. 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. 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. Marriage! Elsewhere signed off after six seasons on May 25, 1988, more than a few viewers were saddened. Wolfram and Hart had another client, Weyland-Yutani, that made a weapons display screen for Firefly; I didnt dislike it. I felt one thing when I read it and one thing when I saw it. I could have put in a sauna and a Jacuzzi, you know?. Mandels character, though, gets the easiest metaphor of the episode. 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. St. In 1988, though, St. St. Rather than case-of-the-week stories with infallible doctors and carboard-thin supporting characters,St. "The discussion began on alt.tv.homicide, a newsgroup that discussed Homicide: Life on the Street," Gow tells Mental Floss. 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. The one where EW follows up with the cast. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Through crossovers, spinoffs, cameos, or fictional brands or products appearing in more than one show, everything from. Therefore, the commercial also does homage to the Newhart finale, as Larry Culpepper's presence from a previous Dr Pepper ad campaign references Bob Newhart's psychiatrist from The Bob Newhart Show appearing in The Last Newhart. Therefore, appearances from St. Elsewhere episode; Cheers spawned Frasier, a character who appeared on Wings; John Munch, the detective from Homicide, had mingled with the St. Eligius crew, and he has appeared on shows ranging from The X-Files to The Wire, effectively making him the Patient Zero of what's become known as The Tommy Westphall Universe theory. Characters from Homicide crossed over with multiple series, including The X-Files, Law & Order, The Wire and Arrested Development, with Richard Belzer's John Munch being the most frequent culprit. 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. Theyre more interested in the colossal mind-fuck that is the Tommy Westphall Universe. In 1988, though, St. Elsewhere were dreamt by Tommy Westphall, and thus, products of his imagination. If you notice any other connections, feel free to join in on the madness. 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. Much of the humor between characters is gallows humor. ER and Chicago Hope wouldnt exist in the form they did without St. The episode marked the end of St. Elsewhere. Goober and the Truckers Paradise [pilot only], Mrs Columbo/Kate Columbo/Kate the Dectective/Kate Loves a Mystery, use this link to the web that allows for zooming. I thought it was an interesting choice to make I respect [the ambition]. New blog post from our CEO Prashanth: Community is the future of AI, Improving the copy in the close modal and post notices - 2023 edition. The John Larroquette Show once mentioned Yoyodyne, a manufacturing client of law firm Wolfram and Hart; Of course, every party has a pooper, and there are those that consider the Tommy Westphall universe ridiculous. The Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. And most of the connections on the grid are characters, even though something like Morley cigarettes (a fictional brand) has a lot of individual connections, they just add to the connective tissue in certain ways. Here's my son, I talk to him, I don't even know if he can hear me. Remembering 'St. Elsewhere' 25 Years Later - HuffPost 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. The theory is called the "The Tommy Westphall Universe" and hinges on a reveal at the finale of "St. ), 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.". ", This means cartoons and late-night shows are notably excluded, but it gets far more specific than that. Fiscus and Morrison and the death of Dr. Auschlander, When NBCs hour-long hospital drama St. Elsewhere signed off after six seasons on May 25, 1988, more than a few viewers were saddened. Not necessarily because the serieswhich had earned 13 Emmy Awards during its runwas ending, but because producers opted for a highly unconventional finale. 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. Its just too big a leap. 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 (. Elsewhere. It was all a dream! What are the advantages of running a power tool on 240 V vs 120 V? The series is (implied to be) a figment of Tommy Westphall's imagination, existing in the snowglobe that he is focused on. Donald Westphalls autistic son, who was gazing into a snow globe containing a miniature version of the hospital. "That really solidifies things. Elsewhere" finale was the first big "it was all just a dream" finale, ending with the revelation that St. Eligius hospital and its staff were all the creations of The great thing about the show that even in its comedy, it was serious. I think other people will find it puzzling, odd, maybe unfulfilling in some way.. As Gow told HuffPost, "St. Other people didnt care for it at all. Meme Status Submission Year 1988 Origin St. Through crossovers, spinoffs, cameos, or fictional brands or products appearing in more than one show, everything from Brooklyn Nine Nine and Law & Order to Everybody Hates Chris and Dr. Who were arguably all dreamed up by young Tommy. "I prefer character connections, myself," Gow says. "You know, I still have the snow globe," he said. (On that series, Bobby Ewing was brought back to life after his "death" turned out to be just a bad dream. Tommy Westphall, portrayed by Chad Allen, is a minor character from the drama television series St. It was this wonderful, crumbly, noble, decadent building that housed this incredible heart. I thought it was interesting. 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. 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. 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. THE TOMMY WESTPHALL UNIVERSE Both shows took a grittier and more realistic approach to their drama. The commercial titled "Off Season" features the cast of the mock sitcom "Fansville" discussing their purpose after the conclusion of the college football season. Elsewhere was the father of the modern medical drama, establishing a format that's been followed by pretty much every serial fitting of that description to come after it. At one point. Elsewhere have appeared on other television shows and those shows' characters appeared on more shows, and so on, a "Tommy Westphall Universe" hypothesis (postulated by Dwayne McDuffie) argues that a significant amount of fictional episodic television exists within a fictional universe imagined by Tommy Westphall. Elsewhere, the magic was in the tone, as it was with another show by the same production company, Hill Street Blues. 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. Elsewhere; by extension this hypothesis can be extended to include the science fiction program The X-Files and the Law & Order franchise (due to various crossovers with characters from Homicide, in particular Det. These strings go on across multiple decades of television, with I Love Lucy being the earliest example. Elsewhere, which established a defiant tradition of baiting the NBC censors, blurring the line between the real and the surreal, tantalizing the alert viewers with inside jokes and subtle references to literature, television and pop music lyrics, going precariously far out on a limb and then deliberately chopping it off. Elsewhere truly shook things up and gave us one of the most talked-about series finales in history with the snow globe. After watching six Emmy-nominated seasons of drama medical and emotional, dark and light, envelope-pushing and heartstring-pulling at the run-down St. Eligius, we were led to believe in the finales last scene that the entire show was actually a product of the imagination of (construction worker?) It was highly unpredictable, just like every episode. Observers of the theory take issue with the idea out of what they deem is a misunderstanding of an authors intent. 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. When we read it, we all had reservations about it. That would surely lead to spreadsheets the size of walls: Weyland-Yutani is the company behind the machinations of the Alien franchise. And I was very upset. You cant please most people most of the time. Elsewhere. The stories speak for themselves. Elsewhere remains one of the most famous examples of the "all just a dream" plot. Then the Birdman decides he's fed up with being in the mental ward and wants to fly away from the hospital, so he jumps off the roof. Arrow is also included, which means all subsequent Arrowverse shows also tie back to Westphall. For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow @Paste_TV. Autism news, information and support. 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. Fontana was being facetious (we think), but not everyone was as enthused with the premise. Elsewhere. Due to crossovers and shared universes between shows, almost every popular TV show exists within the dream of one character from the '80s. As Gow and Crowe assembled their chart, comics writer Dwayne McDuffie (Static Shock) wrote a blog entry for Slush.com in 2002 that made a similar observation. Are you and I??? Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. More than puzzling, some people found it to be an actual puzzle. English version of Russian proverb "The hedgehogs got pricked, cried, but continued to eat the cactus". Not necessarily 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. Both shows took a grittier and more realistic approach to their drama. Make Room For Daddy takes out I Love Lucy.. They really wanted to kill the show. Elsewhere airs at 10 p.m. on Channels 4, 36 and 39. The camera slowly zooms in on the snow globe, which is revealed to contain a replica of St. Eligius hospital inside of it. 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. Why was it necessary for St. If you're viewing this list on a mobile device, use this link to the web that allows for zooming. It was bold and shocking and upset some people. As for the snow globe, that was the focus of Tommy's attention. A few shows are outside of American television such as the British show, "Red Dwarf." ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, Concertgoer lets out a loud full body orgasm while L.A. Phil plays Tchaikovskys 5th, Jerry Springer kept his aggressive cancer a family secret in his final months, James Corden gets a star-studded send-off on his final Late Late Show, Kim Kardashian is catching shade from Patti LuPone and Sharon Stone for AHS casting, Jonathan Majors accuser gets full temporary protection order ahead of court date, Review: The Russo brothers spy thriller Citadel has plenty of action and little else. Elsewhere has fallen victim to economic pressures. It only takes a minute to sign up. Because a lot of autistic children are withdrawn, it seems as though they're in their own world. Though MTM hasnt had much luck yet syndicating St. St 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. lump on inside of buttocks cheek For indeed, St. 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. 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. But [executive producers] Tom Fontana and John Masius and Bruce Paltrow didnt want just a normal ending. 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. In the door comes Dr. Westphall, but he hangs up a construction workers hat. Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action Little Mermaid with a new generation's Ariel. Why did the Fairy Queen have to die for a poor deal? We always said: Thats a tough question--well, good night! . The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Behind him stood his father, who was sporting a construction workers wardrobe. But for others, it was a stroke of inspiration. Did the drapes in old theatres actually say "ASBESTOS" on them? That kind of anguish you just cant transmit. Yet, in the ending of St. 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. 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. Most recently, Michael helped launch Screen Rant's new horror section, and is now the lead staff writer when it comes to all things frightening. 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. Along with U.S.-based fan Ash Crowe, Gow began to develop a chart linking the series to other shows on television. In a 2003 article published on BBC News Online, St. 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. And the fat lady sings tonight: The last episode of St. 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. In fact, for all its success, most aspects of St. That is And what about the real people who have appeared on the included shows, like Alex Trebek on Cheers? You can barely please half the people most of the time. When directing episodes for the eighth series of the revived Doctor Who in 2014, Ben Wheatley had the art department create a replica of Tommy Westphall's snowglobe, which Wheatley placed in the TARDIS set as a reference to the hypothesis.
Usa Men's Water Polo Team Roster,
Cancer Man Testing The Waters,
Articles S