Contemporary television writers have even bought in to Gow and Crowe's theory. Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy, and director Rob Marshall share the tale behind making their underwater musical with a groundbreaking Disney princess. Why does the husband leave the family in The Others? To me the last 10 minutes of the final . A terrible ending! Elsewhere was a show that got by largely on the strength of its ensemble, running for six seasons from 1982-88. Heres how 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. From the mind of a young person whose fantasies were coming to life before him, it was neat. 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. Those two impressive achievements would have likely relegated the bizarre ending of St. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Through six years, I never put anything in my dressing room. More: Why The X-Files Season 12 Never Happened. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. 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. Elsewhere have dropped out of the cultural lexicon entirelyexcept for one. It made me smile when I heard about what they did because it was so them. Elsewhere characters Dr. Roxanne Turner and Dr. Victor Ehrlich appear on Homicide: Life on the Street. The final scene of St. The Elsewhere truly shook things up In another episode, St. Eligius traveled 50 years into the past. Like St. Eligius itself, St. Would you ever say "eat pig" instead of "eat pork"? Dr Pepper includes an homage to Tommy Westphall's snowglobe in its 2021 advertising campaign. Theyre more interested in the colossal mind-fuck that is the. It only takes a minute to sign up. At one point I was the answer for a Trivial Pursuit question. Theyre more interested in the colossal mind-fuck that is the Tommy Westphall Universe. Fontanas favored conclusion was a literal apocalypse, where the staff of St. Eligius would be standing by in the year 2013 while a toxic gas cloud passed over, the result of a corporate war between foreign factions. Elsewhere signed off after six seasons on May 25, 1988, more than a few viewers were saddened. So Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Mayberry R.F.D., and Make Room for Daddy/The Danny Thomas Show are gone. Interpreting non-statistically significant results: Do we have "no evidence" or "insufficient evidence" to reject the null? 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. If the show were not great, if we had not had as many nominations, we probably wouldnt even be talking about it. 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. What world is Tommy imagining inside that snow globe, he wonders aloud. 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. Elsewhere's final moments. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Nicknamed St. Partnering with The Huffington Post, Gow and Crowe published an extensive update of the "Tommyverse" to their television web of compromised shows, which HuffPost illustrator, Alissa Scheller, put into visual form. Airing for six seasons from 1982 to 1988 on NBC,St. Elsewhere" universe with other shows, then those shows with other shows, has created an elaborate web of American television. World of his own. 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.. Elsewhere characters on other shows are not sufficient to indicate that those shows exist only in Westphall's dream. 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. 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. [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"). 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 in its final season owned the prison hospital in his series Oz.". Its simultaneously a lot of what I find fun about the inside baseball or meta commentary on TV, and also most of what I hate about it. And in the end, Fiscus patient does finally sing. Fontana was the executive producer and showrunner for Homicide for its entire seven years. 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. WebNo, you missed the point. 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. Birth! Thats really cool for a teenager. It was bold and shocking and upset some people. As Begley added wistfully, Its never over till its over--but I think in this case, its over .. 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. Elsewhere was the designated comic relief for the first few episodes. Elsewhere, Paltrow said he remains hopeful that the reruns will find a home someday, on cable if not on broadcast stations. "That really solidifies things. Inside it is a perfect replica of St. Eligius, with snow swirling around it as the shot fades to black. Flashforward! Lloyd, whose Dr. Auschlander was supposed to die years ago but enjoyed a miraculous remission, is even more hopeful. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Mandels character, though, gets the easiest metaphor of the episode. Elsewhere, Paltrow, Fontana and the several cast members interviewed all said they would have been willing to continue indefinitely. The series was also known for one of its more playful aspects: it was prone to dropping references and callbacks to other TV series. 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. Elsewhere an autistic boy is shown to have imagined and created a vast and deeply human universe. But for others, it was a stroke of inspiration. I really had very little to say about that episode because I thought it was a letdown. The best music, movies, TV, books, comedy and more. 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. 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. 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. 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. Elsewhere very often in your life. would not look or feel the same without its influence and success. 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. They made a choice and the choice is interesting. Elsewhere to a trivial mention in Fontanas biography, if not for the curiosity of a playwright named Keith Gow. ", But despite the elaborate system, the two still doubt their methods from time to time. Embedded hyperlinks in a thesis or research paper. 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. Here's my son, I talk to him, I don't even know if he can hear me. In a 2003 article published on BBC News Online, St. Observers of the theory take issue with the idea out of what they deem is a misunderstanding of an authors intent. 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. 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]. In fact, for all its success, most aspects of St. Over the years, the two have gotten countless emails from fans who found their own connections between shows, invested in the prospect of destroying all television storylines with one theory. The John Larroquette Show once mentioned Yoyodyne, a manufacturing client of law firm Wolfram and Hart; Elsewhere airs at 10 p.m. on Channels 4, 36 and 39. You can barely please half the people most of the time. When we read it, we all had reservations about it. At one point. A clip of the original credits from the series finale, with Mimsie the Cat on life support. Nobody is too interested in that, though. A Weyland-Yutani ship is seen in the BBC series Red Dwarf, which also depicted The Doctors TARDIS. Elsewhere. I was not upset. 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. It was certainly something no other network would put up with. 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 Marriage! St. [1] As characters from St. Not necessarily because the serieswhich had earned 13 Emmy Awards during its runwas ending, but because producers opted for a highly unconventional finale. 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. 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. I think a lot of the cast didnt care for it at all. Both shows took a grittier and more realistic approach to their drama. Gow said, "I've heard from TV writers who deliberately put in references to draw their shows into Tommy's mind. Is it positing that the hopes and the fears and the suffering we endure in our lives are being watched by a deity who is interested and all-knowing but who can only gaze in at us and never interfere in our tribulationswhere in all the world but an under-resourced hospital in the planets richest nation could the question of such a beings love or cruelty be more pressing? Was the fact that Tommy is considered Autistic symbolic in any way? 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. [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. Elsewhere was an aberration. 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? Elsewhere., It was as far as they could go, he said. Elsewhere is not a great place to work or convalesce. Death! In 1988, though, St. Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. The "St. Westphall, Auschlander, and Gideon (Cox) are stressing about how they can possibly keep the hospital open. 2023 Paste Media Group. In the door comes Dr. Westphall, but he hangs up a construction workers hat. 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. Elsewhere was known for its A surprise to everybody. Elsewhere had been a product of Tommy Westphall's (an autistic boy) imagination, with elements of the above scene used as its own evidence. Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action Little Mermaid with a new generation's Ariel. 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. Elsewhere was universally panned. Elsewhere Tags theory, tv, map, universe, autism, st. elsewhere, concept, 80s Additional References Urban Dictionary Wikipedia About. Why was it necessary for St. Craig, always a prissy sort, is absolutely beside himself with the prospect that his wife Ellen is taking a job in (gasp) Ohio. Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action. We always said: Thats a tough question--well, good night! . 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. What were the most popular text editors for MS-DOS in the 1980s? The Tommy Westphall universe hypothesis makes the claim that not only does 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. 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. "You know, I still have the snow globe," he said. But I thought it was wonderful. But I think now weve got the toe tag on, and were in the drawer, and its sealed and locked., St. While that can sometimes describe St. I could have put in a sauna and a Jacuzzi, you know?. 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. Birth! Elsewhere to Homicide: Life on the Street, which shared a writer/producer in Tom Fontana. Therefore, appearances from St. 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. On this day in 1988, TV viewers saw one of the most famous and perhaps the most debated series finales in TV history. Elsewhere, including all its characters, are revealed to have been the dream of a minor character named Tommy Westphall, an autistic boy who possesses a snow globe containing a replica of the hospital where the series took place. Kenneth Lowe is a regular contributor to Paste TV. St. Eligius is a teaching hospital in Bostons South End (the building that appears in the title sequence is actually an apartment building 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. It was highly unpredictable, just like every episode. He went on to create the acclaimed seriesHomicide:Life on the Street (in which a character fromSt. Howie goes to the morgue, slides me out, says something to me and pushes me back in. It was all a dream! 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 series managed to survive for six years on a powerful drug called demographics: The show attracted a relatively small but highly desirable audience of young, affluent viewers, and that in turn attracted plenty of advertising dollars to NBC. 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. (referring to Tommy) He give you any trouble? What world is Tommy imagining inside that snow globe, he wonders aloud. 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. At least that's the most widely held interpretation of St. Elsewhere 's final moments. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Elsewhere, Ed Begley Jr., St. ), 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. 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. The kind of gallows humor that was in the show was a case of art imitating life, Paltrow continued. One TV writer wants to put a copy of the grid on her office wall and put 'YOU ARE HERE' on the show she writes for.". But of course, none of that is what people really remember the last episode for. That is quite a choice. They did very unusual, bold things and did it regularly. 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. There are oodles of ways to end a TV series. CLARIFICATION: This article originally included a quote that incorrectly stated all of the non-American shows in the list. Elsewhere cast reunion: It was a show that changed television, 'St. Why is it shorter than a normal address? 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. 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). They really wanted to kill the show. Both shows took a grittier and more realistic approach to their drama. It is underfunded, understaffed, crowded, and running on fumes. And I was very upset. What is the rationale/justification for ending the series this way? Often, characters crossing over on the same network can ignite a connection, with shared brands or locations providing the connective tissue for others. I felt it wasnt serious. The corporation that bought St. The shows one truly lasting and iconic Mandel, Morse, and Washington are among the core cast of younger doctors that stuck around for the entire show, wringing their hands over their critical patients, racing to respond to someone randomly coding in the hallway, or occasionally banging in the morgue. These strings go on across multiple decades of television, with I Love Lucy being the earliest example. Its been observed that much of American primetime TV has been about cops and the sex lives of doctors. Elsewhere 's characters appear in Tommy's dream doesn't mean they don't also Donald Westphalls autistic son, who was gazing into a snow globe containing a miniature version of the hospital. 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 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?) Thats All, Folksis a look back at televisions most unforgettable series finales. 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. And what about the real people who have appeared on the included shows, like Alex Trebek on Cheers? Via Wikipedia: The most common interpretation of this scene is that the entire series of events in the series St. 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. At one point, 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. That's the nature of a hospital drama, that's why we tune in.

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