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. ", Father: "I don't understand this autism thing, Pop. St. Donald Westphalls autistic son, who was gazing into a snow globe containing a miniature version of the hospital. Elsewhere have dropped out of the cultural lexicon entirelyexcept for one. Inside the globe was a tiny mock-up of St. Eligius, the medical center that was featured in the series. So Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Mayberry R.F.D., and Make Room for Daddy/The Danny Thomas Show are gone. 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. Autism news, information and support. Share. WebBasically the theory known as The Tommy Westphall Universe (TWU) begins when St. STEPHEN FURST (Dr. Elliot Axelrod): I thought it was kind of cool, actually. And I'm beat. 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. Illustration by HuffPost's Alissa Scheller. So far, the included shows span from "I Love Lucy" in 1951, to today, with 26 listed shows still on the air. 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. Law & Order creator Dick Wolf is close friends with Fontana and frequently crossed Homicide characters over into his own series. Elsewhere were more demonstrative and understanding of autistic people then all 12 seasons of The Big Bang Theory put together. Scan this QR code to download the app now. 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! The episode marked the end of St. It's safe to say that the final episode, specifically the end scene, of St. At one point. We always said: Thats a tough question--well, good night! . Dr Pepper includes an homage to Tommy Westphall's snowglobe in its 2021 advertising campaign. For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow. 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). MARK HARMON (Dr. Robert Caldwell): I didnt see it live. 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? Is there a weapon that has the heavy property and the finesse property (or could this be obtained)? Not enough dollars, however, to keep the series alive for another year. 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. ", Father: "Well, we finally topped off the 22nd story. 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. The common thread running through the last season (besides a consistent plot about a special new artificial heart) is that St. Eligius is probably going to close, right around the same time the hospitals residents (read: the younger main cast members) are all ending their residencies and about to head out into the depressing world of medicine. This expands the Tommy Westphall universe ever outward, to the point where over 400 shows now reside under its umbrella. Elsewhere, Paltrow, Fontana and the several cast members interviewed all said they would have been willing to continue indefinitely. 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's finale, titled "The Last One," aired on May 25, 1988, and the bulk of its narrative was concerned with the requisite deaths, departures, transfers, and tying up of loose ends that one might expect. When I read it, I thought it was amazing: Only these people could come up with this idea And I thought it was very touching. Who is Bruce and does he have a real-world counterpart? That is the actual ending, a strange world-within-a-world. It was certainly something no other network would put up with. I thought it was ahead of its time, pretty ingenious and creative and not like anything else. 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" -- 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 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? 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. Westphall, Auschlander, and Gideon (Cox) are stressing about how they can possibly keep the hospital open. 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 original decision to include fictional product crossovers actually comes from the origins of the chart itself. Specific to the Westphall Hypothesis, even if we accept that St. Rather than case-of-the-week stories with infallible doctors and carboard-thin supporting characters,St. ", Grandfather: "He's been sitting there ever since you left this morning, just like he does every day. Elsewhere Tags theory, tv, map, universe, autism, st. elsewhere, concept, 80s Additional References Urban Dictionary Wikipedia About. Erasing the fiction of an entire medium is not what Tom Fontana had planned. This year, Ken Lowe is revisiting some of the most influential TV shows that made it to an officially planned final episode. By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. St. Mandels character, though, gets the easiest metaphor of the episode. 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. 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. 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. Kenneth Lowe is a regular contributor to Paste TV. If the universe of 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. Movies & TV Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for movie and TV enthusiasts. Elsewhere, Paltrow said he remains hopeful that the reruns will find a home someday, on cable if not on broadcast stations. Flashforward! Elsewhere airs at 10 p.m. on Channels 4, 36 and 39. Composition by Dave Grusin When NBC refused to finance their ambitious plan, the idea for the snow globe was hatched. WebSt. The best music, movies, TV, books, comedy and more. 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" 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.". 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. Elsewhere storyline exists only within Westphall's imagination. Elsewhere's characters. In the age of streaming in particular, I feel as if this is even more true than its been in the past. 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.". This ending was not serious to me. Arrow is also included, which means all subsequent Arrowverse shows also tie back to Westphall. 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; From the mind of a young person whose fantasies were coming to life before him, it was neat. Though they remain philosophical about the loss of St. Elsewhere take place within Tommy's mind, but so do numerous other television series which are directly and indirectly connected to St. 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. The full list includes 419 shows as of 2016, the last time the curators of the Westphall theory updated its website. In the door comes Dr. Westphall, but he hangs up a construction workers hat. 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. What's he thinking about? Elsewhere to Homicide: Life on the Street, which shared a writer/producer in Tom Fontana. To me the last 10 minutes of the final episode of St. 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. Elsewhere, NBCs darkly comic series about a financially strapped Boston hospital and its beleaguered staff, is dead. Heres how St. 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. 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). But I thought it was wonderful. The original decision to include fictional product crossovers actually comes from the origins of the chart itself. As Gow told HuffPost, "St. Elsewhere" writer Tom Fontana began writing connections between his shows using fictional products and companies. One of the producers on St. I actually have an easy answer for that - assuming that the 'real world' has shows like Cheers and MASH on TV, it's entirely plausible that Tommy took characters from those shows after seeing them on TV and made them part of his imagination. were arguably all dreamed up by young Tommy. Elsewhere to a trivial mention in Fontanas biography, if not for the curiosity of a playwright named Keith Gow. Why did DOS-based Windows require HIMEM.SYS to boot? In a 2003 article published on BBC News Online, St. Elsewhere is not a great place to work or convalesce. Craig, always a prissy sort, is absolutely beside himself with the prospect that his wife Ellen is taking a job in (gasp) Ohio. Elsewhere through fictional crossovers and spin-offs, resulting in a large fictional universe taking place entirely within Tommy's mind. Behind him stood his father, who was sporting a construction workers wardrobe. 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 (. "That really solidifies things. Elsewhere's characters appear in Tommy's dream doesn't mean they don't also exist in the show's actual reality, and thus the ending is being interpreted wrong, and by extension the universe theory is invalid. Despite its high standing among TV critics, St. 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. When youre finished, watch the cast reunion on Good Morning America and voice your own opinion on the finale in our poll. Is it safe to publish research papers in cooperation with Russian academics. At least that's the most widely held interpretation of St. There are two very important reasons why the ending is not only justified but important and even critically needed for a show like St. . Would you ever say "eat pig" instead of "eat pork"? Elsewhere. Elsewhere in its final season owned the prison hospital in his series Oz.". Tommy runs to see the snow falling outside the window, and that's when everything changes. Cookies help us deliver our Services. 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. 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. 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. Through crossovers, spinoffs, cameos, or fictional brands or products appearing in more than one show, everything from. Observers of the theory take issue with the idea out of what they deem is a misunderstanding of an authors intent. CHRISTINA PICKLES (Helen Rosenthal): I have no idea what it means. 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. According toMental Floss,that series once mentioned a firm called Yoyodyne, which also was a client of a fictional law firm Wolfram and Hart, which appeared in theBuffy the Vampire Slayer spin-offAngel. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. I think the reality of a hospital is much worse. I was pretty happy with 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. 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. Its an episode of heartfelt goodbyes and dramatic exits. Elsewhere characters on other shows are not sufficient to indicate that those shows exist only in Westphall's dream. Review/Television; Ed Flanders as Dr. Westphal in, "Six Objections to the Westphall Hypothesis", "Director Ben Wheatley Talks 'High-Rise', 'Doctor Who', 'Free Fire' and More at TIFF", "NewsRadio (TV Series) Daydream (1996) Trivia", Other arguments against the Tommy Westphall Universe, Association for Science in Autism Treatment, Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation (Jamaica), The Accidental Teacher: Life Lessons from My Silent Son, Aspergirls: Empowering Females with Asperger's Syndrome, Freaks, Geeks, and Asperger Syndrome: A User Guide to Adolescence, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Everybody Is Different: A Book for Young People Who Have Brothers or Sisters With Autism, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tommy_Westphall&oldid=1148529078, Fictional characters on the autism spectrum, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 6 April 2023, at 18:38. Elsewhere, he was openly hostile toward any idea of a reunion special down the line and insisted that the series finale should be definitive. He sits there, all day long, in his own world, staring at that toy. We're often considered and thought of as robot-like people who have no emotions and who only see other people as objects. But [executive producers] Tom Fontana and John Masius and Bruce Paltrow didnt want just a normal ending. They remember it because of young Tommy Westphall (Chad Allen)the autistic son of Dr. Westphall, who was a recurring character on the show. Elsewhere very often in your life. The Birdman of St. And Howie got so mad, because I got paid for a full episode, and all I had to do was lie on a slab for five seconds. Fiscus and Morrison and the death of Dr. Auschlander, 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 There are other possible interpretations of Tommy's "vision" which may suggest something other than the entire series being his dream. 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, 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 an autistic boy is shown to have imagined and created a vast and deeply human universe. Also, consider that each connection fromSt. 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.". 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. Web"Cora and Arnie". Elsewhere--a derisive nickname for the aging South Boston medical facility--was never healthy in the ratings. Elsewhere ' s series finale features momentous changes for several main characters, including the departures of Drs. Does the 500-table limit still apply to the latest version of Cassandra? Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. [1] As characters from St. Meme Status Submission Year 1988 Origin St. Canceled. 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. When NBCs hour-long hospital drama St. It made me smile when I heard about what they did because it was so them. Elsewhere is Westphall's dream, it does not imply that all of the characters on the show exist only in his mind. Elsewhere carries a shocking implication NBC 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. In 1988, though, St. As of this writing, 441 shows can be tied to St. 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. To me the last 10 minutes of the final But because we set a bar, it was just hard to really top that I wish I could say that I loved it. Toe-tagged. The fictional brand or company thing is also Fontana's fault. Why did the Fairy Queen have to die for a poor deal? A surprise to everybody. Elsewhere. Both shows took a grittier and more realistic approach to their drama. Marriage! 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. One prominent critic, Professor Brian Weatherson, argues that just because St. St. Elsewhere team enjoyed life on the series even when times were tough, which was always. Birth! God love him."[9]. 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. If NBC had started paying us more money, they would have had to start giving a lot of other people more money, too. The streamlining kind of took away its energy.. ", This means cartoons and late-night shows are notably excluded, but it gets far more specific than that. Elsewhere with varying degrees of separation, ranging from I Love Lucy to The Flash. When we read it, we all had reservations about it. 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. I thought it was terrible. Westphall sits down next to Tommy and says, "I don't understand this autism thing, Pop. Official crossovers between the "St. Elsewhere by the residents and the surrounding community, the place has a reputation as a rathole. --Tom Fontana, former producer, St. Another reason for the importance of this ending is the nature of what we were shown. [3][1], The foremost interpretation of this scene is that the entire series of events in St. Executive producer Bruce Paltrow explained that the show cost MTM more to produce than what NBC paid to broadcast it--which is common--but that because the outlook for recouping those deficits through syndicated reruns is so bleak, the company didnt consider another year of expenditures worth its while. For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow @Paste_TV. Quantum Leap is on!). I think a lot of the cast didnt care for it at all. Elsewhere. Elsewhere" universe with other shows, then those shows with other shows, has created an elaborate web of American television. It couldve been 900 things, which is very clever because you were allowed to make up your minds so you could stay with your own fantasy so everybody could have an opinion. Here's my son, I talk to him, I don't even know if he can hear me. 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. The thing is, autism was - and still is - largely not understood what goes on in a person's brain. What are the advantages of running a power tool on 240 V vs 120 V? A clip of the original credits from the series finale, with Mimsie the Cat on life support. Airing for six seasons from 1982 to 1988 on NBC,St. 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. What's he thinking about?". 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. Then it could create conversation, so I thought it was kind of brilliant. If Cheers is not real, then is Trebek? For a constant stream of entertainment news and discussion, follow HuffPost Entertainment on Viber. 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. 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. 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. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. What is the name of the poem Belle reads out? You can and should thank Keith Gow and Ash Crowe for being the keepers of this theory for over a decade, managing what has become the official website. Nicknamed St. The series is (implied to be) a figment of Tommy Westphall's imagination, existing in the snowglobe that he is focused on. was a show that got by largely on the strength of its ensemble, running for six seasons from 1982-88. The show had, above all, an attitude, said Norman Lloyd, whose character, liver specialist Dr. Auschlander, faced his own debilitating liver cancer during the run of the show. CLARIFICATION: This article originally included a quote that incorrectly stated all of the non-American shows in the list. Elsewhere,[1] which ran on NBC from 1982 to 1988.[2]. CYNTHIA SIKES (Dr. Annie Cavanero): Part of me likes that whole thing because its sort of an Orson Welles-ian Rosebud [ending]. Web359. In the door comes Dr. Westphall, but he hangs up a construction workers hat. Its been observed that much of American primetime TV has been about cops and the sex lives of doctors. how old was esther rolle on good times, huddersfield university email address, list of minor league baseball teams in florida,
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