Elsewhere were dreamt by Tommy Westphall, and thus, products of his imagination. It wasn't unusual to hear other famous TV doctors and the like paged over St. Eligius' PA system, characters from series likeThe White Shadow, M*A*S*H*, andThe Mary Tyler Moore Show appeared or were referred to, and one season 3 episode even took place partially within another Boston institution the titular bar fromCheers. 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. 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. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. 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. As Begley added wistfully, Its never over till its over--but I think in this case, its over .. 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, . 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. 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? Elsewhere an autistic boy is shown to have imagined and created a vast and deeply human universe. I said at the time we were shooting, This is a cheat. For me, it was a cheat. St Elsewhere 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. 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. From the mind of a young person whose fantasies were coming to life before him, it was neat. 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. These strings go on across multiple decades of television, with I Love Lucy being the earliest example. The Show John Hemingway of The John Larroquette Show once called into Frasiers talk show; Why does the husband leave the family in The Others? Eligius. St. [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]. The full list includes 419 shows as of 2016, the last time the curators of the Westphall theory updated its website. 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. Elsewhere,[1] which ran on NBC from 1982 to 1988.[2]. I think the reality of a hospital is much worse. I think itll have another life, he said, smiling enigmatically. Fontana went on to create Homicide: Life on the Street and HBOs groundbreaking prison drama Oz. In the door comes Dr. Westphall, but he hangs up a construction workers hat. "The discussion began on alt.tv.homicide, a newsgroup that discussed Homicide: Life on the Street," Gow tells Mental Floss. I tell you, the last episode, I never bought it. Wolfram and Hart had another client, Weyland-Yutani, that made a weapons display screen for Firefly; Toe-tagged. (On that series, Bobby Ewing was brought back to life after his "death" turned out to be just a bad dream. Since Dr. Turner and Dr. Ehrlich are figments of Tommys imagination that means when they visit the Homicide universe, that it too is part of Tommys world. [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"). Birth! Can you still use Commanders Strike if the only attack available to forego is an attack against an ally? Elsewhere, Paltrow said he remains hopeful that the reruns will find a home someday, on cable if not on broadcast stations. What were the most popular text editors for MS-DOS in the 1980s? What is the rationale/justification for ending the series this way? Gow said, "I've heard from TV writers who deliberately put in references to draw their shows into Tommy's mind. WebIf the St. Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy, and director Rob Marshall share the tale behind making their underwater musical with a groundbreaking Disney princess. Lloyd, whose Dr. Auschlander was supposed to die years ago but enjoyed a miraculous remission, is even more hopeful. They remember it because of young Tommy Westphall (Chad Allen)the autistic son of Dr. Westphall, who was a recurring character on the show. Six years . The first connection made in the Tommy Westphall universe is from St. Inside the globe was a tiny mock-up of St. Eligius, the medical center that was featured in the series. How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! WebNo, you missed the point. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. 2023 Paste Media Group. Be sure to join us next time as we look back on an even more esoteric final episode of an even more esoteric show: The Prisoner! Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. You cant please most people most of the time. Elsewhere illustrates the rich and often blurred boundaries in how we experience the world."[7]. For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow. That fictional firm appears inDoctor Who, Red Dwarf, and of course, theAlien feature film franchise. So far, the included shows span from "I Love Lucy" in 1951, to today, with 26 listed shows still on the air. St At least that's the most widely held interpretation of St. 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. Tommy Westphall's 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. 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. The Westphall Theory of a Unified TV Universe, Explained Contemporary television writers have even bought in to Gow and Crowe's theory. Inside it is a perfect replica of St. Eligius, with snow swirling around it as the shot fades to black. [3][1], The foremost interpretation of this scene is that the entire series of events in St. 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. ), 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. You can follow him on Twitter and read more at his blog. Elsewheres Wednesday night time slot in the fall. And the fat lady sings tonight: The last episode of St. I could have put in a sauna and a Jacuzzi, you know?. The theory is called the "The Tommy Westphall Universe" and hinges on a reveal at the finale of "St. Like St. Eligius itself, St. Why did Sonny trust Carlo enough to introduce him to the family and then sour on him? 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. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Illustration by HuffPost's Alissa Scheller. We never answered any of the questions we posed. Quantum Leap is on!). 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. Elsewhere. In the door comes Dr. Westphall, but he hangs up a construction workers hat. Elsewhere, by only a few degrees, to a startling number of TV shows and movies. Embedded hyperlinks in a thesis or research paper. Behind him stood his father, who was sporting a construction workers wardrobe. Elsewhere was a show that got by largely on the strength of its ensemble, running for six seasons from 1982-88. lump on inside of buttocks cheek 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. 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. ", Tommy, who is shaking a snow globe,[5] is told by his father to come and wash his hands. Erasing the fiction of an entire medium is not what Tom Fontana had planned. Elsewhere came to an end for creative as well as financial reasons. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Mandels character, though, gets the easiest metaphor of the episode. Fontana was being facetious (we think), but not everyone was as enthused with the premise. Elsewhere. That is the actual ending, a strange world-within-a-world. 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. 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. Through six years, I never put anything in my dressing room. Law & Order creator Dick Wolf is close friends with Fontana and frequently crossed Homicide characters over into his own series. The Birdman of St. 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. Tommy's World: The TV Legacy of St. Elsewhere's "Tommy For indeed, St. 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. Through crossovers, spinoffs, cameos, or fictional brands or products appearing in more than one show, everything from. A FL native, Michael is passionate about pop culture, and earned an AS degree in film production in 2012. 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. Can I use my Coinbase address to receive bitcoin? Of course, every party has a pooper, and there are those that consider the Tommy Westphall universe ridiculous. 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. Related: Crisis On Infinite Earths Solved DC Movies' Continuity Problem. 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. 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! It was not right for us to say, You should lose more money. . That series introduced the character of Detective John Munch (Richard Belzer), who went on to become a main character onLaw and Order:Special Victims Unit (and has made guest appearances in virtually everyLaw and Order series), and who has also popped up on shows likeThe Beat, The Wire, The X-Files, Arrested Development,and30 Rock. 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. Elsewhere have dropped out of the cultural lexicon entirelyexcept for one. Arrow is also included, which means all subsequent Arrowverse shows also tie back to Westphall. St. 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. The thing Im proudest of is the overall balance of the comedy to the drama; the counterpoint of that really grew and grew.. Along with U.S.-based fan Ash Crowe, Gow began to develop a chart linking the series to other shows on television. 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? Elsewhere, the magic was in the tone, as it was with another show by the same production company, Hill Street Blues. The theory is called the "The Tommy Westphall Universe" and hinges on a reveal at the finale of "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. The Marvel Cinematic Universe might seem like a huge landscape of interconnected shows and TV movies, but the Tommy Westphall universe has it beat. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? The "St. Elsewhere has fallen victim to economic pressures. Elsewhere" universe with other shows, then those shows with other shows, has created an elaborate web of American television. Elsewhere had been a product of Tommy Westphall's (an autistic boy) imagination, with elements of the above scene used as its own evidence. The 50 greatest TV and movie detectives of all time. 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. 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. Fiscus (Mandel), Morrison (Morse) and Ehrlich (Begley) are all dealing with their own issues around their impending exits. Some people liked its provocativeness. When NBC refused to finance their ambitious plan, the idea for the snow globe was hatched. In fact, for all its success, most aspects of St. Movies & TV Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for movie and TV enthusiasts. 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. 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. St Craig, always a prissy sort, is absolutely beside himself with the prospect that his wife Ellen is taking a job in (gasp) Ohio. The What world is Tommy imagining inside that snow globe, he wonders aloud. I think other people will find it puzzling, odd, maybe unfulfilling in some way.. Why was it necessary for St. ", Grandfather: "He's been sitting there ever since you left this morning, just like he does every day. 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. 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. --Tom Fontana, former producer, St. The doctors had visited the bar on Cheers in one St. 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. A Weyland-Yutani ship is seen in the BBC series Red Dwarf, which also depicted The Doctors TARDIS. St. 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 cast reunion: It was a show that changed television, 'St. And I was very upset. Official crossovers between the "St. Fontana wrote a fictional "Weigert Corporation" as an intergral part of both "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. "[Fontana] was fond of putting in references to previous shows he worked on, including bringing characters from St. One prominent critic, Professor Brian Weatherson, argues that just because St. When not writing, Michael enjoys going to concerts, taking in live professional wrestling, and debating pop culture. Elsewhere, like basically every television series that is set in the present day, had crossover episodes or cameos with other popular shows. Elsewhere remains one of the most famous examples of the "all just a dream" plot. Thats really cool for a teenager. 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. He sits there, all day long, in his own world, staring at that toy. Meme Status Submission Year 1988 Origin St. If Cheers is not real, then is Trebek? Elsewhere writer Tom Fontana was quoted as saying "Someone did the math once and something like 90 percent of all [American] television took place in Tommy Westphall's mind. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Elsewhere, Paltrow, Fontana and the several cast members interviewed all said they would have been willing to continue indefinitely. More: Why The X-Files Season 12 Never Happened. Elsewhere's characters. "You know, I still have the snow globe," he said. Composition by Dave Grusin 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 think it can happen. Nobody is too interested in that, though. orGrey's Anatomy, then you've got one series to thank. Those two impressive achievements would have likely relegated the bizarre ending of St. It seems to imply that the events of the show were all imagined by the mind of a non-verbal young boy. Tommy Westphall - Wikipedia Suddenly, we're taken to a small apartment where Tommy sits on the floor, playing with a snow globe. Elsewhere. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? 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 made guest appearances on another TV series, and characters from that series in turn appeared on other series. Tommy's father, still being portrayed by Ed Flanders (aka "Donald Westphall") arrives at the apartment wearing a hard hat. Most of us failed. 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. If you've ever been riveted by the human drama ofE.R. 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. ", Father: "Well, we finally topped off the 22nd story. Elsewhere into Homicide.". There are oodles of ways to end a TV series. There are other possible interpretations of Tommy's "vision" which may suggest something other than the entire series being his dream. We went through this experience and I wanted it to be maintained as a real one, not a dream. St. [3][5][6] According to Lindsey Freeman, the narrative framing of Tommy's imagination as within a snow globe occurs because, as an "oneiric and mnemonic gadget", a snow globe "often finds itself as a companion piece to the dream sequences found in television and movies". St. Elsewhere - Wikipedia 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. Theyre more interested in the colossal mind-fuck that is the Tommy Westphall Universe. Tommy Westphall, portrayed by Chad Allen, is a minor character from the drama television series St. 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. They needed a way to end the show It was a provocative ending. A surprise to everybody. St. Make Room For Daddy takes out I Love Lucy.. Donald Westphalls autistic son, who was gazing into a snow globe containing a miniature version of the hospital. 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. What is the Russian word for the color "teal"? How was your day up on the building? The show also has connections to series that cameafter it, largely thanks to one of its writers and producers, Tom Fontana. I didnt dislike it. 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. 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. 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. Paired with the show's penchant for references, this finale has spawned one of the most bizarre and elaborate fan theories of all time. This year, Ken Lowe is revisiting some of the most influential TV shows that made it to an officially planned final episode. I was not upset. WebSt. Over time and with the help of reader contributions, The Tommy Westphall Universe grew to include shows as diverse as ALF, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Knight Rider, Melrose Place, Seinfeld, and dozens of others, much of it helped along by the character of Munch appearing in more than 10 series, and those series making reference to other characters and brands. The John Larroquette Show once mentioned Yoyodyne, a manufacturing client of law firm Wolfram and Hart; 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.. Birth! 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. Flashforward! 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. Can my creature spell be countered if I cast a split second spell after it? Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. There are two very important reasons why the ending is not only justified but important and even critically needed for a show like St. Web"Cora and Arnie". CHRISTINA PICKLES (Helen Rosenthal): I have no idea what it means.

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