Theyre more interested in the colossal mind-fuck that is the. 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. But they did want to end the show, and not have little St. Elsewheres coming after it. Marriage! 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. Share. The series was also known for one of its more playful aspects: it was prone to dropping references and callbacks to other TV series. Elsewhere" that the whole show had been in the character 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.. 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. 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. A clip of the original credits from the series finale, with Mimsie the Cat on life support. Lloyd, whose Dr. Auschlander was supposed to die years ago but enjoyed a miraculous remission, is even more hopeful. Paired with the show's penchant for references, this finale has spawned one of the most bizarre and elaborate fan theories of all time. 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. 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. Both shows took a grittier and more realistic approach to their drama. But for others, it was a stroke of inspiration. What positional accuracy (ie, arc seconds) is necessary to view Saturn, Uranus, beyond? Tommy runs to see the snow falling outside the window, and that's when everything changes. Part of HuffPost Entertainment. WebThere are oodles of ways to end a TV series. Related: Crisis On Infinite Earths Solved DC Movies' Continuity Problem. 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. The best music, movies, TV, books, comedy and more. Did the drapes in old theatres actually say "ASBESTOS" on them? Elsewhere storyline exists only within Westphall's imagination. 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. 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. Elsewhere production team are at work on Tattingers, a new NBC series from MTM slated for St. 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., It was as far as they could go, he said. And in the end, Fiscus patient does finally sing. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? Via Wikipedia: The most common interpretation of this scene is that the entire series of events in the series 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. Here's my son, I talk to him, I don't even know if he can hear me. Elsewhere,' It's Goodbye (or Is It?) Its an episode of heartfelt goodbyes and dramatic exits. 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. Cookies help us deliver our Services. Cheers introduced Frasier Crane, of Frasier; In that episode, the entirety of St. Suddenly, we're taken to a small apartment where Tommy sits on the floor, playing with a snow globe. Its just asking too much from all of us. But I loved that they took the leap, and that was in the spirit of the show. What's he thinking about?". Web359. The full list includes 419 shows as of 2016, the last time the curators of the Westphall theory updated its website. Not necessarily Gow and Crowe have an elaborate system of rules for what shows can and can't be included in the list, which they shared with HuffPost and can now be seen on their site's latest update. 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. St. What world is Tommy imagining inside that snow globe, he wonders aloud. To me the last 10 minutes of the final episode of St. For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow @Paste_TV. 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]. The "St. Behind him stood his father, who was sporting a construction workers wardrobe. 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. Elsewhere. The commercial titled "Off Season" features the cast of the mock sitcom "Fansville" discussing their purpose after the conclusion of the college football season. CYNTHIA SIKES (Dr. Annie Cavanero): Part of me likes that whole thing because its sort of an Orson Welles-ian Rosebud [ending]. At one point. I remember reading about it in the paper that there was controversy over it. The shows cast had seen ups and downs, additions and subtractions in its time, with Flanders character Westphall eventually stepping down as the hospitals head to become a doctor there. 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. Westphall, who is autistic, played an increased role in St. 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! It was highly unpredictable, just like every episode. 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 were arguably all dreamed up by young Tommy. Yet, in the ending of St. St. CLARIFICATION: This article originally included a quote that incorrectly stated all of the non-American shows in the list. Here on EW.com, read what each of them had to say about the daring and polarizing ending that helped define the WTF? Tommy's father, still being portrayed by Ed Flanders (aka "Donald Westphall") arrives at the apartment wearing a hard hat. That's the nature of a hospital drama, that's why we tune in. Theyre more interested in the colossal mind-fuck that is the Tommy Westphall Universe. Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action Little Mermaid with a new generation's Ariel. Elsewhere--a derisive nickname for the aging South Boston medical facility--was never healthy in the ratings. That would surely lead to spreadsheets the size of walls: Weyland-Yutani is the company behind the machinations of the Alien franchise. For a constant stream of entertainment news and discussion, follow HuffPost Entertainment on Viber. Wolfram and Hart had another client, Weyland-Yutani, that made a weapons display screen for Firefly; In a 2003 article published on BBC News Online, St. 59K views 4 years ago. 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. You never knew what was going to happen next. I think the reality of a hospital is much worse. Is there a weapon that has the heavy property and the finesse property (or could this be obtained)? Elsewhere finale wasn't infamous enough with its twist ending, the closing bumper made for the finale showed Mimsie, the logo cat, unconscious and hooked up to an IV, Another reason for the importance of this ending is the nature of what we were shown. As Dr. Fiscus struggles with the anxiety of leaving the hospital, his last patient at St. Eligius is the actress portraying a valkyrie in a Wagner opera who has, get this, laryngitis. Fiscus and Morrison and the death of Dr. Auschlander, Fontana wrote a fictional "Weigert Corporation" as an intergral part of both "St. sign-off. 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. Airing for six seasons from 1982 to 1988 on NBC,St. The thing Im proudest of is the overall balance of the comedy to the drama; the counterpoint of that really grew and grew.. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. A Weyland-Utani ship is also seen in a spaceship graveyard in the British sci-fi series Red Dwarf.. 7. Elsewhere illustrates the rich and often blurred boundaries in how we experience the world."[7]. I think reality is much more the smell of the hospital, the smell of death. 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. Elsewhere is Westphall's dream, it does not imply that all of the characters on the show exist only in his mind. I thought it was ahead of its time, pretty ingenious and creative and not like anything else. Elsewhere characters Dr. Roxanne Turner (Alfre Woodard) and Dr. Victor Ehrlich (Ed Begley Jr.) appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street. Elsewhere signed off after six seasons on May 25, 1988, more than a few viewers were saddened. Elsewhere airs at 10 p.m. on Channels 4, 36 and 39. Elsewhere signed off after six seasons on May 25, 1988, more than a few viewers were saddened. St. Eligius is a teaching hospital in Bostons South End (the building that appears in the title sequence is actually an apartment building there). Inside it is a perfect replica of St. Eligius, with snow swirling around it as the shot fades to black. St. . 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. A few shows are outside of American television such as the British show, "Red Dwarf." It's not every day we see Plucky Comic Relief commit suicide. CHAD ALLEN (Tommy Westphall): I remember the script arrived, I read it, got to the end, and I was stumped. The complete list of shows is at the bottom of the article. Westphall sits down next to Tommy and says, "I don't understand this autism thing, Pop. But I thought it was wonderful. Elsewhere,[1] which ran on NBC from 1982 to 1988.[2]. The first connection made in the Tommy Westphall universe is from St. Its been observed that much of American primetime TV has been about cops and the sex lives of doctors. What is the Russian word for the color "teal"? 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. That is quite a choice. They did very unusual, bold things and did it regularly. As of this writing, 441 shows can be tied to St. HOWIE MANDEL (Dr. Wayne Fiscus): I thought it was realllllllly interesting. When not writing, Michael enjoys going to concerts, taking in live professional wrestling, and debating pop culture. Ambiguous cut to black! But I wasnt surprised that there were many people who didnt find it satisfying. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Elsewhere into Homicide.". At one point, St. Elsewhere team enjoyed life on the series even when times were tough, which was always. 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. What symbolic value does either the globe or the snow have on the ending of the series? Does the 500-table limit still apply to the latest version of Cassandra? Elsewhere is not a great place to work or convalesce. DAVID MORSE (Dr. Jack Boomer Morrison): I felt two things. It was bold and shocking and upset some people. Much of the humor between characters is gallows humor. 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. Howie goes to the morgue, slides me out, says something to me and pushes me back in. Theres a lot to unpack: is it simply making a statement on the show as a fictional world? John Munch). 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, . I tell you, the last episode, I never bought it. 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. 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. What is the name of the poem Belle reads out? 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. Fox doesnt think hell live to be 80: Every day its tougher. Elsewherefollowed its flawed, relatable characters over multi-episode storylines and even season-long arcs. 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. The kind of gallows humor that was in the show was a case of art imitating life, Paltrow continued. 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. I really had very little to say about that episode because I thought it was a letdown. Rather than case-of-the-week stories with infallible doctors and carboard-thin supporting characters,St. 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. Elsewhere by the residents and the surrounding community, the place has a reputation as a rathole. And because I cant tell you I have a better idea of how it couldve ended, I can live with that one. You can follow him on Twitter and read more at his blog. At one point I was the answer for a Trivial Pursuit question. Is it safe to publish research papers in cooperation with Russian academics. Over time, it began to look something like the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game. Scan this QR code to download the app now. Fontana was being facetious (we think), but not everyone was as enthused with the premise. Can you still use Commanders Strike if the only attack available to forego is an attack against an ally? 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. 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. 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. 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. The streamlining kind of took away its energy.. While that can sometimes describe St. And listen, we set such a bar, its hard to top it to make that ending satisfy a lot of people. Other people didnt care for it at all. 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. 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. 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. Flashforward! The stories speak for themselves. 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. That is Donald Westphalls autistic son, who was gazing into a snow globe containing a miniature version of the hospital. 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. I think a lot of the cast didnt care for it at all. Death! I think other people will find it puzzling, odd, maybe unfulfilling in some way.. Tommy Westphall, portrayed by Chad Allen, is a minor character from the drama television series St. 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. I went, Wow. "St. (referring to Tommy) He give you any trouble? 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. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. 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. The series finale of the 1980s medical dramedy 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. 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. What's he thinking about? It was all a dream! Gow, a resident of Melbourne, Australia, spent time in pubs and online wondering what Tommys scene meant for every show connected to St. Westphall, Auschlander, and Gideon (Cox) are stressing about how they can possibly keep the hospital open. And I'm beat. I thought it was an interesting choice to make I respect [the ambition]. Elsewhere also shared characters with The White Shadow and Its Garry Shandlings Show, McDuffie wrote. Why does the husband leave the family in The Others? Despite its high standing among TV critics, St. When we read it, we all had reservations about it. A surprise to everybody. The strange thing that occurs to me when thinking about the show was how temporary it seemed, mused Begley, who spent the last six years matching wits--and losing--with William Daniels, who played St. Eligius Hospitals cranky chief of surgery, Mark Craig. The Marvel Cinematic Universe might seem like a huge landscape of interconnected shows and TV movies, but the Tommy Westphall universe has it beat. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Elsewhere carries a shocking implication NBC St. These strings go on across multiple decades of television, with I Love Lucy being the earliest example. But because we set a bar, it was just hard to really top that I wish I could say that I loved it. 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. Elsewhere's final moments. The one where EW follows up with the cast. Beginnings and endings are important in all forms of fiction, but Id argue especially so in scripted television. 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. Here's my son, I talk to him, I don't even know if he can hear me. Elsewhere was known for its I think itll have another life, he said, smiling enigmatically. Birth! In the last episode's final two scenes, Donald Westphall having just returned to St. Eligius is shown in Dr. Auschlander's office pondering the recent death from stroke of his colleague and mentor. 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. Elsewhere seemed like an easy out. 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. Elsewhere" Dwayne McDuffie at the Los Angeles premiere of "All Star Superman" As Begley added wistfully, Its never over till its over--but I think in this case, its over .. Elsewheres bumbling Dr. Victor Erlich, offered the final diagnosis of his medical career. ", Father: "I don't understand this autism thing, Pop. Elsewhere, the magic was in the tone, as it was with another show by the same production company, Hill Street Blues. Birth! At the end of the ride it was now up to us to put effort into understanding other people, by showing compassion for an autistic boy. I had no ideas of their plans to do that. 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! Often, characters crossing over on the same network can ignite a connection, with shared brands or locations providing the connective tissue for others. Elsewhere have dropped out of the cultural lexicon entirelyexcept for one. St. Elsewhere. Though they remain philosophical about the loss of St. 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. Would you ever say "eat pig" instead of "eat pork"? You can make up your own line what it means. Elsewhere was an aberration. Thats All, Folksis a look back at televisions most unforgettable series finales. 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 John Hemingway of The John Larroquette Show once called into Frasiers talk show; 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. But [executive producers] Tom Fontana and John Masius and Bruce Paltrow didnt want just a normal ending. Elsewhere visited the Cheers bar, the creators of Cheers offered no consent to have their series thought of as imaginary. 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). ED BEGLEY JR. (Dr. Victor Ehrlich): It was quite fitting for what they had done the previous six years. And they figured out a way: Okay, we wont have any reunions, nothing like that. 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. Why did DOS-based Windows require HIMEM.SYS to boot? We never answered any of the questions we posed. Along with U.S.-based fan Ash Crowe, Gow began to develop a chart linking the series to other shows on television. And none of MTMs shows better defined quality television than St. Embedded hyperlinks in a thesis or research paper. According to the duo's notes, the only other non-US shows in the "Tommyverse" are "The 'Degrassi' shows (Canada), 'The Office' (UK), the 'Doctor Who' shows (UK), 'Luther' (UK), 'Jo' (France) and 'Paris Section Criminelle' (France)," which "is the only show not in English in the Tommyverse.". Death! 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.
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