St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as teaching doctors at an aging, run-down Boston hospital who give interns a promising future in making critical medical and life decisions. The series was produced by MTM Enterprises, which had success with a similar NBC series, the police drama Hill Street Blues, during that same time. The series were often compared to each other for their use of ensemble casts and overlapping serialized storylines (an original ad for St. Elsewhere quoted a critic that called the series "Hill Street Blues in a hospital").
Recognized for its gritty, realistic drama, St. Elsewhere gained a small yet loyal following (the series never ranked higher than 47th place in the yearly Nielsen ratings) over its six-season, 137-episode run; however, the series also found a strong audience in Nielsen's 18–49 age demographic, a demo later known as a young, affluent audience that TV advertisers were eager to reach. The series also earned critical acclaim during its run, earning 13 Emmy Awards for its writing, acting, and directing, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest television shows of all time.
Overview St. Elsewhere was set at the fictional St. Eligius Hospital, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood. (The South End's Franklin Square House Apartments, formerly known as the St. James Hotel and located next to Franklin and Blackstone Squares, stood in for the hospital in establishing shots, including the series' opening sequence.)Entry for Franklin Square House on VirtualGlobetrotting.com
In the pilot episode, surgeon Dr. Mark Craig (William Daniels) informs his colleagues that the local Boston media had bestowed the derogatory nickname upon St. Eligius since they perceived the hospital as "a dumping ground, a place you wouldn't want to send your mother-in-law." In fact, the hospital was so poorly regarded that its shrine to Saint Eligius was commonly defiled by the hospital's visitors and staff. Despite the hospital's reputation, they employed some first-rate doctors—including Craig, a world-class heart surgeon. As well, their administrative staff was shown to care deeply about the hospital's mission, even as they dealt with a lack of up-to-date equipment, funding, and experienced personnel.
Just as in Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere employed a large ensemble cast, a gritty, "realistic" visual style, and a multitude of interlocking serialized stories, many of which continued over the course of multiple episodes or seasons. In the same way Hill Street was regarded as a groundbreaking police drama, St. Elsewhere also broke new ground in medical dramas, creating a template that influenced ER, Chicago Hope, and other later shows in the genre. St. Elsewhere portrayed the medical profession as an admirable but less-than-perfect endeavor; the St. Eligius staff, while mostly having good intentions in serving their patients, all had their own personal and professional problems, with the two often intertwining. The staff's problems, and those of their patients (some of whom did not survive), were often contemporary in nature, with storylines involving breast cancer, AIDS, and addiction. 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."NBC's Stylish 'St. Elsewhere,'" review from The New York Times, 11/16/1982
The producers for the series were Bruce Paltrow, Mark Tinker, John Masius, Tom Fontana, John Falsey and Abby Singer. Tinker, Masius, Fontana, and Paltrow wrote a number of episodes as well; other writers included John Tinker, John Ford Noonan, Charles H. Eglee, Eric Overmyer, Channing Gibson, and Aram Saroyan.
The show's main and end title theme was composed by famed jazz musician and composer Dave Grusin. Noted film and TV composer J. A. C. Redford wrote the music for the series (except for the pilot, which was scored by Grusin). No soundtrack was ever released, but the theme was released in two different versions: the original TV mix and edit appeared on TVT Records' compilation Television's Greatest Hits, Vol. 3: 70s & 80s, and Grusin recorded a full-length version for inclusion on his Night Lines album, released in 1983.
Main cast
Along with established actors Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd and William Daniels, St. Elsewhere's ensemble cast included Ed Begley Jr., Stephen Furst, Bruce Greenwood, Mark Harmon, Howie Mandel, David Morse, Christina Pickles, Kyle Secor, Denzel Washington, and Alfre Woodard. Notable guest stars include Tim Robbins, whose first major role was in the series' first three episodes as domestic terrorist Andrew Reinhardt, and Doris Roberts and James Coco, who each earned Emmy Awards for their season-one appearance as a bag lady and her mentally challenged husband.
Actor Character Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 Starring Ed Flanders Dr. Donald Westphall colspan="6" David Birney Dr. Ben Samuels colspan="1" colspan="5" Norman Lloyd Dr. Daniel Auschlander colspan="1" colspan="5" Ronny Cox Dr. John Gideon colspan="5" colspan="1" William Daniels Dr. Mark Craig colspan="6" Also Starring G. W. Bailey Dr. Hugh Beale colspan="1" colspan="5" Ed Begley Jr. Dr. Victor Ehrlich colspan="6" Terence Knox Dr. Peter White colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" Howie Mandel Dr. Wayne Fiscus colspan="6" David Morse Dr. Jack Morrison colspan="6" Christina Pickles Nurse Helen Rosenthal colspan="6" Kavi Raz Dr. Vijay Kochar colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="3" Cynthia Sikes Yorkin Dr. Annie Cavanero colspan="3" colspan="3" Denzel Washington Dr. Phillip Chandler colspan="6" Ellen Bry Nurse Shirley Daniels colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" Mark Harmon Dr. Robert Caldwell colspan="1" colspan="3" colspan="2" Eric Laneuville Luther Hawkins colspan="1" colspan="5" Kim Miyori Dr. Wendy Armstrong colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="4" Nancy Stafford Joan Halloran colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" Stephen Furst Dr. Elliot Axelrod colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="4" Bonnie Bartlett Ellen Craig colspan="4" colspan="2" Bruce Greenwood Dr. Seth Griffin colspan="4" colspan="2" Cindy Pickett Dr. Carol Novino colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="2" Sagan Lewis Dr. Jacqueline Wade colspan="5" colspan="1" France Nuyen Dr. Paulette Kiem colspan="4" colspan="1" colspan="1" Jennifer Savidge Nurse Lucy Papandreo colspan="5" colspan="1" Recurring Barbara Whinnery Dr. Cathy Martin colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="2" Byron Stewart Warren Coolidge colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="4" Alfre Woodard Dr. Roxanne Turner colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="1"
Episodes
St. Elsewhere ran for six seasons and 137 episodes; the first season (1982–83) aired Tuesdays at 10 p.m. (ET), with remaining seasons airing Wednesdays at 10 p.m.
St. Elsewhere was noteworthy for featuring episodes with unusual aspects or significant changes to the series' status quo. Some of those episodes included:
"Qui Transtulit Sustinet" Original air date: November 16, 1983
Dr. Morrison learns of the death of his wife, Nina (with whom he had an argument midway through the previous episode, which was the last time he saw her alive), after slipping and hitting her head. Nina's heart is donated to a heart transplant patient—a patient of Dr. Craig. The poignant final scene of the episode finds Morrison entering the patient's room and, with a stethoscope, hearing the patient's new heart—Nina's heart—steadily beating.
"Cheers" Original air date: March 27, 1985
St. Elsewhere ended its 3rd season with this TV crossover that found Drs. Westphall, Auschlander, and Craig getting together at Cheers. The scene, which was filmed on the main Cheers soundstage (Stage 25 at the Paramount Studios lot), finds Cliff Clavin trying and failing to gain free medical advice from the doctors, Auschlander confronting his former accountant Norm Peterson, and barmaid Carla Tortelli voicing her displeasure with the doctors regarding her stay in St. Eligius two years earlier for the birth of her baby. The scene ends with Westphall announcing to his two colleagues that he has decided to leave St. Eligius and medicine, a short-lived departure, as he returned in the Season 4 premiere.
The merger of Cheers''' and St. Elsewhere's universes created a discontinuity with the second season finale, "Hello, Goodbye", in which Dr. Morrison and his young son spend a day on the town and visit the real-world Bull and Finch Pub, the banners out front celebrating it as the inspiration for (and exterior view of) Cheers.
"Time Heals"Original air date: February 19 and 20, 1986This two-part episode featured storylines that fleshed out the 50-year history of St. Eligius, each sequence taped in a different style (i.e. black-and-white for the 1930s setting, muted colors for the 1940s). The storylines included the hospital's 1936 founding by Fr. Joseph McCabe (played by Edward Herrmann), the arrivals of Dr. Auschlander and Nurse Rosenthal, the early struggles of Mark Craig and his relationship with his mentor (which mirrored Craig's later mentoring of Dr. Ehrlich), the death of Dr. Westphall's wife, and Dr. Morrison simultaneously dealing with an overdose patient, a knee injury, and the disappearance of his son. TV Guide ranked "Time Heals" No. 44 on its 1997 list of "100 Greatest Episodes of All Time", calling the episode "a masterwork of dramatic writing."
"After Life"Original air date: November 26, 1986This episode deals with the shooting of Dr. Wayne Fiscus, who is critically wounded after being shot by the vengeful wife of a patient he is treating in the ER. As the staff frantically try to save him, Fiscus ventures back-and-forth between Hell (where he meets a former colleague, rapist Peter White), Purgatory, and Heaven, where he has a conversation with God, who presents Himself as a spitting image of Fiscus. Just as Fiscus shakes hands with Lou Gehrig, his colleagues successfully revive him.
"Last Dance at the Wrecker's Ball"Original air date: May 27, 1987In the season-five finale, all attempts to save St. Eligius from closing seem to have failed. As demolition begins, a frail Dr. Auschlander, accidentally left in the hospital after a relapse, attempts to escape.
"A Moon For the Misbegotten"Original air date: September 30, 1987St. Eligius is saved (and any damage from the above-mentioned "Wrecker's Ball" repaired), but it falls under the new ownership of Ecumena Corporation, a national managed health care concern. (The use of "Ecumena" garnered some real-life controversy, as Humana thought the use of that name sounded too much like its own. The trademark-infringement lawsuit that ensued prompted NBC to begin airing post-episode disclaimers stating that Ecumena was indeed fictional,"'St. Elsewhere' Told to Carry Disclaimer" from The New York Times, October 2, 1987 and to change the corporate name mid-season to "Weigert"."St. Name Change" from The Los Angeles Times, December 13, 1987) Ecumena's choice to head St. Eligius, Dr. John Gideon, did not get along well with the St. Eligius staff, especially Dr. Westphall, who, in the final scene of this episode (and Ed Flanders's last moment as a St. Elsewhere series regular), delivers his resignation "in terms you can understand"—by dropping his pants and exposing his bare buttocks to Gideon ("You can kiss my ass, pal"). This scene, which would normally be considered controversial, was preserved by NBC's censors as they did not consider Westphall's display to be erotic in nature.Source: "St. Elsewhere: A Moon for the Misbegotten," from IMDb.