Elsewhere. 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. Elsewheres bumbling Dr. Victor Erlich, offered the final diagnosis of his medical career. is not a great place to work or convalesce. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. How was your day up on the building? Make Room For Daddy takes out I Love Lucy.. Elsewhere team enjoyed life on the series even when times were tough, which was always. We cant take that jump from seeing these people, Norman, Ed [Flanders] and Bill [Daniels], and this young boy for six years, and suddenly were supposed to believe that theyre these other people. 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. 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. Who is Bruce and does he have a real-world counterpart? The commercial titled "Off Season" features the cast of the mock sitcom "Fansville" discussing their purpose after the conclusion of the college football season. Elsewhere take place within Tommy's mind, but so do numerous other television series which are directly and indirectly connected to St. A FL native, Michael is passionate about pop culture, and earned an AS degree in film production in 2012. The fictional brand or company thing is also Fontana's fault. The doctors had visited the bar on Cheers in one St. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. 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. With the aria "Chi il bel sogno di Doretta" (Doretta's Beautiful Dream) from Puccini's opera La Rondine playing, Tommy Westphall enters the office and runs to the window, where he looks at the snow falling outside St. Eligius. Beyond the theoretical connections, it's possible that the 419 affected shows all exist within the dream of an autistic boy from the show, "St. WebSt. Cheers spun off the long-running seriesFrasier, and that series had its events referenced or its characters cameo on shows likeCaroline in the City, The John Larroquette Show,and evenThe Simpsons. ED BEGLEY JR. (Dr. Victor Ehrlich): It was quite fitting for what they had done the previous six years. 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. The original decision to include fictional product crossovers actually comes from the origins of the chart itself. characters got the business from Carla while drinking at Cheers, the bar from, uh, , a spinoff, must also exist somewhere in that snow globe. At one point I was the answer for a Trivial Pursuit question. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. I was only supposed to be in 18 of the 22 episodes, so I got an extra episodes pay out of it. The 50 greatest TV and movie detectives of all time. What world is Tommy imagining inside that snow globe, he wonders aloud. 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. At least that's the most widely held interpretation of St. 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. 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 sure heard about it. What were the most popular text editors for MS-DOS in the 1980s? The best music, movies, TV, books, comedy and more. Elsewhere. Elsewhere was a hospital drama where we, the audience, are invited to feel and think along with the patients, the families and the medical staff. 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. [3][1], The foremost interpretation of this scene is that the entire series of events in St. St. Toe-tagged. Elsewhere were more demonstrative and understanding of autistic people then all 12 seasons of The Big Bang Theory put together. I think the reality of a hospital is much worse. 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. Somehow, a literal airplane has crashed into the hospital. The corporation that bought St. Much of the humor between characters is gallows humor. Fontana was the executive producer and showrunner for Homicide for its entire seven years. That is the actual ending, a strange world-within-a-world. Elsewhere in its final season owned the prison hospital in his series Oz.". 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.". 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. In the door comes Dr. Westphall, but he hangs up a construction workers hat. The suggestion is that the entire series was a product of Tommy Westphall's imagination but if that's true, then what it implies is nothing short of jaw-dropping. 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. Why does the husband leave the family in The Others? 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. But of course, none of that is what people really remember the last episode for. Fiscus and Morrison and the death of Dr. Auschlander, Marriage! When NBCs hour-long hospital drama St. Elsewhere': About that snow-globe ending. And they figured out a way: Okay, we wont have any reunions, nothing like that. 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 to Homicide: Life on the Street, which shared a writer/producer in Tom Fontana. Illustration by HuffPost's Alissa Scheller. 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. If a person dreams about visiting London and meeting Gordon Brown, it does not follow that because the city of London and Gordon Brown appeared in a dream, they do not exist in real life. [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]. Elsewherefollowed its flawed, relatable characters over multi-episode storylines and even season-long arcs. Lloyd, whose Dr. Auschlander was supposed to die years ago but enjoyed a miraculous remission, is even more hopeful. St. 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. He adds that, "while a controversial and maddening ending for some loyal viewers, the final episode of St. 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.". Elsewhere" universe with other shows, then those shows with other shows, has created an elaborate web of American television. Elsewhere into Homicide.". 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. Often, characters crossing over on the same network can ignite a connection, with shared brands or locations providing the connective tissue for others. Dedicated fans attempting to chase down every connection toSt. 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. In that episode, the entirety of St. [3][4] The following exchange occurs: Grandfather: "Good. Tommy runs to see the snow falling outside the window, and that's when everything changes. 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 NBCs hour-long hospital drama St. Inside the globe was a tiny mock-up of St. Eligius, the medical center that was featured in the series. It is underfunded, understaffed, crowded, and running on fumes. 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. I knew there would be an uproar. ", Tommy, who is shaking a snow globe,[5] is told by his father to come and wash his hands. Elsewhere, and I venture to say stuff like House or Scrubs, or even Greys Anatomy would not look or feel the same without its influence and success. Elsewhere an autistic boy is shown to have imagined and created a vast and deeply human universe. Inside it is a perfect replica of St. Eligius, with snow swirling around it as the shot fades to black. We always said: Thats a tough question--well, good night! . Marriage! Elsewhere characters Dr. Roxanne Turner and Dr. Victor Ehrlich appear on Homicide: Life on the Street. They needed a way to end the show It was a provocative ending. DAVID MORSE (Dr. Jack Boomer Morrison): I felt two things. The theory is called the "The Tommy Westphall Universe" and hinges on a reveal at the finale of "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). 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. I went, Wow. 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. 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. As the episode comes to a close, Dr. Westphall is sitting alone in the office of his friend and mentor Dr. Auschlander, who has recently died when in runs his son, Tommy (Chad Allen), a quiet, autistic boy whom viewers had met a time or two before. Elsewhere's final moments. was a show that got by largely on the strength of its ensemble, running for six seasons from 1982-88. Helen Hunt even appeared in a few episodes. That would surely lead to spreadsheets the size of walls: Weyland-Yutani is the company behind the machinations of the Alien franchise. Observers of the theory take issue with the idea out of what they deem is a misunderstanding of an authors intent. A terrible ending! While that can sometimes describe St. St. At one point, St. And what about the real people who have appeared on the included shows, like Alex Trebek on Cheers? He went on to create the acclaimed seriesHomicide:Life on the Street (in which a character fromSt. Fontana went on to create Homicide: Life on the Street and HBOs groundbreaking prison drama Oz. The attitude was, Nothing can get us down, as bad as it is. And it was bad all the time.. He sits there, all day long, in his own world, staring at that toy. What is the rationale/justification for ending the series this way? What symbolic value does either the globe or the snow have on the ending of the series? I really had very little to say about that episode because I thought it was a letdown. A surprise to everybody. 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. I felt one thing when I read it and one thing when I saw it. WebYet, in the ending of St. Via Wikipedia: The most common interpretation of this scene is that the entire series of events in the series St. This ending was not serious to me. I was pretty happy with it. Much of the humor between characters is gallows humor. At one point. 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. To me the last 10 minutes of the final 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. 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? "Red Dwarf" is now included as well. How's he been? John Hemingway of The John Larroquette Show once called into Frasiers talk show; But for others, it was a stroke of inspiration. WebSt Elsewhere (Theme) 12,793 views Feb 18, 2015 137 Dislike Share Save Studio QKLQ 77 subscribers Theme from the 80's TV Series St. 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. I think other people will find it puzzling, odd, maybe unfulfilling in some way.. The episode marked the end of St. The Tommy Westphall universe hypothesis makes the claim that not only does St. Elsewhere characters Dr. Roxanne Turner (Alfre Woodard) and Dr. Victor Ehrlich (Ed Begley Jr.) appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street. Most of us failed. Paltrow noted that the shows bleak vision was deliberate. Elsewhere carries a shocking implication NBC St. But [executive producers] Tom Fontana and John Masius and Bruce Paltrow didnt want just a normal ending. were arguably all dreamed up by young Tommy. 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. You can barely please half the people most of the time. It only takes a minute to sign up. Elsewhere's characters. A few shows are outside of American television such as the British show, "Red Dwarf." When directing episodes for the eighth series of the revived Doctor Who in 2014, Ben Wheatley had the art department create a replica of Tommy Westphall's snowglobe, which Wheatley placed in the TARDIS set as a reference to the hypothesis. (referring to Tommy) He give you any trouble? Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Even if that's true though, thinking about it remains an amusing diversion. John Munch). St. 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. Westphall sits down next to Tommy and says, "I don't understand this autism thing, Pop. Not enough dollars, however, to keep the series alive for another year. Law & Order creator Dick Wolf is close friends with Fontana and frequently crossed Homicide characters over into his own series. And because I cant tell you I have a better idea of how it couldve ended, I can live with that one. The Marvel Cinematic Universe might seem like a huge landscape of interconnected shows and TV movies, but the Tommy Westphall universe has it beat. If Cheers is not real, then is Trebek? If the theory holds, then a large chunk of television is the direct result of one childs formidable imagination. Did the drapes in old theatres actually say "ASBESTOS" on them? 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. ER and Chicago Hope wouldnt exist in the form they did without St. St. Eligius is a teaching hospital in Bostons South End (the building that appears in the title sequence is actually an apartment building there). 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. In 1988, though, St. 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. Garry Shandling crossed over with The Andy Griffith Show (no, really!). As for the snow globe, that was the focus of Tommy's attention. 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. As far as I could tell, there was always controversy around St. Over time, it began to look something like the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game. 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. NORMAN LLOYD: (Dr. Daniel Auschlander): Theyd been talking about Citizen Kane. 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. MARK HARMON (Dr. Robert Caldwell): I didnt see it live. This is because it's pretty easy to connectSt. Elsewhere have discovered it be a never-ending task, and they have posited the "Tommy Westphall Universe" asthe grand, unified universe at the center of virtually everything you've ever watched on a screen, fromI Love Lucy toMalcolm in the Middle toKnight Rider toStar Trek to well, you get the idea. Some people liked its provocativeness. An exterior camera shot of the hospital cuts to Tommy West A Weyland-Utani ship is also seen in a spaceship graveyard in the British sci-fi series Red Dwarf.. 7. For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow. ", This means cartoons and late-night shows are notably excluded, but it gets far more specific than that. Elsewhere have dropped out of the cultural lexicon entirelyexcept for one. If the show were not great, if we had not had as many nominations, we probably wouldnt even be talking about it. Behind him stood his father, who was sporting a construction workers wardrobe. Then the Birdman decides he's fed up with being in the mental ward and wants to fly away from the hospital, so he jumps off the roof. I think it can happen. Elsewhere, like basically every television series that is set in the present day, had crossover episodes or cameos with other popular shows. If you're viewing this list on a mobile device, use this link to the web that allows for zooming. 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. CHAD ALLEN (Tommy Westphall): I remember the script arrived, I read it, got to the end, and I was stumped. 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. For a constant stream of entertainment news and discussion, follow HuffPost Entertainment on Viber. 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; It made me smile when I heard about what they did because it was so them. STEPHEN FURST (Dr. Elliot Axelrod): I thought it was kind of cool, actually. --Tom Fontana, former producer, St. wouldnt exist in the form they did without. 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. World of his own. 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. Why was it necessary for St. When NBC refused to finance their ambitious plan, the idea for the snow globe was hatched. Elsewhere has fallen victim to economic pressures. It seems to imply that the events of the show were all imagined by the mind of a non-verbal young boy. 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. Elsewhere to another series likely has additional connections of its own and for a sterling example of this, look no further thanHomicide. You cant please most people most of the time. So you pick your horse and place your bet. Its been observed that much of American primetime TV has been about cops and the sex lives of doctors. WebThere are oodles of ways to end a TV series. New blog post from our CEO Prashanth: Community is the future of AI, Improving the copy in the close modal and post notices - 2023 edition. Is there a weapon that has the heavy property and the finesse property (or could this be obtained)? , like basically every television series that is set in the present day, had crossover episodes or cameos with other popular shows. St. I think there was a period when last rites were being performed when we could have rallied, he said, his tone clinically matter-of-fact. God love him."[9]. 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? Howie Mandels Dr. Wayne Fiscus--who distinguished himself by having sex on an autopsy table during the shows first episode--experienced death through a fantasy sequence last season. orGrey's Anatomy, then you've got one series to thank. The Marvel Cinematic Universe might seem like a huge landscape of interconnected shows and TV movies, but the Tommy Westphall universe has it beat. Elsewhere. 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. 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. would not look or feel the same without its influence and success. 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. Elsewhere,' It's Goodbye (or Is It?) This is more interesting than interrogating the deeper philosophical or metaphorical meaning behind the very last scene of a six-season show! The show also has connections to series that cameafter it, largely thanks to one of its writers and producers, Tom Fontana. Here's my son, I talk to him, I don't even know if he can hear me. HOWIE MANDEL (Dr. Wayne Fiscus): I thought it was realllllllly interesting. It was all a dream! The stories speak for themselves. Fontana wrote a fictional "Weigert Corporation" as an intergral part of both "St. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Thats really cool for a teenager. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Kenneth Lowe is a regular contributor to Paste TV. I think a lot of the cast didnt care for it at all. I was not upset. Ambiguous cut to black! Can you still use Commanders Strike if the only attack available to forego is an attack against an ally? "That really solidifies things. Donald Westphalls autistic son, who was gazing into a snow globe containing a miniature version of the hospital. This is the final scene from "The Last One", the 22nd episode (137th overall) from the sixth and final season of NBC's 1982-88 medical drama The great thing about the show that even in its comedy, it was serious.
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