| St. Elsewhere | |
|---|---|
Title card of season 1 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | |
| Developed by | |
| Starring |
|
| Theme music composer | Dave Grusin |
| Composers | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 137(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Producers |
|
| Production locations | CBS Studio Center Studio City, Los Angeles,California |
| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Production company | MTM Enterprises |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | October 26, 1982 (1982-10-26) – May 25, 1988 (1988-05-25) |
St. Elsewhere is an Americanmedical drama television series created byJoshua Brand andJohn Falsey that originally ran onNBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series starsEd Flanders,Norman Lloyd, andWilliam Daniels as teaching doctors at an aging, run-downBoston hospital who give interns a promising future in making critical medical and life decisions. The series was produced byMTM Enterprises, which had success with a similar NBC series, the police dramaHill 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 forSt. 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 yearlyNielsen 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.[1] The series also earned critical acclaim during its run, earning 13Emmy Awards for its writing, acting, and directing and is widely regarded as one of thegreatest television shows of all time.[2][3][4][5]
St. Elsewhere was set at the fictionalSt. Eligius Hospital, a decaying urbanteaching hospital in Boston'sSouth End neighborhood. (The South End's Franklin Square House Apartments, formerly known as the St. James Hotel and located next toFranklin and Blackstone Squares, stood in for the hospital in establishing shots, including the series' opening sequence.)[6] The hospital's nickname, "St. Elsewhere", is a slang term used in the medical field to refer to lesser-equipped hospitals that serve patients turned away by more prestigious institutions; it is also used in medical academe to refer to teaching hospitals in general.[citation needed]
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 toSaint 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 inHill 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 wayHill Street was regarded as a groundbreaking police drama,St. Elsewhere also broke new ground in medical dramas, creating a template that influencedER,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 involvingbreast 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.[7]
The producers for the series wereBruce Paltrow,Mark Tinker,John Masius,Tom Fontana,John Falsey andAbby Singer. Tinker, Masius, Fontana, and Paltrow wrote a number of episodes as well; other writers includedJohn Tinker,John Ford Noonan,Charles H. Eglee,Eric Overmyer,Channing Gibson, andAram Saroyan.

The show's main and end title theme was composed by famed jazz musician and composerDave Grusin. Noted film and TV composerJ. 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 onTVT Records' compilationTelevision's Greatest Hits, Vol. 3: 70s & 80s, and Grusin recorded a full-length version for inclusion on hisNight Lines album, released in 1983.
Along with established actorsEd Flanders,Norman Lloyd andWilliam Daniels,St. Elsewhere's ensemble cast includedDavid Morse,Alfre Woodard,Bruce Greenwood,Christina Pickles,Kyle Secor,Ed Begley Jr.,Stephen Furst,Howie Mandel,Mark Harmon, andDenzel Washington. Notable guest stars includeTim Robbins, whose first major role was in the series' first three episodes as domestic terrorist Andrew Reinhardt, andDoris Roberts andJames Coco, who each earnedEmmy 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 | Main | |||||
| David Birney | Dr. Ben Samuels | Main | |||||
| Norman Lloyd | Dr. Daniel Auschlander | Recurring | Main | ||||
| Ronny Cox | Dr. John Gideon | Main | |||||
| William Daniels | Dr. Mark Craig | Main | |||||
| Also Starring | |||||||
| G.W. Bailey | Dr. Hugh Beale | Main | |||||
| Ed Begley Jr. | Dr. Victor Ehrlich | Main | |||||
| Terence Knox | Dr. Peter White | Main | Guest | ||||
| Howie Mandel | Dr. Wayne Fiscus | Main | |||||
| David Morse | Dr. Jack Morrison | Main | |||||
| Christina Pickles | Nurse Helen Rosenthal | Main | |||||
| Kavi Raz | Dr. Vijay Kochar | Main | Recurring | Guest | |||
| Cynthia Sikes | Dr. Annie Cavanero | Main | |||||
| Denzel Washington | Dr. Phillip Chandler | Main | |||||
| Ellen Bry | Nurse Shirley Daniels | Recurring | Main | Guest | |||
| Mark Harmon | Dr. Robert Caldwell | Main | |||||
| Eric Laneuville | Luther Hawkins | Recurring | Main | ||||
| Kim Miyori | Dr. Wendy Armstrong | Recurring | Main | ||||
| Nancy Stafford | Joan Halloran | Main | Recurring | Guest | |||
| Stephen Furst | Dr. Elliot Axelrod | Recurring | Main | ||||
| Bonnie Bartlett | Ellen Craig | Recurring | Main | ||||
| Bruce Greenwood | Dr. Seth Griffin | Main | |||||
| Cindy Pickett | Dr. Carol Novino | Recurring | Main | ||||
| Sagan Lewis | Dr. Jacqueline Wade | Recurring | Main | ||||
| France Nuyen | Dr. Paulette Kiem | Recurring | Main | ||||
| Jennifer Savidge | Nurse Lucy Papandreo | Recurring | Main | ||||
| Recurring | |||||||
| Barbara Whinnery | Dr. Cathy Martin | Recurring | Guest | ||||
| Byron Stewart | Warren Coolidge | Guest | Recurring | ||||
| Alfre Woodard | Dr. Roxanne Turner | Recurring | Guest | ||||
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 22 | October 26, 1982 (1982-10-26) | May 3, 1983 (1983-05-03) | |
| 2 | 22 | October 26, 1983 (1983-10-26) | May 16, 1984 (1984-05-16) | |
| 3 | 24 | September 19, 1984 (1984-09-19) | March 27, 1985 (1985-03-27) | |
| 4 | 24 | September 18, 1985 (1985-09-18) | May 7, 1986 (1986-05-07) | |
| 5 | 23 | September 24, 1986 (1986-09-24) | May 27, 1987 (1987-05-27) | |
| 6 | 22 | September 16, 1987 (1987-09-16) | May 25, 1988 (1988-05-25) | |
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:
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 astethoscope, hearing the patient's new heart—Nina's heart—steadily beating.
Original air date: March 27, 1985
St. Elsewhere ended its 3rd season with this TVcrossover that found Drs. Westphall, Auschlander, and Craig getting together atCheers. The scene, which was filmed on the mainCheers soundstage (Stage 25 at theParamount Studios lot), findsCliff Clavin trying and failing to gain free medical advice from the doctors, Auschlander confronting his former accountantNorm Peterson, and barmaidCarla 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 ofCheers' andSt. 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.
Original air date: February 19 and 20, 1986
This 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 byEdward 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."[8]
Original air date: November 26, 1986
This 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 withLou Gehrig, his colleagues successfully revive him.
Original air date: May 27, 1987
In 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.
Original air date: September 30, 1987
St. 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 nationalmanaged health care concern. (The use of "Ecumena" garnered some real-life controversy, asHumana thought the use of that name sounded too much like its own. The trademark-infringement lawsuit that ensued promptedNBC to begin airing post-episode disclaimers stating that Ecumena was indeed fictional,[9] and to change the corporate name mid-season to "Weigert".[10]) 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 (andEd Flanders's last moment as aSt. Elsewhere series regular), delivers his resignation "in terms you can understand"—by dropping his pants andexposing 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.[11]
Original air date: April 20, 1988
In a somewhat change-of-pace episode, Drs. Craig and Novino, Ellen Craig, and Lizzie Westphall visit Donald and Tommy Westphall (Lizzie's father and brother, respectively), who appear to be enjoying the quiet life in small townNew Hampshire. The episode features Dr. Westphall occasionally breaking thefourth wall and speaking directly to the viewer, a la the "Stage Manager" character inOur Town (the episode title and its location are nods to theThornton Wilder play). The teleplay for "Their Town" was written bySt. Elsewhere cast memberSagan Lewis (as "S.J. Lewis"), although her character of Dr. Wade does not appear.
Original air date: May 25, 1988
St. Elsewhere'sseries finale features momentous changes for several main characters, including the departures of Drs. Fiscus and Morrison and the death of Dr. Auschlander, as well as the return of Dr. Westphall to an active leadership role at St. Eligius after Weigert agrees to sell the hospital back to the Boston archdiocese, as Dr. Gideon is set to move on to another hospital in San Jose, California.
The finale is more known for its provocative final scene: Westphall and his sonTommy Westphall (played byChad Allen), who hasautism, are seen in Dr. Auschlander's office watching snow falling outside. The image cuts to an exterior shot of the hospital, shaking. At that moment, Tommy and Daniel Auschlander are seen in an apartment building, with Tommy sitting on the floor playing with a snow globe. A much younger-looking Donald arrives home from a day of work, and it is clear from the uniform he wears and the dialog in this scene that he works in construction. "Auschlander" is revealed to be Donald's father, and thus Tommy's grandfather. Donald laments to his father, "I don't understand this autism thing, Pop. Here's my son. I talk to him. I don't even know if he can hear me, because he sits there, all day long, in his own world, staring at that toy. What's he thinking about?" As Tommy shakes the snow globe, he is told by his father to come and wash his hands for dinner. Donald places the snow globe on the family's television set and walks into the kitchen with Tommy and Auschlander; as they leave the room, the camera closes in on the snow globe—which holds a replica of St. Eligius.[12]
The most common interpretation of this scene is that the entire series of events in the seriesSt. Elsewhere has been a product of Tommy Westphall's imagination, with elements of the above scene used as its own evidence.[13][14] Author Cynthia Burkhead explains that with this final shot, "St. Elsewhere managed to take the idea of a dream and alter it just enough, putting it in the imagination of an autistic boy", and surmises that an ending constructed in this manner "reminds viewers that the fiction they have watched for six years is actually fiction within a fiction, occupying a second level of unreality, one level beyond the space of illusion filled by all narrative television."[15] A notable result of this ending has been the attempt by individuals to determine how many television shows are also products of Tommy Westphall's mind owing to itsshared fictional characters (the "Tommy Westphall Universe").
"The Last One"'s closing credits differ from those of the rest of the series. In all other episodes, the credits appear over a still image of an ongoing surgical operation, followed by the traditionalMTM Productions black-backgrounded logo, featuringMimsie the Cat in a cartoon surgical cap and mask. Here, the credits appear on a black background, flanked by anelectrocardiogram and an IV bag, with Mimsie lying on her side at the top of the screen; at the end of the credits, the heart monitorflatlines, and Mimsie dies, thus endingSt. Elsewhere for good. Coincidentally, Mimsie the Cat died in real life shortly after the airing of "The Last One" at the age of 20.[16]
"The Last One" brought in 22.5 million viewers, ranking 7th out of 68 programs that week and attracting a 17.0/29 rating/share, and ranking as the most watched episode of the series.[17] In 2011, the finale was ranked No. 12 on theTV Guide Network specialTV's Most Unforgettable Finales.[18]
| Season | Time slot (ET) | Rank | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982–83 | Tuesdays 10 p.m. | #87 | N/A |
| 1983–84 | Wednesdays 10 p.m. | #70 | 13.2 |
| 1984–85 | #49 | 13.4 | |
| 1985–86 | #53 | 13.8 | |
| 1986–87 | #55 | 13.4 | |
| 1987–88 | #47 | 13.3 |
The ratings forSt. Elsewhere's first season were so poor that NBC hesitated to renew the show and the crew understood it to be cancelled. After a ratings pop from the season finale, network CEOGrant Tinker (Mark's father and a co-founder of MTM) personally intervened to continue the show. However, it struggled for renewals throughout its run due to its below-average overall ratings/viewership.[19][20]
St. Elsewhere was known for the insertion of several allusions both large and small to classic movies, pop culture, and television events (the latter especially) throughout its run, including other shows that were produced byMTM Enterprises.[1] Some of the more noteworthy allusions have included:
St. Elsewhere was also host to onecrossover, served as the source material for two others, and has been paid homage to in several ways:
St. Elsewhere won 24 out of 106 award nominations. The series garnered 62Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning 13 of them. Out of the thirteen wins,Ed Flanders won once andWilliam Daniels won twice forOutstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series,Bonnie Bartlett andDoris Roberts each won forOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series,James Coco won forOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series,John Masius andTom Fontana won two awards forOutstanding Writing for a Drama Series, andMark Tinker won forOutstanding Directing for a Drama Series.[24] It received fiveGolden Globe Award nominations, with four of them forBest Television Series – Drama.[25]St. Elsewhere received sevenTCA Award nominations, winning once forOutstanding Achievement in Drama.[26] The series also won three out of fourQ Awards. Additional accolades include aPeabody Award[27] and People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Dramatic Program.[28]
In May 2003,Walden Media announced a partnership with Roth Films to create afilm adaptation of the television series.[citation needed] It was never made.
After its initial run, reruns ofSt. Elsewhere aired for a time in syndication, with later runs onNick at Nite,TV Land,Bravo andAmericanLife TV Network.
Also a popular series in theUnited Kingdom,St. Elsewhere has been aired twice by two separate British broadcasters.Channel 4 aired the series between 1983 and 1989, withSky One later airing repeats in a daily Midday timeslot during 1992–93. In 2009, Channel 4 began showing the series again, usually at around 03:30 AM, and have repeated the entire series several times since then. All 137 episodes are also available to view online atAll 4.
Nick at Nite first addedSt. Elsewhere to its regular lineup on April 29, 1996, as part of an all-night sneak peek of sister network TV Land. After the sneak peek, Nick at Nite airedSt. Elsewhere regularly from May 4 until July 6, 1996, every Saturday night as part of a short-lived programming block calledNick at Nite's TV Land Sampler.St. Elsewhere was one of many rotating shows airing Saturday nights as part ofNick at Nite's TV Land Sampler, which included (among other shows)Petticoat Junction,That Girl andThe Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour along with past Nick at Nite ClassicsMister Ed andGreen Acres. Nick at Nite aired reruns ofSt. Elsewhere once again from June 30 until July 4, 1997, as part of the week-long eventThe 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.[29]
On November 28, 2006,20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the complete first season ofSt. Elsewhere on DVD in Region 1.[30]
In Region 2,Channel 4 DVD released the first season on DVD in the UK on April 2, 2007.[31] All episodes have been made available on Channel 4's UK on-demand internet stream All 4 in the UK andIreland, though these episodes are edited versions for syndication and not as they were originally aired.
Beginning October 2018, all episodes were available for streaming onHulu.[32] On November 1, 2023, several episodes were removed from the series. Though no official statement from Hulu was provided as to why they were removed, customers who have contacted their customer support have been told streaming rights issues are the reason.[citation needed] The following episodes were missing from Hulu:
As of October 1, 2025, all episodes of St. Elsewhere have been removed from Hulu due to loss of streaming rights.[33]
Shows like St. Elsewhere, which pulled in a solid number of younger viewers—indeed, a larger number of younger viewers than some shows in the top 30—could be monetized in that fashion. Advertisers who wanted to reach younger viewers would advertise on St. Elsewhere.