Airing on NBC from 1982-88, St. Elsewhere was the first prime-time Medical Drama in almost a decade to use continuity for Character Development. It would be a model for many shows that followed it, including ER.It was about the staff, and to a lesser extent the patients, in the rundown hospital St. Eligius (nicknamed "St. Elsewhere"). It was Soap Operatic at times and had numerous Very Special Episodes. It ran for six seasons, appeared to have strong continuity for the most part, was written well enough for the most part that people got attached to the characters, had crossed over with numerous other network properties (most notably sister series Homicide: Life on the Street), and it was both popular and critically acclaimed while it was running. It was truly Must-See TV....Well, until the controversialGrand Finale. At the end, as the camera zoomed out to show snow falling on St. Eligius, America discovered the horrible truth about the events they had witnessed over the past six years. This final scene continues to enjoy debate to this day, thanks mostly to the proliferation of crossovers both Elsewhere and Homicide enjoyed.As a result, St. Elsewhere is now remembered as the definitive All Just a Dream series, although it can also be seen as breaking the fourth wall (with the snow globe containing the hospital representing the television set containing all the fictional events, as a metaphorical way to finish the story). The entire run can be seen here...in the UK only. note (We'll just leave this right here...)
This show contains examples of:
Absentee Actor: Dr. Chandler goes to training in Missouri shortly after being promoted to Chief Resident to accomodate Denzel Washington's movie work.
And Starring: William Daniels gets an "and starring as Dr. Mark Craig" credit in the open.
Subverted, however, during the final season, in which he's given top billing following the departure of Ed Flanders.
Anyone Can Die: Not even Santa Claus and Mimsie, MTM Enterprises' adorable kitten mascot, are safe.
Ascended Extra: Dr. Jackie Wade (Sagan Lewis) goes from a character with one line in the pilot to recurring character in the same season before getting promoted to the opening titles in Season 6.
Lucy Papandrao (Jennifer Savidge) has a similar arc: she's an uncredited nurse in the pilot's OR scene who appears as a recurring character the same season, with more prominent appearances in the following years
Billing Displacement: Denzel Washington is front and center on the DVD box, despite being a supporting player.
Break the Cutie: Poor Cathy Martin. After being raped twice and beaten by Peter White, she is irrevocably broken.
Break the Haughty: Dr. Craig. His son dies, his artificial heart patient regrets his surgery and then dies, he punches a mirror and injures his hand, leaving him unable to operate, and his wife leaves him and begins an affair with another man. They eventually reconcile. Oh, and in one episode, he's mistaken for being homeless.
Brick Joke: Throughout Season 5, Dr. Auschlander makes reference to a news, sport, or cultural event in his conversations with other doctors, with the references going back three years each subsequent episode. By the end of the season, the references are close to the time Auschlander was born. Not coincidentally, his mental state has also degraded to the point where he is like a helpless child.
This was done so subtly in the scripts, Norman Lloyd didn't even catch on until the producers told him.
Let's see, his wife dies tragically, his toddler son disappears (but eventually is found), he gets raped during a prison riot by the husband of a former patient in an especially brutal Call Back to Season 1, and then later said rapist escapes prison, stalks Boomer, and finally takes him and his new wife and kids hostage, only to be saved when Boomer's son, who's around six by now, shoots the rapist dead.
Bus Crash: Bobby Caldwell's (off-screen) death from AIDS in season six's "Heaven's Skate".
Call Back: Early in Season 1, a sociopathic domestic terrorist detonates a bomb in a bank, killing and wounding many, including the bomber. The causalities are brought to St. Eligius, including the bomber. The husband of one of the victims comes to the hospital, and after his wife dies ends up wandering around aimlessly throughout the episode. Finally, when the time comes to transfer the bomber to the US Marshals, the distraught husband appears out of nowhere and shoots the bomber dead. Roll credits. Now, flash forward several seasons. Boomer Morrison is volunteering at a prison clinic, where he ends up treating the husband who's been serving hard time for murdering the bomber. Somehow during the episode, a prison riot breaks out, Boomer ends up being taken hostage by the husband who then proceeds to make with the prison rape. It's stuff like this that makes the show memorable for its continuity.
Catch Phrase: Dr. Craig. "Oh, for crying out loud!".
Celebrity Paradox: Sort of. In the Season 2 episode "Hello and Goodbye", Morrison takes his son to "the bar that inspired Cheers", but then in the Season 3 episode "Cheers", Dr. Craig and Dr. Westphall visit the bar from Cheers where they interact with the characters from the show!
Character Development: Many characters went through this as the show went on, most notably Victor Ehrlich (who matures enough to marry nurse Lucy Papandrao in the last season) and Luther Hawkins (who becomes a protege of sorts to Dr. Auschlander, and ends up becoming a physicians' assistant by series end).
Christmas Episode: A particularly heartwrenching one following the death of the Craigs' son, which is also the one where they actually kill off Santa Claus himself!
Directed by Cast Member: Eric Laneuville (Luther Hawkins) frequently stepped behind the camera starting in season 2. William Daniels and David Morse also directed a few episodes.
Downer Ending: The finale's reveal that it was an "All Just a Dream" Mind Screw, although that evidently wasn't enough since the credits make it worse by killing Mimsie, the kitten mascot. You Bastard. *
Everybody Smokes: Especially in the early episodes. Patients smoke in their rooms and doctors smoke in the hallways, and it's all quite jarring for a modern audience.
Even series regular Dr Mark Craig finds it disturbing.
Every Episode Ending: Every episode ends with the picture freezing on the last few seconds of action.
Executive Meddling: A rare example with positive results. NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff was a huge fan of the show. His favorite character was Dr. Morrison, and he would frequently return scripts to the writers with "More Boomer!" written across them. This led to some of the most emotionally powerful moments on the show, as explained under Butt Monkey.
Furry Fandom: The Birdman of St. Elsewhere is probably the Ur Example in mainstream media. Ironically, he's written with considerably more nuance and sensitivity than most people who think they're animals are written on TV today, now that furry fandom is more widely known and heavily associated with squickiness. The show still used him mostly for laughs, although it avoided making viewers look down their nose at him; so when the Birdman decides he can fly away from the hospital by jumping off the roof...nobody's laughing.
Heroic Sacrifice: While he's being treated for a massive heart attack that almost killed him, Dr. Elliot Axelrod's room-mate goes into a Code Blue situation. Elliot, despite being on his last legs, gets out of bed to help as he's technically the closest doctor around. The strain and the stress of cause Axelrod to have another heart attack, but even while dying himself he gets the patient's heart restarted.
Hollywood Tourette's: One Very Special Episode featured a homeless woman with Tourette's who spewed profanity and racial slurs...or at least TV-friendly versions including "ssss!" and "nnnnn!".
Main characters who were Killed Off for Real include Dr. White (shot by Shirley Daniels), Nina Morrison's sudden death due to a freak slip-and-fall head injury, Wendy Armstrong's suicide, Mrs. Huffnagel getting eaten by her hospital bed, Elliot Axelrod's heart attack., and Dr. Auschlander's death in the finale.
Mistaken for Gay: Dr. Craig and Dr. Westphall, along with Dr. Craig and Dr. Erlich.
Napoleon Delusion: "John Doe #6", a patient in the psych ward who suffered from amnesia and imagined himself at various times to be different people including Mary Richards, John McEnroe, and Dr. Craig.
Phrase Catcher: Especially throughout Season 2. "You're a pig, Ehrlich."
Previously On / On The Next: Every episode began with a summary of previous events that were pertinent to the episode, and then a little snippet of events from that night's episode.
Put on a Bus: Several characters, but most notably Shirley Daniels and Bobby Caldwell.
Rape as Drama: One season had a running story arc about a rapist preying on the hospital. The rapist was series regular Dr. White, who a nurse ends up shooting dead in cold blood.
Real-Life Relative: William Daniels playing opposite his wife Bonnie Bartlett.
Revenge: Shirley Daniels shoots Dr. White to avenge the rape of Cathy Martin. If you watch the scene carefully, you'll see that she actually shoots him twice...and, appropriately, the first shot isn't to the heart.
Sanity Slippage: The residency program, coupled with marital problems, eventually became too much for Dr. White.
Series Continuity Error: In a Season 2 episode, Dr. Westphall tells a family that he doesn't believe in taking comatose patients off of life support, and yet in the Season 4 Whole Episode Flashback "Time Heals", he is shown personally disconnecting his brain-dead wife from life support, which happened several years before the events of the Season 2 episode!
Shout Out: Oh, goodness. (And yes, these only make the final scene even more strange.)
Dr. Craig starts singing "Sit Down, John" from 1776 when the Craigs go to Philadelphia.
In one episode, Dr. Beale (the psychiatrist) is heard speaking with someone on the phone: "I'm sure your daughter-in-law isn't a witch, Mrs. Stevens... you saw the sofa levitating?"
Surprise Pregnancy: Happened to an obese woman in "Hearts", and to a severely developmentally-disabled women after she and a similarly-disabled young man get it on. It's kind of hard to believe this show was on network TV.
The Troubles: In the Season 2 episode "Under Pressure", two Irish boys (one Catholic, one Protestant) end up in the ER after fighting. One boy's mother references The Troubles by name.
Uncle Tomfoolery: Luther, in earlier seasons; Dr. Chandler even called him out on it. Luther eventually got better in later seasons, first becoming a paramedic and then studying to become a physician's assistant.
Whole Episode Flashback: The Season 4 two-parter "Time Heals", in which we see St. Eligius in its early days, Dr. Auschlander as a young doctor, and Dr. Westphall as an angry young juvenile delinquent. Also features Dr. Craig as an arrogant, sycophantic resident and Helen Rosenthal as a young newlywed.
Written By Cast Member: Sagan Lewis (Dr. Jackie Wade) is credited for the story of Season 6's "Their Town" as S.J. Lewis.
...in the UK only. note 
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