History Trivia / StElsewhere

** Originally, the SeriesFinale "The Last One" was intended to [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture take place in 2017]] and feature futuristic medical equipment and costumes. Dr. Daniel Auschlander, by now a centenarian, would have been kept alive using bionic implants. In one respect, this would have overlapped with AccidentallyCorrectWriting, as Norman Lloyd turned 103 that year, and was both very much alive and still working. He would pass away at the age of 106 in 2021.

* UsefulNotes/FurryFandom: Ralph, the Birdman of St. Eligius, is probably the UrExample 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. When the Birdman decides [[spoiler:he can fly away from the hospital by jumping off the roof in "Graveyard"]], [[TearJerker nobody's laughing.]]

** Practically none of the actors playing the interns in the first season were as young as their characters were supposed to be (roughly 25-26). Ed Begley, Jr. was 33 in the first season, and David Morse was 29. Begley was actually older than Cynthia Sikes, who played senior Resident (later Attending) Dr. Cavanero, a character who was considered one of the longest-serving female doctors at the hospital.

** Originally, the SeriesFinale "The Last One" was intended to [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture take place in 2017]] and feature futuristic medical equipment and costumes. Dr. Daniel Auschlander, by now a centenarian, would have been kept alive using bionic implants. In one respect, this would have overlapped with AccidentallyCorrectWriting, as Norman Lloyd turned 103 that year.

* AdoredByTheNetwork: ''St. Elsewhere'' was Creator/{{NBC}} Entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff's favorite show, a fact which saved it from cancellation a couple of times as it typically had poor to middling ratings; it never ranked higher than 47th place in the yearly ratings.

* AdoredByTheNetwork: ''St. Elsewhere'' was Creator/{{NBC}} Entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff's favorite show, a fact which saved it from cancellation a couple of times as it typically had poor ratings.

** David Morse (Jack Morrison) directed the Season Six episodes "Handoff" and "A Coupla White Dummies Sitting Around Talking".

** Like his character Lee Tovan in "Hearing", Robert Daniels is deaf.

* CreatorBacklash: Actor William Daniels admitted in an interview that much of the cast was put off by the notorious twist ending.

* TheOtherMarty: Josef Sommer and David Paymer were originally cast as Donald Westphall and Wayne Fiscus respectively in the unaired pilot but the roles were recast with Ed Flanders and Howie Mandel after several days. The relevant scenes were reshot.

* UsefulNotes/FurryFandom: Ralph, the Birdman of St. Eligius, is probably the UrExample 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. When the Birdman decides [[spoiler:he can fly away from the hospital by jumping off the roof in "Graveyard"]], nobody's laughing.

** William Daniels (Mark Craig) directed the Season Three episode "The Children's Hour". This is his only credit as a director.

** John [=McIntire=] and Jeanette Nolan, who played Harry Cragen and Sophia Pavlon in "To Tell the Truth", were married in real life. The two also appeared together in ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' and ''Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound'' as well as an episode of ''Series/NightCourt'', in which they played the parents of series regular Dan Fielding.

** Creator/RayCharles played the blind homeless man Arthur Tibbits in "Jose, Can You See?".

* DisabledCharacterDisabledActor: Like his character Lee Tovan in "Hearing", Robert Daniels is deaf.

* AdoredByTheNetwork: ''St. Elsewhere'' was Creator/{{NBC}} Entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff's favorite show, a fact which saved it from cancellation a couple of times.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Only Season 1 has ever been released on DVD, and that was in 2006; for the rest, you'll have to make do with streaming. You'll also need a taping of the original NBC broadcast of "The Last One" to see the credits sequence [[spoiler: where Mimsie dies]], since the rerunsb home video releasesb and the Hulu streaming version all use the regular sequence.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Only Season 1 has ever been released on DVD, and that was in 2006; for the rest, you'll have to make do with streaming. You'll also need a taping of the original NBC broadcast of "The Last One" to see the credits sequence [[spoiler: where Mimsie dies]], since the reruns and home video releases all use the regular sequence.

* The iconic shot of the elevated train in the opening credits was the Washington Street portion of the MBTA Orange Line, which was torn down in 1987 and moved about a mile north. The first few episodes of the last season reference the demolition and lack of public transportation next to the hospital.

** Originally, the SeriesFinale "The Last One" was intended to [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture take place in 2017]] and feature futuristic medical equipment and costumes. Dr. Daniel Auschlander, by now a centenarian, would have been kept alive using bionic implants. In one respect, this would have been turned out to be AccidentallyCorrectWriting as Norman Lloyd is still alive in 2019 at 104.

* CreatorBacklash: Actor William Daniels admitted in an interview that much of the cast was put off by the notorious twist ending.

** John [=McIntire=] and Jeanette Nolan, who played Harry Cragen and Sophia Pavlon in "To Tell the Truth", were married in real life. The two also appeared together in ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' and ''Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound'' as well as episode of ''Series/NightCourt'', in which they played the parents of series regular Dan Fielding.

** John [=McIntire=] and Jeanette Nolan, who played Harry Cragen and Sophia Pavlon in "To Tell the Truth", were married in real life.

* BillingDisplacement: Creator/DenzelWashington is front and center on the DVD box, despite being a supporting player.

** Ed Begley, Jr. auditioned for the role of Peter White but Terence Knox was cast instead. His performance impressed the producers and he was cast as Victor Ehrlich.
** Bonnie Bartlett auditioned for the role of Helen Rosenthal but Christina Pickles was cast.