The Marvel Cinematic Universe might seem like a huge landscape of interconnected shows and TV movies, but the Tommy Westphall universe has it beat. More: Why The X-Files Season 12 Never Happened. Closing the Curtain on 'St. Elsewhere' Operation - Los Angeles If you're viewing this list on a mobile device, use this link to the web that allows for zooming. Often, characters crossing over on the same network can ignite a connection, with shared brands or locations providing the connective tissue for others. WebThe problem that I see with the ending is that they explained away the whole show as the daydreams of an autistic child's imagination. At least that's the most widely held interpretation of St. Elsewhere 's final moments. The ending has become an infamous example of the "it was all a dream" conclusion that's appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows over the years. That's the nature of a hospital drama, that's why we tune in. WebTommy Westphall, portrayed by Chad Allen, is a minor character from the drama television series St. St elsewhere ending theory. WebBasically the theory known as The Tommy Westphall Universe (TWU) begins when St. Is all of American television the hallucination of an autistic child?? I actually have an easy answer for that - assuming that the 'real world' has shows like Cheers and MASH on TV, it's entirely plausible that Tommy took characters from those shows after seeing them on TV and made them part of his imagination. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. The Westphall universe just keeps expanding out in that manner from there, getting bigger and bigger in the same way as a snowball rolling downhill, which is appropriate considering Tommy's snow globe. Elsewhere--a derisive nickname for the aging South Boston medical facility--was never healthy in the ratings. Interpreting non-statistically significant results: Do we have "no evidence" or "insufficient evidence" to reject the null? That is quite a choice. They did very unusual, bold things and did it regularly. There are oodles of ways to end a TV series. Beginnings and endings are important in all forms of fiction, but Id argue especially so in scripted television. Movies & TV Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for movie and TV enthusiasts. The Tommy Westphall universe hypothesis is an idea discussed among some television fans, it makes the claim that not only does St. There is too much that is rich, that is still to be mined., Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Get ready for the 2023 Met Gala: Heres when, and how, to tune in live, Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon blasted at White House Correspondents dinner, Tom Jones review: PBS Masterpieces latest period drama is laid-back and enjoyable, Michael J. Elsewhere 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. And I dont think that set of circumstances will ever happen again. Elsewhere was a show that got by largely on the strength of its ensemble, running for six seasons from 1982-88. ", Grandfather: "He's been sitting there ever since you left this morning, just like he does every day. Elsewhere illustrates the rich and often blurred boundaries in how we experience the world."[7]. Westphall, who is autistic, played an increased role in St. You can barely please half the people most of the time. The great thing about the show that even in its comedy, it was serious. Erasing the fiction of an entire medium is not what Tom Fontana had planned. Specific to the Westphall Hypothesis, even if we accept that St. Elsewhere had been a product of Tommy Westphall's (an autistic boy) imagination, with elements of the above scene used as its own evidence. This is more interesting than interrogating the deeper philosophical or metaphorical meaning behind the very last scene of a six-season show! 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. But of course, none of that is what people really remember the last episode for. St. , the magic was in the tone, as it was with another show by the same production company. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. St. 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. What are the advantages of running a power tool on 240 V vs 120 V? Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. 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). Revisiting McDuffie's "Six Degrees of St. Elsewhere Elsewhere to end the way it did? 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. One prominent critic, Professor Brian Weatherson, argues that just because St. Most scripted television shows end in cancellation, so theres something special about the ones that get the chance to go out on their own terms. Was the fact that Tommy is considered Autistic symbolic in any way? Theres also nothing standing in the way of the belief that perhaps the Tommy Westphall end sequence was itself a dream, negating the snow globe conceit. The stories speak for themselves. Lloyd also enjoyed the priest who heard confession in a toilet stall (I mean, that was wild--I never thought that would get on), a nude surgery sequence based on Scandinavian medical practices and a scene in which Auschlander discussed sexual awakening with a frightened boy. would not look or feel the same without its influence and success. Inside it is a perfect replica of St. Eligius, with snow swirling around it as the shot fades to black. 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 My character died in the second-to-last episode, but I was in the last episode in a scene in which Howies character pays a visit to Dr. Axelrods corpse in the morgue. But the notion isn't necessarily dependent on Tommy imagining anything: The connections still exist, whether they're considered a dream within fiction or just an interconnected television universe. The Show St. Most of us failed. ED BEGLEY JR. (Dr. Victor Ehrlich): It was quite fitting for what they had done the previous six years. At the end of the ride it was now up to us to put effort into understanding other people, by showing compassion for an autistic boy. Scan this QR code to download the app now. Its an episode of heartfelt goodbyes and dramatic exits. Much of the humor between characters is gallows humor. I felt one thing when I read it and one thing when I saw it. In the door comes Dr. Westphall, but he hangs up a construction workers hat. Elsewhere to Homicide: Life on the Street, which shared a writer/producer in Tom Fontana. The camera slowly zooms in on the snow globe, which is revealed to contain a replica of St. Eligius hospital inside of it. The thing Im proudest of is the overall balance of the comedy to the drama; the counterpoint of that really grew and grew.. 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. It's safe to say that the final episode, specifically the end scene, of St. Over the years, the two have gotten countless emails from fans who found their own connections between shows, invested in the prospect of destroying all television storylines with one theory. He also loves both Marvel and DC movies, and wishes every superhero fan could just get along. At least that's the most widely held interpretation of St. It is underfunded, understaffed, crowded, and running on fumes. 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. Fox doesnt think hell live to be 80: Every day its tougher. Elsewhere characters on other shows are not sufficient to indicate that those shows exist only in Westphall's dream. WebSt. Elsewhere has fallen victim to economic pressures. Nobody is too interested in that, though. Yet, in the ending of St. Web359. A FL native, Michael is passionate about pop culture, and earned an AS degree in film production in 2012. 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, . 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. Why did Sonny trust Carlo enough to introduce him to the family and then sour on him? How's he been? rev2023.4.21.43403. Theyre more interested in the colossal mind-fuck that is the Tommy Westphall Universe. "That really solidifies things. Elsewhere were dreamt by Tommy Westphall, and thus, products of his imagination. Elsewhere episode; Cheers spawned Frasier, a character who appeared on Wings; John Munch, the detective from Homicide, had mingled with the St. Eligius crew, and he has appeared on shows ranging from The X-Files to The Wire, effectively making him the Patient Zero of what's become known as The Tommy Westphall Universe theory. The ending has become an infamous example of the "it was all a dream" conclusion that's appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows over the years. 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. "[Fontana] was fond of putting in references to previous shows he worked on, including bringing characters from St. BONNIE BARTLETT (Ellen Craig): [The writers] wanted to do an ending to the show in a way so that it could never be brought back again. Elsewhere, including all its characters, are revealed to have been the dream of a minor character named Tommy Westphall, an autistic boy who possesses a snow globe containing a replica of the hospital where the series took place. It's not every day we see Plucky Comic Relief commit suicide. Elsewhere; by extension this hypothesis can be extended to include the science fiction program The X-Files and the Law & Order franchise (due to various crossovers with characters from Homicide, in particular Det. Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action Little Mermaid with a new generation's Ariel. were arguably all dreamed up by young Tommy. 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. In the door comes Dr. Westphall, but he hangs up a construction workers hat. I thought I knew what it meant, but it was so weird, especially for my younger mind, so I went running down the hallway and grabbed my mom and I was like, You have to read this. TIL That thanks to the series finale of St Elsewhere, and - Reddit I really had very little to say about that episode because I thought it was a letdown. We never answered any of the questions we posed. Garry Shandling crossed over with The Andy Griffith Show (no, really!). ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, Concertgoer lets out a loud full body orgasm while L.A. Phil plays Tchaikovskys 5th, Jerry Springer kept his aggressive cancer a family secret in his final months, James Corden gets a star-studded send-off on his final Late Late Show, Kim Kardashian is catching shade from Patti LuPone and Sharon Stone for AHS casting, Jonathan Majors accuser gets full temporary protection order ahead of court date, Review: The Russo brothers spy thriller Citadel has plenty of action and little else. I said at the time we were shooting, This is a cheat. For me, it was a cheat. 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. Flashforward! Elsewhere signed off after six seasons on May 25, 1988, more than a few viewers were saddened. When NBCs hour-long hospital drama St. Elsewhere have appeared on other television shows and those shows' characters appeared on more shows, and so on, a "Tommy Westphall Universe" hypothesis (postulated by Dwayne McDuffie) argues that a significant amount of fictional episodic television exists within a fictional universe imagined by Tommy Westphall. A terrible ending! Its just too big a leap. Along with U.S.-based fan Ash Crowe, Gow began to develop a chart linking the series to other shows on television. The episode marked the end of St. 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. It was highly unpredictable, just like every episode. Michael Kennedy is an avid movie and TV fan that's been working for Screen Rant in various capacities since 2014. In the moments before hes expected to announce the fate of the hospital, Auschlander suffers a catastrophic stroke off-screen and is discovered dead, with the cast gathering for a mournful goodbye. Elsewhere characters Dr. Roxanne Turner (Alfre Woodard) and Dr. Victor Ehrlich (Ed Begley Jr.) appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street. Elsewhere, he was openly hostile toward any idea of a reunion special down the line and insisted that the series finale should be definitive. An exterior camera shot of the hospital cuts to Tommy West The shows one truly lasting and iconic "St. You can follow him on Twitter and read more at his blog. Elsewhere was universally panned. CYNTHIA SIKES (Dr. Annie Cavanero): Part of me likes that whole thing because its sort of an Orson Welles-ian Rosebud [ending]. In another episode, St. Eligius traveled 50 years into the past. In a way that actually sucks most of contemporary-set American scripted TV into the inside of a snow globe? 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. It's not even that much of a leap to make a connection to the Mighty Marvel Cinematic Universe (you can get there a number of ways, according to Polygon). 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.