St. Elsewhere

This is a wonderfully scripted, well-acted drama which takes place in the fictional Saint Eligius hospital in Boston. The ensemble cast is perfect, with stellar performances by William Daniels, Ed Flanders, and Norman Lloyd as the long-practicing doctors who hold the hospital together. The series follows the physicians, residents, and staff through their personal and professional lives, with just enough humor and pathos to keep it all interesting. Especially notable is the two-part episode dealing with the 50th anniversary of Saint Eligius. The flashback sequences really tie to the current stories, help fill in blanks and make you understand more fully certain characters' actions and quirks. I highly recommend this series. It is currently being shown on Bravo (cable network). Look for it!

For a moment, let's forget the final five minutes of this series. Take the 136.9 episodes presented. This was a new sort of television. Granted, "Hill Street Blues" first came up with the large ensemble cast, the mix of humor and drama and set the stage for this program, but St. Elsewhere went so far beyond Hill Street that at the end, the two series didn't even mildly resemble each other.

Really, the notable thing that hooks a television viewer and a pop culture junkie about St. Elsewhere were all of the references. Almost like a game of Trivial Pursuit while you watched the action, the writers of the program constantly dropped references to other classic television programs, paid tribute to the past roles of their stars and placed all sorts of humorous "in jokes" for its viewers to get along the way. I don't know that all of them would still have meaning for someone viewing the show today, but maybe? The fact was the writers were letting us know that we were just like them, TV addicts, and that made a Velcro like seal between the program and its fans.

That was all just the sizzle. The steak was a great, solid cast and taut storytelling. Clearly this was the best show of the 1980s, and quite possibly the best hospital show in history.

"First rate people in a second rate place" was how the characters were described, and really, you can't deny it. St. Eligius had a lot of problems throughout its fifty plus years as a Boston teaching hospital, but no matter how convoluted their personal lives became, you always got the feeling that at least the doctors and nurses always cared about their patients, and that's why checking in was not just an addiction but a borderline obsession!

Most notable of the players were William Daniels in his role as the bombastic, pedantic and terribly Bostonian Cardiologist, Dr. Mark Craig, along with his foil, Ed Begley Jr. as his ne'er do well protégé, Dr. Victor Ehrlich. An almost Laurel and Hardy style relationship was created with these two (though physically, perhaps Mutt & Jeff is a better reference), and many of the scenes they played together were some of the most hilarious of any SITCOM of the era!

But it's difficult to truly single out any one acting performance, when you see who else was doctoring... future two time Oscar winner Denzel Washington on staff, Howie Mandel out of his zany stand-up style to play it straight and he managed! The elegance of Norman Lloyd as Medical Chief Auschlander, and the tragic sadness of Ed Flanders as Westphall, which, even more sadly, was echoed in his real life. Bonnie Bartlett, Christina Pickles, Sagan Lewis... a true gem of a cast and everyone contributed something amazing.

In addition, the guest stars list reads like a Hollywood who's who! Just check the "episodes cast" button if you don't believe me.

There were some firsts for the show: first television character to get the AIDS virus was Dr. Bobby Caldwell. Inexplicably, they also had the first character to be "cured" of AIDS, but the less said about that, the better! Dr. Westphall's bare ass was the first ever seen on a prime time network program. And, long before "24" existed, there was the digital clock on this series!

Forgive the final plot twist, which to me was a dig more at the network that canceled them than the fans that supported them. This show is filled with small treasures and characters that make them shine like diamonds. If only every show could be as good as this one. Then again, were that the case, I'd probably never do anything but watch television!

There is much to be said about St Elsewhere and its immense importance in defining the modern Television drama. The series set the formula for how future medical dramas would be produced. Physicians were not perfect individuals, and patients died. Doctors and nurses were "real people", and they, as did the patients, cope with day to day life inside and outside the confines of St Eligious hospital.

St Elswehere would bring the viewer into a drama filled hospital, where both doctors and patients interacted. The writers while giving us a look into the lives of both the Physician and patient, mercifully avoided a soap opera like atmosphere. They were instead disciplined in the intercourse between doctor and patient, and everything in between. They explored issues that TV had previously considered taboo, and handled those subjects in a mature, responsible manner, while never disregarding the intellect of the audience, and their ability to hold attention to dialogue.

Comparatively St Elsewhere moved on a slower pace than it's modern counterpart, "ER". The writers gave you scenes and story-lines that would cause the viewer to slow down and think, and avoided fast paced vacuous imagery and verbiage. Rarely did their ER blow-up, or the hospital fall victim to a helicopter crash. While there were expeditious Emergency Room exhibits in the St Elsewhere series, they did not bounce back and forth the camera like a ping-pong in an attempt to keep us amused. Instead, they focused on dialogue, the characters, and most imortant the plot.

Its drama along with real and diverse characters, will ensure its place in history, as one of televisions best series. St. Elsewhere is a prime example of how big ratings mean very little in defining a shows value or place in Televisions hierarchy.

After watching St. Elsewhere on Bravo, I realized that it is truly a superior show even now. It took chances that nobody else is willing to take. It is even more multi-ethnic than most dramas today. It makes ER and other medical shows look like they written by first graders. Even after all these years, St. Elsewhere has aged like fine wine. It is fresher now than ever before. Too bad, it struggled in its day. What a shame. It is truly one of the finest dramas on television today even in syndication. ER could learn a lot from watching St. Elsewhere. Too bad, ER's stars are ruining their own show. Maybe if William Daniels joined the cast, I would start watching it again. St. Elsewhere is one of the finest hours on television. Even now, it will blow you away. I miss the chemistry among it's characters and it's controversial but yet compassionate way of handling some situations. I still think Christina Pickles should be recognized with an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) because it would boost the show's genius and brilliance all around the world. I dislike the fact that she will be more remembered for her role as Ross and Monica's mother on Friends than her days on St. Elsewhere as Nurse Rosenthal, a British woman with a love for Jewish men. Anyway, it was a show that just gets better in time. It's classic television and every medical show should watch and take notes.

Prior to this show,shows set in hospitals tended to have a "Cahracter first" element to them(i.e. "Ben Casey,M.D.,"Dr.Kildare","Marcus Welby M.D.","Trapper John M.D.")or else had a sort of generic quality of efficiency and heroism(think "Emergency!" of even the soap opera "General Hospital")attached. This show,a stubborn NBC offering okay-ed by legendary head of programming Brandon TArtikoff that managed to stay on the Wednsday at 10 EST/9 CST for the entirety or near entirety of its five year run.

Featuring a collection of renowned veteran actors(Ed Flanders,Norman Lloyd and William DAniels),durable vet character actors(Ed Begley Jr.,Stephen Furst,Christina Pickles,France Nguyen,Alfre Woodward and Bonnie BArtlett)and an eclectic blend of young up-and-comers(Denzel Washington,Mark HArmon,David Morse,Stephen Furst and Howie MAndel. Yes,THAT Howie Mandel),this show would tackle all sorts of once-ignored and taboo subjects such as AIDS,Autism,abortion,rape and The right to die. The show's later seasons would reflect the ratings-challenged series' standing,and would ultimately create a more surreal,less grounded storyline follow-through that would create a conclusion that would NOT sit well with many loyal viewers,among them myself, Still,this show's production,writing and acting would be the ground-layer(word I just made up!)for such dramas as "ER","House" and "Grey's ANatomy". It's tempting to say that a show that's over a quarter-century old and has been off the air for just over twenty years would now be quaint,but I have a funny feeling that many(if not all)of the plot lines and story arcs of this show would carry fair weight now as well. Since it was never that popular in syndication,I would suggest one request to buy this from your friendly Borders or Barnes and Noble or have your local vid store or library rent it out. A lasting legacy of not only smart television but a model of "little shows that could",due to the loyal,stubborn following of dedicated viewers.