St. Elsewhere

[VirginiaHamilton]

I flipped through Entertainment Weekly's reunion issue a few days ago and discovered that they'd profiled (most of) the cast of St. Elsewhere (with the exception of, well, Denzel Washington) and it reminded me of how I remember watching it as a kid (as per my memories of the theme song being loud and clear), yet couldn't for the life of me remember anyone* (other than Denzel) being on this show or any episodes of this show.

Needless to say, I was pretty much surprised to learn that this was a groundbreaking show that dealt with hot-button topics such as AIDS and sexual assault with their lead characters before many other higher-profile primetime shows did. It's too bad that they don't rerun this show in syndication because I have a feeling that I'd appreciate it as an adult.

What say you, guys? I'd love to get the perspective for those who were old enough to watch and/or appreciate this show.

* For the record, I met Mark Harmon as a movie actor (I'm not sure if he'd gotten far enough to be called a star) in Summer School, Howie Mandel as the voice of Bobby Generic in Bobby's World, Ed Begley, Jr. as a movie actor in She-Devil, and William Daniels as Mr. Feeny in Boy Meets World.

[Bright Eyes]

This show will always be the one where Mr. Feeney gets serious. One day I'll actually venture to watch the show.

[JaneAusten]

I remember watching the show when I was younger and I think its disgraceful that only the first season of this brilliant show is available on DVD. I'm not certain as to what the issues are in respect to that, but the show really didn't start hitting its stride until mid season 2.

No doubt the cast was exceptional, but what I think I liked most about the show was their uncanny ability to intertwine humor and drama so effortlessly and also not shy away from telling stories around series issues like rape, murder, AIDS and involve, and in some cases, implicate, key characters on the show into these stories in a very compelling way, yet they never really relied on gimics or some of the more graphic images in some of the more current medical and crime dramas over the years.

Mark Harmon I know at the time expressed a desire to leave the show and that was one of the main reasons his character was killed off, but they also did it in a way that not only incorporated a relatively new and I have to say, socially unacceptable way at the time through AIDS and were not afraid at shying away from it, but also weren't afraid to tie it to a character that was perhaps not the "stereotypical" AIDs victim at the time. I was so young at the time, I don't recall if the show received praise or criticism in light of this.

I always felt this show was overshadowed a lot by Hill Street Blues which was excellent its first 2-3 years, but I always enjoyed and liked St. Elsewhere better and I do think up until perhaps it's final season, it was fairly consistant in terms of quality where HSB fell off after the 3rd season.

[DRW50]

St. Elsewhere will always have my heart, especially the first, dingy-looking, rough as hell season.

No drama delivers pure emotion, shameless emotion, the way St. Elsewhere did. Yes, it became too self-aware, cute, became sexist and crass, but then turned itself around again.

My favorite moment, of many, was when they had the story arcs on two different sides of the hospital - two circus clowns, husband and wife, and the wife, because of her MS, was going to have to stop performing. On the other side of the hospital was a girl who had several large, disfiguring facial tumors, and was given extensive surgery by Mark Harmon. She fell in love with him, and when he realized, he had to let her down gently. The stories finally met in the elevator, when the clowns saw her crying, and produced some flowers. She smelled the flowers, and some water sprayed on her. For the first time, she laughed and smiled.

Another of my memories of this show, one I will always carry with me, was Cathy Martin, who loved sex, and, when she was attacked by a serial rapist, was told by Nurse Shirley that she got what she deserved for being a whore. Cathy was raped again a year later, and in a chilling scene, a guilt-ridden Shirley begged forgiveness. The response from the woman she'd shamed was, "It's OK. Don't cry. Cathy's gone now. No one will ever hurt her again."

And then, the ONLY birth/death sequence I have EVER accepted on any show - Phil Chandler (Denzel) reluctantly goes to volunteer at an abortion clinic. The clinic is bombed. As a pregnant clinic worker gives birth, she wants to tell her close friend, only to see them drape a white sheet over her friend's body.

[DRW50]

Now that I think about it, St. Elsewhere was probably the show which most established my angst hell with certain dramas.

There was a devastating scene where Wendy Armstrong, a perfectionist and a bulimic, ostracized by everyone at the hospital, went on a binge. We did not see her eating, but we saw piles of food, and we saw her barely conscious hand slowly moving to get another piece of food. Soon after this, she was wheeled into the ER, and they couldn't save her.

Then when Jack was raped while volunteering as a prison doctor. David Morse gave a harrowing performance as we saw Jack, on a hospital bed, bruised and bloodied, smiling, crying tears of joy, as he talked at length about a happy memory. At the end, he says, "Oh, Nina..." and we realize he has completely shut down psychologically, and taken himself back to a time when his wife (who was killed off in early season two) was still alive

When sanctimonious ass Dr. Westphall returned to the hospital in season 4 (with the show having literally no idea until the last minute whether the actor was going to come back), he went on a whole, "I went to Africa and suffered so now you interns will know how to experience suffering." This blew up in his face, spectacularly, with doctors being raped and almost murdered, and terrorized. The only happy doctor ended up being Fiscus (Howie Mandel), who helped two little people find happiness together. The whole story was a much deserved slap in the face to a character I intensely disliked.

Oh, and if you want to see when Helen Hunt had a personality, watch the show.

[DRW50]

You must also watch Time Heals, a three-parter showing the formation of St. Eligius in the 30s, the arrival of Westphall/Craig/Auschlander in the 60s, and modern day, with a Kennedy-arc involving Kate Mulgrew, among others. Best flashback episode ever.

The best part of the first season is how quiet and soft so much of the show is. Not so much of the sometimes forced insanity of later years. There's a story with Laraine Newman where she thinks she is a bird, and falls in love with a man who is convinced he is a bird. She eventually regains her sanity, but he never does. Very powerful ending.

[VirginiaHamilton]

Unfortunately, I can't find the original reunion photo (which included the majority of the cast) online, so this'll have to do:

St. Elsewhere (1982-88)

Mark Harmon, Ed Begley, Jr., Howie Mandel, and David Morse

''The writers loved messing with the characters, and I was never anything but excited by how they messed with the characters. I gained a huge appreciation for the ­written word, and I've carried that forward [into everything] since.'' —Harmon

[reallyhateskateonlost]

I loved St. Elsewhere. Had a mad crush on Seth Griffin (Bruce Greenwood.)

[VirginiaHamilton]

Well, that just goes to show that my memory is truly failing me because I didn't even know that she was there.

I do have a few questions (some are rather obvious, but bear with me):

1. Was Howie Mandel's character a well-drawn one or was he a slapstick one that was used to counter the heavy characters?

2. I'd read that William Daniels' character was rather bigoted towards non-white characters - did the show showcase him as that or a lovable one (a la Archie Bunker)?

3. Is Wendy Armstrong the Asian doctor that I've seen in early shots of the show? Was she a viable character or just a plot point for the show?

4. I'd also read that David Morse's character was the most piled-on character on the show (which seems to say a lot, going by your saying that Howie Mandel's character was the only happy one) - how true is that?

5. I've also heard that this show was superior to the doctor shows that succeeded it (ER, Chicago Hope, Grey's Anatomy, etc.) and I wonder if this is being said because this show was overlooked/(relatively) low-rated or because it actually was a superior show.

[VirginiaHamilton]

1. I read that Mark Harmon died off-screen, but I'd still like to know how come his character doesn't come up all that often when people speak of AIDS-afflicted characters that broke ground. From what I've read, he was a lead character (the McDreamy of that show) so I'd think that he'd be held up as an example next to Chad Lowe's character on Life Goes On (who I believe was a recurring character, from what I remember).

2. Hitting a stride in the second season? That seems to be the case for many shows (A Different World comes to mind), so I'm not sure why that isn't being taken in account when deciding whether to sell a series on DVD past season 1.

3. Hill Street Blues is another show that I vaguely remember watching as a kid (again, through my memories of the theme song) but can't remember a single episode of. In this case, I actually remember more than just one person being on the show (Michael Warren, Ed Marinaro, and Doogie Howser's father [whose name I can't recall at the moment]). That said, I could've sworn that Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere aired on the same night, so unless I'm wrong, did viewers decide to tune into the former while skipping over the latter - thus explaining the difference in ratings? If so, why did Hill Street Blues shine brighter than St. Elsewhere in the ratings?

[reallyhateskateonlost]

^^^I think Hill St. Blues was on Thursdays and St. Elsewhere was on Wednesdays, both on NBC.

[JaneAusten]

Responses above

[Bright Eyes]

How was Howie Mandel on this show? I ask, because I usually hate him, a lot.

[DRW50]

I liked Howie a lot on St. Elsewhere. He was mostly the comic relief, but when they gave him dramatic stories (like being shot and falling into a depression), he did a capable enough job. He also very believably changed with the character, as Fiscus went from a goof-off of a doctor and a wannabe ladies man to someone who was a truly caring physician and ready for a serious relationship. He mostly got involved with women who had huge breakdowns (Cathy, Shirley, the nurse who ended up murdering Peter White the rapist) but by the last few years he was maturing beyond that and had an on and off relationship with Jackie Wade (a recurring surgeon who got a larger role as years passed - some said this was because she was producer/writer Tom Fontana's wife and was not deserved, but I liked her).

One of my favorite Fiscus "arcs" was when they had the woman who was on the first season of Night Court (Karen something) as the new ER chief, who quickly clashed with Fiscus as he was too lax on duty for her tastes. They both got involved in the case of a drug-addicted teenage couple; the girl was pregnant. Karen, in spite of priding herself on staying above the job and not becoming personal, was heavily invested, probably a little too invested, in their case. They wanted to run away because dealers were after them. He had to go on his own, and she went into premature labor. The baby died. She couldn't deal with anything that had happened and left as soon as medically possible. The last scene was Karen going to the morgue and placing with the baby a beautiful teddy bear that the teenage couple had bought when they hoped for a better life.

I also loved Lainie Kazan as Fiscus' mother.

Another of my favorite arcs was when three firemen were brought in with severe burns. One was a young, strong firefighter. The second was Ernie Hudson. The third was an older man. Mark Harmon was involved in their case. Due to various circumstances, the old man, considered to be the weakest, was the only one who ultimately left the hospital. In his last scene they brought in the firetruck to welcome him home, and his entire family was there. He was retiring, and he gave Mark Harmon his fireman's hat. Harmon's character took that with him the day he left the hospital for good.

[DRW50]

St. Elsewhere never got that type of media credit. They got a lot of critical praise, and Emmys, but in the long term are mostly remembered as that show with THAT ending, or that hospital show which started ER.

St. Elsewhere had the first AIDS story on TV. A public figure in a 1983 episode revealed to Westphall that he was gay, and he was diagnosed with AIDS.

By 1986 or so, when Mark Harmon left, they wanted to tell a different version. The version was very brutal, by TV standards, which might be why it's not remembered compared to something like Life Goes On. His character, Bobby, had been on a downward spiral, emotionally. He began spending more and more of his time on random hook-ups, and drugs. One weekend he went to Cape Cod and picked up a cute girl at a gas station or drug store, taking her back to his beach house. He didn't realize she was a coke addict, and out of it. After they had sex, she slashed his face with a razor blade. Bobby went into a depression over his looks, and his career went further into the dumps. Soon after getting reconstructive surgery, they told him the tests showed he was HIV-positive. He left the hospital, wanting to spend his last few years fully living his life. (about a year later they got word he'd died)

In 1988 the show had their main heel, played by the very talented Bruce Greenwood, go through an AIDS scare. This made him become a born-again Christian, but an extremely judgmental kind, one who refused to deal with a gay man who was dying of AIDS (Kyle Secor). Eventually he was ashamed of his behavior and was the man's doctor and was there for him when everyone else, family and friends, had abandoned him.