"St. Elsewhere" is probably the most under-appreciated show of all time. Unlike other shows that are shown in reruns and enjoyed by younger generations, "St. Elsewhere" seems to only be enjoyed by the loyal fans who watched the show when it originally aired in the 1980s.
It centered around a seedy, New England hospital, St. Eligius, which was commonly referred to as St. Elsewhere. The hospital was run by the triumvirate of Dr. Donald Westphall, Dr. Mark Craig, and Dr. Daniel Auschlander. Westphall, the director of medicine, was a very caring and fair man who had to deal with the stress of being a single parent raising an autistic son. He could be stubborn and rigid at times but was generally respected by everyone at the hospital. Craig, the head of surgery, was one of the top surgeons in the nation and had a huge ego to match. He was very difficult to work with as he was often verbally abusive to staff members. Auschlander was the elderly, wise physician who was fighting his own battle with cancer. He was beloved by the residents because he was not as abrasive as Craig and not as serious as Westphall.
Many of the other hospital staff came and went during the show's six-year run. The original cast was led by Ben Samuels, a veteran doctor who had a reputation for sleeping around. Hugh Beale was the laid-back psychiatrist who dealt with many seriously disturbed patients. Both Beale and Samuels were seen less frequently as the first season progressed and eventually left after season's end. Jack Morrison was a quiet, young resident whose wife tragically passed away and had his competency tested in the later seasons. Helen Rosenthal was the much-married, sometimes moody, nursing supervisor who was treated for breast cancer. Philip Chandler was the black Harvard grad who became a doctor mostly to please his father. Victor Ehrlich was the young male-chauvinistic surgeon who always seemed to get the brunt of Craig's wrath. Peter White was the troubled resident turned drug-addict turned rapist. Wayne Fiscus was the goofy ER doctor who often cracked corny jokes and whose immaturity often landed him in Westphall's doghouse. Shirley Daniels was the emotionally fragile ER nurse who went to prison for fatally shooting Peter White. Cathy Martin was the strange but attractive pathologist who made attempts to seduce almost every male staff member at the hospital. Annie Cavanero was the young female doctor who put her career ahead of her personal life and quietly disappeared from the show. Vijay Kochar was the shy anesthesiologist who was gradually phased out of the show. Jacqueline Wade was the young female resident who appeared in nearly every episode but was rarely involved in any of the major story lines. Luther Hawkins was the smooth talking orderly who provided much of the show's comic relief.
The second season saw some cast changes. Bobby Caldwell was the hot-shot plastic surgeon who had an eye for the ladies. Joan Halloran was the attractive city budget adviser who was a thorn in the side of Westphall and Craig and carried on a secret affair with Caldwell. Later years saw the addition of Elliot Axelrod, the overweight internal medicine doctor who lacked confidence and got no respect, even in death; Seth Griffin, the young, gifted resident who went from arrogant jerk to born-again Christian after nearly contracting AIDs; Carol Novino, the former nurse-turned-resident who carried on a brief affair with Westphall; Paulette Kiem, the foreign-born surgeon who showed the same compassion as Westphall and John Gideon, the temperamental administrator who took over the hospital after it was sold by the city to a private company.
The show was very much ahead of its time. There was a memorable episode in 1983 in which a major politician is diagnosed with AIDS. It must be noted that in 1983, there were only a handful of AIDS cases and no one really knew much about it and the fear showed on the episode. On the following episode, a patient has a personal computer in his hospital bed and uses it to diagnose patients and hack into the hospital's records. Once again, this was 1983 and the personal computer, the internet, security breaches and WebMD were not part of pop culture yet.
Like many of today's dramas, the story lines were very edgy, at times quirky, and frequently shocking. Even before "Nip/Tuck" and "House", this show had episodes which focused on odd diagnoses and quirky hospital behavior. Many times, the writers did not fall into the trap of creating the feel good happy ending to a storyline. The last episode exemplified this when the beloved Dr. Auschlander, who appeared to be beating cancer and had saved the hospital from closing, fell victim to a deadly stroke.
The show did have a few flaws. The most annoying of them was that the writers had a habit of destroying momentum by creating episodes which veered from the ongoing storyline. For instance in the second season, after the killing of Peter White, they aired an episode in which many of the character's dream sequences were shown. Other than the final scene, the episode had absolutely nothing to do with the ongoing storyline and really hurt the show's momentum.
Also, the final episode is generally considered one of the worst endings ever to a series. It was revealed in the last scene that Westphall's autistic son had dreamed up the entire series. To believe that a preteen, autistic child could think up something so elaborate is absurd. I know they were trying to come up with something shocking, but to basically tell people that what they've been watching for six years was nothing but a figment of someone's imagination was very unsatisfying to say the least.
Some have dismissed it as "Hill Street Blues" in a hospital, the show will still take its place as one of the most memorable, groundbreaking shows of its time.
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