MovieChat Forums > St. Elsewhere (1982) Discussion > The. Best. Hospital. Series. Ever.

The. Best. Hospital. Series. Ever.


ER wouldn't have existed if this show hadn't been made first. It blazed the trail.

I miss this show more than I'll miss IMDb, frankly.

When evil is viewed as good, righteousness is viewed as evil.

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St. Elsewhere is my all-time favorite tv show.

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good to hear that

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You can leave out the middle word and it would still be a true statement.

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Ouch. Um...I just saw the whole thing on Hulu. I'd obviously forgotten a lot of it. That first year, the one available on DVD is perfect. Then it got to be sort of a soap opera. For awhile it sank into quirkiness like Northern Exposure. I'd forgotten they'd ended one episode with puppets of Erlich and Craig singing "You Gotta Have Heart."

The second year, in-between the soap opera elements, was a shrill lecturing tone. And did I miss the capture of the Angel of Mercy, or did they just drop that story arc?

To top it off, the Hulu version doesn't have the famous -- or is it infamous -- kitty flat-lining at the end. I kept thinking as I sat through one "Jumping Jack Flash" joke after another and that total swindle of an ending that, doggone it, at least they're bound to have that flat-lining kitty. We sat through all of Fiscus's dark jokes in the ER, one could think that wouldn't have been such an anger-inducing finale. As I recall, I busted out laughing. But no. Swindle on top of swindle at the end.

I miss IMDb more. But I prefer reality to a sugar-coated memory that wasn't accurate. Did love the trip to NH though. Forgot all about it.

Drat. You can't go home again.

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I started watching it as well. But I had to stop at the end of season 4.

I also hated what they did to the Terence Knox character, turning him into a psycho rapist and then killing him off.

He was one of my favorite characters.

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SPOILERS GALORE:

Peter White was complex, and in the first year he was able to say what a lot of people in America were thinking at the time.

They turned Shirley from a sweet but occasionally testy girl into a tough psycho. It only got worse in the fifth season.

Cathy Martin was a sex-crazed space cadet turned catatonic looney turned skilled psychologist, all in record time.

Axelrod started as a lovable schlemiel, he turned into an angry, almost hateful fellow, then back to lovable in time for a senseless death.

Seth Griffin (you did miss him) was a monster of manipulation, didn't want relationships with women, just as "receptacles." They turned him into a sympathetic character so we should care that he possibly got AIDS. He also became another in a long line of Hollywood cartoonish Christians.

Bobby Caldwell was a nice guy who suddenly turned into a freak for dangerous sex, just so they could write him out with AIDS.

Jack Morrison, boy ingenue with a perfect moral compass, suddenly decides to cheat on his wife. He doesn't consummate it, but not for lack of trying.

In short, they used people as pawns on a chessboard. And they wonder why people got tired of it.

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Wow. This sounds terrible.

I agree, I think this played out more as a soap opera than a serious medical drama. It is interesting that this series launched so many stars, the most obvious being Denzel of course.

Thanks for the great re-cap, glad I didn't invest anymore time into it.

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But it didn't start out as a soap opera, that's the part that's so awful. It dealt with important issues. That first year was a complete gem.

I tuned in for Ed Flanders, who always was such a great actor. By the end of the series most of the people wanted to kill him, it seemed. There's a site for St. Elsewhere:http://www.stelsewhereweb.com/2013/08/on-call-vol-1-no-3-personnel-profile-ed.html. But maybe you've invested more than enough time in it. It haunted me over the years. Now I guess it was because of the promise it had that was so unfulfilled.

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Only one period is needed, at the end of the line. Like that. Makes your writing much better to read.

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I used to watch this show from time to time as a kid in the 80s, and I just finished watching the entire series on Hulu. Overall, it's just an amazing show! I could have done without the Peter/rapist and Seth born-again plotlines. I love Alfre Woodard's character on the show, and can't believe she was never part of the opening credits! Also, Sagan Lewis should have been in the opening credits for all 6 seasons. Eric Laneuville's character (and directing) are also a treat to watch.

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