This Day in TV History: St. Elsewhere premieres on NBC

40 years ago tonight, October 26. 1982, NBC ended its primetime evening with the debut of medical show St. Elsewhere.

We talked about the series in depth on the podcast. It never was a big ratings getter, rising from terrible to middle-of-the-pack ratings, but it was a big critical success, earning 13 Emmys, placing on multiple lists of the best TV shows of all time, and even getting a Genius Award for Ed Flanders as Dr. Westphall (It had the misfortune of being in our sixth season along with Batty buzzsaw Cheers).

That pic above is from TV Guide's 1982 Fall Preview issue, which also highlights the series in its Editor's Choice column:

We saw only a 10-minute sample of scenes from NBC's St. Elsewhere, but that and five excellent scripts were enough to raise hopes that this series may do for hospital drama what Hill Street Blues does for the inner-city police precinct--which is to offer a richly drawn entertainment that's about as good as television gets. 

Note that the mag made that Hill Street comparison in the close-up page, too.

The promo below includes another series that debuted on this night but did not stick around: Robert Urich's Gavilan.

May we suggest "Close Encounters"?

Last month's (!) issue of Entertainment Weekly (hey, why change the name of one of the most respected brands in all of quality infotainment) featured a brief piece spotlighting novelist Laura Lippman. This part caught our eyes:

The Last TV Show I Binged

I’m in the middle of a St. Elsewhere binge. I really love and admire it, but it was really hard on its women. I can’t help noticing how much punishment the female characters were put through.

May we suggest checking out the episode Close Encounters? And while we're at it, hey, why not listen to our episode covering the series and zeroing in on Encounters?

Good luck to Ms. Lippman in the ongoing journey through the halls of St. Eligius. Sounds like she has a ways to go before achieving our feat (OK, one of us did it) of watching all episodes on Hulu.

YouTube Spotlight: St. Elsewhere's Denzel Washington on nutrition

I'd like to see stars re-record these PSAs after they become megastars. For example, I enjoy this 1980s food stamps PSA from Denzel Washington, then a regular on St. Elsewhere, but imagine the intensity and gravitas a late-1990s Denzel would give it!




I mean, he comes across as very pleasant and a regular guy, but, man, I want to see some urgency.

(Click here for our whole St. Elsewhere video playlist.)

St. Elsewhere playlist is now live!

After listening to this week's podcast, click below STAT to enjoy a collection of videos from the show, including promos, commercials, and more!  You will see Ed Flanders on Kung Fu! Howie Mandel sits down with Johnny Carson! Ed Begley Jr. as a pitchman at the beginning and end of the eighties! All this, plus glimpses of things we talk about on the pod, like Hell Town and The Insiders!




And remember to check out our YouTube channel for past podcasts and playlists like this for every episode.

Show Notes: St. Elsewhere

*St. Elsewhere aired from 1982-1988 on NBC, 6 seasons and 137 episodes.

*Close Encounters is the seventh episode of the series' third season and premiered Wednesday, November 20, 1985 at 10:00 P.M.

*The crossover with Cheers occurs in the episode titled...Cheers! It is the season 3 finale from 1985.

*Ed Flanders died too young at 60 in 1995.

*The series was finally added to Hulu in 2018, but only season 1 is available on DVD.

*The infamous series finale aired May 25, 1988. Here is a compelling piece by Matt Zoller Seitz on the legacy of the episode. He discusses many of the meta aspects we mention on the podcast. Entertainment Weekly asked a group of cast members to comment on the finale in 2012. And here author Sean Munger provides more perspective, arguing that the producers got to do the finale they really wanted to end the fifth season before being renewed by NBC at the last minute.

*The Emmy year Mike highlights is 1984, when Elsewhere received writing noms for 4 different episodes, winning for season 2's The Women, while the other two slots went to Hill Street Blues.

*The astronaut in this episode is played by David Ackroyd. The other grandfather of Dr. Craig's granddaughter is played by prolific character actor Ramon Bieri.

*Betty White guested as Captain Gloria Neal in this episode and the earlier season 3 episode Red, White, Black and Blue.

*Oliver Clark, John Doe #6 here, played Ed Herd in a recurring role on The Bob Newhart Show alongside Jack Riley's Mr. Carlin.

*According to IMDB, the sequence where John Doe #6 changes the channels and hears snippets of various theme songs is edited on Hulu. WKRP, Newhart, Hill Street Blues replace Star Trek, Dragnet, and Leave It to Beaver.

Episode 6-11: St. Elsewhere "Close Encounters"

This week, we return to Boston and travel to the very center of the Tommy Westphall Universe to talk about classic hospital drama St. Elsewhere. Betty White pays a visit to investigate the condition of an astronaut, Denzel Washington and Alfre Woodard get cozy, an amnesiac decides he's Mary Richards...much to the consternation of "The Bob Newhart Show's" Mr. Carlin.


Check out this episode!

Tomorrow on Battle of the Network Shows...