St. Elsewhere

St. Elsewhere

St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series starred Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd and William Daniels as teaching doctors at an aging, underrated Boston hospital who give interns a promising future in making critical medical and life decisions. The series was produced by MTM Enterprises, which had success with a similar NBC series, the police drama Hill Street Blues, during that same time; both series were often compared to each other for their use of ensemble casts and overlapping serialized storylines (an original ad for St. Elsewhere quoted a critic that called the series "'Hill Street Blues' in a hospital"). St. Elsewhere was filmed at CBS/MTM Studios, which was known as CBS/Fox Studios when the show began; coincidentally, 20th Century Fox owns the rights to the series when it bought MTM Enterprises in the 1990s. Recognized for its gritty, realistic drama, St. Elsewhere gained a small yet loyal following (the series did not rank higher than 49th place in the yearly Nielsen ratings) over its six-season, 137-episode run; however, the series also found a strong audience in Nielsen's 18–49 age demographic, a young demo later known for a young, affluent audience that TV advertisers were eager to reach. The series also earned critical acclaim during its run, earning 13 Emmy Awards for its writing, acting, and directing. St. Elsewhere was ranked No. 20 on TV Guide's 2002 list of "The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time", with the magazine also selecting it as the best drama series of the 1980s in a 1993 issue. In 2013, TV Guide ranked the series No. 51 on its list of the 60 Best Series of All Time.

Year:
1982
1,515 Views

Dr. Mark Craig:
[breezes into the room, almost bumping into a nurse on the way out] Excuse me. [Immediately opens Broadwater's file] Mr Broadwater. How are we this morning?

Mr. Broadwater:
Feelin' pretty good.

Dr. Mark Craig:
Well, I have some good news, and I have some bad. Two of the major vessels to your heart, the left anterior descending artery, and the circumflex artery, are 90% obstructed.

Mr. Broadwater:
[stunned] But I feel fine.

Dr. Mark Craig:
You didn't feel "fine" when you had those chest pains walking up a flight of stairs, now did you?

Mr. Broadwater:
Did I have a heart attack?

Dr. Mark Craig:
No, but when we put you on the treadmill, your electrocardiogram indicated ischemia. And the angiography - do you remember when we put the dye through the heart? Revealed obstructions... VERY serious obstructions.

Mr. Broadwater:
[clutches his chest, breathing heavily] 90% obstructed?

Dr. Mark Craig:
[holds up a long rubber tube] Let me show you something, Mr Broadwater - what does this look like to you?

Mr. Broadwater:
A rubber tube.

Dr. Mark Craig:
Arteries are tubes. They carry the blood and oxygen from the heart. Now, bear with me. If we obstruct the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain... [ties a tight knot in the tube]... What do you think happens?

Mr. Broadwater:
[gets up unsteadily] I-I don't believe this. I'm only 40 years old here. Doc, you...

Dr. Mark Craig:
[curtly, shouting] You're fat. You smoke. Your father died of a heart attack when he was 42.

Mr. Broadwater:
But Doctor, there must be SOMETHING...

Dr. Mark Craig:
You are walking a tightrope, Mr Broadwater. If it isn't the stairs today, it'll be washing the car tomorrow, or bouncing your little boy on your knee - or, if you're lucky, when you're sleeping.

Mr. Broadwater:
[sits back down weakly] Ohhhh, my dear God.

Dr. Mark Craig:
Now, for the good news. [pause] I'm going to save you.

Mr. Broadwater:
How?

Dr. Mark Craig:
Triple bypass.

Mr. Broadwater:
Surgery?

Dr. Mark Craig:
[nods firmly] We'll give you a few moments to think about it, notify your loved ones. Do I have your complete cooperation? [holds out his hand]

Mr. Broadwater:
[shakes it half-heartedly]... I guess so.

Dr. Mark Craig:
Excellent. [shakes Broadwater's hand, snaps the file shut, and breezes back out without further comment]


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