St. Elsewhere

St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series, which in its final episode caused a stir by showing that the show may have been dreamt by the autistic character Tommy Westphall, and thus, was totally a product of his imagination.
According to Wikipedia: "The hospital's nickname, 'St. Elsewhere', is a slang term used in the medical field to refer to lesser-equipped hospitals that serve patients turned away by more prestigious institutions; it is also used in medical academe to refer to teaching hospitals in general."Wikipedia. St. Elsewhere. Accessed 17 June 2024‎.
==Canon==
===Hospital background===
According to a St. Elsewhere Fan Wiki, the hospital history and daily life reflected the idea of welcoming others who might not be welcomed so warmly elsewhere:
Two fans on the same wikia page discussed the real-life Boston location of the apartments that doubled as the exterior for the hospital in the series.
===Miscellaneous===
Due to the friendship between producer Tom Fontana and David Simon, which started in 1980s while working as writers in the same building, St. Elsewhere canonically crossed over with both HLTOS and other shows.
===Seasons five and six===
The season-five finale released on May 27, 1987 and titled "Last Dance at the Wrecker's Ball" shows that all attempts to save St. Eligius from closing seem to have failed and a wrecking ball starts destroying the hospital while a frail Dr. Auschlander, stuck after a relapse, attempts to escape. This would be the final episode of the series, but a new season was scheduled and released a few months later, with the sixth being the real conclusion of the series.
The episode "A Moon For the Misbegotten", aired in September 30, 1987 brings us St. Eligius being saved (and any damage from the above-mentioned "Wrecker's Ball" repaired), but it falls under the new ownership of Ecumena Corporation, a national managed health care concern. Ecumena's choice to head Sr. Eligius, Dr. John Gideon, did not get along well with the hospital staff, especially Dr. Westphall, who, in the final scene of this episode, delivers his resignation "in terms you can understand"—by dropping his pants and exposing his bare buttocks to Gideon ("You can kiss my ass, pal").
George R. R. Martin even commented on this in 1992 when interviewed by Beth Blighton about the end of Beauty and the Beast (TV) on Lionheart Exclusive Interview:
The new and final season then brought a dark ending that was completely different from the one envisioned in the previous season. Titled "The Last One", the episode alludes to the fact that everything that happened in the series was a product of Tommy Westphall's dream imagination. See Dream Season.
==Tommy Westphall universe hypothesis==
With the presentation in the final episode of the series, some theories were discussed about its meaning. One of these is the Tommy Westphall universe hypothesis, which was originally put forward by comic book and TV writer Dwayne McDuffie in a 2002 blog post, as a reductio ad absurdum argument against making strong statements about fictional continuity based upon guest appearances.
The Tommy Westphall universe hypothesis makes the claim that not only does St. Elsewhere take place within Tommy's mind, but so do numerous other television series which are directly and indirectly connected to St. Elsewhere through fictional crossovers and spin-offs, resulting in a large fictional universe taking place entirely within Tommy's mind.
According to one commentator in 2024:
The theory is also debated by fans of other fandoms that have a shared universe, even being used as an allegory or slang to express certain thoughts about credibility of these universes and their timeline.
Two fans, Melbourne playwright Keith Gow, and US-based Ash Crowe, are credited with having compiled a large chart linking the affected shows, ranging from Cheers to Doctor Who.
The theory and its understood universe are not confined to the world of TV programs, but also extend to fanfiction, an example being the archive AO3 where has a variety of fan stories which present themes ranging from marriage or slash to hurt/comfort and whump. One story inspired by the Tommy Westphall final scene features a crossover between the Harry Potter and St. Elsewhere universes with an almost identical ending; while another combines St. Elsewhere with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to attack the multiverse. Such fanworks might arguably be seen to add to the list of fictional universes that are linked to, and possibly impacted by, the Tommy Westphall universe hypothesis.
==Fanworks==
===1984===
*Errantry multifandom anthology zine
**story "Rx: Needs Starch/Permanent Press, monologues by Sheryl Adsit (100) for Errantry #2
*'Noids n 'Droids zine of fiction, poetry, art, and articles
**Mixed Media: Introductory Chapter by Kiel Stuart (Star Trek crossed with St. Elsewhere, Hill Street Blues, etc.) (43) for 'Noids n 'Droids #5
**Mixed Media: Chapter Three by Kiel Stuart (Star Trek crossed with St. Elsewhere, Hill Street Blues, etc.) (81) for 'Noids n 'Droids #5
===1985===
*Rerun anthology zine edited by Lorraine Bartlett
**story "For Now and Forever" by Teresa Sarick (41) for Rerun #3
*Psychic Investigations aka. PI³ multifandom anthology zine
**story "St. Elsewhere" by Rachelle S. (Adrian St. Clair/St. Elsewhere) for PI³ #1
===1989===
*The Karenina Continuity Chronicles fanzine series relating the adventures of Karenina Bosov
** story "The Magic Of Modern Medicine" by Susan M. Garrett (St. Elsewhere-The Magician-Dr. Strange) At Christmas, St. Elsewhere is one hospital where miracles can happen. (24 pages) for The Karenina Continuity Chronicles #4
*Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa wrote a St. Elsewhere Spec Script in the summer of 89. A Spec Script is what one writes to show that you have talent. It's how you sell yourself. Taken from the interview for the Beauty and The Beast: The Newsletter #7 v.2 n.8
===2003===
*Horizontal Mosaic slash multifandom anthology zine
**Sleepless in Seattle by Elizabeth Gerber ("Physician, heal thyself.") (21) for Horizontal Mosaic #3
==Archives, Communities & Resources==
*St. Elsewhere category at AO3
*St. Elsewhere at TVTropes
*All Just A Dream at TVTropes 
*Tommy Westphall Universe Wiki
*The Tommy Westphall Universe
*St. Elsewhere Wiki
==References==